CORNELIUS, N.C. - Jason Quinn, the Bassmaster Tour pro and sometimes Lake Norman bass fishing guide from Clover, S.C., brought a five-fish limit weighing nine pounds, 10 ounces to the scales Saturday, giving him a three-day total of 38-11. It was good enough to keep him in the lead after three days of the $618,000 Bassmaster Tour stop at Norman.
"I've been fishing a lot of water these last three days," said Quinn. "I've been running some of the same water each day to catch my limit, and then I run to new spots. There are still quite a few spots that I haven't been to yet. The lake and weather has changed drastically each day, and I've had to adjust to the conditions."
Quinn is running and gunning, staying in a location no more than two minutes at a time to catch both spotted and largemouth bass. He's catching most of his fish on a Brian's Little Bee crankbait, a Luhr-Jensen Speed Trap and a homemade jig.
"In the mornings, I've stayed closer to shore, fishing clay points, but in the afternoon the fish head to the boat docks."
Japanese pro Kotaro Kiriyama currently sits in second place with a three-day total of 37-6 after bringing 9-10 to the scales on Saturday. Kiriyama caught his limit pitching and flipping jigs and casting crankbaits and jerkbaits in three to eight feet of water.
"I struggled for five fish today," said a frustrated Kiriyama. "I fished for big fish and saw a dock with five four pounders, but I couldn't get any of them. I'll be back to get them tomorrow!"
Edwin Evers jumped from 10th to third in the race to make the cut for Sunday's final round by bringing 12 pounds, 15 ounces to the scales. Evers catch was the best of the day, earning him the $1,000 bonus. His best fish, a three-pound, five-ounce bass, garnered him Big Bass honors for the day and an additional $1,000.
"I'm just fishing and covering a tremendous amount of water," said Evers. "Right now, I'm throwing a green-pumpkin worm, discovering new water and sticking to pockets and points on the lake."
Greg Hackney, the 2004 Toyota Rookie of the Year, moved up from 11th to fourth place with a catch of 10-08 on Saturday and a three-day total of 33-8. Four-time Classic champion and Greatest Angler Debate semi-finalist Rick Clunn holds down fifth place with 33-3.
The final spot in Sunday's Super Six came down to a tiebreaker after two California pros, Ishama Monroe and Greg Gutierrez ended Day Three tied with 31-10. Since Monroe weighed in a five-bass limit each day and Gutierrez had only 14 bass over the three days, Monroe took the last spot going into Sunday's finals.
In the non-boater division, Jim Short of Maryland took home the top prize with a total shared weight of 49-13. Short won a fully-rigged Triton boat with Mercury OptiMax motor and Lowrance electronics package worth $38,000. In addition, CITGO presented Short with a year's supply of CITGO gasoline. Short picked up an additional $500 bonus for winning the Purolator Big Bass on the non-boater side on Saturday with a five-pound, six-ounce largemouth.
In the CastingKids competition, Alex Moore from Granite Falls, N.C., won the 7-10 year old division with 130 points. Chucky Culley of Hiddnite, N.C., the defending 2004 CastingKids national champion, took top honors in the 11-14 age division with 130 points.
"I was excited and nervous because I was competing against my sister," explained Culley. "Because I won last year, everyone was out to beat me. I'm excited to be going to the state competition."
The final weigh-in begins at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 20, 2005, with first place taking home a $100,000 top prize.
The Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Norman will be telecast on The Bassmasters on Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
2005 North Carolina Bassmaster Tour Pro 03/17-03/20
Lake Norman, Near Charlotte, N.C.
