JENKS, Okla. - Thad Takes kissed the trophy cradled in his arms as 4,500 bass fishing fans stood and cheered the freshly crowned BASS Federation Champion. Takes, of Center Point, Iowa, staged a come-from-behind triumph to earn the amateur champion's laurels, $18,000, and the sweetest prize of all: a berth in bass fishing's world championship, the 2004 Bassmaster Classic .
"Without a doubt, there's absolutely nothing I can put on my resume that will be more important than this," he said. "It was great that people show up for events like this. It shows people like me that there's interest in our sport beyond just the fishermen."
Takes' victory came on a day darkened by the death of a fellow competitor, Vermont's Ray Sprano, who passed away in his sleep Friday night. The final day of the tournament was dedicated in Sprano's honor as the anglers launched on Keystone Lake.
Takes, who caught just a single bass on the first day of competition, knew he had the ability to come back from his deficit. After all, his jersey proudly proclaims him the 2004 Iowa State Champion and the state's fisherman of the year. In the end, Takes brought in a total of 27 pounds of fish, anchored by 14 pounds, 12 ounces of bass on Saturday, including a 5-pound, 8-ounce lunker that was the largest fish caught at the event.
"We have lakes that are similar to it in Iowa and they're just as tough, so I've learned to some degree to fish for this tournament," he said. "That's an awfully big bag for this lake. It's an awfully tough lake to figure out."
In addition to the $15,000 winner's purse, Takes earned $1,000 from Purolator for having Saturday's Purolator Big Bass of the Day, plus another $1,000 for the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament.
He picked up a third check for $1,000 for his Saturday catch, which earned him the prize and a berth in September's Busch Shootout, in which he will compete on a mystery lake with pros from the Bassmaster Tour, Open Championship, and the Elite 50 series.
At the moment, however, his eyes are on the Classic.
"I've never been to it, so I have no idea what to expect," confessed Takes, who had never competed in a Federation Championship until this week.
There will be a few familiar faces from this week's competition joining him at the Classic in Charlotte, N.C., July 30-Aug. 1. The top angler in each of the Federation's five geographic divisions earns a berth. Takes, the Northern division champion, will be joined by PENNSYLVANIA's George Acord, the Eastern division champion; Washington's Jeff Boyer, the Western division champion; Alabama's Russ Lane, the Southern division champion; and Arkansas' William Pippen, the Central division champion.
Fans can watch the 2004 BASS Federation Championship on "The Bassmasters" on ESPN2, Saturday, July 24 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT.
