JASPER, Ala. - Even the sun came out to watch Sunday's final round of the Bassmaster Tour stop on Smith Lake, its first appearance during the four-day event.
It shone with extra warmth on California's Charlie Weyer, who brought home 8 pounds of hard-won bass to win his first BASS event. His four day total of 32 pounds 10 ounces put him comfortably above the rest of the field, with a margin of 4-3 over second-place finisher Mark Tucker of Missouri.
Weyer, who has been fishing with BASS since 1997, was overwhelmed with excitement about the victory.
"I'm so excited," Weyer said. "I can't believe all these people want my autograph. It's unbelievable. I don't know what to say."
To earn the $100,000 winner's purse, Weyer stuck to his strategy from Day 3, Carolina rigging a Fred Head shaky head worm on 10-pound test line in backwater areas still swollen from Thursday's torrential rainstorms.
"These were some of the toughest conditions I've seen in a tournament," Weyer said. "I thought if I could at least catch three fish a day, I could possibly make the top 12. Today, at 12 o'clock I didn't have a fish and I ran to a spot where I caught three fish yesterday and I got three fish in two hours.
"I knew with the weather and the lake coming up, that the run-ins were going to be the key in this tournament. The water came up about 10 or 12 feet in the tournament. Friday, I found two of them and those couple of creeks are where I caught all of my fish."
Weyers picked up an extra $1,000 when his 8-pound sack proved to be the largest of the day, making him Sunday's . If that 8-pound sack winds up being one of the top 10 heaviest sacks of the Tour and Elite 50 events, Weyer will go on to a mystery lake on Sept. 18 to compete in the first Busch Shootout Tournament.
Mark Tucker came into the final day of competition in the third spot, but brought in 5-2 to give him second place with a four-day total of 28-7. Tucker had been fishing deep for most of the first three days, and although his water was muddy, decided to stick with it for day four.
"For the fish I broke off this week and the fish that I lost, it's amazing that I'm still here," he said. "It was tough fishing. This morning I fished for two hours and had to engage my reel with my thumb. It wouldn't work, it was froze up and the water just kept coming up too much. I couldn't visualize where I've been catching my fish the last two days. All I needed was one of those big bites today and I might have had a chance."
Alabama favorite Gerald Swindle ended the tournament with 22-6, putting him in fifth. Swindle said he was thrilled with a top six finish, but is hungry for his first BASS win.
"It's pretty awesome to see everybody here," he said. "You want to do better. When I go to Guntersville, I've got to win, man. That's all there is to it. I have to come back and make the cut. The fire is going to burn deeper and deeper every day, and hotter and hotter."
Sunday's Big Bass went to Weyer, who reeled in a 3-pound, 12-ounce lunker that earned him $1,000. Tucker added an extra $1,000 to his tournament earnings when his 6-11 Big Bass from Friday's round proved to be the Big Bass of the Tournament.
The Bassmaster Tour heads to Lake Guntersville in two weeks for the third event on the 2004 Tour, Feb. 26-29.
Fans can catch a telecast of the Smith Lake tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
Thousands of fans were on hand Sunday afternoon to take part in the highly interactive and family friendly BASS Sponsor Expo area. Sponsors presented interactive exhibits and provided a fun family experience for all ages.
