Two big bass taken on back-to-back casts into Lake Maumelle grass sealed the deal Saturday for Paula Alexander in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Women’s Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Maumelle.
The Lincolnton, Ga., pro took her first BASS career win with 27 pounds, 5 ounces, to take the top prize of a $55,000 Skeeter/Yamaha boat rig. Starting the final day in fourth place, she easily cleared her nearest challenger, Secret York of Benton, Ky., by 5 pounds, 11 ounces.
York, the Day One leader, finished in second with 21-10, and Lisa Sternard of Clarksville, Tenn., finished third with 21-8.
Alexander’s winning pattern was hitting grass in 4 to 6 feet of water on secondary points. She said she had three primary spots.
As she weighed in her winning limit, Alexander told three stories of good luck. Two involved encounters with skunks on the highway, nose-jarring incidents she took as good omens. The other story was about stumbling onto one shopworn pack of smoke-purple worms she then used to take many of her keepers.
But on Saturday, the purple worm bite fell off, so she turned to a finesse creature bait in a bullfrog finish, a lure one of her co-anglers had used. It was about noontime, and she had just two small fish in her livewell.
“On the first cast, I threw to about 4 feet of water, felt it hit, and knew it was a toad,” she said. “It came off in the net — I guess I didn’t stick it good. My hands were shaking so hard I could hardly tie on again. I threw again to the same spot, and the rod doubled-up again. I know everyone on that 9,000-acre lake heard me yelling after that.”
Another cast completed her five-fish limit and she was done for the day.
York worked shallow grass early each day, then moved to an underwater ledge as the sun rose higher. She repeated those two patterns all week.
“I really thought there would be bigger fish deep today,” she said. “Yesterday, about every third cast I could catch a fish on my crankbait. I even had several chasing the crankbait at the same time. They just shut down today — there was a full moon last night and I think they fed all last night.”
The results of the Maumelle event tightened up the points spread in the Toyota Tundra Women’s Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year race. Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga., still leads, but only by 9 points over Juanita Robinson of Highlands, Texas. Martin-Wells finished eighth in Arkansas to Robinson’s fourth-place finish.
The winner of the season-long points competition will get a Toyota Tundra and an entry into the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala.
“I’m eyeing the championship and working hard again this year to get there,” Robinson said. “I’m not letting myself hope for AOY and the Classic as much as I did last year. It really dug into me last year and I had a rough winter with medical issues after it was all over. This season, I just decided I’d come out and do the best I can and hopefully it will pay off.”
In 2008, Robinson lost out on the AOY title by 60 points. Kim Bain-Moore of Alabaster, Ala., won and became the first woman to compete in a Bassmaster Classic.
In the co-angler division at the Maumelle tournament, Martha Goodfellow of Simpsonville, S.C., won the first-place prize of a $25,000 Triton/Mercury boat rig. Goodfellow, who is fishing the WBT for the first time this season, had 17 pounds, 11 ounces through three days.
A lifelong angler, Goodfellow said she has fished all over the country, and competes in local team tournaments with her husband. Maumelle, though, was a challenge.
“I don’t have much experience with lakes with weeds and ledges, so I learned a lot this week,” she said.
Day Two leader Diane Smith of Fayetteville, Ga., finished in second place with 15-4. A 2006 WBT co-angler champion, Bonnie Ward of Snohomish, Wash., was third with 11-13.
Next up for the WBT will be Sept. 10-12 at Old Hickory Lake out of Hendersonville, Tenn. After that event, the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers in the standings will advance to the Academy Sports + Outdoors WBT Championship, Oct. 16-18 on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. The one Classic qualifier will emerge from the championship.
Photo galleries and results of the three-day Lake Maumelle tournament are available at Bassmaster.com.
Local sponsors of the event included the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau <http://www.littlerock.com/> and the Heart of Arkansas <http://www.heartofarkansas.com/>.
