GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. - The final-round heroics of Zell Rowland and Morizo Shimizu on Sunday ruined Edwin Evers' hopes of a wire-to-wire victory in the $618,000 Bassmaster Tour bass fishing event on Alabama's Lake Guntersville and gave Rowland a much-appreciated fifth career BASS victory.
Evers, a 30-year-old pro from Oklahoma, entered Sunday's final round with a lead of nearly three pounds and brought a respectable four-bass stringer weighing 15 pounds, eight ounces to the scales, but it wasn't enough to hold off Rowland and Shimizu, who saved their best efforts for last.
Rowland, a 47-year-old Texan and past winner at Lake Guntersville, posted a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, six ounces Sunday for a four-day total of 87 pounds. That was enough to hold off Shimizu (85-9), who turned in the tournament's largest catch on Sunday - 30-5 - by one pound, seven ounces.
"This has just been an incredible tournament," said Rowland, who earned $100,000 and valuable points toward the 2005 Bassmaster Classic in Pittsburgh. "I really love this lake. This is one of the top lakes in the country. It's one of the few lakes that we fish that you have a chance to duplicate a big string day after day.
"I couldn't have fished any better than I did today. I caught 12 or 13 fish, and I only missed one. I just had a blast."
Rowland's heroics took place in the same area where he won the 1991 BASS Alabama Invitational. After catching Saturday's biggest limit (22-6) by pitching a black-and-blue 3/8-ounce Booyah jig to docks in Seibold Creek, he used the same pattern to secure the win. His success in the opening two rounds came fishing shallow grass with a Cordell Spot lipless crankbait and a Smithwick Rogue jerkbait.
"Saturday I stumbled into another pattern - a dock pattern," he said. "I was fishing the older docks because I knew there weren't a lot of people doing that.
"The water going down is what made the fish go to the bank. I made a pretty good adjustment the last two days."
Shimizu, the 35-year-old host of a television fishing show in Japan, was excited by his second-place finish after enjoying his best day ever as a pro. His impressive limit, which earned him an extra $1,000 as Sunday's , included bass weighing 6-15, 6-13 and 6-8.
One of the six pounders came on the last cast of the day.
"I love Lake Guntersville," said Shimizu, who pocketed $38,000 for his highest BASS finish in three seasons on the Tour. "Every day is exciting."
Shimizu's big catch came on a chartreuse Strike King Series 4 crankbait fished along outside grass edges and over the top of vegetation growing on sloping banks.
His 6-15 largemouth took Sunday's Purolator Big Bass honors and earned him an additional $1,000.
Despite leading the first three days, Evers was not overly disappointed at coming up short in his bid for a third BASS victory. He settled for third with 78-1.
"I wanted to win, but I had a good tournament," he said. "I fished hard and did my best."
Evers concentrated his efforts on two areas throughout the tournament using a 1/2-ounce lipless crankbait.
Texan Bud Pruitt finished fourth with 73-8 pounds after catching 14-6 Sunday. His success came on two lipless crankbaits (Berkley's Frenzy Rattl'r and Rat-L-Trap) fished around shallow grass.
"This is Lake Guntersville," he said. "If you're going to win here you'd better pound them all four days. I had two good days and two fair days."
North Carolina's David Fritts finished fifth with 72-2, followed by Mike Hicks of Virginia with 63-10.
The Tour moves to Augusta, Ga., and J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir this week for the fourth stop on the six-event season.
Coverage of the 2005 Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Guntersville will be telecast on March 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET on The Bassmasters on ESPN2.