2004 Alabama Bassmaster Tour Pro 02/05-02/08 Smith Lake, Jasper Ala. (PRO Division) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Charlie Weyer West Hills, Calif. 11 32-10 310 $101,000.00 Day 1: 3 8-01 Day 2: 2 9-07 Day 3: 3 7-02 Day 4: 3 8-00 2. Mark Tucker Saint Louis, Mo. 9 28-07 295 $39,000.00 Day 1: 2 5-06 Day 2: 3 11-12 Day 3: 2 6-03 Day 4: 2 5-02 3. Lee Bailey Hebron, Conn. 9 26-15 295 $23,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-02 Day 2: 1 4-06 Day 3: 1 4-06 Day 4: 2 4-01 4. Edwin Evers Mannsville, Okla. 11 26-01 285 $20,000.00 Day 1: 4 10-08 Day 2: 2 4-13 Day 3: 4 8-05 Day 4: 1 2-07 5. Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 8 22-06 280 $15,000.00 Day 1: 1 2-06 Day 2: 4 12-01 Day 3: 3 7-15 Day 4: 0 0-00 6. Rick Morris Virginia Beach, Va. 8 21-06 276 $14,000.00 Day 1: 3 8-00 Day 2: 3 9-00 Day 3: 1 2-08 Day 4: 1 1-14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Purolator Big Bass Day 1 Robert Hamilton Jr Hattiesburg, Miss. 5-03 $1,000.00 2 Mark Tucker Saint Louis, Mo. 6-11 $1,000.00 3 Ben Matsubu Mineola, Texas 5-08 $1,000.00 4 Charlie Weyer West Hills, Calif. 3-12 $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 3 177 444-06 2 2 153 407-08 3 0 18 49-12 4 0 9 21-08 ---------------------------------- 5 357 923-02---------------------------------- S Place Angler Weight 1 David Wharton 26-7 2 Jason Quinn 24-14 3 Greg Hackney 16-0 4 Marty Stone 15-13 5 Scott Suggs 13-12 6 Bud Pruitt 13-10 7 Edwin Evers 8-5 8 Charlie Weyer 8-0 ----------------------------------2004 Angler of the Year After Jasper, Ala. Ending 02-08-2004 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Scott Suggs Ark. 521 2 Chris Baumgardner N.C. 495 3 Kelly Jordon Texas 482 4 Marty Stone N.C. 476 5 Edwin Evers Okla. 466 6 Gerald Swindle Ala. 437 6 Kevin Short Ark. 437 8 Mark Kile Ariz. 436 9 Tim Horton Ala. 428 10 Jason Quinn S.C. 420 11 Brian Snowden Mo. 412 12 Tommy Martin Texas 409 13 Bernie Schultz Fla. 408 13 Skeet Reese Calif. 408 15 Randy Blaukat Mo. 406 16 Davy Hite S.C. 402 17 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 400 18 Peter E Thliveros Fla. 398 18 Tom Biffle Okla. 398 20 Ishama Monroe Calif. 394 21 Mike Reynolds Calif. 392 21 Lee Bailey Conn. 392 23 Takahiro Omori Texas 391 24 Brooks Rogers Texas 386 24 Chad Brauer Mo. 386 26 Gary Klein Texas 380 26 Jay Yelas Texas 380 28 Brent Chapman Kan. 379 29 Dean Rojas Texas 378 30 Bud Pruitt Texas 375 31 O T Fears III Okla. 374 32 Aaron Martens Calif. 372 33 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 371 34 Dustin Wilks N.C. 364 35 Larry Nixon Ark. 354 36 Jimmy D Mize Ark. 348 37 Rick Morris Va. 342 38 Scott Rook Ark. 341 39 Charlie Weyer Calif. 339 40 Greg Hackney La. 337 41 Mark Tucker Mo. 332 42 Luke Clausen Wash. 330 43 Alton Jones Texas 323 44 Kevin Wirth Ky. 322 45 David Walker Tenn. 320 45 Jack L Wade Tenn. 320 47 Matt Reed Texas 318 48 Steve Daniel Fla. 316 49 Brett Hite Ariz. 312 50 Tim Loper Miss. 308 51 Rick Clunn Mo. 304 52 Harold Allen Texas 303 52 David Wharton Texas 303 54 Ben Matsubu Texas 302 55 Byron Velvick Nev. 299 56 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 296 57 John Murray Ariz. 295 58 Kyle Mabrey Ala. 292 59 Terry Scroggins Fla. 291 60 Terry Baksay Conn. 289 61 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 288 61 Jack A Gadlage Ky. 288 63 Todd Auten S.C. 287 64 Morizo Shimizu Calif. 