LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Two big bass taken on back-to-back casts into Lake Maumelle grass sealed the deal Saturday for Paula Alexander in the Women's Bassmaster Tour bass fishing tournament on Lake Maumelle.
The Lincolnton, Ga., pro took her first BASS career win with 27 pounds, 5 ounces, to take the top prize of a $55,000 Skeeter/Yamaha boat rig. Starting the final day in fourth place, she easily cleared her nearest challenger, Secret York of Benton, Ky., by 5 pounds, 11 ounces. York, the Day One leader, finished in second with 21-10, and Lisa Sternard of Clarksville, Tenn., finished third with 21-8.
Alexander's winning pattern was hitting grass in 4 to 6 feet of water on secondary points. She said she had three primary spots.
As she weighed in her winning limit, Alexander told three stories of good luck. Two involved encounters with skunks on the highway, nose-jarring incidents she took as good omens. The other story was about stumbling onto one shopworn pack of smoke-purple worms she then used to take many of her keepers.
But on Saturday, the purple worm bite fell off, so she turned to a finesse creature bait in a bullfrog finish, a lure one of her co-anglers had used. It was about noontime, and she had just two small fish in her livewell.
"On the first cast, I threw to about 4 feet of water, felt it hit, and knew it was a toad,"she said. "It came off in the net. I guess I didn't stick it good. My hands were shaking so hard I could hardly tie on again. I threw again to the same spot, and the rod doubled-up again. I know everyone on that 9,000-acre lake heard me yelling after that."
Another cast completed her five-fish limit and she was done for the day.
York worked shallow grass early each day, then moved to an underwater ledge as the sun rose higher. She repeated those two patterns all week. "I really thought there would be bigger fish deep today," she said. "Yesterday, about every third cast I could catch a fish on my crankbait. I even had several chasing the crankbait at the same time. They just shut down today, there was a full moon last night and I think they fed all last night."
The results of the Maumelle event tightened up the points spread in the Women's Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year race. Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga., still leads, but only by 9 points over Juanita Robinson of Highlands, Texas. Martin-Wells finished eighth in Arkansas to Robinson's fourth-place finish.
The winner of the season-long points competition will get a Toyota Tundra and an entry into the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala.
"I'm eyeing the championship and working hard again this year to get there,"Robinson said. "I'm not letting myself hope for AOY and the Classic as much as I did last year. It really dug into me last year and I had a rough winter with medical issues after it was all over. This season, I just decided I'd come out and do the best I can and hopefully it will pay off."
In 2008, Robinson lost out on the AOY title by 60 points. Kim Bain-Moore of Alabaster, Ala., won and became the first woman to compete in a Bassmaster Classic.
In the co-angler division at the Maumelle tournament, Martha Goodfellow of Simpsonville, S.C., won the first-place prize of a $25,000 Triton/Mercury boat rig. Goodfellow, who is fishing the WBT for the first time this season, had 17 pounds, 11 ounces through three days. A lifelong angler, Goodfellow said she has fished all over the country, and competes in local team tournaments with her husband. Maumelle, though, was a challenge.
"I don't have much experience with lakes with weeds and ledges, so I learned a lot this week," she said.
Day Two leader Diane Smith of Fayetteville, Ga., finished in second place with 15-4. A 2006 WBT co-angler champion, Bonnie Ward of Snohomish, Wash., was third with 11-13.
Next up for the WBT will be Sept. 10-12 at Old Hickory Lake out of Hendersonville, Tenn. After that event, the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers in the standings will advance to the Academy Sports + Outdoors WBT Championship, Oct. 16-18 on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. The one Classic qualifier will emerge from the championship.
