Her 38-pound, 10-ounce total bested Tammy Richardson of Amity, Ark., who recovered after a slow first day to finish second with 38-3. Martin-Wells won $1,000 and a Skeeter/Yamaha boat rig valued at $55,000.
The Coosa River impoundment's current picked up speed this week as water was pulled through the Neely Henry dam to handle three days of heavy rain.
"Even though I have a very good and strong trolling motor, the current was stronger, so the whole time I had my foot on it, I was straining from daylight to takeout every day," Martin-Wells said. "If I caught a fish, or broke off, or had to cull, by the time I got through, I was half a mile from where I had been fishing, so I had to crank up the big motor to get back to my fish."
Martin-Wells won the WBT's 2008 event on Neely Henry as well as the inaugural WBT Championship in 2007 on another Coosa impoundment, Lake Mitchell. Her vast experience on Coosa waters led her to try just about every lure in her tacklebox this week- tubes, worms, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and even a drop-shot rig, something she rarely turns to.
Martin-Wells went into Saturday's final round with a 2-pound, 10-ounce advantage over Richardson. Richardson did her best to catch up, weighing Saturday's biggest bag of 15-4, but was short of trumping the pro from Georgia.
"I keep thinking back to Day One and the mistakes I made," Richardson said. "My biggest problem was making the right adjustments when my fish moved."
"Yesterday I moved out deeper and put a deep-diving crankbait on, and I also Carolina-rigged," she said. That tactic yielded 15-11, the biggest bag of Day Two. "Today, I started out doing the same thing and didn't get anything. I ended up going back shallow and that's how I got my fish today."
"This river has been good to me, but it's got me a time or two, too," said Richardson, whose three WBT wins include one on Neely Henry, but also had a 61st place finish there. "It can be so good, and when you're on them, you're on them. Then it changes overnight, and the fish are just gone."
The Gadsden area missed the severe weather that affected much of Alabama Saturday morning. By early afternoon, the sun began to wink through the clouds above Neely Henry, a welcome sight to Emily Shaffer of Mount Juliet, Tenn., the Day One leader finished third with 33-5.
"I needed the sun, and that's when I got my best fish from what I call my sweet spot," she said. "What worked for me was a Lucky Craft Pointer, Bomber Fat Free Shad and pearl Zoom Fluke, Carolina-rigged. I noticed the fish were eating shad, so I got out the fluke; and that's what many of my fish came on yesterday and today."
Martin-Wells' win put her in front in the 2009 Women's Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year points race. The pros are racking up points to qualify for the Oct. 16-18 WBT Championship on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. One pro will emerge from the championship as the 2009 AOY and earn a berth in the 2010 Classic, set for Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala. As the 2008 AOY, Kim Bain-Moore of Alabaster, Ala., qualified for the 2009 Classic last month. She was the first woman to compete in a Classic. She was at Neely Henry this week, finishing 13th with 25-9.
"I just had fun fishing today," she said. "Certainly I'll be trying to make the Classic again, but I'd be more than happy to be able to share that experience with another lady."
Co-angler Stacy Zhelesnik of Hoboken, N.Y., logged her first WBT victory with a 27-pound, 14-ounce total, an extra sweet experience after finishing just 7 ounces out of first in the co-angler division on the same fishery last season. She said she will make good use of the $25,000 Triton/Mercury rig and the $500 she won because she's making plans to turn pro.
"My major challenges this week was to find a consistent pattern," she said. "I mainly was junk fishing in practice. I knew I had to narrow it down to a pattern that wasn't going to be affected by the changing water level. I finally got my swimbait bite to turn on, a 3.8-inch Keitech swimbait."
Zhelesnik shot past Day One and Day Two co-angler leader Donna Newberry of Van Buren, Ark., who slipped to second place with a 26-8 total. Third was Terri Bittner of McKinleyville, Calif., with 25-5.
The next stop for the WBT will be West Monroe, La., for an April 23-25 competition on the Ouachita River.
