GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. - Two-time Bassmaster Classic champion George Cochran of Arkansas boated just shy of 100 pounds of bass to win the $100,000 top prize at the third event of the Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Guntersville.
Cochran caught 29 pounds,15 ounces Sunday on a Wild Shiner Strike King jerkbait, greenback and bone in color, bringing his four-day total up to 99-10, just six ounces shy of the century mark. The 29-15 catch was also the largest sack of the day, earning Cochran another $1,000 from Busch as the of the day.
"The trick to catching these fish, and catching big fish like I caught today was, I would pull it down about 3 or 4 foot, twitch it twice and let it sit for five or six seconds and every fish hit it when it was sitting still," Cochran said. "I could just watch the line jump.
"Today I was more patient because I knew where the fish were and I stayed in the right area longer. I stared throwing 5 pounders back at 10 o'clock. It took me till 11:30 (to get a limit), but I culled all of them by 2:30 and when you're throwing 5 pounders (back) by 11 a.m., I didn't think anybody could beat me. Right now, I want to just stop and enjoy this victory, but it definitely gives me a lot of confidence going into anywhere."
Cochran's final catch was a full 9-9 over second place Stacy King. The Missouri pro brought in an amazing sack Sunday (28-2), but just didn't have enough to stave off the hard-charging Cochran. King followed Cochran's lead, however, throwing a silver and black Normark Husky Jerk suspending jerkbait all four days of the competition that saw him weigh in 90-1.
"I knew this lake could produce so much," King said. "George had been on a good pattern so I didn't have any expectations, you know. Whatever happens, happens."
Michigan's Kevin VanDam, another Classic champion, brought in 23-2 Sunday to give him a four-day total of 87-3. Sunday's catch also included an 8-pound 5-ounce bass that proved to be the largest of the day, earning him $1,000 for the Big Bass of the Day. Also receiving $1,000 from Purolator was amateur angler William Robinson of Clintwood Missouri. His 9-10 lunker on Day 2 held out to win the Big Bass of the Tournament, and Robinson's award marks the first time an amateur has won the overall tournament honors.
Missouri's Chad Brauer (83-13), New Jersey's Mike Iaconelli (66-1) and Texas' Zell Rowland (60-10) rounded out the Super Six of the tournament.
Brauer's fourth place finish put him atop the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 671 points. Iaconelli is close behind with 656. Previous leader, Arkansan Scott Suggs is currently in third spot and still leading the Rookie of the Year race.
Fans can watch "The Bassmasters" telecast of the Lake Guntersville tournament on Saturday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
2004 Alabama Bassmaster Tour Pro 02/26-02/29 Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, Ala. (PRO Division) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. George Cochran Hot Springs, Ark. 20 99-10 310 $103,000.00 Day 1: 5 20-12 Day 2: 5 25-05 Day 3: 5 23-10 Day 4: 5 29-15 2. Stacey D King Reeds Spring, Mo. 20 90-01 295 $39,000.00 Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 5 28-02 Day 3: 5 21-15 Day 4: 5 21-06 3. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 20 87-03 295 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 26-03 Day 2: 5 20-02 Day 3: 5 17-12 Day 4: 5 23-02 4. Chad Brauer Osage Beach, Mo. 20 83-13 285 $21,000.00 Day 1: 5 20-09 Day 2: 5 26-03 Day 3: 5 19-05 Day 4: 5 17-12 5. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J. 15 66-01 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 24-03 Day 2: 5 24-06 Day 3: 2 6-02 Day 4: 3 11-06 6. Zell Rowland Montgomery, Texas 13 60-10 276 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 21-09 Day 2: 5 26-06 Day 3: 1 3-07 Day 4: 2 9-04 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Purolator Big Bass Day 1 Danny White Milledgeville, Ga. 9-03 $1,000.00 2 Dennis Kolender Henderson, Nev. 9-01 $1,000.00 3 George Cochran Hot Springs, Ark. 7-00 $1,000.00 4 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 8-05 $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 68 555 1803-04 2 56 480 1622-04 3 4 29 110-13 4 4 25 112-13 ---------------------------------- 132 1089 3649-022004 Angler of the Year After Guntersville, Ala. Ending 02-29-2004 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Chad Brauer Mo. 671 2 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 656 2 Scott Suggs Ark. 656 4 Gerald Swindle Ala. 640 5 Randy Blaukat Mo. 639 6 Brian Snowden Mo. 637 7 Kevin Short Ark. 626 8 Aaron Martens Calif. 620 9 Davy Hite S.C. 619 9 Tim Horton Ala. 619 11 Brent Chapman Kan. 618 12 Lee Bailey Conn. 615 13 Larry Nixon Ark. 605 14 Marty Stone N.C. 597 15 Bernie Schultz Fla. 589 16 Jimmy D Mize Ark. 585 17 David Walker Tenn. 584 18 Skeet Reese Calif. 567 19 Mark Tucker Mo. 563 20 Kelly Jordon Texas 557 21 Stacey D King Mo. 553 22 Jim Bitter Fla. 552 23 Kevin VanDam Mich. 549 24 Greg Hackney La. 540 25 Charlie Hartley Ohio 539 26 Ishama Monroe Calif. 537 27 Scott Rook Ark. 536 28 Gary Klein Texas 529 29 Edwin Evers Okla. 523 30 Harold Allen Texas 518 30 Takahiro Omori Texas 518 32 Chris Baumgardner N.C. 517 32 Dustin Wilks N.C. 517 34 David Wharton Texas 511 34 Brett Hite Ariz. 511 36 Peter E Thliveros Fla. 507 37 Jason Quinn S.C. 505 37 Tim Loper Miss. 505 39 O T Fears III Okla. 503 39 Brooks Rogers Texas 503 41 Tommy Martin Texas 502 42 Mike Auten Ky. 501 43 Joe Thomas Ohio 500 44 George Cochran Ark. 496 45 Steve Daniel Fla. 491 46 Mark Kile Ariz. 488 47 Mark Davis Ark. 473 47 Luke Clausen Wash. 473 49 Bud Pruitt Texas 470 50 Dean Rojas Texas 467 51 Ben Matsubu Texas 453 52 Tom Biffle Okla. 452 53 Zell Rowland Texas 449 54 Mark Rizk Ala. 448 55 Randy Yarnall Pa. 447 55 Gerald Gostenik Mich. 447 57 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 445 58 Mike McClelland Ark. 443 58 Rick Clunn Mo. 443 60 Guy H Eaker N.C. 441 61 Mike Reynolds Calif. 439 62 David Mansue N.J. 436 62 Chris Price Md. 436 64 Marcel Veenstra Mich. 429 65 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 427 66 Coby Carden Ala. 426 67 Jay Yelas Texas 420 68 John Murray Ariz. 418 69 Jack L Wade Tenn. 417 70 Alton Jones Texas 410 71 Elton Luce Jr Texas 407 72 Todd Auten S.C. 406 73 Dennis Kolender Nev. 404 74 Morizo Shimizu Calif. 401 75 Kyle Mabrey Ala. 391 76 Chuck Economou Fla. 385 77 Rick Morris Va. 383 78 Robert Lee Calif. 382 79 Matt Reed Texas 381 80 Denny Brauer Mo. 367 81 Charlie Weyer Calif. 366 82 Jason Reyes Texas 365 83 Paul L Elias Miss. 363 84 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 362 85 Terry Scroggins Fla. 360 86 John Crews Va. 359 86 Jeff Kriet Okla. 359 88 Kevin Wirth Ky. 353 89 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 339 90 Mark Shepard Fla. 338 91 Danny Correia Mass. 333 92 Byron Velvick Nev. 331 93 Jimmy Mason Ala. 330 94 Darryl Burkhardt Ore. 322 95 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 320 96 Tom Burns Ill. 319 97 David Fritts N.C. 318 97 Jack A Gadlage Ky. 318 99 Danny White Ga. 317 100 Randy Dearman Texas 315 100 R J Bennett Calif. 315 102 Mark Menendez Ky. 314 102 Terry Baksay Conn. 314 104 Curt Lytle Va. 307 105 Mike Wurm Ark. 306 106 Frank Scalish Ohio 301 107 Kenyon Hill Okla. 297 108 Randy Howell Ala. 292 108 Johnny Lesesne Ga. 292 110 Sean Hoernke Texas 284 111 Randall R Romig Pa. 282 111 Mike Hicks Va. 282 113 Todd Faircloth Texas 280 114 Art Ferguson III Mich. 277 115 Woo Daves Va. 264 116 Jimmy Houston Okla. 262 117 Jason Barber Texas 261 118 Mark Tyler Ariz. 255 119 Ron Shuffield Ark. 254 120 Tommy Stiles Tenn. 251 121 Steve Sennikoff Texas 250 122 Thomas O O'Bryant Tenn. 248 123 Doug Garrett Ark. 246 123 Bink Desaro Idaho 246 125 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 245 126 Chris Daves Va. 238 127 Frank Ippoliti Md. 230 128 Mike O'Shea Calif. 