Kissimmee, Fla. -- All it took was one victory.
Takahiro Omori turned a victory in last July's Bassmaster Classic into a confidence-builder.
The Japanese pro added another first-place trophy to his case on Sunday, winning the season-opening Bassmaster Tour bass fishing tournament at central Florida's Lake Tohopekaliga.
Omori took the tournament lead on the second day and was never really threatened, despite the fact that he caught only four fish on Sunday weighing eight pounds, one ounce. The Emory, Texas, resident had a four-day total of 50 pounds, 11 ounces to win the $100,000 first-place prize money and take the early lead in the Angler of the Year race.
"It's a great start to the season," Omori said, waving a Japanese flag and holding up the first place trophy. "I'm speechless. I feel like I'm fishing my best ever. I had a great week. It was awesome. I tried to just focus on my own fishing. I didn't think I had it won."
David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., was the lone angler among the Super Six finalists to come through with a five-fish limit on the final day, but it wasn't enough to catch Omori. Walker finished with a total weight of 48-7.
Jeff Reynolds of Platter, Okla., was third with 42-1, Ron Shuffield of Bismark, Ark., finished fourth with 37-8, Terry Scroggins of Palatka, Fla., was fifth with 36-6, and 2004 Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle rounded out the top six at 35-15.
Omori said things have definitely changed for him since winning the Classic, and the added attention he's received has made it hard to focus on the 2005 season. He received a hero's welcome in Japan following his Classic victory on Lake Wylie last summer and made hundreds of off-season appearances.
"There was so much attention after the Classic," he said. "I was so busy. It was very, very difficult. I had to get refreshed. I did it by turning off my cell phone."
Omori threw a gold and black lipless crankbait over the grass on Lake Kissimmee to claim victory.
"I knew he was going to be difficult to catch,'' Walker said of Omori and Sunday's final round. "I didn't get the big fish I needed to win. You can't win out here when you're catching two and three pounders."
Walker was the only angler to make a run at Omori, briefly taking the final round lead on the weigh-in stage before Omori's fish hit the scales.
Reynolds had four fish totaling 8-13 on the final day. He caught his first keeper on his second cast of the morning. His second bite didn't come until four hours later.
"I'm just tickled to death,'' Reynolds said of his third place finish.
Shuffield caught two bass in the last round that weighed 3-14. He fished the north side of Lake Kissimmee to claim fourth place.
Terry Scroggins' two final round bass weighed three and a half pounds and were enough to lift him from sixth place into fifth.
Gerald Swindle fell from a tie for third place into sixth place with a single bass that weighed 2-5.
"This was tough," Swindle said. "I was swinging at a high fastball and striking out a lot. I was looking at it as a six-boat tournament, and I finished dead last."
David Mansue of Robbinsville, N.J., wasn't fishing in the final round, but was nonetheless a winner at the Tour opener. Mansue caught the tournament's biggest bass, a nine-pound, four-ounce largemouth that earned him $1,000 as the Purolator Big Bass of Day One and another $1,000 as the biggest lunker of the tournament.
In addition to his first-place prize money, Takahiro Omori took home another $1,000 from for taking the early lead in the Angler of the Year race and another $1,000 from Busch for having the top weight on Day Two of the tournament. If Omori's 17-pound, 15-ounce catch on Day Two is one of the ten best of the Tour and Elite 50 seasons, he'll be invited to the $200,000 Busch Shootout.
The catch of Day Four belonged to Jeff Reynolds whose eight-pound, 13-ounce catch was one bass short of a limit. His catch moved him into third place in the tournament and earned him an extra $1,000 from Busch.
Reynolds bag was anchored by the Big Bass Award winner for the final round. His three-pound, seven-ounce largemouth was the best brought to the scales on Sunday and gained him $1,000 from Purolator.
Arizona's Andre Moore grabbed the early lead in the Toyota Rookie of the Year race with his 14th-place finish. Pennsylvania's Dave Wolak is second after finishing 24th.
