LITTLE ROCK, Ark-. Eighteen places out of first at the beginning of the day, Marsha Gipson of Bigelow, Ark., made one simple adjustment Friday to take over the lead at the Women's Bassmaster Tour bass fishing tournament on Lake Maumelle.
With a two-day weight of 16 pounds, 14 ounces, Gipson pushed aside Day One leader Secret York of Benton, Ky. York took second place with 16-6, just 8 ounces behind Gipson.
Gipson - who said she had never competed on Maumelle before the WBT came to town, even though she lives about 16 miles from the lake - wasn't ready to reveal exactly what her adjustment was, but the result was a limit of larger fish. She did say she hit the same areas and the same fish Friday as she had Thursday. The one tweak yielded a 10-1 bag to add to her first-day weight of 6-13.
"The fish were cruising, and I adjusted to find them," said Gipson, who works for the U.S. Geological Survey when she isn't competing. "These fish were there yesterday, and I got the smaller ones, but today I got the rock-solid, tournament-grade fish.
"When they bit, they bit solid. Yesterday it was a very finicky bite, but today, although bright-sun conditions made the fishing tougher, the bigger ones seemed to bite for me."
York fell off her first-day weight of 10-9, but the 5-13 she managed Friday was enough to hold on in second. She got her fish - all spotted bass - out of one saved-back place, a sweet spot she knew would produce under the bluebird skies that followed Thursday's rain and clouds. "I had my limit by 9:30, culled two, then decided to pull off of it," York said. "I knew I needed to get off of it and save some for tomorrow."
Juanita Robinson of Highlands, Texas, brought in 8-0, a big help in moving her up from seventh into third place with a two-day total of 15-14. She and Gipson were among the few anglers who improved on their Thursday weight, although the bite was slow in coming Friday, Robinson said. "I didn't get my limit today until noon," she said. "I had to fish five of my spots to get them."
A winner in 2007 on Texas' Lake Amistad, she is confident about her chances for a second win. "I have several spots with bigger fish that pay off every time I go there," Robinson said.
The field was cut to the top 20 for Saturday's final day. The pros are vying for $1,000 and a fully rigged Skeeter/Yamaha boat package valued at $55,000.
The pros also are competing for points in the Women's Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year race. The winner will earn a Toyota Tundra and a berth in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala.
All but one of the top 10 AOY pros are doing well in Arkansas. Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga., led the AOY standings coming into the Maumelle event, but her staying power could be threatened by several strivers, including Robinson, who trails Martin-Wells by only 26 points. Martin-Wells showed her determination to keep her No. 1 position when she leapt from 20th place into seventh in the Maumelle contest.
The co-angler leaderboard changed up when Diane Smith of Fayetteville, Ga., knocked Day One leader and former co-angler champion Denese Freeman of Lawton, Okla., out of first. Smith moved up from second place with a two-day total of 13-10, enough to stay in front of another charger, Martha Goodfellow of Simpsonville, S.C., who shot up from 28th place with a 9-1 bag for 12-1 after two days.
Another former co-angler champion, Bonnie Ward of Snohomish, Wash., moved up into third place with 10-1, just ahead of Freeman, who at 9-4 slipped to fourth when she came up empty Friday.
The top 20 co-anglers will compete Saturday for the first-place prize of $500 and a Triton/Mercury boat rig worth $25,000.
The anglers will launch at 5:45 a.m. CT Saturday at Jolly Roger's Marina, 11800 Maumelle Harbour Rd., Roland. The weigh-in is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT at Academy Sports + Outdoors, 6100 Warden Rd. in Sherwood. All WBT events are free and open to the public.