2004 BASS Federation Championship 04/19-04/24 Keystone Lake, Tulsa, Okla. Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown (Fed.) Region No/lbs-oz Winnings 1 Thad Takes Center Point, Iowa (IA) N 11 27-00 $17,000.00 2 Russ Lane Prattville, Ala. (AL) S 7 20-10 $7,000.00 3 George Acord Lancaster, Pa. (PA) E 9 19-12 $3,000.00 4 William Pippen Crossett, Ark. (AR) C 6 17-00 $2,000.00 5 Bob Thomsen Lincoln, Neb. (NE) C 7 16-08 $2,500.00 6 Jeff Boyer Auburn, Wash. (WA) W 6 15-08 $1,400.00 7 Steve Tatum Pontiac, Ill. (IL) N 7 14-09 $1,300.00 8 Danny Lee Shanz Adamstown, Md. (DC) E 4 12-14 $2,200.00 9 Jason Baird Gypsum, Kan. (KS) C 6 12-07 $1,100.00 10 Rodney Hardwick Connersville, Ind. (IN) N 6 12-06 $750.00 10 Biff Humphreys Harrare, ZWE (Zimbabwe) C 5 12-06 $750.00 12 Richard Smith Dumfries, Va. (KY) S 6 12-04 $500.00 13 Danny Johnston Windsor, Mo. (MO) C 5 11-14 $500.00 14 Cole Garrett Calvin, La. (LA) C 5 10-09 $500.00 15 Jerry Shawver II Jacksonville, Fla. (2003 Fede S 3 9-15 $500.00 16 Michael Isbell South Jordan, Utah (UT) W 4 9-11 $400.00 17 Rudi Bartolini Pistoia, ITA (Italy) N 4 9-06 $400.00 18 John Mead Littleton, Mass. (MA) E 3 8-13 $400.00 19 Ken Milender Ham Lake, Minn. (MN) N 3 8-03 $400.00 20 Sean Hinton Morrison, Colo. (CO) W 3 7-11 $400.00 21 Brian Runyon Mcarthur, Ohio (OH) N 4 7-10 $400.00 22 Neil Russell Nampa, Idaho (ID) W 3 7-07 $400.00 23 Dennis Cumiskey Sparta, N.J. (NY) E 3 7-06 $400.00 24 Troy Olivier Lakeland, Fla. (FL) S 3 7-03 $400.00 25 Edward Rogers Jr Grand Rapids, Mich. (MI) N 3 6-05 $400.00 26 Tom Reynolds Lyme, Conn. (CT) E 3 6-02 $300.00 27 Marvin A Horton Palmetto, Ga. (GA) S 4 5-14 $300.00 28 Lionel Botha Edenvale, RSA (South Africa) S 3 5-13 $300.00 29 Eddie Armstrong West Point, Miss. (MS) C 3 5-08 $300.00 30 Jeremy Foster Weyauwega, Wisc. (WI) N 3 5-01 $300.00 31 Brent Riley Ridgeville, S.C. (SC) S 2 4-11 $300.00 32 Bob Marelli Milford, Mass. (RI) E 2 4-06 $300.00 33 Mark A Schafer Williamstown, N.J. (NJ) E 2 4-01 $300.00 34 Curtis Spindler Missoula, Mont. (MT) W 1 3-10 $300.00 35 Bill Golightly Preston, Idaho (WY) W 2 3-09 $300.00 36 Ed Riley Woodbine, Md. (MD) E 1 3-03 $300.00 37 Glenn Cunningham Piedmont, Okla. (OK) C 1 2-13 $300.00 38 Hiromichi Inoue Chigasakishi, JPN (Japan) W 1 2-09 $300.00 39 Tim Isaacs Cutler, Ohio (WV) E 1 2-08 $300.00 40 Daniel Peckham Winchendon, Mass. (NH) E 1 2-07 $300.00 41 Jamie Janzen St Catherines, CAN (Ontario) N 1 2-04 $300.00 42 Franco Vallejos Albuquerque, N.M. (NM) W 1 2-00 $300.00 43 John Bynum Raleigh, N.C. (NC) S 1 1-13 $300.00 44 Jami Fralick Tyndall, S.D. (SD) N 1 1-12 $300.00 45 Greg Alexander Hebron, Md. (DE) E 1 1-10 $300.00 45 Rich Welch Santee, Calif. (CA) W 1 1-10 $300.00 47 Willie Nelson Castle Rock, Wash. (OR) W 1 1-09 $300.00 48 Jose Luis Garcia Amexz Zapopan, Jal, MEX (Mexico) C 0 0-00 $300.00 48 Dave Currie Yuma, Ariz. (AZ) W 0 0-00 $300.00 48 Joe Leonard Bristol, Va. (TN) S 0 0-00 $300.00 48 Joshua Platt Augusta, Maine (ME) E 0 0-00 $300.00 48 Mike Rupard Big Spring, Texas (TX) C 0 0-00 $300.00 48 Ray Sprano St Albans, Vt. (VT) E 0 0-00 $300.00 48 Mike Vanderveen Dayton, Ohio (PVA Champion) S 0 0-00 $300.00 48 Vernon Wilson Boydton, Va. (VA) E 0 0-00 $300.