(Guntersville, AL) – Anglers participating in the 2012 Lady Bass Anglers Association (LBAA) Lady Bass Classic were once again faced today with changing conditions and a changing bite. Even though the bite was off Fort Worth pro Cheryl Bowden made the best of those changing conditions and caught three Lake Guntersville bass weighing 7.99-pounds. Those three bass and the 7.99-pounds allowed her to build her lead, build her total to 40.28-pounds and take home the title of 2012 Lady Bass Classic Champion.
“My bite at the first spot was not there,” Bowden commented. “I didn’t catch another keeper until around 12. It was on the frog and they blew up on it all day long but were missing it. Finally toward the end of the day I thought, my arm is killing me and I cannot do this frog anymore.”
In the midst of the dry spell Bowden began to doubt but then began to calculate. “I knew that for every fish I caught they would have to catch two and with only one fish earlier I thought if they catch four – that’s going to make it pretty close.
She then made a switch that enabled her to secure the Lady Bass Classic title. She changed to the Gambler Easy Swimmer and started fishing it behind the grass. “They started inhaling it. Every fish I caught on the Gambler Easy Swimmer I had to reach down their throats to get the bait out.”
“This was a dream of mine but I didn’t think it was ever going to happen,” she added. “Even now I don’t think it has soaked in yet.”
Bowden is sponsored by US Reels, Kick `n Bass, Costa del Mar, Save Phace, Gambler Lures, Deka Batteries and Fins Braid.
Second place finisher Martha Goodfellow from Simpsonville, SC summed up her day in three short words, “The fish changed.”
“I had an area that on day one had the fish and on day two I got my limit but was still missing a lot of fish,” Goodfellow added. “Today I did not get a bite for the longest time. It was just a long day but I kept my head in the game.”
Goodfellow who is a `rookie’ on the pro side of the LBAA said her goals this year were reached. “I wanted to be safe on the water, get my co-angler on fish, and survive. I did all of that” she exclaimed.
Goodfellow ended up with 27.41-pounds and is sponsored by US Reels, Yozuri Tackle, and River Runner Baits.
LBAA 2012 Lady Bass Classic pro division final standings are as follows: Cheryl Bowden/Fort Worth, TX 40.28, Martha Goodfellow/Simpsonville, SC 27.41, Pam Martin-Wells/Bainbridge, GA 22.06, Robbie Hartline/Foristell, MO 10.82, Kim Bain-Moore/Pelham, AL 10.13, Cheryl Lalumandier/Harvester, MO 9.21, Debbie Warner/Murray, KY 6.46, Pam Ridgle/Murchison, TX 4.45, Teri Cindric/Hermitage, TN 4.31, Monica Altman/Angier, NC 2.95, Secret York/Benton, KY 2.27, Karen Elkins/Oxford, AL 2.13 and Lynda Gessner/Foristell, MO 0.00.
Fannett, Texas co-angler Renee Key-Johnston had a fairy tale LBAA Lady Bass Classic. She brought no fish to the scales on the opening day of competition. On day two she had her three fish limit and on day three she had one bass, but it was just enough to propel her from second to first and allow her to capture the LBAA 2012 Lady Bass Classic Co-angler Championship.
“I caught fish the first day but not big enough to weigh and it was disappointing,” Key-Johnston stated. “Day two was really a great day because I had three limits. Today I caught mainly short fish but I was able to get a keeper this morning.”
“I’m very excited about winning the Lady Bass Classic,” she went on to say. “I am so pleased to be a part of the LBAA family.”
Key Johnston caught all of her fish on a H20 Express Sexy Melon crankbait and she is sponsored by Jerry Key Enterprises, RJ2, and Reel Girls Fish.
The final standings for the LBAA 2012 Lady Bass Classic co-angler division are as follows: Renee Key-Johnston/Fannett, TX 11.30, Denise Sustaita/Etoile, TX 9.62, Judy Skibinski/Alba, TX 8.90, Kim Giddens/Alpine, AL 7.89, Diana Uebelhack/Mount Vernon, IN 6.49, Brandi Frasier/Hansen, KY 5.26, Marsha Reifsteck/Woodville, WI 4.59, Shannon Wood/Martinsburg, WV 4.59, Bonnie Ward/Snohomish, WA 4.35, Vicki Henderson/Ashdown, AR 4.03, Cassie Hall/Alabaster, AL 2.40, Diane Smith/Fayetteville, GA 0.00 and Brenda Reeves/Weatherford, TX 0.00.
Legend Big Bass award winners were Cheryl Bowden on the pro side with a 5.35-pound bass. Denise Sustaita captured the award on the co-angler side with a 4.93-pound bass.
The Marshall County Alabama Convention and Visitors Bureau along with the City of Guntersville have sponsored the 2012 Lady Bass Classic. The Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau is located at 200 Gunter Ave. Guntersville, AL 35976 Phone: (256) 582-7015 Toll Free: (800) 582-6282 Fax: (256) 582-3682 World Wide Web http://www.marshallcountycvb.com/
The City of Guntersville offices are located at 341 Gunter Avenue, Guntersville, AL 35976 • (256) 571-7560 and on the World Wide Web at http://www.guntersvilleal.org/home/index.php
Host lodging for the LBAA 2012 Lady Bass Classic has been the Days Inn 14040 US 431 South, Route 79 and US 431 South, Guntersville, AL 35976 Phone 1-256-582-3200 Fax 1-256-582-1270, and the Best Western Plus 2140 Gunter Avenue, Guntersville, Alabama 35976-2114 Phone: 256/582-2220 | Fax: 256/582-2059.
Area sponsors for the 2012 LBAA Lady Bass Classic are Greg’s Custom Rods, National Pro Staff, The Perfect Jig, State Apparel, Advocare, Academy Sports + Outdoors/Gadsden, AL, Springer Equipment Company, Temple Fork Rods, Reel Grip, JJ’s Magic, Legend Boats, Bass Angler Magazine, and Santone Lures.