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 didn't think I had this much weight today. 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 had her limit by 8:30 am.
“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 would love to win the Championship but has her eye on the AOY..
“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 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.
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 $$$
1. Judy Wong = Many, La. 10 30-13 310
Day 1: 5 15-05= Day 2: 5 15-08
2. Pam Martin-Wells Bainbridge, Ga. 10 22-02 295
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 8-13
3. Robin=Babb Livingston, Texas 9 21-00 290
Day 1: 4 = 7-10 Day 2: 5 13-06
4. Juanita Robinson Highlands, Texas 9 15-03 285
Day 1: 5 9-02 Day 2: 4 6-01
5.= Sheri Glasgow Muskogee, Okla. 9 14-06 280
Day=1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 4 4-03
6. Paula Alexander Lincolnton,=Ga. 8 14-05 276
Day 1: 4 2-06 Day 2: 4 11-15
7. Tammy Richardson Amity, Ark. 10 13-11 272
= Day 1: 5 4-04 Day 2: 5 9-07
8. Melinda Mize Ben=Lomond, Ark. 8 12-13 268
Day 1: 5 9-12 Day 2: 3 =3-01
9. Laura Gober Pendergrass, Ga. 10 12-04 =264
Day 1: 5 6-12 Day 2: 5 5-08
10. Janet Parker = Little Elm, Texas 6 9-03 260
Day 1: 4 7-03 Day=2: 2 2-00
11. Emily Shaffer Mount Juliet, Tenn. 9= 8-15 257
Day 1: 5 5-01 Day 2: 4 3-14
12. Lisa Johnson= Centre, Ala. 6 8-15 254
Day 1: 1 0-12 = Day 2: 5 8-03
13. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, Tenn. = 9 8-02 251
Day 1: 5 4-11 Day 2: 4 3-07
14. Lucy=Mize Ben Lomond, Ark. 7 7-04 248
Day 1: 4 = 4-11 Day 2: 3 2-09
15. Kim Bain-Moore Alabaster, Ala.= 7 7-02 245
Day 1: 5 5-06 Day 2: 2 1-12
16.=Patti Campbell Waxahachie, Texas 7 7-01 243
Day 1:=4 4-08 Day 2: 3 2-09
17. Meta Burrell Fort Worth,=Texas 5 6-02 241
Day 1: 2 3-05 Day 2: 3 2-13 =0A
18. Debra Petrowski Arlington, Texas 4 5-15 239
= Day 1: 1 1-01 Day 2: 3 4-14
19. Dianna Clark Bumpus=Mills, Tenn. 4 3-15 237
Day 1: 3 2-15 Day 2: 1 1-00=
20. Cindy Hill Smyrna, Tenn. 2 2-04 235 =0A
Day 1: 2 2-04 Day 2: 0 0-00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 10 79 = 120-08
2 6 70 110-15
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16 149 231-07
2009 Women’s Championship - 10/16-10/18
Cypress Black Bayou Lake, Shreveport/Bossier City, La.
(NON-BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler = Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Monica=Altman 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
Day=1: 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
Day=1: 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. Debbie=Pegoli 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
