Florida’s Terry Scroggins Catches More than 20 Pounds to Take First Day Lead at Bassmaster Elite Series Event on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake

DECATUR, Ala. – Until the first day of competition at the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Alabama’s Wheeler, Terry Scroggins wasn’t fond of the picturesque body of water. The versatile veteran from Palatka, Fla., had previously struggled on the Alabama fishery but he broke through Thursday boating a limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces, to lead the 107-angler field in the Southern Challenge presented by Advance Auto Parts, the seventh Elite Series event of the 2008 season.

With a victory, Scroggins would earn $100,000 and earn considerable points in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. With four events remaining after Wheeler in the “Trail to the Trophy” and a $250,000 top prize at stake, Elite pros are focused on jockeying for position in the all-important rankings.

Fishing fans can catch all of the action from Wheeler on The Bassmasters, which airs Saturday, June 14 on ESPN2 at 9 a.m. ET. Additionally, live, streaming video of the daily weigh-ins, photo galleries and analysis can be accessed at www.Bassmaster.com.

Trailing Scroggins were Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, in second with 20 pounds, 9 ounces., Dave Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., (19-4), Kotaro Kiriyama of Moody, Ala., (19-0) and Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., (18-8).

Not only had Scroggins struggled mightily on Wheeler in the past, his poor practice period gave him no indication that he would succeed in the event. But the 40-year-old caught more than 40 keeper-sized bass and found a pattern that he believes will hold up.

“I always struggle on Wheeler. And I mean I really struggle,” said Scroggins, who has earned more than $1 million in BASS tournaments. “But today I started to figure it out. The fish are starting to move out and it seemed like every 15th cast or so, I would catch a big one.”

The five-time BASS winner rotated a few baits but felt most confident with a Booyah football jig, which produced the vast majority of weight. While boat traffic is a major problem for many of the competitors fishing the Decatur Flats, a popular area for tournament anglers, Scroggins has his general area mainly to himself, with few competitors near.

“I had no idea I would be able to catch more than 20 pounds,” said Scroggins, who is 24th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. “It was just an awesome day.”

Faircloth, who was second in the Angler of the Year standings heading into the tournament, trailing only Arkansas’ Mike McClelland, also had no indication that his day would go well after practice. He caught his limit early Thursday morning and culled throughout the day. He is keying on grass in the Decatur Flats area on Wheeler.

If his finish holds, Faircloth stands to gain significant ground on McClelland, who is in 40th place after Day 1.

In the co-angler division, Steven Wisdom of Birmingham, Ala., took the Day 1 lead with 15 pounds, 9 ounces. Co-anglers are vying for a top prize of $25,000 in the three-day competition. Trailing Wisdom was Jimmy Dudley of White, Ga., and Brian Hickey of Cadiz, Ky., who were tied with 14 pounds, 2 ounces.

With 1,063 miles of shoreline, Wheeler is the largest of three Alabama lakes that connect with the Tennessee River. It has been the host of nine BASS events, including the 1974 Bassmaster Classic.

Daily weigh-ins and launches at the Southern Challenge are taking place at Ingalls Harbor, 701 Market St. NW, Decatur, Ala. Launches Friday-Sunday begin at 6 a.m. CT and weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m.

Activities at the Southern Challenge include a musical performance by artist Chadd Bradford at noon Saturday and Sunday. There will be a Berkley Beginner fishing class at 1:30 p.m. and a “Boat Performance with Skeeter” class daily at 2 p.m. both days, as well as Skeeter boat demo rides from noon to 2 p.m.

On Saturday, fans can talk to the Elite pros during “Ask the Experts” at Bassmaster University, set for 2:30 p.m. at the weigh-in site. On Saturday and Sunday kids can enjoy a bounce house, a coloring contest, face painting and much more.

Sunday’s activities include the live taping at 2:30 p.m. of Hooked Up, hosted by ESPN Outdoors personalities Tommy Sanders and Mark Zona. The show, which airs on Bassmaster.com, will preview the final weigh-in.

Meanwhile, BASS, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2008, conducted the first BASS tournament on June 5-7, 1967 on Arkansas’ Beaver Lake. The first event, called the All-American Bass tournament, was held by BASS founder Ray Scott, who officially created BASS in 1968 following the success of this first tournament.

For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit Bassmaster.com. Visit ESPNMediaZone.com for ESPN’s latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video, audio clips and more.

The local sponsor of the Southern Challenge is the Decatur-Morgan County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Sponsors of the Bassmaster Elite Series include Toyota Tundra, Advance Auto Parts, Berkley, Lowrance, Mercury, Purolator, Skeeter, Yamaha, Evan Williams Bourbon, Longhorn, OPTIMA Batteries, Triton Boats, Costa Del Mar, MotorGuide and Ramada Worldwide.

Location and Field
Southern Challenge presented by Advance Auto Parts
Wheeler Lake
Decatur, Ala.
June 5-8, 2008

Field
107 pros, 107 co-anglers
Cut to top-50 pros and co-anglers after Day 2
Cut to top 12 pro anglers after Day 3

Launch/Weigh-in
Ingalls Harbor
701 Market St. NW
Decatur, Ala
6 a.m./ 3 p.m.

2008 Bassmaster Elite Series Event Tournament Locations/Dates

June 5-8	Southern Challenge	Wheeler Lake	Decatur, Ala.
June 12-15	Bluegrass Brawl	Kentucky Lake	Gilbertsville, Ky.
June 26-29	River Rumble	Mississippi River	Fort Madison, Iowa
July 31- Aug. 3	Empire Chase	Lake Erie/Niagara River	Buffalo, N.Y.
Aug. 7-10	Champion’s Choice	Oneida Lake	Syracuse, N.Y