Cheryl Bowden won the 2012 Lady Bass Anglers Association championship in convincing style Saturday on Lake Guntersville with a three-day total of 40.28 pounds, nearly 13 pounds more than second place.
“My bite at the first spot was not there,” Bowden commented. “I didn’t catch another keeper until around 12. It was on the frog and they blew up on it all day long but were missing it. Finally toward the end of the day I thought, my arm is killing me and I cannot do this frog anymore.”
In the midst of the dry spell Bowden began to doubt but then began to calculate. “I knew that for every fish I caught they would have to catch two and with only one fish earlier I thought if they catch four – that’s going to make it pretty close.
She then made a switch that enabled her to secure the Lady Bass Classic title. She changed to the Gambler Easy Swimmer and started fishing it behind the grass. “They started inhaling it. Every fish I caught on the Gambler Easy Swimmer I had to reach down their throats to get the bait out.”
“This was a dream of mine but I didn’t think it was ever going to happen,” she added. “Even now I don’t think it has soaked in yet.”
LBAA 2012 Lady Bass Classic pro division final standings are as follows:
Cheryl Bowden 40.28
Martha Goodfellow 27.41
Pam Martin-Wells 22.06
Robbie Hartline 10.82
Kim Bain-Moore 10.13
Cheryl Lalumandier 9.21
Debbie Warner 6.46
Pam Ridgle 4.45
Teri Cindric 4.31
Monica Altman 2.95
Secret York 2.27
Karen Elkins 2.13
Lynda Gessner 0
Fannett, Texas co-angler Renee Key-Johnston had a fairy tale LBAA Lady Bass Classic. She brought no fish to the scales on the opening day of competition. On day two she had her three fish limit and on day three she had one bass, but it was just enough to propel her from second to first and allow her to capture the LBAA 2012 Lady Bass Classic Co-angler Championship.
“I caught fish the first day but not big enough to weigh and it was disappointing,” Key-Johnston stated. “Day two was really a great day because I had three limits. Today I caught mainly short fish but I was able to get a keeper this morning.”
“I’m very excited about winning the Lady Bass Classic,” she went on to say. “I am so pleased to be a part of the LBAA family.”
Key Johnston caught all of her fish on a H20 Express Sexy Melon crankbait.
The final standings for the LBAA 2012 Lady Bass Classic co-angler division are as follows:
Renee Key-Johnston 11.30
Denise Sustaita 9.62
Judy Skibinski 8.90
Kim Giddens 7.89
Diana Uebelhack 6.49
Brandi Frasier 5.26
Marsha Reifsteck 4.59
Shannon Wood 4.59
Bonnie Ward 4.35
Vicki Henderson 4.03
Cassie Hall 2.40
Diane Smith 0
Brenda Reeves 0
Legend Big Bass award winners were Cheryl Bowden on the pro side with a 5.35-pound bass. Denise Sustaita captured the award on the co-angler side with a 4.93-pound bass.