2005 Florida Bassmaster Tour Pro 01/27-01/30 Toho/Kissimmee, Kissimmee, Fla. (PRO Division) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas 18 50-11 315 $102,000.00 Day 1: 4 13-06 Day 2: 5 17-15 Day 3: 5 11-05 Day 4: 4 8-01 2. David Walker Sevierville, Tenn. 20 48-07 295 $38,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 5 13-12 Day 3: 5 11-08 Day 4: 5 11-07 3. Jeff Reynolds Platter, Okla. 18 42-01 290 $25,000.00 Day 1: 4 9-05 Day 2: 5 11-12 Day 3: 5 12-03 Day 4: 4 8-13 4. Ron Shuffield Bismarck, Ark. 17 37-08 285 $20,000.00 Day 1: 5 6-12 Day 2: 5 17-11 Day 3: 5 9-03 Day 4: 2 3-14 5. Terry Scroggins Palatka, Fla. 15 36-06 280 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 4 13-07 Day 3: 4 7-15 Day 4: 2 3-08 6. Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 16 35-15 276 $16,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 5 11-02 Day 3: 5 12-04 Day 4: 1 2-05 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Bass Day 1 David Mansue Robbinsville, N.J. 9-04 $1,000.00 2 Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J. 8-04 $1,000.00 3 Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 6-03 $2,000.00 4 Jeff Reynolds Platter, Okla. 3-07 $1,000.00 David Mansue Robbinsville, N.J. 9-04 $1,000.00 Busch Heavy Weight Day 1 Kevin Wirth Crestwood, Ky. 15-05 $1,000.00 2 Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas 17-15 $1,000.00 3 Gerald Swindle Hayden, Ala. 12-04 $1,000.00 4 Jeff Reynolds Platter, Okla. 8-13 $1,000.00 Angler of the Year Leader Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 36 415 814-14 2 50 470 976-04 3 6 45 90-03 4 1 18 38-00 ---------------------------------- 93 948 1919-05 2005 ANGLER OF THE YEAR Standings After Kissimmee, Fla. Ending 01-30-2005 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Takahiro Omori Texas 315 2 David Walker Tenn. 295 3 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 290 4 Ron Shuffield Ark. 285 5 Terry Scroggins Fla. 280 6 Gerald Swindle Ala. 276 7 Kevin Wirth Ky. 273 8 Scott Rook Ark. 272 9 Jay Yelas Texas 264 10 Jeff Kriet Okla. 260 11 Woo Daves Va. 257 12 Kevin VanDam Mich. 254 12 Kenyon Hill Okla. 254 14 Andre Moore Ariz. 248 15 Curt Lytle Va. 245 16 Jay Kendrick Tenn. 243 16 Mark Rizk Ala. 243 18 Skeet Reese Calif. 239 19 David Dudley Va. 237 19 Ishama Monroe Calif. 237 21 Lee Bailey Conn. 233 22 Norio Tanabe Japan 231 23 Jeff Magee Miss. 229 24 Dave Wolak Pa. 227 25 Tim Horton Ala. 225 26 Marty Stone N.C. 223 27 Kevin Short Ark. 221 28 Tim Loper Miss. 219 28 Mike Reynolds Calif. 219 30 R J Bennett Calif. 