KENNESAW, Ga., 2/27/05 - Team Skeeter/Yamaha pro Zell Rowland has regained his momentum after a victory on Sunday at the 2005 Alabama Bassmaster Tour Pro event on Lake Guntersville.
"I didn't do so well in the past few tournaments, and I know that when you fish against the guys I fish with, if you start off slow, it's really hard to do well in the end," said Rowland. "But after this win in Guntersville, there's nobody that's going to try harder than me."
The 47-year-old Skeeter/Yamaha pro from Montgomery, Texas, reeled in a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, six ounces on Sunday to bring his four-day tournament total to 87 pounds, surpassing Edwin Evers and Morizo Shimizu for the top prize of $100,000. This makes Rowland's second win on Lake Guntersville; the first was in 1991 with a total weight of 55 pounds, 10 ounces.
"I was disappointed last year at Guntersville because I thought I had a spot that would turn out some good fish," said Rowland. "I know the lake really well, and this year, instead of beating up one spot like a lot of the guys were doing, I fished all over the lake, changing my fishing patterns every day to adjust to what the fish were doing. Everything went like clockwork."
Rowland's next tournament stop is on the J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir in Augusta, Ga.
"I know I'll have to do well in these next tournaments to get into the (Bassmaster) Classic," said Rowland. "And I'm determined to go."
In 25 years of professional bass fishing, Rowland has qualified for the Bassmaster Classic 13 times, accrued five tournament wins and 30 top-ten finishes. Before Guntersville, his last tournament victory was in 2003 at BASS's South Carolina Tour Pro event on Lake Santee Cooper.