Sponsors of the Women’s Bassmaster Tour
Title Sponsor: Academy Sports + Outdoors. Official Sponsors: Toyota Trucks, Berkley, BOOYAH Baits, Mercury, OPTIMA Batteries, Skeeter Boats and Yamaha Marine. Supporting Sponsors: Ramada, Triton Boats, LaserLure and Legend Boats.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit www.Bassmaster.com. Visit www.ESPNOutdoorsMedia.com for BASS and ESPN Outdoors latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos and more.
About BASS
For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. With its considerable multimedia platforms and expansive tournament trail, BASS is guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer and comprehensive Web properties in ESPN360.com, ESPN’s broadband sports network, Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com and ESPNOutdoors.com, the organization is committed to delivering content true to the lifestyle. Additionally, television programming on ESPN2 continues to provide relevant content – from tips and techniques to in-depth tournament coverage – to passionate audiences.
The organization oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Academy Sports + Outdoors Women’s Bassmaster Tour and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic. Through its grassroots network, the BASS Federation Nation, BASS annually sanctions more than 20,000 events.
BASS also 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.
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Media Contact: Doug Grassian; (407) 566-2216 or doug.grassian@espn.com
2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6
Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Paula Alexander Lincolnton, GA 12 27-05 305 $55,610.00
Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 2 05-09 Day 3: 5 11-12
2. Secret York Benton, KY 15 21-10 300 $3,355.00
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 05-13 Day 3: 5 05-04
3. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, TN 14 21-08 290 $2,745.00
Day 1: 5 08-01 Day 2: 5 06-12 Day 3: 4 06-11
4. Juanita Robinson Highlands, TX 13 21-05 285 $2,440.00
Day 1: 5 07-14 Day 2: 5 08-00 Day 3: 3 05-07
5. Lucy Mize Ben Lomond, AR 15 20-11 280 $2,135.00
Day 1: 5 07-08 Day 2: 5 06-07 Day 3: 5 06-12
6. Dianna Clark Bumpus Mills, TN 14 19-08 276 $1,830.00
Day 1: 5 06-09 Day 2: 4 05-15 Day 3: 5 07-00
7. Janet Parker Little Elm, TX 15 19-05 272 $1,525.00
Day 1: 5 07-05 Day 2: 5 06-01 Day 3: 5 05-15
8. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, GA 14 19-01 268 $1,220.00
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 07-12 Day 3: 4 04-08
9. Marsha Gipson Bigelow, AR 11 18-06 269 $1,068.00
Day 1: 5 06-13 Day 2: 5 10-01 Day 3: 1 01-08
10. Judy Wong Many, LA 13 18-01 260 $915.00
Day 1: 5 04-08 Day 2: 5 09-09 Day 3: 3 04-00
11. Keri Schieber Cumming, GA 14 17-14 257 $824.00
Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 4 05-12 Day 3: 5 05-11