229 129 Robert Hamilton Jr Miss. 223 130 Tom Mann Jr Ga. 222 131 Koby Kreiger Fla. 219 132 Pete Gluszek N.J. 212 132 Dalton Bobo Ala. 212 134 Jarrett Edwards Colo. 208 135 Mark Rogers Fla. 206 136 Charles Ingram Tenn. 201 137 Eric Nethery Ga. 199 137 Jordan Paullo Conn. 199 139 Jay Kendrick Tenn. 196 140 Roland Martin Fla. 194 141 Ken Cook Okla. 188 142 Scott A Nielson Utah 187 143 Casey Iwai Ariz. 186 144 Charles Hammack Texas 179 145 Terry Segraves Fla. 174 145 Stephen Browning Ark. 174 147 Homer Humphreys Jr La. 160 148 J T Kenney Md. 159 149 Gary Yamamoto Texas 154 150 Jody Cordell Ga. 138 151 Cody Bird Texas 137 152 Roger Boler La. 128 153 Pete Ponds Miss. 121 154 Tim Carroll Okla. 107 155 Lance Vick Texas 103 156 Norio Tanabe Japan 84 157 Duke McCardle Ga. 57 158 Jeff Magee Miss. 52 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 2004 Tournament Year After Guntersville, AL ending 02-29-2004 Place Angler Name City State Total Points 1 Scott Suggs Alexander Ark. 656 2 Kevin Short Mayflower Ark. 626 3 Greg Hackney Gonzales La. 540 4 Marcel Veenstra Brighton Mich. 429 5 Jason Reyes Humble Texas 365 6 Mark Shepard Labelle Fla. 338 7 Jimmy Mason Rogersville Ala. 330 8 R J Bennett Grass Valley Calif. 315 9 Thomas O O'Bryant Drummonds Tenn. 248 10 Bink Desaro Boise Idaho 246 11 Jordan Paullo Coventry Conn. 199 12 Scott A Nielson Salt Lake City Utah 1872004 Horizon Award After Guntersville, AL ending 02-29-2004 --------------------------------------------------------- Place Name 2003 Finish Current Standings --------------------------------------------------------- 1 Davy Hite 163 9 2 Aaron Martens 147 8 3 Mark Tucker 138 19 4 Lee Bailey 122 12 5 Larry Nixon 120 13 6 Scott Rook 129 27 7 Michael Iaconelli 102 2 8 Chad Brauer 92 1 9 Coby Carden 153 66 10 Chuck Economou 159 76 ELITE 50 After Guntersville, AL ending 02-29-2004 Top 20 All Time Money Place Angler Name Winnings 1 Denny Brauer $1,718,039.21 2 Rick Clunn $1,534,344.53 3 Larry Nixon $1,532,533.58 4 Jay Yelas $1,248,432.00 5 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr $1,212,480.23 6 Kevin VanDam $1,200,683.33 7 Gary Klein $1,161,493.97 8 Ron Shuffield $971,996.00 9 George Cochran $967,501.45 10 Roland Martin $967,142.16 11 Mark Davis $847,071.30 12 Davy Hite $846,500.00 13 David Fritts $829,905.00 14 Zell Rowland $782,190.90 15 Tom Biffle $740,978.80 16 Jim Bitter $737,018.60 17 David Wharton $710,530.80 18 Randy Blaukat $683,392.70 19 Alton Jones $673,841.67 20 Peter E Thliveros $671,654.00 Top 10 on Bubble for Money Place Angler Name Winnings 1 Ken Cook $640,067.20 2 Woo Daves $538,210.80 3 Kenyon Hill $481,653.10 4 Paul L Elias $470,114.73 5 Takahiro Omori $466,550.00 6 Dean Rojas $439,248.31 7 Harold Allen $384,068.69 8 Joe Thomas $369,448.47 9 Aaron Martens $366,322.33 10 Tom Mann Jr $357,075.80 Top 27 2002, 2003, 2004 Points Place Angler Name Points 1 Brent Chapman 1988 2 Tim Horton 1916 3 Bud Pruitt 1906 4 Kelly Jordon 1856 5 Edwin Evers 1842 6 Dustin Wilks 1837 7 John Murray 1783 8 Skeet Reese 1729 9 Bernie Schultz 1705 10 Brian Snowden 1702 11 Elton Luce Jr 1693 12 Mike Wurm 1670 13 Gerald Swindle 1658 14 Ishama Monroe 1649 15 O T Fears III 1598 16 Mike Auten 1596 17 Kevin Wirth 1581 18 Todd Auten 1540 18 Chad Brauer 1540 20 Stacey D King 1538 21 Scott Rook 1523 21 Tommy Martin 1523 23 Todd Faircloth 1520 24 Randy Howell 1505 25 Jeff Kriet 1481 26 Ben Matsubu 1478 27 Guy H Eaker 1460 Top 10 on Bubble for Points Place Angler Name Points 1 Joe Thomas 1459 2 Kotaro Kiriyama 1453 3 Mark Menendez 1447 4 Paul L Elias 1436 5 Charlie Hartley 1421 6 Marty Stone 1420 7 Brett Hite 1418 8 Tom Mann Jr 1415 9 Kenyon Hill 1414 10 Aaron Martens 1410