2009 Womens Tour - WBT #1 - Gadsden AL BO 03/26-03/28 Neely Henry Lake, Gadsden Ala. (BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, Ga. 15 38-10 310 $55,820.00 Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 13-05 Day 3: 5 13-01 2. Tammy Richardson Amity, Ark. 15 38-03 295 $4,510.00 Day 1: 5 7-04 Day 2: 5 15-11 Day 3: 5 15-04 3. Emily Shaffer Mount Juliet, Tenn. 15 33-05 295 $3,690.00 Day 1: 5 14-08 Day 2: 5 7-08 Day 3: 5 11-05 4. Rhonda Pope Waco, Ga. 14 30-09 285 $3,280.00 Day 1: 4 7-03 Day 2: 5 10-10 Day 3: 5 12-12 5. Robin Babb Livingston, Texas 14 30-04 280 $2,870.00 Day 1: 5 8-05 Day 2: 4 9-15 Day 3: 5 12-00 6. Juanita Robinson Highlands, Texas 15 30-00 276 $2,460.00 Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 5 8-10 Day 3: 5 10-06 7. Lisa Johnson Centre, Ala. 15 29-12 272 $2,050.00 Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 5 8-07 Day 3: 5 10-10 8. Laura Gober Pendergrass, Ga. 15 28-03 268 $1,640.00 Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 7-15 Day 3: 5 8-01 9. Kim Stapp Ringgold, Ga. 13 28-02 264 $1,435.00 Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 3 5-07 Day 3: 5 10-01 10. Melinda Mize Ben Lomond, Ark. 15 27-15 260 $1,230.00 Day 1: 5 9-10 Day 2: 5 11-07 Day 3: 5 6-14 11. Debra Petrowski Arlington, Texas 15 27-10 257 $1,107.00 Day 1: 5 6-02 Day 2: 5 11-13 Day 3: 5 9-11 12. Robinette Fox Hot Springs, Ark. 15 26-11 254 $902.00 Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 6-03 Day 3: 5 10-06 13. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, Ala. 15 25-09 251 $820.00 Day 1: 5 9-11 Day 2: 5 7-06 Day 3: 5 8-08 14. Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, Okla. 15 24-12 248 $800.00 Day 1: 5 8-11 Day 2: 5 7-11 Day 3: 5 8-06 15. Pam Bolton Jonesboro, Ark. 15 24-01 245 $779.00 Day 1: 5 9-10 Day 2: 5 8-02 Day 3: 5 6-05 16. Mary Croft Bedford, Va. 15 23-08 243 $759.00 Day 1: 5 9-10 Day 2: 5 8-04 Day 3: 5 5-10 17. Kris McClendon Spicewood, Texas 14 23-05 241 $738.00 Day 1: 4 10-06 Day 2: 5 7-02 Day 3: 5 5-13 18. Sandi Karnes Livingston, Texas 15 23-04 239 $718.00 Day 1: 5 8-10 Day 2: 5 7-14 Day 3: 5 6-12 19. Judy Wong Many, La. 14 22-05 237 $697.00 Day 1: 5 8-06 Day 2: 5 9-12 Day 3: 4 4-03 20. Heather Broom Sylva, N.C. 13 21-06 235 $677.00 Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 7-05 Day 3: 3 3-15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 36 276 477-14 2 46 301 494-10 3 18 97 179-15 ---------------------------------- 100 674 1152-07 2009 WBT #1 - Gadsden AL - WBT #1 - Gadsden, AL Boater Points Ending 03-28-2009, Day 3 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Pam Martin-Wells Ga. 310 2 Tammy Richardson Ark. 295 2 Emily Shaffer Tenn. 295 4 Rhonda Pope Ga. 285 5 Robin Babb Texas 280 6 Juanita Robinson Texas 276 7 Lisa Johnson Ala. 272 8 Laura Gober Ga. 268 9 Kim Stapp Ga. 264 10 Melinda Mize Ark. 260 11 Debra Petrowski Texas 257 12 Robinette Fox Ark. 254 13 Kim Bain-Moore Ala. 251 14 Sheri Glasgow Okla. 248 15 Pam Bolton Ark. 245 16 Mary Croft Va. 243 17 Kris McClendon Texas 241 18 Sandi Karnes Texas 239 19 Judy Wong La. 237 20 