2005 Alabama CITG Bassmaster Tour Pro 02/24-02/27 Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, Ala. (PRO Division) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Zell Rowland Montgomery, Texas 20 87-00 305 $101,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 20-03 Day 3: 5 22-06 Day 4: 5 27-06 2. Morizo Shimizu Murrita, Calif. 18 85-09 295 $40,000.00 Day 1: 5 21-05 Day 2: 5 21-14 Day 3: 3 12-01 Day 4: 5 30-05 3. Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 19 78-01 305 $24,000.00 Day 1: 5 27-15 Day 2: 5 19-08 Day 3: 5 15-02 Day 4: 4 15-08 4. Bud Pruitt Spring, Texas 20 73-08 285 $21,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 5 21-04 Day 3: 5 21-15 Day 4: 5 14-06 5. David Fritts Lexington, N.C. 1 72-02 280 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 5 19-15 Day 3: 4 15-07 Day 4: 5 20-04 6. Mike Hicks Mineral, Va. 17 63-10 276 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 21-10 Day 2: 5 18-06 Day 3: 3 10-14 Day 4: 4 12-12 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Bass Day 1 Gerald Gostenik Dearborn, Mich. 9-12 $1,000.00 2 Chris Bielert Danbury, Conn. 9-11 $1,000.00 3 Bud Pruitt Spring, Texas 8-04 $1,000.00 4 Morizo Shimizu Murrita, Calif. 6-15 $1,000.00 Big Bass Bonus Day 2 Chris Bielert Danbury, Conn. 9-11 $1,000.00 Gerald Gostenik Dearborn, Mich. 9-12 $1,000.00 Day 1 Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 27-15 $1,000.00 2 Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 27-15 $1,000.00 3 Zell Rowland Montgomery, Texas 22-06 $1,000.00 4 Morizo Shimizu Murrita, Calif. 30-05 $1,000.00 Angler of the Year Leader Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 57 523 1681-02 2 48 473 1571-05 3 5 43 146-11 4 4 28 120-09 ---------------------------------- 114 1067 3519-11 2005 Angler of the Year Pro Points After Guntersville, Ala. Ending 02-27-2005, Day 4 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Takahiro Omori Texas 741 2 Skeet Reese Calif. 710 3 Gerald Swindle Ala. 691 4 Terry Scroggins Fla. 686 5 Marty Stone N.C. 669 6 Ron Shuffield Ark. 667 7 George Cochran Ark. 660 8 Tim Horton Ala. 656 9 David Walker Tenn. 653 9 Luke Clausen Wash. 653 11 Jay Yelas Texas 650 12 Mark Tyler Ariz. 649 13 Kevin Wirth Ky. 631 14 Aaron Martens Calif. 623 15 Edwin Evers Okla. 605 16 John Crews Va. 604 17 Jimmy Mize Ark. 589 18 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 583 19 Robert Hamilton Jr Miss. 581 20 Scott Rook Ark. 571 21 Guy Eaker N.C. 561 22 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 552 22 Brian Snowden Mo. 552 24 Bernie Schultz Fla. 547 24 Mark Rizk Ala. 547 26 Andre Moore Ariz. 546 27 David Fritts N.C. 540 28 Tommy Biffle Okla. 539 29 Dave Wolak Pa. 535 30 Bud Pruitt Texas 531 30 Ishama Monroe Calif. 531 32 Kelly Jordon Texas 525 33 Todd Faircloth Texas 513 33 Rick Clunn Mo. 513 35 Jay Kendrick Tenn. 509 36 Jeff Kriet Okla. 499 36 John Murray Ariz. 499 36 Mike Reynolds Calif. 499 39 Mike Hicks Va. 494 40 Scott Suggs Ark. 493 41 David Dudley Va. 489 41 Curt Lytle Va. 489 43 Mike Wurm Ark. 479 44 Mark Tucker Mo. 475 44 Stephen Browning Ark. 475 46 Greg Hackney La. 473 47 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 471 48 Dean Rojas Texas 469 49 Paul Elias Miss. 468 50 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 467 51 Jeff Magee Miss. 462 52 Kevin VanDam Mich. 460 53 Jimmy Houston Okla. 459 54 Roger Boler La. 454 55 Alton Jones Texas 453 56 Morizo Shimizu Calif. 451 56 Art Ferguson III Mich. 451 58 Lee Bailey Conn. 441 59 Preston Clark Fla. 439 60 Kenyon Hill Okla. 435 61 Zell Rowland Texas 427 62 Larry Nixon Ark. 426 63 R J Bennett Calif. 425 64 David Gliebe Calif. 423 64 Jack A Gadlage Ky. 423 64 Frank Scalish Ohio 423 67 O T Fears III Okla. 422 68 Brent Chapman Kan. 421 69 Woo Daves Va. 420 70 Jesse Draime Miss. 419 71 Greg Gutierrez Calif. 418 72 Norio Tanabe Japan 414 73 Jason Quinn S.C. 410 74 Randy Howell Ala. 407 75 Peter E Thliveros Fla. 403 75 Ben Matsubu Texas 403 77 Tim Loper Miss. 400 78 Kevin Short Ark. 397 79 Dustin Wilks N.C. 396 80 Doug Garrett Ark. 391 80 Chad Brauer Mo. 391 82 Darryl Burkhardt Ore. 390 83 Tommy Martin Texas 388 84 Davy Hite S.C. 385 85 Charlie Hartley Ohio 382 86 Fred Roumbanis Calif. 