SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. — Judy Wong is on fire.
After a big win last month in Tennessee, Wong banged into the Oct. 16-18 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Tour Championship on Cypress Black Bayou Lake. She produced almost matching bags Friday and Saturday — a 15-5 and a 15-8 — for a leading weight of 30 pounds, 13 ounces heading into the final day.
“I did not think I had as much today,” Wong said Saturday. “I thought I had about 13 pounds.”
She said her five-fish limit did not come easily. She spent most of her time Saturday milking the hot spot that had produced for her Friday.
“Today I had to work for them,” she said. “There were fewer bites, not like yesterday when I had my limit early. Today I also felt like there were fewer fish there. It’s a small, tight, confined area.”
Although she had to work harder Saturday and share the small space with other anglers, the pro from Many, La., ended up so far in front that, short of a train wreck, the 2007 WBT champion could wrap it up Sunday and claim another championship title.
Still, several pros could mount a serious challenge, including. One is Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga. Her two-day weight of 22-2 put her more than 8 pounds behind Wong, but big bags are possible from Cypress Black Bayou Lake, judging from the number of 4-, 5- and even 6-pounders brought to the scales through the first two days of competition.
Martin-Wells will need to finish strong but doesn’t necessarily need to win in Louisiana to hang on to her lead in the Toyota Tundra WBT Angler of the Year points race to qualify for the 2010 Bassmaster Classic. While she wouldn’t mind repeating her 2006 championship title, the Classic is her first goal. The championship is the finish line in the AOY race, and the winner nets a berth in the 2010 Classic on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala., as well as a new Tundra.
“I hope I can keep the lead, but if I don’t, there’s always next year. I’ll give it 110 percent tomorrow,” said Martin-Wells, a four-time WBT event winner, including the 2006 championship crown in the tour’s inaugural season.
Martin-Wells said she had her five-fish limit Saturday by 8 a.m.
“It’s been a long day since,” she said as she came off the weigh-in stage. “I tried to improve (the weight), caught quite a few slot fish, but could not improve like yesterday.”
Martin-Wells said she’d certainly like to win the event, but she’s keeping her eye on the AOY prize.
“Angler of the Year, you have to be consistent all year long. It’s more important to me,” she said. “But every tournament I come to, I come to with the mind-set to win. There’s one more day of this one.”
If Martin-Wells is the AOY winner, she would be only the second woman in history to qualify for a Bassmaster Classic. She would follow in the footsteps of Kim Bain-Moore of Alabaster, Ala., who as the 2008 Angler of the Year competed in the 2009 Classic on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City.
Wong, who came into the event fourth in the AOY standings, 55 points behind Martin-Wells, is focusing on the championship win.
“That’s been my goal, to take the lead every day, and wait and see what others do,” Wong said. “If she stays right behind me in the standings, I would not be able to win Angler of the Year.”
In third after two days of championship competition was Robin Babb of Livingston, Texas, with 21-0. She said she found a hidden spot that has produced most of her fish.
“It’s unusual to have because it’s a very small lake,” Babb said of her location. “I really took a chance and went to a place where the fish should not be this time of year, and it’s working out.”
The 2009 pro champion will win $5,000 and a Triton/Mercury boat rig valued at $55,000. Second place pays $4,000 and a $39,000 Skeeter/Yamaha boat rig.
In the co-angler division, Monica Altman of Angier, N.C., took the top spot Saturday with a two-day weight of 20 pounds, 11 ounces, passing Day 1 leader and 2008 co-angler champion Barbara Gaskins of Suffolk, Va., who had 16-0 after two days. Colleen McKay of Worcester, Mass, moved into third place with a total of 10-4.
Co-anglers are competing for a piece of a $103,000 payout, including a first-place award of a $40,000 Triton/Mercury rig and $3,250. Second place will pay $2,500 and a Skeeter/Yamaha rig worth $35,000.
On Sunday, the full field of 20 pros and 20 co-anglers have one more crack at Cypress Black Bayou Lake. Bassmaster.com will cover the finale with live, streaming video of the weigh-in and a real-time leaderboard beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. The site will also post standings, results and photo galleries.
The public is invited to attend. Anglers will launch at 7 a.m. CT at the Black Bayou ramp on Old Palmetto Road off Airline Drive in Benton, La. The weigh-in is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. CT at Academy Sports + Outdoors, 2801 Beene Blvd., Bossier City, La. All events are free and open to the public.
Local sponsors for the event include Shreveport Regional Sports Authority.