Heather Broom N.C. 235 21 Cheryl Bowden Texas 233 22 Cheryl LaLumandier Mo. 231 23 Cindy Hill Tenn. 229 24 Karen Elkins Ala. 227 25 Mary DiVincenti La. 225 26 Paula Alexander Ga. 223 27 Kat Ealey Ala. 221 28 Debbie Kemp Texas 219 29 Gina Jones Ala. 217 30 Lucy Mize Ark. 215 31 Penny Berryman Ark. 213 32 Jennifer Nevans Tenn. 211 33 Lynda Gessner Mo. 209 34 Teri Neal Ga. 207 35 Lori Masters Tenn. 205 36 Dianna Clark Tenn. 203 37 Karen Savik Minn. 201 38 Patti Campbell Texas 199 39 Janet Parker Texas 197 40 Linda Sands Ala. 195 41 Diane Phillips Texas 193 42 Kathy DiMartino Ala. 191 43 Kathi Hurst Miss. 189 44 Susan Gregory Miss. 187 45 Betty Stahl Ala. 185 46 Jan Heavener Ark. 183 47 Helen Gordon Texas 181 48 Kathy Womack Ala. 179 49 Tami Kashiwabara Ala. 177 50 Christena Baugh Ark. 175 51 Marsha Gipson Ark. 173 52 Christiana Bradley Va. 171 53 Barbara Wetzel Ala. 169 54 Bridget Allen Pa. 167 55 Lisa Sternard Tenn. 165 56 Kelley Shepherd Ariz. 163 57 Laura Heflin Kan. 161 58 Linda Redford Mo. 159 59 Lisa Craig Texas 157 60 Sherri Dodson Ala. 155 61 Keri Schieber Ga. 153 62 Kimberlee Striker Ala. 151 63 Pat White Texas 149 64 Debra Hengst Texas 147 65 Secret York Ky. 145 66 Mary Hencken N.C. 143 67 BJ Carson Okla. 141 68 Jo Dee Lake Ala. 139 69 Patsy McDaniel Ala. 137 70 Michelle Armstrong N.C. 135 71 Kali Weatherford Texas 133 72 Meta Burrell Texas 131 73 Robbie Hartline Mo. 129 74 Kim Hicks Ga. 127 75 Judy VanCanneyt Ala. 125 76 Cindy Van Horn Texas 123 77 Lila Bass Texas 121 78 Ann Swinks Ga. 119 79 Terri Elkins Texas 117 80 Kathy Freehling Fla. 115 81 Danalee Lofton Ark. 113 82 Sharon Teague S.C. 0 2009 Womens Tour - WBT #1 - Gadsden AL NB 03/26-03/28 Neely Henry Lake, Gadsden Ala. (NON-BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Stacy Zhelesnik Hoboken, N.J. 14 27-14 305 $25,410.00 Day 1: 5 8-01 Day 2: 4 6-15 Day 3: 5 12-14 2. Donna Newberry Van Buren, Ark. 15 26-08 305 $2,460.00 Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 7-15 Day 3: 5 6-07 3. Terri Bittner Mckinleyville, Calif. 15 25-05 290 $2,050.00 Day 1: 5 6-01 Day 2: 5 11-11 Day 3: 5 7-09 4. Martha Goodfellow Simpsonville, S.C. 13 24-14 285 $1,640.00 Day 1: 5 7-05 Day 2: 3 5-01 Day 3: 5 12-08 5. Trish Levitt Albuquerque, N.M. 12 23-08 280 $1,435.00 Day 1: 5 8-05 Day 2: 2 5-08 Day 3: 5 9-11 6. Nancy Stumpe Palatka, Fla. 11 20-09 276 $1,230.00 Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 3 4-15 Day 3: 3 4-12 7. Linda Higginbotham Palm Coast, Fla. 14 19-13 272 $1,025.00 Day 1: 5 6-12 Day 2: 4 5-07 Day 3: 5 7-10 8. Vicki Henderson Ashdown, Ark. 11 19-12 268 $820.00 Day 1: 3 5-09 Day 2: 3 6-08 Day 3: 5 7-11 9. Teri Cindric Hermitage, Tenn. 10 18-14 264 $738.00 Day 1: 2 5-06 Day 2: 4 8-15 Day 3: 4 4-09 10. Colleen McKay Worcester, Mass. 11 18-06 260 $677.00 Day 1: 5 8-05 Day 2: 5 8-05 Day 3: 1 1-12 11. Sherry Melton Monterey, Tenn. 13 17-06 257 $615.00 Day 1: 4 4-09 Day 2: 4 6-03 Day 3: 5 6-10 12. Cheryl Buelow Pollock, La. 13 17-03 254 $574.00 Day 1: 5 9-00 Day 2: 4 3-14 Day 3: 4 4-05 13. Vicki Hester Rainbow City, Ala. 12 17-03 251 $533.00 Day 1: 5 7-10 Day 2: 2 4-09 