2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6 Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR. (BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Paula Alexander Lincolnton, GA 12 27-05 305 $55,610.00 Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 2 05-09 Day 3: 5 11-12 2. Secret York Benton, KY 15 21-10 300 $3,355.00 Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 05-13 Day 3: 5 05-04 3. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, TN 14 21-08 290 $2,745.00 Day 1: 5 08-01 Day 2: 5 06-12 Day 3: 4 06-11 4. Juanita Robinson Highlands, TX 13 21-05 285 $2,440.00 Day 1: 5 07-14 Day 2: 5 08-00 Day 3: 3 05-07 5. Lucy Mize Ben Lomond, AR 15 20-11 280 $2,135.00 Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 5 06-07 Day 3: 5 06-12 6. Dianna Clark Bumpus Mills, TN 14 19-08 276 $1,830.00 Day 1: 5 06-09 Day 2: 4 05-15 Day 3: 5 07-00 7. Janet Parker Little Elm, TX 15 19-05 272 $1,525.00 Day 1: 5 07-05 Day 2: 5 06-01 Day 3: 5 05-15 8. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, GA 14 19-01 268 $1,220.00 Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 07-12 Day 3: 4 04-08 9. Marsha Gipson Bigelow, AR 11 18-06 269 $1,068.00 Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 10-01 Day 3: 1 01-08 10. Judy Wong Many, LA 13 18-01 260 $915.00 Day 1: 5 04-08 Day 2: 5 09-09 Day 3: 3 04-00 11. Keri Schieber Cumming, GA 14 17-14 257 $824.00 Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 4 05-12 Day 3: 5 05-11 12. Laura Gober Pendergrass, GA 13 17-09 254 $671.00 Day 1: 5 05-04 Day 2: 3 07-01 Day 3: 5 05-04 13. Debra Petrowski Arlington, TX 12 17-08 251 $610.00 Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 5 05-14 Day 3: 2 02-01 14. Melinda Mize Ben Lomond, AR 10 17-02 253 $595.00 Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 2 02-03 Day 3: 3 04-06 15. Tammy Richardson Amity, AR 15 16-15 245 $580.00 Day 1: 5 06-14 Day 2: 5 05-03 Day 3: 5 04-14 16. Meta Burrell Fort Worth, TX 10 14-08 243 $564.00 Day 1: 5 06-14 Day 2: 3 04-13 Day 3: 2 02-13 17. Linda Redford Blue Eye, MO 10 14-07 241 $549.00 Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 4 04-06 Day 3: 1 02-06 18. Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, OK 10 13-08 239 $534.00 Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 2 01-15 Day 3: 3 02-11 19. Lisa Johnson Centre, AL 11 13-03 237 $519.00 Day 1: 4 04-15 Day 2: 5 05-15 Day 3: 2 02-05 20. Lori Masters Nashville, TN 11 13-02 235 $503.00 Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 4 04-06 Day 3: 2 01-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 32 225 304-00 2 14 168 213-00 3 8 70 92-04 ---------------------------------- 54 463 609-04 Boater Points Ending 06-06-2009, Day 3 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Pam Martin-Wells Ga. 850 2 Juanita Robinson Texas 841 3 Laura Gober Ga. 807 4 Tammy Richardson Ark. 785 5 Janet Parker Texas 784 6 Sheri Glasgow Okla. 782 7 Debra Petrowski Texas 776 8 Dianna Clark Tenn. 755 9 Paula Alexander Ga. 739 10 Lisa Johnson Ala. 732 11 Melinda Mize Ark. 728 12 Judy Wong La. 726 13 Lucy Mize Ark. 716 14 Lori Masters Tenn. 700 15 Patti Campbell Texas 692 16 Lynda Gessner Mo. 667 16 Mary Croft Va. 667 16 Jennifer Nevans Tenn. 667 19 Cindy Hill Tenn. 657 20 Teri Neal Ga. 653 21 Christiana Bradley