286 65 Jim Bitter Ind. 284 66 Charlie Hartley Ohio 282 67 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 279 68 Mike Auten Ky. 275 69 Mike McClelland Ark. 274 69 Darryl Burkhardt Ore. 274 71 Danny Correia Mass. 273 72 Joe Thomas Ohio 271 73 Tom Burns Ill. 268 74 Dennis Kolender Nev. 265 75 Jason Reyes Texas 262 75 Mark Shepard Fla. 262 77 Chuck Economou Fla. 260 77 R J Bennett Calif. 260 79 Stacey D King Mo. 258 80 Randy Yarnall Pa. 254 80 Kevin VanDam Mich. 254 80 Mike Hicks Va. 254 83 Curt Lytle Va. 251 84 John Crews Va. 250 85 Art Ferguson III Mich. 248 85 Kenyon Hill Okla. 248 87 Mark Davis Ark. 246 88 Randy Howell Ala. 245 89 David Mansue N.J. 241 89 Mark Rizk Ala. 241 91 Mike Wurm Ark. 237 92 Guy H Eaker N.C. 228 93 Chris Price Md. 227 94 Steve Sennikoff Texas 226 95 Sean Hoernke Texas 224 95 Bink Desaro Idaho 224 97 Robert Hamilton Jr Miss. 223 98 Woo Daves Va. 221 99 Elton Luce Jr Texas 220 100 Koby Kreiger Fla. 219 101 Todd Faircloth Texas 217 102 Coby Carden Ala. 215 103 Jimmy Mason Ala. 213 104 Gerald Gostenik Mich. 212 105 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 211 106 Doug Garrett Ark. 209 107 Marcel Veenstra Mich. 208 108 Randall R Romig Pa. 191 108 Mark Rogers Fla. 191 110 Scott A Nielsen Utah 189 111 Johnny Lesesne Ga. 187 112 Frank Scalish Ohio 186 112 Jeff Kriet Okla. 186 112 George Cochran Ark. 186 115 Chris Daves Va. 185 116 Robert Lee Calif. 183 117 Jordan Paullo Conn. 181 118 Denny Brauer Mo. 180 119 Zell Rowland Texas 173 120 Tommy Stiles Tenn. 170 120 Randy Dearman Texas 170 122 Gary Yamamoto Texas 165 123 Frank Ippoliti Md. 164 123 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 164 125 Roland Martin Fla. 161 126 Cody Bird Texas 159 127 Tom Mann, Jr Ga. 154 128 Danny White Ga. 150 128 Ken Cook Okla. 150 130 Dalton Bobo Ala. 140 131 Roger Boler La. 137 132 Ron Shuffield Ark. 135 132 Casey Iwai Ariz. 135 134 Charles Hammack Texas 134 135 Mark Menendez Ky. 133 136 Eric Nethery Ga. 132 137 Jay Kendrick Ga. 126 138 David Fritts N.C. 121 139 Charles Ingram Tenn. 118 140 Tim Carroll Okla. 114 141 Thomas O'Bryant Tenn. 111 142 Mark Tyler Calif. 108 143 J T Kenney Md. 104 144 Jody Cordell Ga. 103 144 Robert Duke McCardle Ga. 103 144 Paul L Elias Miss. 103 147 Stephen Browning Ark. 101 148 Jason Barber Texas 100 149 Mike O'Shea Calif. 94 150 Pete Ponds Miss. 93 151 Jarrett Edwards Colo. 91 152 Homer Humphreys, Jr La. 89 152 Jimmy Houston Okla. 89 154 Terry Segraves Fla. 87 154 Norio Tanabe Japan 87 156 Pete Gluszek N.J. 79 157 Jeff Magee Miss. 78 158 Lance Vick Texas 68ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 2004 Tournament YearPlace Angler Name City State Total Points 1 Scott Suggs Alexander Ark. 521 2 Kevin Short Mayflower Ark. 437 3 Greg Hackney Gonzales La. 337 4 Jason Reyes Humble Texas 262 4 Mark Shepard Labelle Fla. 262 6 R J Bennett Grass Valley Calif. 