Day 3: 5 5-00 14. Lori Steele Tulsa, Okla. 9 16-07 248 $492.00 Day 1: 3 6-12 Day 2: 5 8-15 Day 3: 1 0-12 15. Lesli Lively Grapeland, Texas 12 15-07 245 $472.00 Day 1: 5 9-09 Day 2: 5 4-09 Day 3: 2 1-05 16. Michele Gunderman Gastonia, N.C. 10 14-09 243 $451.00 Day 1: 1 1-02 Day 2: 5 9-05 Day 3: 4 4-02 17. Debbie Pegoli Loveland, Ohio 10 14-01 241 $431.00 Day 1: 5 7-03 Day 2: 2 3-03 Day 3: 3 3-11 18. Linda Berry Madison, N.C. 7 13-13 239 $410.00 Day 1: 3 8-04 Day 2: 2 2-08 Day 3: 2 3-01 19. Kelly Wells Grovetown, Ga. 8 12-10 237 $390.00 Day 1: 5 9-04 Day 2: 1 1-04 Day 3: 2 2-02 20. Charlotte Frazier Dallas, Texas 6 12-06 235 $369.00 Day 1: 2 3-02 Day 2: 3 7-06 Day 3: 1 1-14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 21 219 347-00 2 14 187 271-04 3 9 72 108-05 ---------------------------------- 44 478 726-09 2009 WBT #1 - Gadsden AL - WBT #1 - Gadsden, AL Non-Boater Points Ending 03-28-2009, Day 3 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Donna Newberry Ark. 305 1 Stacy Zhelesnik N.J. 305 3 Terri Bittner Calif. 290 4 Martha Goodfellow S.C. 285 5 Trish Levitt N.M. 280 6 Nancy Stumpe Fla. 276 7 Linda Higginbotham Fla. 272 8 Vicki Henderson Ark. 268 9 Teri Cindric Tenn. 264 10 Colleen McKay Mass. 260 11 Sherry Melton Tenn. 257 12 Cheryl Buelow La. 254 13 Vicki Hester Ala. 251 14 Lori Steele Okla. 248 15 Lesli Lively Texas 245 16 Michele Gunderman N.C. 243 17 Debbie Pegoli Ohio 241 18 Linda Berry N.C. 239 19 Kelly Wells Ga. 237 20 Charlotte Frazier Texas 235 21 Kim Martin Ind. 233 22 Cynthia Tayloe Texas 231 23 Kim Mendoza Texas 229 24 Bunny Hicks Ga. 227 25 Donna Rutledge Ill. 225 26 Kala Wright Okla. 223 27 Gail Wood Ark. 221 28 Kim Petrowski Texas 219 29 Torrye Vineyard Texas 217 30 Bertha Cavakis Ark. 215 31 Renee Gumbrecht N.J. 213 32 Brandi Frasier Ky. 211 33 Miriam Donohoo Fla. 209 34 Monica Altman N.C. 207 35 Susan Dameron Tenn. 205 36 Sabrina Thompson Texas 203 37 Laura Bean Ala. 201 38 Jada Tidmore Ala. 199 39 Sarah Davis La. 197 40 Linda Walker Ark. 195 41 Bonnie Ward Wash. 193 42 Kat Arnold La. 191 43 Barbara Gaskins Va. 189 44 Susan Wild Fla. 187 45 Katie Hogan Tenn. 185 46 Lesley Childers S.C. 183 47 Jennifer Blackwood Ga. 181 48 Juanita Blasingame Tenn. 179 49 Denese Freeman Okla. 177 50 LaShea Raynor S.C. 175 51 Elizabeth Sanders Miss. 173 52 Neva Brown Texas 171 53 Leslie Anderson Mo. 169 54 Linda Rinker Fla. 167 55 Jane Brunner Miss. 165 56 Lisa Diehl Pa. 163 57 Patti James Texas 161 58 Linda Owens Miss. 159 59 Melissa Bond N.M. 157 60 Nancy Oliver La. 155 61 Lisa Skelley Tenn. 153 62 Barbara Ferge Tenn. 151 63 Pam Chism Ark. 149 64 Karol Whitehurst Texas 147 65 Debra Cook Ala. 145 66 Nancy Dugas Ala. 143 67 Petra Ramsey Texas 141 68 Diane Smith Ga. 139 69 Christine Martin Colo. 137 70 Jennifer Rice Ala. 135 71 Virginia Buckner Ala. 133 72 Marilyn Biszmaier Ky. 131 73 Cassie Hall Ala. 129 74 Jill Matheis Ind. 127 75 Sugar Walker Ala. 125 76 Mona Crawford Fla. 123 76 Katie Ellis Miss. 123 78 Dawn Dudek Ill. 119 79 Kimberly White Ill. 117 80 Patty Houston Ala. 115 81 Sharon Lawson Tenn. 113 82 Leanne Snowden Mich. 0