2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6 Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR. (BOATER) Standings Day 2 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Marsha Gipson Bigelow, AR 10 16-14 305 Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 10-01 2. Secret York Benton, KY 10 16-06 300 Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 05-13 3. Juanita Robinson Highlands, TX 10 15-14 290 Day 1: 5 07-14 Day 2: 5 08-00 4. Paula Alexander Lincolnton, GA 7 15-09 285 Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 2 05-09 5. Debra Petrowski Arlington, TX 10 15-07 280 Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 5 05-14 6. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, TN 10 14-13 276 Day 1: 5 08-01 Day 2: 5 06-12 7. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, GA 10 14-09 272 Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 07-12 8. Judy Wong Many, LA 10 14-01 268 Day 1: 5 04-08 Day 2: 5 09-09 9. Lucy Mize Ben Lomond, AR 10 13-15 264 Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 5 06-07 10. Janet Parker Little Elm, TX 10 13-06 260 Day 1: 5 07-05 Day 2: 5 06-01 11. Melinda Mize Ben Lomond, AR 7 12-12 262 Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 2 02-03 12. Dianna Clark Bumpus Mills, TN 9 12-08 254 Day 1: 5 06-09 Day 2: 4 05-15 13. Laura Gober Pendergrass, GA 8 12-05 251 Day 1: 5 05-04 Day 2: 3 07-01 14. Keri Schieber Cumming, GA 9 12-03 248 Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 4 05-12 15. Lori Masters Nashville, TN 9 12-02 245 Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 4 04-06 16. Tammy Richardson Amity, AR 10 12-01 243 Day 1: 5 06-14 Day 2: 5 05-03 17. Linda Redford Blue Eye, MO 9 12-01 241 Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 4 04-06 18. Meta Burrell Fort Worth, TX 8 11-11 239 Day 1: 5 06-14 Day 2: 3 04-13 19. Lisa Johnson Centre, AL 9 10-14 237 Day 1: 4 04-15 Day 2: 5 05-15 20. Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, OK 7 10-13 235 Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 2 01-15 21. Kali Weatherford Athens, TX 8 10-12 233 Day 1: 5 07-14 Day 2: 3 02-14 22. Kim Stapp Ringgold, GA 6 10-05 231 Day 1: 4 06-04 Day 2: 2 04-01 23. Helen Gordon Flower Mound, TX 9 10-02 229 Day 1: 4 05-09 Day 2: 5 04-09 24. Lila Bass Austin, TX 9 10-01 227 Day 1: 5 05-09 Day 2: 4 04-08 25. Pam Bolton Jonesboro, AR 8 09-13 225 Day 1: 5 06-09 Day 2: 3 03-04 26. Audrey McQueen Eagar, AZ 7 09-06 223 Day 1: 5 07-07 Day 2: 2 01-15 27. Jan Heavener Sherwood, AR 7 09-05 221 Day 1: 4 05-13 Day 2: 3 03-08 28. Teri Neal Cumming, GA 9 09-00 219 Day 1: 4 03-13 Day 2: 5 05-03 29. Danalee Lofton Little Rock, AR 6 09-00 217 Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 1 01-08 30. Lynda Gessner Foristell, MO 8 08-15 215 Day 1: 4 04-10 Day 2: 4 04-05 31. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, AL 7 08-15 213 Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 2 01-15 32. Christiana Bradley Bealeton, VA 7 08-11 211 Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 2 02-04 33. Sandi Karnes Livingston, TX 6 07-11 209 Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 1 01-03 34. Laura Heflin Topeka, KS 6 07-08 207 Day 1: 4 05-01 Day 2: 2 02-07 35. Christena Baugh Benton, AR 7 07-07 205 Day 1: 5 04-12 Day 2: 2 02-11 36. Patti Campbell Waxahachie, TX 5 07-04 203 Day 1: 5 07-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 37. Cheryl LaLumandier Saint Charles, MO 6 06-13 201 Day 1: 5 05-11 Day 2: 1 01-02 38. Jennifer Nevans Dayton, TN 5 06-11 199 Day 1: 4 05-14 Day 2: 1 00-13 39. Cindy Hill Smyrna, TN 6 06-04 197 Day 1: 5 05-03 Day 2: 1 01-01 40. Kathi Hurst Ripley, MS 6 06-02 195 Day 1: 4 04-09 Day 2: 