12. Laura Gober Pendergrass, GA 13 17-09 254 $671.00
Day 1: 5 05-04 Day 2: 3 07-01 Day 3: 5 05-04
13. Debra Petrowski Arlington, TX 12 17-08 251 $610.00
Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 5 05-14 Day 3: 2 02-01
14. Melinda Mize Ben Lomond, AR 10 17-02 253 $595.00
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 2 02-03 Day 3: 3 04-06
15. Tammy Richardson Amity, AR 15 16-15 245 $580.00
Day 1: 5 06-14 Day 2: 5 05-03 Day 3: 5 04-14
16. Meta Burrell Fort Worth, TX 10 14-08 243 $564.00
Day 1: 5 06-14 Day 2: 3 04-13 Day 3: 2 02-13
17. Linda Redford Blue Eye, MO 10 14-07 241 $549.00
Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 4 04-06 Day 3: 1 02-06
18. Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, OK 10 13-08 239 $534.00
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 2 01-15 Day 3: 3 02-11
19. Lisa Johnson Centre, AL 11 13-03 237 $519.00
Day 1: 4 04-15 Day 2: 5 05-15 Day 3: 2 02-05
20. Lori Masters Nashville, TN 11 13-02 235 $503.00
Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 4 04-06 Day 3: 2 01-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 32 225 304-00
2 14 168 213-00
3 8 70 92-04
----------------------------------
54 463 609-04
2009 WBT # 3 - Little Rock, AR - WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR Boater Points After Arkansas River, Little Rock, Ark. Ending 06-06-2009, Day 3
-------------------------------------------
Place Name St Pts
-------------------------------------------
1 Pam Martin-Wells Ga. 850
2 Juanita Robinson Texas 841
3 Laura Gober Ga. 807
4 Tammy Richardson Ark. 785
5 Janet Parker Texas 784
6 Sheri Glasgow Okla. 782
7 Debra Petrowski Texas 776
8 Dianna Clark Tenn. 755
9 Paula Alexander Ga. 739
10 Lisa Johnson Ala. 732
11 Melinda Mize Ark. 728
12 Judy Wong La. 726
13 Lucy Mize Ark. 716
14 Lori Masters Tenn. 700
15 Patti Campbell Texas 692
16 Lynda Gessner Mo. 667
16 Mary Croft Va. 667
16 Jennifer Nevans Tenn. 667
19 Cindy Hill Tenn. 657
20 Teri Neal Ga. 653
21 Christiana Bradley Va. 646
22 Sandi Karnes Texas 633
23 Cheryl LaLumandier Mo. 627
24 Meta Burrell Texas 622
25 Marsha Gipson Ark. 621
26 Mary DiVincenti La. 615
27 Robinette Fox Ark. 612
28 Debbie Kemp Texas 611
29 Kali Weatherford Texas 607
30 Robin Babb Texas 606
31 Jan Heavener Ark. 605
31 Heather Broom N.C. 605
31 Tami Kashiwabara Ark. 605
34 Kathy Womack Ala. 603
34 Keri Schieber Ga. 603
36 Secret York Ky. 602
37 Linda Redford Mo. 597
38 Christena Baugh Ark. 587
38 Laura Heflin Kan. 587
40 Helen Gordon Texas 583
41 Kris McClendon Texas 575
42 Danalee Lofton Ark. 569
43 Debra Hengst Texas 559
44 Lila Bass Texas 551
45 Kathi Hurst Miss. 543
46 Susan Gregory Miss. 539
47 Bridget Allen Pa. 537
48 Michelle Armstrong N.C. 529
49 Lisa Craig Texas 519
50 Jo Dee Lake Ala. 513
51 Kim Stapp Ga. 495
52 BJ Carson Okla. 479
53 Emily Shaffer Tenn. 478
54 Pam Bolton Ark. 470
55 Kim Bain-Moore Ala. 464
56 Karen Savik Minn. 455
