MANY, La. - February, 24, 2003 - David Wharton can't put his finger on exactly when fortune turned his way in the Bassmaster Tour on Toledo Bend.
The Texas professional started the event in 60th place, disgusted and sick. But he got well quickly.
Wharton won the event with a final-day limit totaling 16 pounds, 15 ounces for a total of 32-6, more than 12 pounds more than Takahiro Omori in second with 19-10.
Omori of Emory, Texas caught a final-day limit totaling 13-1 to move from 6th place. Jay Yelas, 2002 Bassmaster Classic Champion, of Tyler, Texas was third with 18-15, while Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Texas was fourth with 18-4, Mike Wurm of Hot Springs, Ark. was fifth with 14-15 and Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Fla. was sixth with 13-14.
Wharton's command of this event in the final two days went totally against the way he started. After day one he was in 60th place and if not for a great day on day two would have written this tournament off as one where bad decisions cost him a chance to win. Although Wharton was sure he made a bad decision on day one, he really can't decide when he started making the right ones.
It might have been when the wind started gusting at 41 miles per hour blowing the rest of the field away, or when heavy rain muddied up the majority of the lake, or when he caught a 6 1/2 pound fish on day two, or any number of things.
"I can't say for sure when it happened,'' Wharton said. "I'm just proud it did.''
If he were to give credit to anything it would be the weather the rest of the anglers were cussing along with his experience on Toledo Bend. Wharton assumes that the adverse weather all week did nothing but help him, while it played havoc with others.
"I was in an area that wasn't being affected by the wind and it wasn't getting any run off from the rain,'' Wharton said of the first two days.
And on the final two days experience proved to be the deciding factor. Wharton said he has fished Toledo Bend since it was built.
"And I can ride around and look and know where I need to fish,'' he said.
His observations were dead on. Despite his years of experience, he had never fished Lanana Creek before.
"But I knew what to look for, deeper water around buck brush and cypress trees,'' he said.
He further defined those areas by concentrating strictly in the places where very little run off had impacted the areas with muddy water. That meant staying away from bigger tributaries and heading toward small drainage areas where clearer water had started to run in.
He fished those areas with a black neon Bass Pro 4-inch Flipping Tube, catching a total of 12 keepers on the final day.
"When I would get in a stretch with 4- or 5-feet of water instead of 2- or 3-feet that would be where the fish would be,'' Wharton said.
Wharton's catch came in the middle of a cold front that was passing through the area. It was a perfect punctuation to a week of wild weather for the anglers.
The first day included stormy, rainy conditions that wet everything and everybody to the bone. By the second day, the weather had deteriorated so badly that fog and tornado warnings postponed the day of fishing. And on the official second day, strong straight line winds were part of the day that included some rain, some sunshine and constantly changing conditions.
By the third day, the clouds had cleared with 75-degree temperatures but even stronger winds from the Southwest created even another variable. Those winds, which were sustained at 20 miles per hour with gusts of 41 miles per hour, made fishing even more difficult.
Wharton, however, eased through it to win the $100,000 first place prize. Meanwhile, Jim Bitter of Fruitland Park, Fla. retained his lead in the Busch BASS Angler of the Year Points Race.
The event from Toledo Bend will be telecast on ESPN2 in two parts, with part one airing on Saturday, March 1, at 10:30 a.m. (ET) and part two on Saturday March 8, at 10:30 a.m.
Bassmaster Tour
Toledo Bend Reservoir; Many, La.