About BASS
For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and its expansive tournament structure while championing efforts to connect directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
As the flagship offering of ESPN Outdoors, the Bassmaster brand and its considerable multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer; comprehensive Web properties in Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com, ESPNOutdoors.com and ESPN360.com, and ESPN2 television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
BASS oversees the prestigious Bassmaster Tournament Trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Tour, BASS Federation Nation and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
BASS offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
2009 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Tour Championship
10/16-10/18
Cypress Black Bayou Lake, Shreveport/Bossier City, La.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Judy Wong Many, La. 10 30-13 310 Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 15-08
2. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, Ga. 10 22-02 295 Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 8-13
3. RobinBabb Livingston, Texas 9 21-00 290 Day 1: 4 7-10 Day 2: 5 13-06
4. Juanita Robinson Highlands, Texas 9 15-03 285 Day 1: 5 9-02 Day 2: 4 6-01
5. Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, Okla. 9 14-06 280 Day1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 4 4-03
6. Paula Alexander Lincolnton,Ga. 8 14-05 276 Day 1: 4 2-06 Day 2: 4 11-15
7. Tammy Richardson Amity, Ark. 10 13-11 272 Day 1: 5 4-04 Day 2: 5 9-07
8. Melinda Mize BenLomond, Ark. 8 12-13 268 Day 1: 5 9-12 Day 2: 3 3-01
9. Laura Gober Pendergrass, Ga. 10 12-04 264 Day 1: 5 6-12 Day 2: 5 5-08
10. Janet Parker Little Elm, Texas 6 9-03 260 Day 1: 4 7-03 Day2: 2 2-00
11. Emily Shaffer Mount Juliet, Tenn. 9 8-15 257 Day 1: 5 5-01 Day 2: 4 3-14
12. Lisa Johnson Centre, Ala. 6 8-15 254 Day 1: 1 0-12 Day 2: 5 8-03
13. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, Tenn. 9 8-02 251 Day 1: 5 4-11 Day 2: 4 3-07
14. LucyMize Ben Lomond, Ark. 7 7-04 248 Day 1: 4 4-11 Day 2: 3 2-09
15. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, Ala. 7 7-02 245 Day 1: 5 5-06 Day 2: 2 1-12
16.Patti Campbell Waxahachie, Texas 7 7-01 243 Day 1:4 4-08 Day 2: 3 2-09
17. Meta Burrell Fort Worth,Texas 5 6-02 241 Day 1: 2 3-05 Day 2: 3 2-13
18. Debra Petrowski Arlington, Texas 4 5-15 239 Day 1: 1 1-01 Day 2: 3 4-14
19. Dianna Clark BumpusMills, Tenn. 4 3-15 237 Day 1: 3 2-15 Day 2: 1 1-00
20. Cindy Hill Smyrna, Tenn. 2 2-04 235 Day 1: 2 2-04 Day 2: 0 0-00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 10 79 120-08
2 6 70 110-15
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16 149 231-07
2009 Women’s Championship - 10/16-10/18
Cypress Black Bayou Lake, Shreveport/Bossier City, La.
(NON-BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. MonicaAltman Angier, N.C. 8 20-11 305 Day 1: 4 9-11 Day 2: 4 11-00
2. Barbara Gaskins Suffolk, Va. 9 16-00 300 Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 4 4-03
3. Colleen McKay Worcester, Mass. 9 10-04 290 Day1: 5 6-04 Day 2: 4 4-00
4. Donna Newberry Van Buren,Ark. 9 10-03 285 Day 1: 5 6-05 Day 2: 4 3-14
5. Vicki Henderson Ashdown, Ark. 7 9-14 280 Day 1: 5 7-09 Day 2: 2 2-05
6. Diane Smith Fayetteville,Ga. 6 9-13 276 Day 1: 3 6-05 Day 2: 3 3-08
7. Linda Walker Beebe, Ark. 5 9-03 272 Day1: 3 5-02 Day 2: 2 4-01
8. Stacy Zhelesnik Hoboken,N.J. 5 7-13 268 Day 1: 3 3-05 Day 2: 2 4-08
9. Gail Wood Russellville, Ark. 7 7-01 264 Day 1: 5 5-09 Day 2: 2 1-08
10. Martha Goodfellow Simpsonville, S.C. 7 6-07 260 Day 1: 4 3-12 Day 2:3 2-11
11. Linda Owens Brandon, Miss. 5 5-15 257 Day 1: 4 4-12 Day 2: 1 1-03
12. Kala Wright Spiro, Okla. 5 5-08 254 Day 1: 2 2-03 Day 2: 3 3-05
13. Terri Bittner Mckinleyville, Calif. 5 5-06 251 Day 1: 5 5-06 Day 2: 0 0-00
14. DebbiePegoli Loveland, Ohio 5 5-05 248 Day 1: 2 2-01 Day 2: 3 3-04
15. Teri Cindric Hermitage, Tenn. 5 5-00 245 Day 1: 3 3-02 Day 2: 2 1-14
16.Bonnie Ward Snohomish, Wash. 4 5-00 243 Day 1:1 0-00 Day 2: 3 5-00
17. Kim Martin Clayton,Ind. 5 4-11 241 Day 1: 4 3-06 Day 2: 1 1-05
18. Charlotte Frazier Dallas, Texas 4 4-04 239 Day 1: 3 3-05 Day 2: 1 0-15
19. Bertha Cavakis Amity, Ark. 4 3-14 237 Day 1: 3 2-12 Day 2:1 1-02
20. Sherry Melton Monterey, Tenn. 3 3-03 235 Day 1: 1 1-04 Day 2: 2 1-15
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 6 70 93-14
2 5 47 61-09
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11 117 155-07 |
