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Kansan Brent Chapman takes
home $12,200 for his 23rd place finish
Alton Jones of Texas Captures His
First Bassmaster Classic Win
 February
24, 2008 - GREENVILLE, S.C. - Alton Jones jockeyed a slim
lead into a jumbo win with 49 pounds, 7 ounces Sunday for his
first Bassmaster Classic crown and the top prize of $500,000.
The Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Waco, Texas,
went into the final day of the Lake Hartwell competition with
only a 1-pound, 3-ounce cushion against his closest challenger.
He held on handily for the crown, his first win since he took
a 2004 Bassmaster Elite 50 event on the Tennessee River.
Competing in his 11th Classic, Jones moved from
10th place on Day 1 to take the lead on the second day, and he
never let go.
The 44-year-old Jones claimed his trophy in front
of a packed house of fishing fans Sunday at the Bi-Lo Center.
A recap of his victory and the entire tournament will air on
ESPN2 on Saturday, March 1 at 9 a.m. ET. Extensive coverage is
also available at www.Bassmaster.com.
The 38th Classic champion said he stuck to one
productive pattern throughout the competition, which started
with 50 contenders and cut to the top 25 for Sunday.
"I really didn't have a Plan B. I tried all
different types of things in practice and I really only had one
type of location I was fishing and a few baits that were working.
"The problem was that one of them, the Cotton
Cordell CC Spoon, only worked for 30 minutes early. Once that
bite was gone, I went to a prototype Booyah jig called the Pigskin
and another one called AJ's Go-To Jig."
Jones said he fished "all over the lake,"
keying in on inside edges of deep timber. He said his side-imaging
electronics unit was key to seeing abrupt drops and deep ditches
that produced for him.
Second was Elite Series pro Cliff Pace of Petal,
Miss., who rode his fifth-place standing Friday into third place
Saturday, but come Sunday, his 44-5 total was still 5-2 short
of catching Jones.
Pace said he used two patterns. One was working
5-foot water with a Buckeye spinner tipped with a V&M soft
plastic. The other was drop-shotting water as deep as 46 feet.
The key for Pace was bass chasing bait fish, either
blueback herring or shad.
"If the bait wasn't there, the fish weren't
there, and you would not get a bite," Pace said.
Third was two-time Classic champ and Elite pro
Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., who with 43-8 missed his third
title by almost 6 pounds.
"The first day was good for me, but the second
day, that weather front threw my pattern off and I had a hard
time readjusting. I took a big chance knowing I had 4 pounds
to make up and as tough as it was today, I should have gone with
my pattern that was a sure thing, one I knew I could get bit
on, and have a chance to catch big ones."
VanDam said he caught all his fish on two baits,
a Strike King Series 5 crankbait, a blue gizzard shad color he
designed to look like a blueback herring, cranking it on main-lake
structure on long clay points in clear water near the dam. The
second day that pattern failed him, so he went to another Strike
King lure, a flat shad bait in his signature "sexy-shad"
color.
Official sponsors of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic
are Toyota Tundra, Advance Auto Parts, Berkley, Lowrance, Mercury,
Purolator, Skeeter and Yamaha.
2008 Bassmaster Classic - Greenville, SC 02/22-02/24
Lake Hartwell, Greenville S.C.
(PRO Division) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Alton Jones Waco, Texas 15 49-07 0 $500,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-05 Day 2: 5 18-11 Day 3: 5 13-07
2. Cliff Pace Petal, Miss. 15 44-05 0 $45,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 11-00
3. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 15 43-08 0 $40,000.00
Day 1: 5 20-03 Day 2: 5 11-14 Day 3: 5 11-07
4. Bobby Lane Lakeland, Fla. 15 42-07 0 $30,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 14-13 Day 3: 5 12-10
5. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 15 41-07 0 $25,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-02 Day 2: 5 14-09 Day 3: 5 10-12
6. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, Okla. 13 40-15 0 $22,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-15 Day 2: 5 18-12 Day 3: 3 9-04
7. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, Ala. 15 40-09 0 $21,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 5 12-00 Day 3: 5 11-14
8. Clark Reehm Russellville, Ark. 15 40-08 0 $22,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 5 12-08 Day 3: 5 15-00
9. Aaron Martens Leeds, Ala. 15 40-07 0 $20,500.00
Day 1: 5 12-15 Day 2: 5 15-14 Day 3: 5 11-10
10. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J. 14 39-10
0 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-05 Day 2: 5 12-14 Day 3: 4 8-07
11. Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. 15 39-09 0 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-07 Day 2: 5 11-02 Day 3: 5 10-00
12. Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. 13 39-00 0 $14,500.00
Day 1: 3 11-05 Day 2: 5 17-02 Day 3: 5 10-09
13. Scott Rook Little Rock, Ark. 15 38-13 0 $14,250.00
Day 1: 5 20-13 Day 2: 5 7-12 Day 3: 5 10-04
14. Dave Wolak Wake Forest, N.C. 15 38-06 0 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 9-14 Day 3: 5 14-12
15. Charlie Hartley Grove City, Ohio 12 38-02 0
$13,750.00
Day 1: 5 21-01 Day 2: 5 13-12 Day 3: 2 3-05
16. John Crews Salem, Va. 15 37-12 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-02 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 11-15
17. Casey Ashley Donalds, S.C. 12 35-12 0 $12,900.00
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 2 5-12 Day 3: 5 11-06
18. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, Fla. 13 33-15 0
$12,800.00
Day 1: 5 19-03 Day 2: 3 4-07 Day 3: 5 10-05
19. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 15 33-09 0 $12,700.00
Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 5 13-02 Day 3: 5 10-01
20. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, Calif. 13 33-00
0 $12,600.00
Day 1: 5 13-02 Day 2: 5 14-08 Day 3: 3 5-06
21. Gerald Swindle Warrior, Ala. 15 32-15 0 $12,400.00
Day 1: 5 9-12 Day 2: 5 14-02 Day 3: 5 9-01
22. Kevin F Short Mayflower, Ark. 15 32-10 0 $12,300.00
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 12-02 Day 3: 5 8-00
23. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, Kan. 15 32-05
0 $12,200.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 10-03 Day 3: 5 8-12
24. Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 13 31-13 0 $12,100.00
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 11-03 Day 3: 3 6-14
25. Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 9 27-08 0 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-10 Day 2: 3 8-15 Day 3: 1 0-15
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Purolator Big Bass
Day
1 Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 6-02 $1,000.00
2 Fred Roumbanis Bixby, Okla. 6-07 $1,000.00
3 Clark Reehm Russellville, Ark. 5-06 $1,000.00
Purolator Big Bass of Tournament
Fred Roumbanis Bixby, Okla. 6-07 $2,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 37 215 602-06
2 35 204 514-09
3 19 111 247-00
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91 530 1363-15
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