Va. 646 22 Sandi Karnes Texas 633 23 Cheryl LaLumandier Mo. 627 24 Meta Burrell Texas 622 25 Marsha Gipson Ark. 621 26 Mary DiVincenti La. 615 27 Robinette Fox Ark. 612 28 Debbie Kemp Texas 611 29 Kali Weatherford Texas 607 30 Robin Babb Texas 606 31 Jan Heavener Ark. 605 31 Heather Broom N.C. 605 31 Tami Kashiwabara Ark. 605 34 Kathy Womack Ala. 603 34 Keri Schieber Ga. 603 36 Secret York Ky. 602 37 Linda Redford Mo. 597 38 Christena Baugh Ark. 587 38 Laura Heflin Kan. 587 40 Helen Gordon Texas 583 41 Kris McClendon Texas 575 42 Danalee Lofton Ark. 569 43 Debra Hengst Texas 559 44 Lila Bass Texas 551 45 Kathi Hurst Miss. 543 46 Susan Gregory Miss. 539 47 Bridget Allen Pa. 537 48 Michelle Armstrong N.C. 529 49 Lisa Craig Texas 519 50 Jo Dee Lake Ala. 513 51 Kim Stapp Ga. 495 52 BJ Carson Okla. 479 53 Emily Shaffer Tenn. 478 54 Pam Bolton Ark. 470 55 Kim Bain-Moore Ala. 464 56 Karen Savik Minn. 455 56 Lisa Sternard Tenn. 455 58 Robbie Hartline Mo. 451 59 Audrey McQueen Ariz. 410 60 Cheryl Bowden Texas 400 61 Kat Ealey Ala. 384 62 Terri Elkins Texas 342 63 Mary Hencken N.C. 320 64 Cindy Van Horn Texas 314 65 Rhonda Pope Ga. 285 66 Karen Elkins Ala. 227 67 Gina Jones Ala. 217 68 Penny Berryman Ark. 213 69 Linda Sands Ala. 195 70 Diane Phillips Texas 193 71 Kathy DiMartino Ala. 191 72 Betty Stahl Ala. 185 73 Barbara Wetzel Ala. 169 74 Kelley Shepherd Ariz. 163 74 Deb Doyal La. 163 76 Caprice Cherry La. 159 77 Sherri Dodson Ala. 155 78 Kimberlee Striker Ala. 151 79 Pat White Texas 149 80 Patsy McDaniel Ala. 137 81 Kim Hicks Ga. 127 82 Judy VanCanneyt Ala. 125 83 Ann Swinks Ga. 119 84 Kathy Freehling Fla. 115 85 Sharon Teague S.C. 0 2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6 Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR. (NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Martha Goodfellow Simpsonville, SC 11 17-11 305 $25,305.00 Day 1: 3 03-00 Day 2: 5 09-01 Day 3: 3 05-10 2. Diane Smith Fayetteville, GA 10 15-04 300 $1,830.00 Day 1: 5 09-03 Day 2: 4 04-07 Day 3: 1 01-10 3. Bonnie Ward Snohomish, WA 11 11-13 290 $1,525.00 Day 1: 5 06-05 Day 2: 4 03-12 Day 3: 2 01-12 4. Terri Bittner Mckinleyville, CA 9 11-05 285 $1,220.00 Day 1: 4 03-14 Day 2: 3 03-11 Day 3: 2 03-12 5. Denese Freeman Lawton, OK 6 10-05 285 $1,068.00 Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 01-01 6. Debbie Pegoli Loveland, OH 9 09-15 276 $915.00 Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 3 02-13 Day 3: 1 00-14 7. Brande Branine Haysville, KS 7 09-13 272 $763.00 Day 1: 5 08-02 Day 2: 1 00-12 Day 3: 1 00-15 8. Bertha Cavakis Amity, AR 8 09-11 268 $610.00 Day 1: 2 03-04 Day 2: 4 04-01 Day 3: 2 02-06 9. Kim Martin Clayton, IN 9 09-09 264 $549.00 Day 1: 3 04-05 Day 2: 3 02-13 Day 3: 3 02-07 10. Karol Whitehurst Winnsboro, TX 8 09-08 260 $503.00 Day 1: 3 03-13 Day 2: 4 04-03 Day 3: 1 01-08 11. Jodi Galloway Garland, TX 7 08-07 257 $458.00 Day 1: 2 01-12 Day 2: 4 05-03 Day 3: 1 01-08 12. Linda Berry Madison, NC 7 08-05 254 $427.00 Day 1: 5 05-12 Day 2: 2 02-09 Day 3: 0 00-00 13. Linda Owens Brandon, MS 7 07-11 251 $397.00 Day 1: 3 03-09 Day 2: 3 03-03 Day 3: 1 00-15 14. Sharon Lawson Red Bank, TN 3 07-08 248 $366.00 Day 1: 2 06-07 Day 2: 1 01-01 Day 3: 0 00-00 15. Gail Wood Russellville, AR 6 07-07 245 $351.00 Day 1: 4 05-12 Day 2: 1 00-13 