LEESBURG, Fla. - Ben Matsubu's consistency reigned supreme in Saturday's final round of the Bassmaster Elite Series Wildcard bass fishing tournament on Florida's Harris Chain of Lakes. The Hemphill, Texas, angler earned his first BASS victory, paid entry fees into the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series and a Triton boat/Mercury outboard package valued at nearly $50,000.
"This is great," the 44-year-old said. "I'm really happy. It's been a long time. I've been close several times, but never could pull it off in the past."
Matsubu has been fishing BASS tournaments since 1999 and had posted seven top-10 finishes without a win. The former Classic contender posted his third consecutive double-digit, five-bass limit Saturday with 13 pounds, 11 ounces, the day's largest catch.
His three-day total of 40-15 easily outdistanced Georgia's Jim Murray (33-8) and Florida's Bryan Hudgins (32-13). Rounding out the top five were Marty Robinson of South Carolina (32-7) and Matt Amedeo of Ohio (31-9).
The Wildcard tournament is a second-chance event designed to give pros on both the 2006 Elite Series and Bassmaster Northern and Southern Tours a last chance to qualify for the 2007 Elite Series. The top 10 finishers in the event locked up a spot in the Elite Series next season and earned money toward the entry fees.
Much like the first two rounds, Matsubu's success came fishing shallow vegetation in Lake Eustis with a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 crankbait and Texas-rigged Yamamoto Cut-Tail worm.
"Today, I just made the rounds (to several spots) and kept on fishing," he said. "I wasn't trying to catch a limit. I was after big fish today."
By finishing second, Murray, 32, will have an opportunity to return to the highest level of BASS competition for the first time since 2003. On Saturday, he moved up from fourth place with a catch of 11-12.
"It was a great week," said Murray, an independent salesman who retired a year ago to concentrate on fishing and guiding. "It's nice to make the finals again. It's been a while."
Murray used a pair of Zoom soft-plastic baits and a Yozuri lipless crankbait to score in 2 to 3 feet of water. The key was targeting wind-blown lanes in the vegetation, which was mixed with lily pads.
Hudgins, 27, lives in Orange Park, Fla., and is a student at the University of North Florida. He has a vast amount of knowledge of the Harris Chain, but only caught 8-2 Saturday to drop from second to third. He was the first-round leader with a catch of 17-3.
Hudgins' success came running a shallow-water pattern using a Devil's Horse topwater and a pair of different Zoom worms.
Robinson took the Big Bass award with a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth and the $1,000 premium.
The co-angler division was won by Earl Purcell of Massachusetts with 28-2. Purcell earned a Triton/Mercury boat package valued at nearly $46,000 for his first BASS win.
The top six co-anglers took home boat packages. Arkansas' E.P. Fletcher finished second with 24-2, followed by Howard Stephens of South Carolina with 23-6.
2006 Wild-Card Qualifier BO 11/16-11/18
Harris Chain Of Lakes, Leesburg Fla.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Ben Matsubu Hemphill, Texas 15 40-15 310 $45,693.00
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 5 12-02 Day 3: 5 13-11
2. Jim Murray Arabi, Ga. 15 33-08 295 $28,310.00
Day 1: 5 9-05 Day 2: 5 12-07 Day 3: 5 11-12
3. Bryan Hudgins Orange Park, Fla. 14 32-13 295 $29,310.00
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 7-08 Day 3: 4 8-02
4. Marty Robinson Landrum, S.C. 13 32-07 285 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 3 6-08 Day 3: 5 11-12
5. Matt Amedeo Akron, Ohio 14 31-09 280
Day 1: 5 10-12 Day 2: 5 13-15 Day 3: 4 6-14
6. Mark Rogers Naples, Fla. 13 25-01 276
Day 1: 5 9-02 Day 2: 3 8-06 Day 3: 5 7-09
7. Jimmy Mason Rogersville, Ala. 14 23-15 272
Day 1: 5 8-06 Day 2: 4 8-01 Day 3: 5 7-08
8. Ken Brodeur Niantic, Conn. 12 23-09 268
Day 1: 5 8-00 Day 2: 5 10-04 Day 3: 2 5-05
9. James Kennedy Lacombe, La. 10 21-09 264
Day 1: 3 8-01 Day 2: 4 9-13 Day 3: 3 3-11
10. Brian Wilhoit Oxon Hill, Md. 10 20-14 260
Day 1: 4 7-12 Day 2: 4 10-01 Day 3: 2 3-01
11. Gregory Dipalma Millville, N.J. 10 18-06 257 $5,000.00
Day 1: 5 9-12 Day 2: 5 8-10 Day 3: 0 0-00
12. Glenn Delong Bellville, Ohio 10 17-14 254 $5,000.00
Day 1: 5 9-11 Day 2: 4 7-04 Day 3: 1 0-15
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Big Bass
Day
1 Bryan Hudgins Orange Park, Fla. 6-12 $1,000.00
2 Brian Penso Houston, Texas 5-14 $1,000.00
3 Marty Robinson Landrum, S.C. 6-05 $1,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 20 192 359-06
2 16 177 335-09
3 5 41 80-04
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41 410 775-03
2006 Wild-Card Qualifier NB 11/16-11/18
Harris Chain Of Lakes, Leesburg Fla.
(NON-BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Earl Purcell Granville, Mass. 11 28-02 310 $45,693.00
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 1 5-00 Day 3: 5 9-09
2. E.P. Fletcher Little Rock, Ark. 11 24-02 300 $46,093.00
Day 1: 3 5-00 Day 2: 5 14-14 Day 3: 3 4-04
3. Howard Stephens Columbia, S.C. 12 23-06 290 $28,310.00
Day 1: 2 2-08 Day 2: 5 9-03 Day 3: 5 11-11
4. Wayne Prater Jacksboro, Tenn. 11 22-08 285 $28,710.00
Day 1: 1 2-06 Day 2: 5 8-06 Day 3: 5 11-12
5. Sam Moss Ackerman, Miss. 8 20-04 280 $25,759.00
Day 1: 4 10-00 Day 2: 1 0-13 Day 3: 3 9-07
6. Bradley Dortch Bay Minette, Ala. 8 18-11 276 $25,359.00
Day 1: 1 1-14 Day 2: 5 12-13 Day 3: 2 4-00
7. Joe Lee Desoto, Texas 9 17-14 272 $1,000.00
Day 1: 3 9-03 Day 2: 2 3-02 Day 3: 4 5-09
8. Andy Starner Dover, Pa. 9 16-03 268 $1,000.00
Day 1: 3 4-15 Day 2: 3 6-09 Day 3: 3 4-11
9. John Moon Brookeland, Texas 7 16-02 264 $750.00
Day 1: 2 3-03 Day 2: 2 7-01 Day 3: 3 5-14
10. Dave Morningstar Ft Myers, Fla. 8 11-14 260 $750.00
Day 1: 4 7-07 Day 2: 2 2-11 Day 3: 2 1-12
11. Jim McDevitt Eldon, Mo. 6 10-05 257 $750.00
Day 1: 3 3-15 Day 2: 2 5-01 Day 3: 1 1-05
12. Del Smith Castalia, Ohio 6 9-13 254 $750.00
Day 1: 1 1-11 Day 2: 5 8-02 Day 3: 0 0-00
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Big Bass
Day
1 Sam Moss Ackerman, Miss. 5-08 $400.00
2 E.P. Fletcher Little Rock, Ark. 7-03 $400.00
3 Wayne Prater Jacksboro, Tenn. 4-06 $400.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 1 94 155-10
2 5 84 157-10
3 3 36 69-14
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9 214 383-02