Pineville/Alexandria. LA, August 25, 2001 - It finally came true for bass fishing pro Judy Wong. She blew away the field in the Women's Bass Fishing Association Classic World Championship on the Red River. Her total catch for the three-day event was an impressive 42.53 pounds, unbelievably 13.32 pounds ahead of the second-place finisher, outstanding pro Sheri Glasgow, who totaled 29.21 pounds.
"I found the fish by using a topwater bait during practice," said Wong, a Sugarland, Texas angler who began her fishing career in 1977. "This week, I caught my fish on a chartreuse crankbait and a three-quarter-ounce spinnerbait. One of my fish had a bluegill in its mouth, so I rigged the spinnerbait with an orange and chartreuse skirt." The nervous and happy winner advised the Louisiana crowd at the Riverside Convention Center, "I think I caught all the bass out of that one oxbow, so it wouldn't help if I told you where it was." Her Saturday catch was a limit of 5 fish weighing 12.59 pounds, including the big fish of the day - 4.18 pounds.
Glasgow, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, also brought in a limit - one of just three limits for the final day. Her fish weighed 7.69 pounds. "I caught most of my fish this week pitching," she said. "And I also used a three-quarter ounce spinnerbait.
Coming in third for the championship was Shelley Perry of Hurricane. West Virginia. Her total bass weight for the week was 19.26 pounds. Veteran pro Katherine Stuart of Conway, Arkansas, finished 4th with a total weight of 17.8 pounds. Fifth place went to Clinton, Louisiana, angler Mary Devincenti who caught 16.36 pounds for the week.
Wong's winnings for the championship week included a fully rigged Triton TR 17 bass boat and a 150 Mercury engine.
A huge crowd attended the WBFA Classic at the Riverside Convention Center in Alexandria.
The final and decisive day of the annual event got underway at early dawn in Pineville at the Red River Authority boat ramp in Ft. Buhlow park. The official starter for the day was Cindy B. Goode of Clear Channel Communications Star 98.7 in Alexandria.
The State of Louisiana sponsors the Classic World Championship, the Alexandria/Pineville Area Convention And Visitors Bureau, the City of Alexandria, the City of Pineville, Clear Channel Communications, Louisiana Lottery, Paragon Casino and Resort, Century Tel, CLECO, Rapides Regional Medical Center, Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital, Red River Waterway Commission, Hibernia Bank, State Farm, Turpin Pontiac, Walker Oldsmobile, Willis Engineering, and Pan-American Engineers.
National Sponsorship Partners of the WBFA Tour include Mercury Motors, Triton Boats by Earl Bentz, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Snag Proof Lures, Minn Kota, DEKA Marine Master Batteries, Humminbird Electronics, North American Sportswoman Magazine, Reyes Del Mar Jewelers, Kick'n Bass Scents and Eidolon Bait Company.