P r o S t a n d i n g s D a y 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. David Wharton Sam Rayburn, Texas 10 32-06 175 $102,000 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 17-09 Day 3: 5 15-07 Day 4: 5 16-15 2. Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas 8 19-10 174 $38,000 Day 1: 5 16-12 Day 2: 5 11-09 Day 3: 3 6-09 Day 4: 5 13-01 3. Jay Yelas Tyler, Texas 8 18-15 173 $23,000 Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 16-01 Day 3: 5 13-00 Day 4: 3 5-15 4. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, Okla. 9 18-04 172 $20,000 Day 1: 5 20-01 Day 2: 5 10-00 Day 3: 5 10-08 Day 4: 4 7-12 5. Mike Wurm Hot Springs, Ark. 7 14-15 171 $16,000 Day 1: 5 21-02 Day 2: 5 12-12 Day 3: 4 9-04 Day 4: 3 5-11 6. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Gainesville, Fla. 6 13-14 170 $14,000 Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 19-08 Day 3: 3 6-09 Day 4: 3 7-05 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Bass Day 1 Kotaro Kiriyama New Milford, N.J. 8-12 $1,000 2 Bud Pruitt Spring, Texas 8-14 $1,000 3 David Wharton Sam Rayburn, Texas 4-15 $1,000 4 David Wharton Sam Rayburn, Texas 5-06 $1,000 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 0 0 0-00 2 0 0 0-00 3 3 25 61-05 4 2 23 56-11 ---------------------------------- 5 48 118-00 02/24/03 CITGO Bassmaster Tour presented by Busch Beer Busch BASS Angler of the Year Standings ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 001 Jim Bitter Fla. 623 002 Jay Yelas Texas 592 003 Zell Rowland Texas 587 004 Mike Wurm Ark. 582 005 Tom Mann, Jr. Ga. 576 006 Bud Pruitt Texas 558 007 Elton Luce Jr. Texas 553 008 Kevin VanDam Mich. 550 009 Skeet Reese Calif. 539 010 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 537 011 Brent Chapman Kan. 536 012 Curt Lytle Va. 530 013 Mark Tyler Calif. 527 014 Mark Kile Ariz. 526 014 Harold Allen Texas 526 016 John Murray Ariz. 511 017 Kelly Jordon Texas 503 018 Gary Klein Texas 499 019 Tim Horton Ala. 497 020 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 496 021 Roger Boler La. 486 022 Alton Jones Texas 484 022 Mark Davis Ark. 484 024 Dustin Wilks N.C. 481 025 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 480 026 Ben Matsubu Texas 476 026 Stacey D. King Mo. 476 028 Terry Scroggins Fla. 475 029 Jeff Kriet Okla. 474 030 David Wharton Texas 469 031 J. T. Kenney Md. 463 032 Jack L. Wade Tenn. 462 033 Todd Faircloth Texas 457 034 Lance Vick Texas 453 035 David Fritts N.C. 452 036 Cody Bird Texas 451 037 Kyle Mabrey Ala. 448 038 Ishama Monroe Calif. 447 039 Jason Barber Texas 446 040 Jimmy D. Mize Ark. 441 040 Mike Hicks Va. 441 040 Dalton Bobo Ala. 441 043 Casey Iwai Ariz. 438 044 Kevin Wirth Ky. 435 045 Jason Quinn S.C. 434 046 Randall R Romig Pa. 432 047 Roland Martin Fla. 429 048 Mike Reynolds Calif. 