215 31 Guy Eaker N.C. 213 31 Mark Tyler Ariz. 213 33 George Cochran Ark. 209 34 Mike Wurm Ark. 207 35 Dean Rojas Texas 205 36 Rick Clunn Mo. 203 37 Greg Hackney La. 201 38 Rick Morris Va. 199 39 Scott Suggs Ark. 197 40 Luke Clausen Wash. 195 41 Jimmy Mize Ark. 193 42 Mike Hicks Va. 191 43 Darryl Burkhardt Ore. 189 44 Alton Jones Texas 187 44 Russ Lane Ala. 187 46 Cliff Pace Miss. 183 47 Roger Boler La. 181 48 Bud Pruitt Texas 179 49 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 177 49 Chad Brauer Mo. 177 51 Gerald Gostenik Mich. 173 52 Preston Clark Fla. 171 53 Randy Yarnall Pa. 169 53 Tommy Stiles Tenn. 169 55 O T Fears III Okla. 165 56 John Murray Ariz. 163 57 John Crews Va. 161 58 Homer Humphreys, Jr La. 159 59 Byron Velvick Nev. 157 60 Chris Bielert Conn. 155 61 Chris Baumgardner N.C. 153 62 Kelly Jordon Texas 151 63 Brian Snowden Mo. 149 64 Frank Scalish Ohio 147 64 Todd Faircloth Texas 147 66 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 143 66 Art Ferguson III Mich. 143 68 Gary Klein Texas 139 69 David Mansue N.J. 137 70 Jarrett Edwards Colo. 135 70 Matt Reed Texas 135 72 David Gliebe Calif. 131 73 Pete Gluszek N.J. 129 74 Todd Auten S.C. 127 75 Frank Ippoliti Md. 125 75 Denny Brauer Mo. 125 77 Mark Menendez Ky. 121 78 Brent Chapman Kan. 119 78 Thad Takes Iowa 119 80 Dustin Wilks N.C. 115 81 Joe Thomas Ohio 113 82 Robert Hamilton Jr Miss. 111 82 Stephen Browning Ark. 111 84 Randy Blaukat Mo. 107 84 Brett Hite Ariz. 107 86 Bernie Schultz Fla. 103 87 Doug Garrett Ark. 101 88 Aaron Martens Calif. 99 89 Sean Hoernke Texas 97 90 Jason Quinn S.C. 95 91 Mark Tucker Mo. 93 92 Larry Nixon Ark. 91 93 Danny White Ga. 89 94 Mike McClelland Ark. 87 94 Ben Matsubu Texas 87 96 Jimmy Mason Ala. 83 97 Chip Hawkins Ark. 81 98 Mike Auten Ky. 79 99 Jason Reyes Texas 77 99 Jesse Draime Miss. 77 101 David Fritts N.C. 75 102 Zell Rowland Texas 74 103 Robert Lee Calif. 73 103 Mike O'Shea Calif. 73 105 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 71 106 Davy Hite S.C. 70 106 Brooks Rogers Texas 70 108 Charlie Hartley Ohio 68 109 Mark Davis Ark. 67 110 Johnny Lesesne Ga. 66 111 Tom Biffle Okla. 65 112 Charlie Weyer Calif. 64 113 Stacey D King Mo. 63 114 Paul Elias Miss. 62 115 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 61 116 Dion Hibdon Mo. 60 117 Tom Mann, Jr Ga. 59 118 Marcel Veenstra Mich. 58 119 Jimmy Houston Okla. 57 119 Elton Luce Jr Texas 57 121 Edwin Evers Okla. 55 121 Gary Yamamoto Texas 55 121 Fred Roumbanis Calif. 55 124 Terry Butcher Okla. 52 125 Roland Martin Fla. 51 125 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 51 127 Chris Daves Va. 49 127 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 49 129 David Wharton Texas 47 130 Mark Rose Ark. 46 131 Tommy Martin Texas 45 132 Peter E Thliveros Fla. 44 133 Grant Goldbeck Md. 43 134 Terry Baksay Conn. 42 135 Eric Nethery Ga. 41 135 Randy Dearman Texas 41 137 Randy Howell Ala. 39 138 Tim Carroll Okla. 38 139 Zachary Thompson Calif. 37 140 Jim Bitter Fla. 36 141 Jack A Gadlage Ky. 35 142 Cody Bird Texas 34 143 David Cooke N.C. 33 144 Greg Gutierrez Calif. 32 145 Harold Allen Texas 31 146 Ken Cook Okla. 30 147 Charlie Youngers Fla. 29 148 Terry Adams La. 28 149 Bink Desaro Idaho 27 150 Mark Rogers Fla. 26 151 Morizo Shimizu Calif. 25 152 Louis Iribarren N.Y. 24 153 Kyle Mabrey Ala. 23 153 Pete Ponds Miss. 23 155 Bradley Stringer Texas 21 156 Steve Daniel Fla. 0 156 Steve Sennikoff Texas 0 156 Jack Wade Tenn. 0