381 87 Stacey D King Mo. 379 88 Chip Hawkins Ark. 377 89 Jim Bitter Fla. 369 90 Roland Martin Fla. 362 91 Chris Baumgardner N.C. 360 92 Cliff Pace Miss. 349 93 Todd Auten S.C. 348 94 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 346 95 Matt Reed Texas 341 96 Denny Brauer Mo. 332 97 Gary Klein Texas 331 98 Frank Ippoliti Md. 329 99 Mark Rogers Fla. 327 100 Randy Yarnall Pa. 324 101 Byron Velvick Nev. 323 102 Pete Gluszek N.J. 321 103 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 318 104 Eric Nethery Ga. 317 105 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 315 106 Gerald Gostenik Mich. 314 107 Joe Thomas Ohio 311 108 Rick Morris Va. 303 108 David Mansue N.J. 303 110 Gary Yamamoto Texas 301 111 Terry Butcher Okla. 300 112 Tom Mann, Jr Ga. 297 113 Kyle Mabrey Ala. 288 114 Jarrett Edwards Colo. 285 115 Mike Auten Ky. 284 116 Harold Allen Texas 279 117 Ken Cook Okla. 274 117 Chris Bielert Conn. 274 119 Dion Hibdon Mo. 271 120 Mark Rose Ark. 270 121 Russ Lane Ala. 269 122 Tommy Stiles Tenn. 264 123 Robert Lee Calif. 258 124 Jack Wade Tenn. 252 124 Homer Humphreys, Jr La. 252 126 Jason Reyes Texas 251 127 Charlie Weyer Calif. 247 128 Zachary Thompson Calif. 245 129 David Wharton Texas 243 130 Mark Davis Ark. 231 131 Mike McClelland Ark. 230 132 Thad Takes Iowa 223 133 Chris Daves Va. 213 134 Cody Bird Texas 210 135 Randy Blaukat Mo. 192 136 Brett Hite Ariz. 189 137 Mark Menendez Ky. 187 138 Danny White Ga. 185 139 Marcel Veenstra Mich. 181 140 Louis Iribarren N.Y. 174 141 Sean Hoernke Texas 172 142 Charlie Youngers Fla. 168 143 Mike O'Shea Calif. 166 144 Terry Baksay Conn. 152 144 Brooks Rogers Texas 152 146 Elton Luce Jr Texas 145 147 Johnny Lesesne Ga. 138 148 Jimmy Mason Ala. 136 149 Tim Carroll Okla. 127 150 Bink Desaro Idaho 123 151 Terry Adams La. 120 152 Steve Sennikoff Texas 113 153 Pete Ponds Miss. 109 154 Randy Dearman Texas 107 155 Steve Daniel Fla. 104 156 Bradley Stringer Texas 91 157 Grant Goldbeck Md. 71 158 David Cooke N.C. 33 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 2005 Tournament Year After GUNTERSVILLE, AL ending 02-27-2005, Day 4 Place Angler Name City State Total Points 1 Andre Moore Scottsdale Ariz. 546 2 David Wolak Warrior Run Pa. 535 3 Preston Clark Palatka Fla. 439 4 David Gliebe Stockton Calif. 423 5 Jesse Draime Long Beach Miss. 419 6 Greg Gutierrez Red Bluff Calif. 418 7 Fred Roumbanis Auburn Calif. 381 8 Chip Hawkins White Hall Ark. 377 9 Cliff Pace Petal Miss. 349 10 Terry Butcher Talala Okla. 300 11 Chris Bielert Danbury Conn. 274 12 Russell Lane Prattville Ala. 269 13 Zachary Thompson Orinda Calif. 245 14 Thad Takes Center Point Iowa 223 15 Louis Iribarren Port Jervis N.Y. 174 16 Terry Adams Morgan City La. 120 17 Bradley Stringer Huntington Texas 91 18 Grant Goldbeck Gaithersburg Md. 71 2005 Horizon Award 2005 After GUNTERSVILLE, AL ending 02-27-2005, Day 4 --------------------------------------------------------- Place Name 2004 Finish 2005 Standings --------------------------------------------------------- 1 Jay Kendrick 143 35 2 Robert Hamilton Jr 124 19 3 Michael Hicks 141 39 4 Roger Boler 153 54 5 John Crews 107 16 6 Stephen Browning 131 44 7 Todd Faircloth 116 33 7 Frank Scalish 147 64 9 Norio Tanabe 148 72 10 Jeff Kriet 109 36 11 Mark Rizk 89 24 11 Curt Lytle 106 41 13 David Fritts 91 27 14 Mark Tyler 75 12 15 Mike Wurm 103 43 16 Luke Clausen 67 9 16 Woo Daves 127 69 16 Jeff Reynolds 80 22 19 Jimmy Houston 105 53 19 Doug Garrett 132 80 19 Ron Shuffield 58 6 22 Jimmy Mize 67 17 23 Mike Reynolds 85 36 24 Jay Yelas 56 11 25 Guy Eaker 63 21 26 George Cochran 48 7 26 Gary Yamamoto 151 110 28 R J Bennett 102 63 29 Morizo Shimizu 93 56 29 Frank Ippoliti 135 98 31 Terry Scroggins 40 4 31 Pete Gluszek 138 102 31 John Murray 72 36 34 Scott Rook 55 20 35 Art Ferguson III 84 56 36 Ishama Monroe 57 30 37 Byron Velvick 126 101 38 Tommy Biffle 52 28 39 Bud Pruitt 51 30 40 Kevin Wirth 33 13 40 Roland Martin 110 90 42 Ken Cook 136 117 43 David Walker 27 9 43 Tom Mann, Jr 130 112 43 Homer Humphreys, Jr 142 124 46 Kotaro Kiriyama 120 103 46 Tommy Stiles 139 122 48 Edwin Evers 31 15 48 Kenyon Hill 76 60 50 Jarrett Edwards 128 114 50 Rick Morris 122 108 52 Tim Horton 20 8 52 Rick Clunn 45 33 54 Marty Stone 14 5 55 Takahiro Omori 9 1 55 Brian Snowden 30 22 57 Tim Loper 82 77 58 Skeet Reese 5 2 59 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr 48 47