DECATUR, Ala. - Turbulence was the order of the day for both the weather and the leaderboard at the Bassmaster Southern Open, when Missouri's Denny Brauer moved from second place into the winner's spot, beating Alabamian Tim Horton by almost a full pound.
Brauer ended the bass fishing competition on Wheeler Lake with a three-day total weight of 23 pounds, 12 ounces and a payday of $51,000 in cash and merchandise.
He was fishing two different areas that were both in the northern parts of the river. Like most of his fellow pros, Brauer struggled with both rising water levels and unpredictable weather.
"We had kind of a weird situation when we had 5 inches of rain," Brauer said. "You had all that fresh water come in to all the tributaries, and then they started emptying it out of Guntersville, which raised this lake. All that water trying to get out of the creeks made what I call a water pile. It's just piling up because the lake wouldn't let it out.
"I didn't even fish the areas the first days of the tournament because I knew it'd be too screwed up. I went down and fished the Elk River and caught enough fish there to survive the first day. When I went up there the second day, they had dropped the lake enough to let that water come out and I started to see some flowage. Today, it got to the point where there wasn't any flow anymore."
Brauer was flipping his own Strike King pro model 1/2 -ounce jig in black and blue, alternated with a new bait that has yet to hit the market, called the Denny Brauer Strike King chunk.
Horton, the leader after day two, had to be satisfied with second place and a weight of 31-12.
"You know you'd like to win, but second place isn't all that bad," Horton said. "I just had a tough day.
"I moved around a lot and found different schools of fish in different places. I caught them all on a Booyah buzz bait and was catching them on that in the middle of the day when it would get calm. Today, with that front coming through it got really bad. There were some 3- and 4-footers out there today. It muddied up really bad on the flats."
Georgia's Donald Eaton came up a spot from day two to finish third in the tournament with a final weight of 22-5. Tennessee's David Walker and Florida's Charles Pippin, Jr. rounded out the top five with weights of 29-11 and 29-3 respectively.
Nineteen-year-old John Windham from Florida held on to his lead today to win on the non-boater side. Windham, whose grandmother died recently, said the victory has special significance.
"The last thing I told my grandmother was that I loved her and that I was going to Lake Wheeler to fish in a tournament and that I was going to win it for her," Windham said. "The Lord blessed me immensely."
