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North Carolina's Coble Wins
Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship, Earns His
Third Trip to Bassmaster Classic
Nov. 17, 2007 - APPLING, Ga. Once
wasn't enough. Twice wasn't enough. So Jeff Coble of Beaufort,
N.C., made sure he'd get a third trip to bass fishing's ultimate
stage. Coble surged ahead when it counted most Saturday to win
his second Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship
operated by American Bass Anglers and his third trip to the Bassmaster
Classic, set for Feb. 22-24 on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville,
S.C.
Coble, who won this event in the 2005 season to
earn a berth in the 2006 Bassmaster Classic, weighed in a Day
Four total of 14.43 lbs. for a total of 40.89 lbs. to win the
$100,000 cash prize at Clarks Hill Lake. He outperformed second-place
finisher William Kemp of Scotland Neck, N.C., by more than 2
pounds. Kemp finished with 38.07.
After three days of constantly changing conditions
warm weather Wednesday, a surprisingly windy and cold Thursday,
a chilly but calm Friday the weather finally cooperated
for anglers Saturday as the morning chill gave way to ideal fishing
conditions.
Coble was in fourth place heading into the final
round. Using a Zoom Ultra Vibe speed worm and a Zoom Z3 crankbait
for most of the tournament, he stuck to shallow water and found
bass schooling in brush piles and vegetation. While he hadn't
caught 10 pounds of fish on any previous day of the tournament,
things took a turn Saturday.
"I had some luck on a stream. That's where
I found a near 6-pounder early this morning," said Coble,
45. "Once I had that fish, I was caught up."
Mike Hicks of Goochland, Va., who led going into
Saturday's fishing, finished third with a total of 37.98 lbs.
Bobby Carter of Flowery Branch, Ga.,. (36.04 lbs.) and Phil Addison
of Baytown, Texas, (33.17 lbs.) rounded out the top five.
Frank Miller of West Nanicoke, Pa., won the co-angler
division with a four-day total of 20.01 lbs.
Coble, who has competed in the Bassmaster Classic
twice, in 2002 and 2006, said he didn't spend much time thinking
about the big event during this week's tournament.
"Now I've got to get up there and pre-fish
Lake Hartwell," said Coble, who is familiar with the site
of the 2008 Classic. "I've fished it before around that
time of year, maybe a few months later. The big thing is going
to be the weather, if it keeps warming up. I'm comfortable fishing
Hartwell. It's just a matter of finding the fish."
As for how he'll prepare for contending alongside
the biggest names in professional bass fishing, Coble, who finished
13th in the 2006 Classic in Kissimmee, Fla., said he isn't too
concerned about the "hoopla."
"I'm not as intimidated going into the Classic
against those guys, the Kevin VanDams and those guys," Coble
said. "I'm sure that guy who won it this past year, he had
to be intimidated rolling up in there and going up against all
those guys. But a lot of those guys are my friends, so I've been
around them. I know how to handle all the hoopla."
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