427 049 Mark Menendez Ky. 424 049 Woo Daves Va. 424 051 George Cochran Ark. 421 052 Gerald Swindle Ala. 418 053 Bernie Schultz Fla. 417 053 Takahiro Omori Texas 417 055 Rick Taylor Mich. 412 056 Koby Kreiger Ind. 410 057 Jay Kendrick Tenn. 409 058 Keith Green Ark. 407 059 Paul L Elias Miss. 405 060 Kenyon Hill Okla. 403 061 Matt Reed Texas 402 062 Kotaro Kiriyama N.J. 399 062 Mike Auten Ky. 399 064 Mark Rogers Fla. 398 065 Stephen Browning Ark. 395 066 Brian Snowden Mo. 393 067 Danny Correia Mass. 390 067 Guy H. Eaker N.C. 390 069 Edwin Evers Okla. 388 069 Joe Thomas Ohio 388 071 Doug Gilley Fla. 381 072 Todd Auten S.C. 376 073 Shonn Blassingame Texas 374 073 Peter E. Thliveros Fla. 374 075 Lee Bailey, Jr. Conn. 369 076 O. T. Fears III Okla. 366 077 Danny Kirk Ga. 361 078 Jody Cordell Ga. 360 078 Mark Rizk Ala. 360 080 Gerry Williams Fla. 357 080 Randy Howell Ala. 357 082 Allen Armour Ga. 356 083 Denny Brauer Mo. 354 084 Tim Loper Miss. 353 085 Chris Price Md. 350 086 Luke Clausen Wash. 342 087 David Mansue N.J. 340 088 Byron Velvick Nev. 339 088 Robert Hamilton Jr. Miss. 339 090 Rick Clunn Mo. 337 090 Charlie Youngers Fla. 337 092 Darren Wolf Texas 334 093 Ron Shuffield Ark. 332 094 Brett Hite Ariz. 328 095 Chad Brauer Mo. 327 096 Morizo Shimizu Japan 326 096 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 326 098 Tom Biffle Okla. 321 098 Ken Cook Okla. 321 100 Tommy Stiles Tenn. 319 101 Pete Ponds Miss. 316 102 Mike Gough Fla. 310 103 Rick Morris Va. 308 104 Tommy Martin Texas 305 105 Charles Hammack Texas 303 106 Jack A. Gadlage Nev. 301 107 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 299 107 Randy Dearman Texas 299 109 Gary Yamamoto Texas 298 110 Marty Fourkiller N.C. 295 111 Aaron A. Hastings Md. 292 111 Michael Johnson Ga. 292 113 Charlie Hartley Ohio 288 114 Kim Stricker Mich. 287 114 Jimmy Reese Calif. 287 116 Mark Sabbides La. 286 117 Warren Wyman Calif. 284 118 Marty Stone N.C. 281 119 Dennis Kolender Calif. 278 120 Gregory Pugh Ala. 277 120 Tim Carroll Okla. 277 122 Charlie Weyer Calif. 276 123 Johnny Lesesne Ga. 272 124 Robert 'Duke' McCardleGa. 268 124 Terry Segraves Fla. 268 124 Chris Daves Va. 268 127 J Todd Tucker Ga. 265 127 Pete Gluszek N.J. 265 129 David Foshee Fla. 262 130 Larry Nixon Ark. 261 131 Eric Nethery Ga. 254 132 Mark Duerr Wisc. 253 133 Dean Rojas Texas 251 134 Sean Hoernke Texas 250 135 Greg Hoskinson Ky. 246 135 Jim Murray, Jr. Ga. 246 137 Dave Smith Okla. 243 137 Doug Garrett Ark. 243 139 Mike O'Shea Calif. 240 139 Tim Sainato Mo. 240 139 Tom Dolin N.Y. 240 142 Ken Sheets Mo. 235 142 Timothy Carini N.Y. 235 144 Art Ferguson III Mich. 233 145 Roger Schofield Ala. 228 146 Brooks Rogers Texas 213 147 Jarrett Edwards Colo. 210 148 Randy Yarnall Pa. 206 149 Aaron Martens Calif. 201 150 Bill Berry Ind. 200 151 John Crews Va. 197 152 Gabriel Bolivar Calif. 196 153 Frank Scalish Ohio 193 153 Rickie Harp Ala. 193 155 Robert Lee Calif. 191 156 Wayne Jeffcoat S.C. 188 157 Gerald Gostenik Mich. 187 157 Carl Maxfield S.C. 187 159 Scott Rook Ark. 185 160 Bo Fraser Va. 179 161 Mark Tucker Mo. 164 161 Jeff Magee Miss. 164 161 Homer Humphreys, Jr La. 164 164 Coby Carden Ala. 162 165 Walt Reynolds Fla. 138 166 David LeFebre Pa. 135 167 Boyd L. Duckett Ala. 133 168 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 130 169 Steve Geffs Calif. 125 170 Chuck Economou Fla. 122 171 Steve Sennikoff Texas 87 172 Davy Hite S.C. 82 173 Danny White Ga. 81 174 Michael Hall Va. 35 175 Ted Pate La. 28