2003 Alabama Southern Open BO 09/25-09/27 Lake Wheeler, Decatur Ala. (BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 14 32-10 175 $51,000.00 Day 1: 5 9-02 Day 2: 5 13-15 Day 3: 4 9-09 2. Tim Horton Muscle Shoals, Ala. 15 31-12 174 $40,000.00 Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 5 11-01 Day 3: 5 8-00 3. Donald Eaton Covington, Ga. 15 30-09 173 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 5 11-08 Day 3: 5 8-04 4. David Walker Sevierville, Tenn. 15 29-11 172 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 9-04 Day 2: 5 9-04 Day 3: 5 11-03 5. Charles Pippin, Jr Altamonte Springs, Fla 13 29-03 171 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 3 6-12 Day 3: 5 11-07 6. Eric Nethery Acworth, Ga. 15 29-02 170 $6,800.00 Day 1: 5 8-14 Day 2: 5 12-00 Day 3: 5 8-04 7. Mark Menendez Paducah, Ky. 15 28-03 169 $5,500.00 Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 5 10-02 Day 3: 5 7-07 8. Jeff Magee Mendenhall, Miss. 15 27-11 168 $5,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 6-13 Day 3: 5 9-06 9. J Todd Tucker Moultrie, Ga. 14 27-10 167 $4,500.00 Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 5 9-13 Day 3: 4 5-12 10. Wesley A Strader Spring City, Tenn. 15 26-08 166 $4,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 5 6-14 Day 3: 5 8-01 11. Rickey Shumpert Lexington, S.C. 15 26-03 165 $3,500.00 Day 1: 5 6-01 Day 2: 5 11-10 Day 3: 5 8-08 12. Ronnie Ray Phenix City, Ala. 12 25-15 164 $3,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-05 Day 2: 5 12-07 Day 3: 2 3-03 13. Steve Floyd Sabina, Ohio 15 25-06 163 $2,450.00 Day 1: 5 8-07 Day 2: 5 8-14 Day 3: 5 8-01 13. Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 14 25-06 163 $2,450.00 Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 5 10-08 Day 3: 4 4-03 15. Guy H Eaker Cherryville, N.C. 15 24-13 161 $2,300.00 Day 1: 5 5-13 Day 2: 5 9-13 Day 3: 5 9-03 16. Chris Daves Spring Grove, Va. 15 24-06 160 $2,200.00 Day 1: 5 5-08 Day 2: 5 8-14 Day 3: 5 10-00 17. Roger Crafton Boca Grande, Fla. 13 24-05 159 $2,200.00 Day 1: 4 8-05 Day 2: 5 10-13 Day 3: 4 5-03 17. Terry Segraves Kissimmee, Fla. 15 24-05 159 $2,200.00 Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 5 6-02 Day 3: 5 8-03 19. Edward Guice Decatur, Ala. 15 24-02 157 $2,200.00 Day 1: 5 6-14 Day 2: 5 8-05 Day 3: 5 8-15 20. Jason Quinn Lake Wylie, S.C. 12 24-00 156 $2,200.00 Day 1: 2 2-07 Day 2: 5 12-15 Day 3: 5 8-10 21. Mike Wurm Hot Springs, Ark. 15 23-15 155 $2,100.00 Day 1: 5 7-11 Day 2: 5 7-05 Day 3: 5 8-15 22. Aaron Martens Castaic, Calif. 