2 01-09 41. Robinette Fox Hot Springs, AR 6 06-01 193 Day 1: 1 01-04 Day 2: 5 04-13 42. Kathy Womack Trussville, AL 5 06-00 191 Day 1: 2 02-10 Day 2: 3 03-06 43. Mary Croft Bedford, VA 5 05-08 189 Day 1: 5 05-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 44. Lisa Craig Chandler, TX 4 05-05 187 Day 1: 3 04-09 Day 2: 1 00-12 45. Michelle Armstrong Denver, NC 5 04-11 185 Day 1: 1 00-11 Day 2: 4 04-00 46. Susan Gregory Kiln, MS 4 04-11 183 Day 1: 2 01-12 Day 2: 2 02-15 47. Heather Broom Sylva, NC 3 04-09 181 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 04-09 48. Debbie Kemp Emory, TX 4 04-06 179 Day 1: 2 01-08 Day 2: 2 02-14 49. Tami Kashiwabara London JAPAN 4 04-03 177 Day 1: 3 03-03 Day 2: 1 01-00 50. Debra Hengst San Antonio, TX 4 03-14 175 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 03-14 51. Mary DiVincenti Clinton, LA 4 03-14 173 Day 1: 2 01-09 Day 2: 2 02-05 52. Bridget Allen Philadelphia, PA 4 03-12 171 Day 1: 1 00-12 Day 2: 3 03-00 53. Jo Dee Lake Helena, AL 3 03-09 169 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 03-09 54. Cheryl Bowden Plano, TX 5 03-08 167 Day 1: 3 01-08 Day 2: 2 02-00 55. Kris McClendon Spicewood, TX 3 03-01 165 Day 1: 3 03-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 56. Kat Ealey Moody, AL 2 02-10 163 Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 1 01-01 57. Robbie Hartline Foristell, MO 2 01-15 161 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 01-15 58. Caprice Cherry Bienville, LA 2 01-14 159 Day 1: 2 01-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 59. BJ Carson Inola, OK 2 01-11 157 Day 1: 2 01-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 60. Robin Babb Livingston, TX 2 01-09 155 Day 1: 1 00-13 Day 2: 1 00-12 61. Terri Elkins Red Oak, TX 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 32 225 304-00 2 14 168 213-00 ---------------------------------- 46 393 517-00 2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6 Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR. (NON_BOATER) Standings Day 2 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Diane Smith Fayetteville, GA 9 13-10 305 Day 1: 5 09-03 Day 2: 4 04-07 2. Martha Goodfellow Simpsonville, SC 8 12-01 295 Day 1: 3 03-00 Day 2: 5 09-01 3. Bonnie Ward Snohomish, WA 9 10-01 290 Day 1: 5 06-05 Day 2: 4 03-12 4. Denese Freeman Lawton, OK 5 09-04 290 Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 5. Debbie Pegoli Loveland, OH 8 09-01 280 Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 3 02-13 6. Brande Branine Haysville, KS 6 08-14 276 Day 1: 5 08-02 Day 2: 1 00-12 7. Linda Berry Madison, NC 7 08-05 272 Day 1: 5 05-12 Day 2: 2 02-09 8. Karol Whitehurst Winnsboro, TX 7 08-00 268 Day 1: 3 03-13 Day 2: 4 04-03 9. Terri Bittner Mckinleyville, CA 7 07-09 264 Day 1: 4 03-14 Day 2: 3 03-11 10. Sharon Lawson Red Bank, TN 3 07-08 260 Day 1: 2 06-07 Day 2: 1 01-01 11. Bertha Cavakis Amity, AR 6 07-05 257 Day 1: 2 03-04 Day 2: 4 04-01 12. Katie Ellis Gulfport, MS 5 07-05 254 Day 1: 3 02-13 Day 2: 2 04-08 13. Stacy Zhelesnik Hoboken, NJ 6 07-03 251 Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 1 00-12 14. Kim Martin Clayton, IN 6 07-02 248 Day 1: 3 04-05 Day 2: 3 02-13 15. Jodi Galloway Garland, TX 6 06-15 245 Day 1: 2 01-12 Day 2: 4 05-03 16. Michele Gunderman Gastonia, NC 5 06-15 243 Day 1: 2 02-11 Day 2: 3 04-04 17. Linda Owens Brandon, MS 6 06-12 241 Day 1: 3 03-09 Day 2: 3 03-03 18. Elizabeth Sanders Brandon, MS 6 06-09 239 Day 1: 1 00-15 Day 2: 5 05-10 19. Gail Wood Russellville, AR 5 06-09 237 Day 1: 4 05-12 Day 2: 1 00-13 20. Vicki Henderson Ashdown, AR 5 06-02 235 Day 1: 5 06-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 21. Lisa Diehl Pittsburg, PA 6 05-14 