260 7 Bink Desaro Boise Idaho 224 8 Jimmy Mason Rogersville Ala. 213 9 Marcel Veenstra Brighton Mich. 208 10 Scott A Nielsen Salt Lake City Utah 189 11 Jordan Paullo Coventry Conn. 181 12 Thomas O'Bryant Drummonds Tenn. 111HORIZON AWARD STANDINGS After Jasper, ALDifference Angler 2003 2004 147 Davy Hite 163 16 115 Aaron Martens 147 32 105 Tommy Martin 117 12 101 Lee Bailey 122 21 97 Mark Tucker 138 41 93 Jason Quinn 103 10 91 Scott Rook 129 38 85 Larry Nixon 120 35 82 Chuck Economou 159 77 81 Bernie Schultz 94 13 80 Art Ferguson III 165 85 79 Steve Sennikoff 173 94 75 Tom Biffle 93 18 74 Marty Stone 78 4 73 John Crews 157 84 72 Brooks Rogers 96 24 69 Michael Iaconelli 102 33 68 Rick Clunn 119 51 68 Chad Brauer 92 24 67 Kotaro Kiriyama 84 17 51 Coby Carden 153 102 50 Morizo Shimizu 114 64 46 Randy Yarnall 126 80 46 Brian Snowden 57 11 43 Danny White 171 128 41 Dean Rojas 70 29 40 Charlie Hartley 106 66 38 Mike Hicks 118 80 38 Charlie Weyer 77 39 36 Byron Velvick 91 55 36 Rick Morris 73 37 36 Danny Correia 107 71 33 Gerald Swindle 39 6 33 O T Fears III 64 31 32 Todd Auten 95 63 30 Doug Garrett 136 106 25 Kyle Mabrey 83 58 24 Randy Dearman 144 120 23 David Mansue 112 89 23 Chris Price 116 93 23 Edwin Evers 28 5 23 Tim Horton 32 9 22 Brett Hite 71 49 21 Luke Clausen 63 42 19 Chris Daves 134 115 17 Takahiro Omori 40 23 15 Sean Hoernke 110 95 14 Johnny Lesesne 125 111 13 Ray Sedgwick 80 67 13 Tim Carroll 153 140 12 Tim Loper 62 50 8 Peter E Thliveros 26 18 8 Jimmy D Mize 44 36 7 Gerald Gostenik 111 104 6 Homer Humphreys, Jr 158 152 5 Jeff Magee 162 157 5 Kelly Jordon 8 3 4 Mark Kile 12 8 2 Frank Scalish 114 112 2 Ben Matsubu 56 54 1 Mark Rizk 90 89 ELITE 50 After Jasper, AL ending 02-08-2004 2/8/2004 7:02 Top 20 All Time Money Place Angler Name Winnings 1 Denny Brauer $1,715,664.21 2 Rick Clunn $1,532,419.53 3 Larry Nixon $1,527,133.58 4 Jay Yelas $1,248,432.00 5 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr $1,210,555.23 6 Kevin VanDam $1,175,683.33 7 Gary Klein $1,159,568.97 8 Ron Shuffield $969,996.00 9 Roland Martin $967,142.16 10 George Cochran $864,501.45 11 Davy Hite $842,800.00 12 Mark Davis $842,771.30 13 David Fritts $824,805.00 14 Zell Rowland $768,190.90 15 Tom Biffle $740,978.80 16 Jim Bitter $727,018.60 17 David Wharton $705,030.80 18 Randy Blaukat $678,792.70 19 Alton Jones $671,916.67 20 Peter E Thliveros $671,654.00 Top 27 2003, 2003, 2004 Points Place Angler Name Points 1 Bud Pruitt 1811 2 Edwin Evers 1785 3 Kelly Jordon 1781 4 Brent Chapman 1749 5 Tim Horton 1725 6 Dustin Wilks 1684 7 John Murray 1660 8 Mike Wurm 1601 9 Skeet Reese 1570 10 Kevin Wirth 1550 11 Bernie Schultz 1524 12 Ishama Monroe 1506 12 Elton Luce Jr 1506 14 Brian Snowden 1477 15 O T Fears III 1469 16 Randy Howell 1458 17 Todd Faircloth 1457 18 Gerald Swindle 1455 19 Tommy Martin 1430 20 Kotaro Kiriyama 1426 21 Todd Auten 1421 22 Mike Auten 1370 23 Kenyon Hill 1365 24 Tom Mann, Jr 1347 25 Scott Rook 1328 26 Ben Matsubu 1327 27 Roger Boler 1311 Top 10 on Bubble for Money Place Angler Name Winnings 1 Ken Cook $640,067.20 2 Woo Daves $538,210.80 3 Stacey D King $510,676.00 4 Paul L Elias $462,114.73 5 Takahiro Omori $439,625.00 6 Dean Rojas $439,248.31 7 Guy H Eaker $404,647.40 8 Harold Allen $380,468.69 9 Joe Thomas $365,048.47 10 Aaron Martens $361,022.33 Top 10 on Bubble for Points Place Angler Name Points 1 Jeff Kriet 1308 2 Dean Rojas 1301 3 Marty Stone 1299 4 Gary Yamamoto 1290 5 Jack L Wade 1276 6 Takahiro Omori 1274 7 Mark Menendez 1266 8 Jack A Gadlage 1265 9 Chad Brauer 1255 10 Guy H Eaker 1247