Day 3: 1 00-14 16. Katie Ellis Gulfport, MS 5 07-05 243 $336.00 Day 1: 3 02-13 Day 2: 2 04-08 Day 3: 0 00-00 17. Stacy Zhelesnik Hoboken, NJ 6 07-03 241 $320.00 Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 1 00-12 Day 3: 0 00-00 18. Vicki Henderson Ashdown, AR 6 07-01 239 $305.00 Day 1: 5 06-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 00-15 19. Michele Gunderman Gastonia, NC 5 06-15 237 $290.00 Day 1: 2 02-11 Day 2: 3 04-04 Day 3: 0 00-00 20. Elizabeth Sanders Brandon, MS 6 06-09 235 $275.00 Day 1: 1 00-15 Day 2: 5 05-10 Day 3: 0 00-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 9 146 186-03 2 2 88 104-15 3 0 21 26-03 ---------------------------------- 11 255 317-05 Non-Boater Points Ending 06-06-2009, Day 3 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Terri Bittner Calif. 870 2 Martha Goodfellow S.C. 817 3 Donna Newberry Ark. 816 4 Debbie Pegoli Ohio 802 5 Gail Wood Ark. 761 6 Kim Martin Ind. 757 7 Teri Cindric Tenn. 741 8 Charlotte Frazier Texas 722 9 Linda Owens Miss. 720 10 Colleen McKay Mass. 712 11 Sherry Melton Tenn. 701 12 Vicki Henderson Ark. 694 13 Bonnie Ward Wash. 688 14 Bertha Cavakis Ark. 672 15 Renee Gumbrecht N.J. 665 16 Donna Rutledge Ill. 659 17 Linda Berry N.C. 658 18 Kala Wright Okla. 654 19 Diane Smith Ga. 650 20 Barbara Gaskins Va. 645 21 Lisa Diehl Pa. 644 22 Cheryl Buelow La. 642 23 Linda Walker Ark. 635 24 Denese Freeman Okla. 633 25 Kat Arnold La. 629 26 Kim Petrowski Texas 619 27 Trish Levitt N.M. 610 27 Karol Whitehurst Texas 610 29 Melissa Bond N.M. 609 30 Katie Hogan Tenn. 608 31 Elizabeth Sanders Miss. 605 32 Susan Dameron Tenn. 587 33 Katie Ellis Miss. 579 33 Barbara Ferge Tenn. 579 35 Kim Mendoza Texas 575 36 Nancy Oliver La. 573 37 Susan Wild Fla. 565 38 Jane Brunner Miss. 563 38 Patty Houston Ala. 563 40 Dawn Dudek Ill. 551 41 Stacy Zhelesnik N.J. 546 42 Patti James Texas 543 43 Pam Chism Ark. 539 44 Jill Matheis Ind. 525 45 Michele Gunderman N.C. 480 46 Monica Altman N.C. 471 47 Lesli Lively Texas 470 48 Lori Steele Okla. 461 49 Kelly Wells Ga. 460 50 Lesley Childers S.C. 412 51 Sabrina Thompson Texas 410 52 Sarah Davis La. 384 53 Torrye Vineyard Texas 382 54 Sharon Lawson Tenn. 361 55 Neva Brown Texas 356 56 Christine Martin Colo. 348 57 Debra Cook Ala. 338 58 Petra Ramsey Texas 330 59 Nancy Dugas Ala. 320 60 Jennifer Rice Ala. 316 61 Nancy Stumpe Fla. 276 62 Linda Higginbotham Fla. 272 62 Brande Branine Kan. 272 64 Jodi Galloway Texas 257 65 Vicki Hester Ala. 251 66 Cynthia Tayloe Texas 231 67 Bunny Hicks Ga. 227 68 Cheryl Sprayberry Fla. 221 69 Brandi Frasier Ky. 211 70 Miriam Donohoo Fla. 209 71 Laura Bean Ala. 201 71 Judy Pate La. 201 73 Jada Tidmore Ala. 199 74 Inez Zeagler La. 195 75 Cynthia Bryan La. 191 76 Jennifer Blackwood Ga. 181 76 De Lynn Montez Calif. 181 76 Sharron Stone Texas 181 79 Juanita Blasingame Tenn. 179 79 Denice Johnston Texas 179 81 LaShea Raynor S.C. 175 82 Leslie Anderson Mo. 169 83 Linda Rinker Fla. 167 83 Tracy Bailey Texas 167 85 Shelley Chenowith Ark. 161 86 Renee Key Johnston Texas 157 87 Lisa Skelley Tenn. 153 88 Virginia Buckner Ala. 133 89 Marilyn Biszmaier Ky. 131 90 Cassie Hall Ala. 129 91 Sugar Walker Ala. 125 92 Mona Crawford Fla. 123 93 Kimberly White Ill. 117 94 Gerry Threadgill Texas 0 94 Leanne Snowden Mich. 0 94 Caprice Cherry La. 0