Bassmaster Classic final day weighin

[lostaussie]

5:30 to 7 on espn. big front blew in this morning. steadily dropping temps and a 30 mph wind will make fishing difficult. going to be very interesting.

[Gobbla2001]

Originally posted by lostaussie
5:30 to 7 on espn. big front blew in this morning. steadily dropping temps and a 30 mph wind will make fishing difficult. going to be very interesting.

I told you... That Norris blood in Ike is pulling through...

What were you thinking? That GOD controlled the weather? pshh

[lostaussie]

Originally posted by Gobbla2001
I told you... That Norris blood in Ike is pulling through...

What were you thinking? That GOD controlled the weather? pshh i should have known ike was still in control:D

[lostaussie]

spokane wa. native luc clausen wins bmc with a record breaking 3 day total of over 56 lbs. story to follow. clausen broke the 1999 record of 55 lbs and some change held by davey hite.

[lostaussie]

Weathering the Classic storm
By Kevin Short
Bassmaster.com exclusive — Feb. 26, 2006

Mother Nature was downright rude to the 25 anglers that launched into Lake Toho for the final day of the 2006 CITGO Bassmaster Classic. The elements thrashed men and equipment as a strong line of storms moved across the Toho and Kissimmee lakes region.

Due to lightning in the immediate area, Tournament Director Trip Weldon delayed the start of the day by approximately 20 minutes. After the anglers assembled and left Big Toho Marina, they had approximately 2 hours of decent conditions — literally the calm before the storm.

How bad was it? 25 mile per hour north winds with gusts into the 30's drove torrential rain horizontally through the area. As the front and associated squall line passed, a small funnel cloud was even spotted over Lake Kissimmee. 3-4 foot tall waves rolled down the lakes and crashed into the southern shores. It was bad.

After the front, fish catches for most competitors fell due to the strong winds. Many of the anglers were casting soft plastics to scattered cover, either lily pads or bulrushes, and the strong winds made it extremely hard to detect bites. Several of the keys to successfully casting plastics in Florida are boat positioning, the angle of retrieve, and a slow, methodical presentation. The strong gusts made boat control and any type of slow presentation both impossible endeavors.

The strong winds also muddied the relatively shallow waters of the lakes and sent the field scrambling for areas that were protected from the gusts.

One of the few anglers to effectively counter the conditions and bring in a large bag was KVD. Throwing a spinnerbait and covering water, Van Dam caught four limits of bass on a day when others struggled to catch one llimit.

A strong first day was the deciding factor in winning this tournament due to the deterioration of the weather conditions. Had conditions remained stable, there could have been a different ending to the story. As it played out, the enormous weight posted by Luke Clausen on Day 1 of 29-06, followed by a respectable 14-15, then finishing with 11-13 for a total of 56-02 was too much for any of the other 50 competitors to overcome.

As they crossed the stage in front of the crowd at the Orange County Convention Center, each of the anglers had something to say about how the weather had a major impact on their day and few had any positive comments with regards to the conditions.

Several competitors were happy to have weathered the day's storm and qualified for the opportunity to play for three days on the biggest stage in competitive angling.

[lostaussie]

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — In its first 35 years, the CITGO Bassmaster Classic had six champions who led from start to finish. Luke Clausen is lucky number seven.



Clausen, a 27-year old professional from Spokane Valley, Wash., jumped to the lead on Friday with a Classic one-day catch record of 29 pounds, six ounces. He staked himself to nearly a five-pound lead on Day Two and facing hellish weather conditions on Sunday, held off the field with a five-fish limit that weighed 11-13.

Clausen's consistent performance resulted in a record three-day total of 56 pounds, two ounces and earned him victory in the 36th annual Classic. He also pocketed the $500,000 first prize that accompanies the win.

"It still really hasn't sunk in," Clausen said. "I'm pretty much in disbelief. It's like I'm in the middle of a dream. When I was out there (on stage) and all that confetti is going on and I'm holding that trophy, it's surreal."

Rick Morris of Virginia climbed atop the leader board late Sunday and held the position until Clausen weighed in to close the tournament. Morris finished second with 51 pounds. Arkansas pro Ron Shuffield finished third with 47 pounds, 14 ounces and Terry Scroggins of nearby Palatka, Florida was fourth with 46-15.

Defending Classic champion Kevin VanDam had the day's biggest sack (15 pounds, seven ounces) and finished fifth with a three-day total of 44-8. Clausen, the first to hail from the West Coast, went about his business in the same fashion each day of the tournament.



He fished along the southeast shoreline of Lake Kissimmee and threw a Mann's hard-nosed, six-inch junebug worm to land his lunkers. The worm produced four of his five fish on Sunday, including the day's biggest fish — a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass.

His ability to use a lightweight plastic in the 40-miles per hour winds that swept across central Florida on Sunday required a bit of a change to his technique, Clausen said.

"I kept my rod tip on the water pretty much and I would pretty much reel extremely slow and drag the worm across the bottom," Clausen said. "Because if your line gets up at all, that 40 mph wind (would be troublesome.)"

After Saturday's weigh-in, Clausen said he planned to run to numerous spots on the final day. But heavy rain and wind Sunday morning drove him back to the spot that produced so well for him previously.

"I had a lot of confidence in the area," he said. "(During) my practice, I was in there and I had a tremendous amount of bites. I think the confidence between the bait and the area, it was hard for me to leave and go look at other spots. There were so many good fish in the area. I didn't know of any other place that could duplicate it."



As the other 24 anglers who fished Sunday found out, there were few spots any better than Clausen's. Morris made a 94-mile, round-trip journey to the Kissimmee River each of the three days to seek shelter from the wind. Once there, he threw a War Eagle spinnerbait and a chartreuse-and-white Chatterbait.

He managed to land 13 pounds, 11 ounces on Sunday, but said he had about 15 near misses. Morris, whose highest finish in a Classic came in 1997 when he placed 17th, said as the day progressed, he hoped he could make this tournament his first victory on the BASS tour.

"I was kind of hoping it would be mine," Morris said. "I was second at the Open Championship and I was second here. I seem to be finishing second a lot recently. But you know what? You've got to be second before you can be first."

Shuffield entered the final day practically promising a victory, but said the wind ruined his chances of winning.

"The wind really trashed the areas I had the most confidence in," he said. "I knew if I could win the Classic, it would be in this particular area. But it was trashed, so I wound up having to find other areas."



Shuffield caught three fish for a 7-15 weight on Sunday. Scroggins, who was listed among the pre-tournament favorites also struggled on Sunday, catching 7 pounds, 11 ounces in Lake Kissimmee.

VanDam caught 19 bass on spinner baits in Lake Cypress. Looking for his fourth consecutive tour victory, he held a brief lead, but relinquished it when the Super Six anglers reached the stage.

"(I caught some fish) but I didn't have anything for Luke," VanDam said. "He had a phenomenal (first) day and was consistent the other two. I didn't lose. I got beat."

Clausen's total surpassed the previous Classic record Davy Hite set in 1999 on the Louisiana Delta. Hite caught 55-10 that year. Higher totals have been posted, but that was before the current five-fish limit was instituted.