(PRO Division) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total
$$$
1. Jason Quinn Clover, S.C. 15 38-11 310
Day 1: 5 13-03 Day 2: 5 15-12 Day 3: 5 9-12
2. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, Ala. 15 37-06 300
$1,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-07 Day 2: 5 8-05 Day 3: 5 9-10
3. Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 15 36-03 290
$2,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 10-03 Day 3: 5 12-15
4. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 15 33-08 285
Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 11-11 Day 3: 5 10-08
5. Rick Clunn Ava, Mo. 15 33-03 280
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 9-14 Day 3: 5 8-03
6. Ishama Monroe Hughson, Calif. 15 31-10 276
Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 8-15 Day 3: 5 8-03
6. Greg Gutierrez Red Bluff, Calif. 14 31-10 276
$12,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 5 14-07 Day 3: 4 6-15
8. Preston Clark Palatka, Fla. 15 31-07 268
$10,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 9-03 Day 3: 5 8-07
9. Charlie Hartley Grove City, Ohio 13 29-08 264
$9,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 12-02 Day 3: 3 4-10
10. Randy Howell Springville, Ala. 11 29-05 260
$8,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 5 10-08 Day 3: 1 2-09
11. Marty Stone Linden, N.C. 10 28-13 257
$7,000.00
Day 1: 4 8-13 Day 2: 5 16-12 Day 3: 1 3-04
12. Dave Wolak Warrior Run, Pa. 10 23-05 254
$7,500.00
Day 1: 5 9-13 Day 2: 5 13-08 Day 3: 0 0-00
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Big Bass
Day
1 Randy Blaukat Lamar, Mo. 5-10 $1,000.00
2 David Wolak Warrior Run, Pa. 5-12 $1,000.00
3 Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 3-05 $1,000.00
Protected by Purolator Bonus
Day
2 David Wolak Warrior Run, Pa. 5-12 $1,000.00
Busch Heavyweight
Day
1 Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, Ala. 19-07 $1,000.00
2 Marty Stone Linden, N.C. 16-12 $1,000.00
3 Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 12-15 $1,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 84 609 1282-00
2 62 548 1077-15
3 7 44 85-00
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153 1201 2444-15
2005 North Carolina Bassmaster Tour Am 03/17-03/20
Lake Norman, Near Charlotte N.C.
(NON-BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total
$$$
1. Jim Short Berlin, Md. 8 49-13 0
$37,700.00
Day 1: 3 21-06 Day 2: 2 9-01 Day 3: 3 19-06
2. Roy Winkler Charlotte, N.C. 6 46-05 0
$25,000.00
Day 1: 1 18-05 Day 2: 3 13-10 Day 3: 2 14-06
3. Kenny Beale Chatham, Va. 6 43-06 0
$21,000.00
Day 1: 2 15-04 Day 2: 3 19-06 Day 3: 1 8-12
4. Thomas Roach Lexington, N.C. 7 42-15 0
$16,000.00
Day 1: 3 20-05 Day 2: 3 12-14 Day 3: 1 9-12
5. Bryan Thrift Shelby, N.C. 3 42-06 0
$3,400.00
Day 1: 1 21-04 Day 2: 2 8-03 Day 3: 0 12-15
6. Scott Williford Youngsville, N.C. 6 41-08 0
$2,400.00
Day 1: 3 15-01 Day 2: 3 16-13 Day 3: 0 9-10
7. Matt Hoffman Cold Spring, Ky. 3 40-04 0
$2,100.00
Day 1: 3 20-00 Day 2: 0 12-01 Day 3: 0 8-03
8. Roy Bailey Robbinsville, N.C. 6 39-05 0
$1,900.00
Day 1: 2 14-04 Day 2: 3 15-03 Day 3: 1 9-14
9. Kevin Park Satsuma, Fla. 6 35-15 0
$1,600.00
Day 1: 1 15-03 Day 2: 3 13-13 Day 3: 2 6-15
9. Peter Rice Gansevoort, N.Y. 5 35-15 0
$1,600.00
Day 1: 3 17-08 Day 2: 2 15-03 Day 3: 0 3-04
11. David Pfancook Manahawkin, N.J. 5 34-07 0
$1,400.00
Day 1: 3 14-15 Day 2: 1 15-13 Day 3: 1 3-11
12. Rick Martin Gastonia, N.C. 4 28-11 0
$1,200.00
Day 1: 1 17-05 Day 2: 3 11-06 Day 3: 0 0-00
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Big Bass
Day
1 Maurice Parent Taylorsville, N.C. 5-07 $500.00
2 Hinton Day Laurel Hill, Fla. 5-11 $500.00
3 Jim Short Berlin, Md. 5-06 $500.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 32 187 355-07
2 16 147 265-12
3 1 11 21-12
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49 345 642-15