Brett Hite leads the field with 24 pounds, 6 ounces at the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Bays de Noc. Hite is already locked into a Bassmaster Classic berth by virtue of his win at the season debut at Lake Seminole. For much of the rest of the field, Classic spots are on the line.
“I’ve never been here before,†Hite said. “The only time I ever fished Lake Michigan was at the Classic.â€
Brandon Lester claimed the Carhartt Big Bass of the day with a 6-4 smallmouth that anchored his second place catch of 24-2. He trails Hite by just 4 ounces.
“I caught all my fish between 10 and 20 feet deep on a small plastic worm that I was drop shotting,†Lester said. Unlike Hite, Lester was not guaranteed a Classic berth coming into the tournament. Now he’s in 27th place in the AOY race and looking good to make his first Classic in 2015.
As expected, Bays de Noc revealed itself to be one of the finest smallmouth bass fisheries in the world. Of the 50 competitors, 45 brought five-bass limits to the scales, and the average bass weighed 3 1/2 pounds.
Three anglers — Greg Hackney, Todd Faircloth and Aaron Martens — are vying for the sport’s most prestigious title, the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year award. Three others — Jacob Powroznik, Keith Combs and Mark Davis — are mathematically in contention, but running out of time to make up their deficits.
Today, Hackney’s limit of five smallmouth bass weighing 18-0 was good enough for 17th place, keeping him in the lead for AOY. If he can finish in the Top 15 at this event, he cannot be caught by any other angler and is locked in to win the title.
Todd Faircloth came into the event ranked third in AOY but put a little pressure on Hackney today. He weighed in 20-15; good enough for 10th in the tournament and moving into second in the AOY race. He now trails Hackney 748 to 738. If he can put 11 more places between him and Hackney by the end of this tournament, he’ll claim his first AOY title.
Aaron Martens dropped a place in the AOY race, falling to third and losing four points to Hackney in the process. He now trails 748 to 729. Martens’ limit of smallmouth weighed 17-6, putting him in 21st for the event.
PROFESSIONAL
ELITE SERIES
as of 18-Sep-2014
1 Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 748 291-15
2 Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 738 257-14
3 Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 729 224- 7
4 Jacob Powroznik Port Haywood, VA 721 268-13
5 Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 707 259- 5
6 Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 700 254- 3
7 Keith Combs Huntington, TX 699 245- 5
8 Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 699 244- 6
9 Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 673 253-12
10 Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 641 241-14
11 Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 634 231- 5
12 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 633 253- 1
13 Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, IL 632 248- 0
14 Justin Lucas Guntersville, AL 631 260- 1
15 Matt Herren Ashville, AL 626 256- 9
16 Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 626 247- 1
17 Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 619 232- 2
18 Paul Elias Laurel, MS 617 217- 8
19 Randall Tharp Port Saint Joe, FL 610 243-11
20 David Walker Sevierville, TN 610 224- 2
21 Edwin Evers Talala, OK 602 237-12
22 Brandon Palaniuk Hayden, ID 602 229- 8
23 James Niggemeyer Van, TX 596 240- 7
24 Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 595 241- 5
25 Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 595 225- 7
26 Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 592 230-11
27 Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 592 219-12
28 Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 591 229- 9
29 Morizo Shimizu Osaka, JPN 586 213-13
30 Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 585 255- 8
31 Randy Howell Springville, AL 584 228-11
32 Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 582 222-13
33 Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 567 215-11
34 Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 564 205-14
35 Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 563 230-10
36 Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 563 228-14
37 Tim Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 562 227- 6
38 Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 557 225-13
39 Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 554 212- 8
40 Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 549 218-13
41 Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 547 209-14
42 Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 544 217- 1
43 Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 543 238- 1
44 Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 543 224-13
45 Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 541 209-10
46 Alton Jones Lorena, TX 536 222- 5
47 Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 528 202- 3
48 Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 526 222-14
49 Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 522 224- 2
50 Casey Scanlon Lanexa, KS 521 205- 3
Day One Standings on Lake Michigan
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts
1. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 5 24-06 100
Day 1: 5 24-06
2. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 5 24-02 99
Day 1: 5 24-02
3. Jacob Powroznik Port Haywood, VA 5 24-01 98
Day 1: 5 24-01
4. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 5 22-00 97
Day 1: 5 22-00
5. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 5 21-11 96
Day 1: 5 21-11
6. Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 5 21-03 95
Day 1: 5 21-03
7. Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 5 21-02 94
Day 1: 5 21-02
8. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 5 21-01 93
Day 1: 5 21-01
9. Tim Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 5 21-00 92
Day 1: 5 21-00
10. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 5 20-15 91
Day 1: 5 20-15
11. Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 5 20-06 90
Day 1: 5 20-06
12. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 5 20-04 89
Day 1: 5 20-04
13. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 5 19-14 88
Day 1: 5 19-14
14. Justin Lucas Guntersville, AL 5 18-15 87
Day 1: 5 18-15
15. David Walker Sevierville, TN 5 18-10 86
Day 1: 5 18-10
16. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 5 18-01 85
Day 1: 5 18-01
17. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 5 18-00 84
Day 1: 5 18-00
18. Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 5 17-15 83
Day 1: 5 17-15
19. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 5 17-09 82
Day 1: 5 17-09
19. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 5 17-09 82
Day 1: 5 17-09
21. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 5 17-06 80
Day 1: 5 17-06
22. Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, IL 5 17-02 79
Day 1: 5 17-02
23. Paul Elias Laurel, MS 5 17-01 78
Day 1: 5 17-01
23. Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 5 17-01 78
Day 1: 5 17-01
25. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 5 16-13 76
Day 1: 5 16-13
26. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 5 16-10 75
Day 1: 5 16-10
27. Brandon Palaniuk Hayden, ID 5 16-09 74
Day 1: 5 16-09
28. Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 5 16-05 73
Day 1: 5 16-05
29. Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 5 16-02 72
Day 1: 5 16-02
30. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 5 16-01 71
Day 1: 5 16-01
31. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 5 16-00 70
Day 1: 5 16-00
32. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 5 15-11 69
Day 1: 5 15-11
33. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 4 15-09 68
Day 1: 4 15-09
34. Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 5 15-06 67
Day 1: 5 15-06
35. Randall Tharp Port Saint Joe, FL 5 15-03 66
Day 1: 5 15-03
36. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 5 15-02 65
Day 1: 5 15-02
37. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 5 15-01 64
Day 1: 5 15-01
38. Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 5 14-11 63
Day 1: 5 14-11
39. Randy Howell Springville, AL 5 14-09 62
Day 1: 5 14-09
40. Alton Jones Lorena, TX 5 14-08 61
Day 1: 5 14-08
41. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 5 14-04 60
Day 1: 5 14-04
42. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 5 13-15 59
Day 1: 5 13-15
43. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 5 13-12 58
Day 1: 5 13-12
44. Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 5 12-15 57
Day 1: 5 12-15
45. Casey Scanlon Lanexa, KS 5 12-12 56
Day 1: 5 12-12
46. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 3 11-07 55
Day 1: 3 11-07
47. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 5 10-06 54
Day 1: 5 10-06
48. Morizo Shimizu Osaka JAPAN 3 09-10 53
Day 1: 3 09-10
49. Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 2 08-07 52
Day 1: 2 08-07
50. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 2 06-01 51
Day 1: 2 06-01