56 Lisa Sternard Tenn. 455
58 Robbie Hartline Mo. 451
59 Audrey McQueen Ariz. 410
60 Cheryl Bowden Texas 400
61 Kat Ealey Ala. 384
62 Terri Elkins Texas 342
63 Mary Hencken N.C. 320
64 Cindy Van Horn Texas 314
65 Rhonda Pope Ga. 285
66 Karen Elkins Ala. 227
67 Gina Jones Ala. 217
68 Penny Berryman Ark. 213
69 Linda Sands Ala. 195
70 Diane Phillips Texas 193
71 Kathy DiMartino Ala. 191
72 Betty Stahl Ala. 185
73 Barbara Wetzel Ala. 169
74 Kelley Shepherd Ariz. 163
74 Deb Doyal La. 163
76 Caprice Cherry La. 159
77 Sherri Dodson Ala. 155
78 Kimberlee Striker Ala. 151
79 Pat White Texas 149
80 Patsy McDaniel Ala. 137
81 Kim Hicks Ga. 127
82 Judy VanCanneyt Ala. 125
83 Ann Swinks Ga. 119
84 Kathy Freehling Fla. 115
85 Sharon Teague S.C. 0
2009 WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR 6/4-6/6
Lake Maumelle, Little Rock AR.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Martha Goodfellow Simpsonville, SC 11 17-11 305 $25,305.00
Day 1: 3 03-00 Day 2: 5 09-01 Day 3: 3 05-10
2. Diane Smith Fayetteville, GA 10 15-04 300 $1,830.00
Day 1: 5 09-03 Day 2: 4 04-07 Day 3: 1 01-10
3. Bonnie Ward Snohomish, WA 11 11-13 290 $1,525.00
Day 1: 5 06-05 Day 2: 4 03-12 Day 3: 2 01-12
4. Terri Bittner Mckinleyville, CA 9 11-05 285 $1,220.00
Day 1: 4 03-14 Day 2: 3 03-11 Day 3: 2 03-12
5. Denese Freeman Lawton, OK 6 10-05 285 $1,068.00
Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 01-01
6. Debbie Pegoli Loveland, OH 9 09-15 276 $915.00
Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 3 02-13 Day 3: 1 00-14
7. Brande Branine Haysville, KS 7 09-13 272 $763.00
Day 1: 5 08-02 Day 2: 1 00-12 Day 3: 1 00-15
8. Bertha Cavakis Amity, AR 8 09-11 268 $610.00
Day 1: 2 03-04 Day 2: 4 04-01 Day 3: 2 02-06
9. Kim Martin Clayton, IN 9 09-09 264 $549.00
Day 1: 3 04-05 Day 2: 3 02-13 Day 3: 3 02-07
10. Karol Whitehurst Winnsboro, TX 8 09-08 260 $503.00
Day 1: 3 03-13 Day 2: 4 04-03 Day 3: 1 01-08
11. Jodi Galloway Garland, TX 7 08-07 257 $458.00
Day 1: 2 01-12 Day 2: 4 05-03 Day 3: 1 01-08
12. Linda Berry Madison, NC 7 08-05 254 $427.00
Day 1: 5 05-12 Day 2: 2 02-09 Day 3: 0 00-00
13. Linda Owens Brandon, MS 7 07-11 251 $397.00
Day 1: 3 03-09 Day 2: 3 03-03 Day 3: 1 00-15
14. Sharon Lawson Red Bank, TN 3 07-08 248 $366.00
Day 1: 2 06-07 Day 2: 1 01-01 Day 3: 0 00-00
15. Gail Wood Russellville, AR 6 07-07 245 $351.00
Day 1: 4 05-12 Day 2: 1 00-13 Day 3: 1 00-14
16. Katie Ellis Gulfport, MS 5 07-05 243 $336.00
Day 1: 3 02-13 Day 2: 2 04-08 Day 3: 0 00-00
17. Stacy Zhelesnik Hoboken, NJ 6 07-03 241 $320.00
Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 1 00-12 Day 3: 0 00-00
18. Vicki Henderson Ashdown, AR 6 07-01 239 $305.00
Day 1: 5 06-02 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 1 00-15
19. Michele Gunderman Gastonia, NC 5 06-15 237 $290.00
Day 1: 2 02-11 Day 2: 3 04-04 Day 3: 0 00-00
20. Elizabeth Sanders Brandon, MS 6 06-09 235 $275.00