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Purolator Big Bass Day 1 Danny Lee Shanz Adamstown, Md. (DC) E 5-01 $1,000.00 2 Bob Thomsen Lincoln, Neb. (NE) C 3-15 $1,000.00 3 Thad Takes Center Point, Iowa (IA) N 5-08 $1,000.00 Thad Takes Center Point, Iowa (IA) N 5-08 $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 3 57 134-11 2 2 52 109-06 3 1 54 136-01 ---------------------------------- 6 163 380-02 DIVISIONAL STANDINGS Northern 1 Thad Takes Center Point, Iowa (IA) 11 27-00 $17,000.00 2 Steve Tatum Pontiac, Ill. (IL) 7 14-09 $1,300.00 3 Rodney Hardwick Connersville, Ind. (IN) 6 12-06 $750.00 4 Rudi Bartolini Pistoia, ITA (Italy) 4 9-06 $400.00 5 Ken Milender Ham Lake, Minn. (MN) 3 8-03 $400.00 6 Brian Runyon Mcarthur, Ohio (OH) 4 7-10 $400.00 7 Edward Rogers Jr Grand Rapids, Mich. (MI) 3 6-05 $400.00 8 Jeremy Foster Weyauwega, Wisc. (WI) 3 5-01 $300.00 9 Jamie Janzen St Catherines, CAN (Ontario) 1 2-04 $300.00 10 Jami Fralick Tyndall, S.D. (SD) 1 1-12 $300.00 Central 1 William Pippen Crossett, Ark. (AR) 6 17-00 $2,000.00 2 Bob Thomsen Lincoln, Neb. (NE) 7 16-08 $2,500.00 3 Jason Baird Gypsum, Kan. (KS) 6 12-07 $1,100.00 4 Biff Humphreys Harrare, ZWE (Zimbabwe) 5 12-06 $750.00 5 Danny Johnston Windsor, Mo. (MO) 5 11-14 $500.00 6 Cole Garrett Calvin, La. (LA) 5 10-09 $500.00 7 Eddie Armstrong West Point, Miss. (MS) 3 5-08 $300.00 8 Glenn Cunningham Piedmont, Okla. (OK) 1 2-13 $300.00 9 Jose Luis Garcia Amexz Zapopan, Jal, MEX (Mexico) 0 0-00 $300.00 9 Mike Rupard Big Spring, Texas (TX) 0 0-00 $300.00 Eastern 1 George Acord Lancaster, Pa. (PA) 9 19-12 $3,000.00 2 Danny Lee Shanz Adamstown, Md. (DC) 4 12-14 $2,200.00 3 John Mead Littleton, Mass. (MA) 3 8-13 $400.00 4 Dennis Cumiskey Sparta, N.J. (NY) 3 7-06 $400.00 5 Tom Reynolds Lyme, Conn. (CT) 3 6-02 $300.00 6 Bob Marelli Milford, Mass. (RI) 2 4-06 $300.00 7 Mark A Schafer Williamstown, N.J. (NJ) 2 4-01 $300.00 8 Ed Riley Woodbine, Md. (MD) 1 3-03 $300.00 9 Tim Isaacs Cutler, Ohio (WV) 1 2-08 $300.00 10 Daniel Peckham Winchendon, Mass. (NH) 1 2-07 $300.00 11 Greg Alexander Hebron, Md. (DE) 1 1-10 $300.00 12 Joshua Platt Augusta, Maine (ME) 0 0-00 $300.00 12 Ray Sprano St Albans, Vt. (VT) 0 0-00 $300.00 12 Vernon Wilson Boydton, Va. (VA) 0 0-00 $300.00 Southern 1 Russ Lane Prattville, Ala. (AL) 7 20-10 $7,000.00 2 Richard Smith Dumfries, Va. (KY) 6 12-04 $500.00 3 Jerry Shawver II Jacksonville, Fla. (2003 Fede 3 9-15 $500.00 4 Troy Olivier Lakeland, Fla. (FL) 3 7-03 $400.00 5 Marvin A Horton Palmetto, Ga. (GA) 4 5-14 $300.00 6 Lionel Botha Edenvale, RSA (South Africa) 3 5-13 $300.00 7 Brent Riley Ridgeville, S.C. (SC) 2 4-11 $300.00 8 John Bynum Raleigh, N.C. (NC) 1 1-13 $300.00 9 Joe Leonard Bristol, Va. (TN) 0 0-00 $300.00 9 Mike Vanderveen Dayton, Ohio (PVA Champion) 0 0-00 $300.00 Western 1 Jeff Boyer Auburn, Wash. (WA) 6 15-08 $1,400.00 2 Michael Isbell South Jordan, Utah (UT) 4 9-11 $400.00 3 Sean Hinton Morrison, Colo. (CO) 3 7-11 $400.00 4 Neil Russell Nampa, Idaho (ID) 3 7-07 $400.00 5 Curtis Spindler Missoula, Mont. (MT) 1 3-10 $300.00 6 Bill Golightly Preston, Idaho (WY) 2 3-09 $300.00 7 Hiromichi Inoue Chigasakishi, JPN (Japan) 1 2-09 $300.00 8 Franco Vallejos Albuquerque, N.M. (NM) 1 2-00 $300.00 9 Rich Welch Santee, Calif. (CA) 1 1-10 $300.00 10 Willie Nelson Castle Rock, Wash. (OR) 1 1-09 $300.00 11 Dave Currie Yuma, Ariz. (AZ) 0 0-00 $300.00
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