11 23-10 154 $2,100.00 Day 1: 3 4-15 Day 2: 5 13-04 Day 3: 3 5-07 23. Sam Swett Covington, La. 15 23-03 153 $2,100.00 Day 1: 5 8-06 Day 2: 5 7-02 Day 3: 5 7-11 23. Raymond Tweedy Appomattox, Va. 15 23-03 153 $2,100.00 Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 5 5-15 Day 3: 5 6-05 25. Jim Murray, Jr Arabi, Ga. 12 23-02 151 $2,100.00 Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 4 5-07 Day 3: 3 4-15 26. Felton Langley Lafayette, Ala. 15 23-00 150 $1,700.00 Day 1: 5 8-07 Day 2: 5 6-02 Day 3: 5 8-07 27. John Crews Jetersville, Va. 11 22-03 149 $1,700.00 Day 1: 5 8-15 Day 2: 3 6-13 Day 3: 3 6-07 28. Jack L Wade Knoxville, Tenn. 15 22-02 148 $1,700.00 Day 1: 5 8-13 Day 2: 5 8-04 Day 3: 5 5-01 29. Matt Herren Trussville, Ala. 14 22-01 147 $1,700.00 Day 1: 5 7-02 Day 2: 5 8-04 Day 3: 4 6-11 30. John Kitchens Atlanta, Ga. 13 22-00 146 $1,700.00 Day 1: 5 5-08 Day 2: 4 10-03 Day 3: 4 6-05 31. Chad Baker Pine Flats, Tenn. 12 21-09 145 $1,500.00 Day 1: 3 5-07 Day 2: 4 8-08 Day 3: 5 7-10 32. Larry Jones Acworth, Ga. 13 21-05 144 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 10-08 Day 2: 5 7-15 Day 3: 3 2-14 32. Jimmy Mason Rogersville, Ala. 15 21-05 144 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 9-09 Day 2: 5 5-15 Day 3: 5 5-13 34. Lamar Moody Villa Rica, Ga. 14 21-04 142 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 8-04 Day 2: 5 7-08 Day 3: 4 5-08 35. Sandy Melvin Boca Grande, Fla. 12 21-00 141 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 7-05 Day 2: 4 8-11 Day 3: 3 5-00 36. Danny White Milledgeville, Ga. 9 20-09 140 $1,300.00 Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 3 6-02 Day 3: 1 2-07 37. Robert Duke McCardle Marietta, Ga. 11 20-02 139 $1,300.00 Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 3 5-05 Day 3: 3 3-14 38. Jerry Shawver, II Jacksonville, Fla. 13 20-01 138 $1,300.00 Day 1: 5 8-08 Day 2: 5 7-10 Day 3: 3 3-15 39. Roger Schofield Killen, Ala. 11 19-14 137 $1,300.00 Day 1: 3 3-08 Day 2: 5 11-01 Day 3: 3 5-05 40. Fred Bland Birmingham, Ala. 13 18-15 136 $1,300.00 Day 1: 5 7-11 Day 2: 5 6-11 Day 3: 3 4-09 41. Jay Kendrick Ooltewah, Tenn. 11 18-12 135 $1,200.00 Day 1: 4 8-12 Day 2: 5 5-03 Day 3: 2 4-13 42. Ray Scheide Dover, Ark. 13 17-14 134 $1,200.00 Day 1: 5 7-09 Day 2: 5 6-06 Day 3: 3 3-15 42. Peter E Thliveros Jacksonville, Fla. 12 17-14 134 $1,200.00 Day 1: 2 3-05 Day 2: 5 10-08 Day 3: 5 4-01 44. Mike Echols Athens, Ga. 9 17-02 132 $1,200.00 Day 1: 4 8-13 Day 2: 3 5-05 Day 3: 2 3-00 45. George Brown Frankfort, Ind. 11 16-15 131 $1,200.00 Day 1: 5 7-11 Day 2: 5 8-00 Day 3: 1 1-04 46. Tony Hogan Pensacola, Fla. 10 16-09 130 $1,100.00 Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 4 5-10 Day 3: 1 0-15 47. Chad Ramsey Louisville, Ky. 11 16-08 129 $1,100.00 Day 1: 5 7-10 Day 2: 5 7-11 Day 3: 1 1-03 48. Joe Stiehl Appleton, Wisc. 9 15-04 128 $1,100.00 Day 1: 4 6-15 Day 2: 5 8-05 Day 3: 0 0-00 49. Marty Brown Dalton, Ga. 7 14-11 127 $1,100.00 Day 1: 5 11-07 Day 2: 2 3-04 Day 3: 0 0-00 50. Dalton Bobo Northport, Ala. 9 14-10 126 $1,100.00 Day 1: 4 5-10 Day 2: 5 9-00 Day 3: 0 0-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Bass Day 1 Raul Morineau Mexico City, Mexico 5-01 $1,000.00 2 Gary Day Louisville, Ky. 6-08 $1,000.00 3 Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 3-07 $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 78 674 1072-00 2 69 611 1025-02 3 23 183 293-12 ---------------------------------- 170 1468 2390-142003 Alabama Southern Open NB 09/25-09/27 Lake Wheeler, Decatur Ala. (NON-BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. John Windham Lake Worth, Fla. 10 21-04 175 $24,000.00 Day 1: 3 3-15 Day 2: 5 14-07 Day 3: 2 2-14 2. Jeff Haines Bartlett, Tenn. 12 20-11 174 $12,000.00 Day 1: 2 3-11 Day 2: 5 5-05 Day 3: 5 11-11 3. Roger Morrow Griffin, Ga. 11 20-01 173 $4,500.00 Day 1: 5 5-09 Day 2: 1 3-11 Day 3: 5 10-13 4. Brad D Wall Clarksville, Ohio 12 19-13 172 $4,000.00 Day 1: 5 6-14 Day 2: 2 3-13 Day 3: 5 9-02 5. Chuck Thurlow Auburn, Ala. 9 19-05 171 $3,400.00 Day 1: 3 6-10 Day 2: 5 11-11 Day 3: 1 1-00 6. Ken Freeman Sonora, Ky. 13 18-14 170 $2,500.00 Day 1: 4 6-07 Day 2: 5 8-01 Day 3: 4 4-06 7. Paul Keltner Columbia, Tenn. 10 18-04 169 $2,000.00 Day 1: 2 6-12 Day 2: 5 7-05 Day 3: 3 4-03 8. Homer C Guffey Simpsonville, S.C. 10 16-14 168 $1,800.00 Day 1: 5 8-14 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 5 8-00 9. Richard Persson Miami, Fla. 10 16-08 167 $1,500.00 Day 1: 5 8-10 Day 2: 4 6-06 Day 3: 1 1-08 10. Todd Sutton Decatur, Ala. 8 16-04 166 $1,800.00 Day 1: 2 2-15 Day 2: 4 11-02 Day 3: 2 2-03 11. Jim Smith Bowersville, Ga. 8 16-01 165 $1,300.00 Day 1: 2 4-15 Day 2: 3 6-05 Day 3: 3 4-13 12. David Childress Calhoun, Ga. 11 14-15 164 $1,150.00 Day 1: 1 1-05 Day 2: 5 6-08 Day 3: 5 7-02 12. Vincent Renew N. Augusta, S.C. 10 14-15 164 $1,150.00 Day 1: 5 7-04 Day 2: 2 3-07 Day 3: 3 4-04 14. Skip Mundy Cusseta, Ga. 9 14-13 162 $1,000.00 Day 1: 2 4-05 Day 2: 5 8-07 Day 3: 2 2-01 15. Kenny Hemmen St. Louis, Mo. 10 14-12 161 $900.00 Day 1: 3 4-08 Day 2: 4 6-10 Day 3: 3 3-10 16. David Johnson Marianna, Fla. 11 14-11 160 $800.00 Day 1: 5 7-07 Day 2: 1 1-09 Day 3: 5 5-11 17. Bill Price Birmingham, Ala. 8 14-10 159 $800.00 Day 1: 3 3-13 Day 2: 3 6-08 Day 3: 2 4-05 18. Keith Amerson Bethel Springs, Tenn. 9 14-02 158 $800.00 Day 1: 3 5-02 Day 2: 5 7-02 Day 3: 1 1-14 19. John Glenn Botteicher Cumming, Ga. 6 14-00 157 $1,200.00 Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 5 9-03 Day 3: 1 4-13 20. A.B Battles Southside, Ala. 9 13-14 156 $800.00 Day 1: 5 5-11 Day 2: 2 3-03 Day 3: 2 5-00 21. Fred W Huch Cape Coral, Fla. 9 13-13 155 $700.00 Day 1: 4 8-10 Day 2: 3 3-07 Day 3: 2 1-12 22. Ben Quisno Loveland, Ohio 7 13-10 154 $700.00 Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 4 7-02 Day 3: 3 6-08 23. Terry Henson Sr Saraland, Ala. 9 13-07 153 $700.00 Day 1: 5 8-08 Day 2: 2 2-05 Day 3: 2 2-10 24. Larry Cundiff Dunnville, Ky. 10 13-02 152 $700.00 Day 1: 5 6-14 Day 2: 4 5-05 Day 3: 1 0-15 25. Darren Gay Concord, N.C. 8 12-06 151 $650.00 Day 1: 2 2-06 Day 2: 3 6-01 Day 3: 3 3-15 25. Timmy