Day 1: 1 00-15 Day 2: 5 05-10 Day 3: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 9 146 186-03
2 2 88 104-15
3 0 21 26-03
----------------------------------
11 255 317-05
2009 WBT # 3 - Little Rock, AR - WBT #3 - Little Rock, AR Non-Boater Points After Arkansas River, Little Rock, Ark. Ending 06-06-2009, Day 3
-------------------------------------------
Place Name St Pts
-------------------------------------------
1 Terri Bittner Calif. 870
2 Martha Goodfellow S.C. 817
3 Donna Newberry Ark. 816
4 Debbie Pegoli Ohio 802
5 Gail Wood Ark. 761
6 Kim Martin Ind. 757
7 Teri Cindric Tenn. 741
8 Charlotte Frazier Texas 722
9 Linda Owens Miss. 720
10 Colleen McKay Mass. 712
11 Sherry Melton Tenn. 701
12 Vicki Henderson Ark. 694
13 Bonnie Ward Wash. 688
14 Bertha Cavakis Ark. 672
15 Renee Gumbrecht N.J. 665
16 Donna Rutledge Ill. 659
17 Linda Berry N.C. 658
18 Kala Wright Okla. 654
19 Diane Smith Ga. 650
20 Barbara Gaskins Va. 645
21 Lisa Diehl Pa. 644
22 Cheryl Buelow La. 642
23 Linda Walker Ark. 635
24 Denese Freeman Okla. 633
25 Kat Arnold La. 629
26 Kim Petrowski Texas 619
27 Trish Levitt N.M. 610
27 Karol Whitehurst Texas 610
29 Melissa Bond N.M. 609
30 Katie Hogan Tenn. 608
31 Elizabeth Sanders Miss. 605
32 Susan Dameron Tenn. 587
33 Katie Ellis Miss. 579
33 Barbara Ferge Tenn. 579
35 Kim Mendoza Texas 575
36 Nancy Oliver La. 573
37 Susan Wild Fla. 565
38 Jane Brunner Miss. 563
38 Patty Houston Ala. 563
40 Dawn Dudek Ill. 551
41 Stacy Zhelesnik N.J. 546
42 Patti James Texas 543
43 Pam Chism Ark. 539
44 Jill Matheis Ind. 525
45 Michele Gunderman N.C. 480
46 Monica Altman N.C. 471
47 Lesli Lively Texas 470
48 Lori Steele Okla. 461
49 Kelly Wells Ga. 460
50 Lesley Childers S.C. 412
51 Sabrina Thompson Texas 410
52 Sarah Davis La. 384
53 Torrye Vineyard Texas 382
54 Sharon Lawson Tenn. 361
55 Neva Brown Texas 356
56 Christine Martin Colo. 348
57 Debra Cook Ala. 338
58 Petra Ramsey Texas 330
59 Nancy Dugas Ala. 320
60 Jennifer Rice Ala. 316
61 Nancy Stumpe Fla. 276
62 Linda Higginbotham Fla. 272
62 Brande Branine Kan. 272
64 Jodi Galloway Texas 257
65 Vicki Hester Ala. 251
66 Cynthia Tayloe Texas 231
67 Bunny Hicks Ga. 227
68 Cheryl Sprayberry Fla. 221
69 Brandi Frasier Ky. 211
70 Miriam Donohoo Fla. 209
71 Laura Bean Ala. 201
71 Judy Pate La. 201
73 Jada Tidmore Ala. 199
74 Inez Zeagler La. 195
75 Cynthia Bryan La. 191
76 Jennifer Blackwood Ga. 181
76 De Lynn Montez Calif. 181
76 Sharron Stone Texas 181
79 Juanita Blasingame Tenn. 179
79 Denice Johnston Texas 179
81 LaShea Raynor S.C. 175
82 Leslie Anderson Mo. 169
83 Linda Rinker Fla. 167
83 Tracy Bailey Texas 167
85 Shelley Chenowith Ark. 161
86 Renee Key Johnston Texas 157
87 Lisa Skelley Tenn. 153
88 Virginia Buckner Ala. 133
89 Marilyn Biszmaier Ky. 131
90 Cassie Hall Ala. 129
91 Sugar Walker Ala. 125
92 Mona Crawford Fla. 123
93 Kimberly White Ill. 117
94 Gerry Threadgill Texas 0
94 Leanne Snowden Mich. 0
94 Caprice Cherry La. 0
