Courtesy B.A.S.S. Communications
They say Lake
Jordan bass go deep in summer, but Casey Ashley proved on Sunday just
how wrong “they” can be by winning the Ramada All-Star Semi-Final his
way — in shallow water.
And while any pro
likes to win — and win his way — Ashley was more impressed with the fact
that he’d earned a spot in the $100,000 Evan Williams Bourbon All-Star
Championship, which will begin Friday on the Alabama River out of
Montgomery, Ala.
“Winning’s nice,
but that I won today doesn’t really matter,” said the 27-year-old from
Donalds, S.C., who had never before competed on Lake Jordan. He bested
11 other competitors with a two-day total of 25 pounds, 8 ounces.
Ashley was one of
eight Bassmaster Elite Series pros who qualified Sunday to compete July
29-31 in the second half of Toyota Trucks All-Star Week. The Alabama
River event will be three days of sudden-death match fishing. The format
pits one angler against another; each day, half the field will be
eliminated until only two remain on Sunday and go head-to-head for
$100,000, winner take all.
Ashley, 27 years
old and a two-time Bassmaster winner, was elated that his first Alabama
River opponent would be Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., a fellow Elite
Series pro with six wins, including the 2009 Bassmaster Classic.
“I wanted the best, and I got the best,” Ashley said.
A reporter asked Ashley if he felt he could take Reese. Ashley shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ve never been
on the river before,” he said. “It depends how my practice days go. I’m
not going to back down from him, I can tell you that.”
In
the first minutes after he learned he’d been successful in making the
top-eight cut, Reese said he was already thinking about his match
against Ashley. But then Reese spoke of beating Kevin VanDam by 8 ounces
for the last seat. VanDam, finishing the Ramada All-Star Semi-Final in
ninth place, was first man out, eliminated along with Jeff Kriet, Steve
Kennedy and Davy Hite.
“There’s
satisfaction in knowing I beat Kevin out of this thing,” Reese said,
grinning. “I don’t care what happens the rest of the week — I got Kevin,
I took him out.”
VanDam has been
Reese’s longtime postseason nemesis, especially in 2010 when VanDam
fished past Reese to take the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the
Year title.
On stage, VanDam,
winner of the past two postseason events and a seven-time Angler of the
Year, said he was disappointed to miss the second half of All-Star Week.
“I really wanted to be there,” he said. “I jumped off a good one today that probably will haunt me.”
Off stage, VanDam and Reese shook hands and slapped each other on the back.
Besides Ashley and
Reese, inside the cutline was 2010 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year Ott
DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn. He placed second in the Jordan leg, just 5
ounces behind Ashley. Like Ashley, DeFoe worked the backs of the lake’s
creeks, where cooler water from streams keeps water temperatures down, a
summertime draw for bass.
“It’s kind of a lot to take in,” DeFoe told the crowd from the stage. “It’s been an incredible week already.”
DeFoe and Michael Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J., will face each other Friday on the Alabama River.
“We’re both passionate fishermen, we’re going to have fun,” Iaconelli said.
Aaron Martens of
Leeds, Ala., was matched with Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla. Terry
Scroggins of San Mateo, Fla., and Gerald Swindle of Leeds, Ala., will
face each other. All matches were determined by seeding each angler
according to their finishes on Jordan. First will be up against eighth,
second against seventh, third against sixth, and fourth against third.
Scroggins and
Swindle happen to be travel buddies and roommates, and they operate on
an agreement to share fishing information with each other.
“We’ve been
sharing information all year long,” said Scroggins as he and Swindle
jested on stage about how they’d handle the sticky situation. “He’s from
Alabama, so I hope he shares now.”
Said Swindle: “We’ll give each other all we’ve got. If he beats me, I just hope he wins the whole thing.”