233 Day 1: 5 04-10 Day 2: 1 01-04 22. Donna Newberry Van Buren, AR 5 05-12 231 Day 1: 3 03-10 Day 2: 2 02-02 23. Melissa Bond Albuquerque, NM 5 05-12 229 Day 1: 2 02-09 Day 2: 3 03-03 24. Patty Houston Prattville, AL 4 05-10 227 Day 1: 2 02-01 Day 2: 2 03-09 25. Lesli Lively Palestine, TX 4 05-03 225 Day 1: 2 02-10 Day 2: 2 02-09 26. Kelly Wells Grovetown, GA 5 05-02 223 Day 1: 3 03-01 Day 2: 2 02-01 27. Colleen McKay Worcester, MA 4 05-01 221 Day 1: 3 04-00 Day 2: 1 01-01 28. Charlotte Frazier Dallas, TX 4 05-01 219 Day 1: 3 03-10 Day 2: 1 01-07 29. Jane Brunner Byhalia, MS 4 04-15 217 Day 1: 4 04-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 30. Dawn Dudek Posen, IL 4 04-14 215 Day 1: 4 04-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 31. Lori Steele Tulsa, OK 4 04-13 213 Day 1: 4 04-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 32. Barbara Gaskins Suffolk, VA 3 03-15 211 Day 1: 3 03-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 33. Susan Wild St Petersburg, FL 3 03-13 209 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 03-13 34. Patti James Dayton, TX 3 03-12 207 Day 1: 3 03-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 35. Sherry Melton Monterey, TN 3 03-10 205 Day 1: 2 02-04 Day 2: 1 01-06 36. Linda Walker Beebe, AR 3 03-08 203 Day 1: 1 00-13 Day 2: 2 02-11 37. Teri Cindric Hermitage, TN 3 03-08 201 Day 1: 1 00-09 Day 2: 2 02-15 38. Susan Dameron Chattanooga, TN 4 03-05 199 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 03-05 39. Kat Arnold Shreveport, LA 2 03-04 197 Day 1: 2 03-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 40. Renee Gumbrecht Oakhurst, NJ 3 03-02 195 Day 1: 1 00-11 Day 2: 2 02-07 41. Barbara Ferge Somerville, TN 3 03-02 193 Day 1: 2 02-04 Day 2: 1 00-14 42. Pam Chism Cabot, AR 1 03-02 191 Day 1: 1 03-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 43. Petra Ramsey El Paso, TX 2 02-10 189 Day 1: 2 02-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 44. Sarah Davis Livingston, LA 2 02-10 187 Day 1: 1 01-08 Day 2: 1 01-02 45. Nancy Oliver Arnaudville, LA 2 02-09 185 Day 1: 2 02-09 Day 2: 0 00-00 46. Donna Rutledge Orland Park, IL 2 02-07 183 Day 1: 1 01-07 Day 2: 1 01-00 47. Jennifer Rice Grant, AL 2 02-06 181 Day 1: 2 02-06 Day 2: 0 00-00 48. Denice Johnston Hemphill, TX 2 02-06 179 Day 1: 1 01-02 Day 2: 1 01-04 49. Nancy Dugas Huntsville, AL 2 02-02 177 Day 1: 2 02-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 50. Kim Petrowski Arlington, TX 2 02-00 175 Day 1: 2 02-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 51. Cheryl Buelow Pollock, LA 2 01-15 173 Day 1: 2 01-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 52. Kim Mendoza Garland, TX 2 01-14 171 Day 1: 2 01-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 53. Katie Hogan Bon Aqua, TN 2 01-12 169 Day 1: 2 01-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 54. Tracy Bailey Ennis, TX 1 01-07 167 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-07 55. Torrye Vineyard Yantis, TX 1 01-05 165 Day 1: 1 01-05 Day 2: 0 00-00 56. Trish Levitt Albuquerque, NM 1 01-01 163 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-01 57. Shelley Chenowith Russellville, AR 1 00-15 161 Day 1: 1 00-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 58. Kala Wright Spiro, OK 1 00-14 159 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 00-14 59. Renee Key Johnston Beaumont, TX 1 00-13 157 Day 1: 1 00-13 Day 2: 0 00-00 60. Jill Matheis Jasper, IN 1 00-12 155 Day 1: 1 00-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 61. Monica Altman Angier, NC 0 00-00 0 Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 9 146 186-03 2 2 88 104-15 ---------------------------------- 11 234 291-02