Walker Andalusia, Ala. 8 12-06 151 $650.00 Day 1: 1 2-07 Day 2: 5 6-12 Day 3: 2 3-03 27. Thi Walker Muscle Shoals, Ala. 6 12-05 149 $600.00 Day 1: 3 7-15 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 3 4-06 28. Craig Rosetta Moody, Ala. 7 12-02 148 $600.00 Day 1: 5 7-07 Day 2: 1 3-11 Day 3: 1 1-00 29. Terry Chapman Cornelius, N.C. 7 12-00 147 $600.00 Day 1: 2 3-05 Day 2: 2 4-03 Day 3: 3 4-08 29. Billy Medlin Apex, N.C. 7 12-00 147 $600.00 Day 1: 3 6-01 Day 2: 3 3-15 Day 3: 1 2-00 31. David H Kent Lumpkin, Ga. 8 11-15 145 $550.00 Day 1: 1 0-13 Day 2: 4 7-09 Day 3: 3 3-09 32. David Kilgore Jasper, Ala. 7 11-06 144 $550.00 Day 1: 2 3-15 Day 2: 2 4-01 Day 3: 3 3-06 33. Brian Reeves Moulton, Ala. 6 10-15 143 $550.00 Day 1: 2 4-00 Day 2: 3 5-14 Day 3: 1 1-01 34. Craig A Parker Tallahassee, Fla. 8 10-13 142 $550.00 Day 1: 4 4-08 Day 2: 2 3-03 Day 3: 2 3-02 34. Ferlin Weeks Trinity, Ala. 6 10-13 142 $550.00 Day 1: 1 1-12 Day 2: 3 6-12 Day 3: 2 2-05 36. Eddie Amos Dalton, Ga. 6 10-11 140 $500.00 Day 1: 4 7-14 Day 2: 0 0-00 Day 3: 2 2-13 37. Tommy Bryant Opelika, Ala. 7 10-03 139 $500.00 Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 5 7-05 Day 3: 2 2-14 38. Jeromery Mason Columbiana, Ala. 6 10-02 138 $500.00 Day 1: 4 7-06 Day 2: 2 2-12 Day 3: 0 0-00 39. Billy McIntosh Wedgefield, S.C. 8 9-12 137 $500.00 Day 1: 1 2-04 Day 2: 5 4-11 Day 3: 2 2-13 40. Todd Lee Jasper, Ala. 7 9-09 136 $500.00 Day 1: 4 6-01 Day 2: 2 2-05 Day 3: 1 1-03 41. Bernard Gram Kansas City, Mo. 6 9-02 135 $450.00 Day 1: 3 4-06 Day 2: 2 3-02 Day 3: 1 1-10 42. Keith Carpenter Cave Spring, Ga. 5 9-01 134 $450.00 Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 4 7-13 Day 3: 1 1-04 43. Kevin Blanch Muncie, Ind. 6 9-00 133 $450.00 Day 1: 3 5-04 Day 2: 1 1-11 Day 3: 2 2-01 44. Scott Smith Apex, N.C. 6 8-11 132 $450.00 Day 1: 1 3-03 Day 2: 4 4-11 Day 3: 1 0-13 45. W.T Davis Snellville, Ga. 5 8-02 131 $450.00 Day 1: 3 5-10 Day 2: 1 1-11 Day 3: 1 0-13 46. James E Glover Crestview, Fla. 4 8-00 130 $400.00 Day 1: 2 3-14 Day 2: 2 4-02 Day 3: 0 0-00 46. Ralph Rose Knoxville, Tenn. 5 8-00 130 $400.00 Day 1: 3 5-02 Day 2: 2 2-14 Day 3: 0 0-00 48. Billy Schwach Charleston, S.C. 4 7-15 128 $400.00 Day 1: 2 4-04 Day 2: 2 3-11 Day 3: 0 0-00 49. Roan McCollough Inverness, Fla. 5 7-13 127 $400.00 Day 1: 4 6-03 Day 2: 1 1-10 Day 3: 0 0-00 50. Jim Valleroy Crystal City, Mo. 3 7-03 126 $400.00 Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 3 7-03 Day 3: 0 0-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Bass Day 1 Chuck Thurlow Auburn, Ala. 3-15 $200.00 1 Mark Howell Fayetteville, Tenn. 3-15 $200.00 2 Todd Sutton Decatur, Ala. 5-04 $400.00 3 John Glenn Botteicher Cumming, Ga. 4-13 $400.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 10 309 458-14 2 17 356 552-14 3 6 105 159-13 ---------------------------------- 33 770 1171-09