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Velvick Clears Rest of Field for First Bassmaster Elite Series Victory

March 21, 2010 - Considered a pioneer of the swimbait craze, Byron Velvick, a West Coast transplant, furthered his legacy with the bait Sunday at Clear Lake , taking the Golden State Shootout, the second event of the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series, on the shoulders of the revolutionary lure.

It was nearly ten years ago when Velvick, who now resides in Del Rio , Texas , ushered the swimbait to the front and center of the fishing world.  Then, he established the BASS’ three-day tournament record with 83 pounds, 5 ounces.  This week, he toted 98 pounds, 6 ounces to the scales over four days earning $100,000, his first career Elite Series win and a whole bunch of momentum heading into the meat of the Elite season.

“I love Clear Lake ,” said Velvick, 45.  “Ten years ago, I knew this place was special.  This lake is just phenomenal and it feels great to get this in front of family and friends.”

Bassmaster.com will cover the 2010 Elites throughout the season with daily analysis, photo galleries, standings and a real-time leaderboard. ESPN360.com will offer live, streaming video. ESPN2 will recap this competition on The Bassmasters at 9 a.m. ET, Sunday, April 4, and again at 11 a.m. ET, Saturday, April 17.

Velvick attributed the victory to both his primary area – a shallow, warm bay that contained grass, rock and hitch, a rare bait fish found in California – and his bait choice – a Rago BV 3D swimbait.  Earlier in the week, Velvick had noted that versatility was key, a ploy to throw his competitors off of his real strategy.  Instead, he decided early in the competition he would either sink of swim with the 7-inch lure.

The key to success, he said, was to work it slowly and deliberately.  The bait was created in such a fashion where it is essentially weedless but the hooks are exposed and Velvick said that allowed him to easily crawl through it grass.  He knew he was successfully casting when the belly of the swimbait would turn green from its exposure to the grass.

And to entice the bigger bites, he would position himself in the grass, casting out to the deeper water and entice the hitch back towards the boat.  The bass would then strike on the retrieve.  His method – he labeled it pulse and hoover – had to be precise.  The two-time Classic qualifier said if he fished just a hair fast, he wouldn’t get a bite.

“A lot of guys came in that area and they just didn’t know how to fish it correctly,” said Velvick.  “The bait allowed me to work the structure the correct way.  Things had to line up perfect but I had a great combination of spot and bait this week.”

The win brings Velvick’s to a high point in his career.  He has qualified for the past two Bassmaster Classics but he started this year with a debacle at the California Delta (83rd).  Things can change quickly on the Elite Series, however, and Velvick made his California trip count with the win.  He moved up to 23rd in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. 

With Velvick not letting up Sunday, the most intriguing battle was for second place.  Bill Lowen of North Bend , Ohio , took those honors over Guy Eaker of Cherryville , N.C.   The two were fishing with casting distance of each other and the area yielded a bevy of bass over the course of the tournament.  Lowen finished while 92 pounds, 9 ounces, while Eaker, the 70-year-old sentimental favorite, took third with 90 pounds, 11 ounces.

Lowen decided during practice to fish to his strengths and that didn’t include anything to do with a swimbait.  An Ohio River rat, Lowen felt more comfortable working a black-and-blue chatterbait and a black-and-blue swimjig in the staging area shared with Eaker.  The finish was Lowen’s best in his five-year Elite Series career.

“Most of the guys in the field were thinking that you had to throw a swimbait to win and they were right,” said Lowen, 35.  “But I had to fish to my strengths and I’m pleased with the outcome.”

Like Lowen, Eaker earned his career-best Elite finish this week.  In the end, the shared spot – while productive – didn’t hold the bigger fish that were needed for the victory.

In fourth was Randy Howell of Springville , Ala. , with 86 pounds, 2 ounces.  In fifth was Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., with 85-3.  Reese took back-to-back top five finishes on the California swing to open the season.  And that puts him at the top of the 2010 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, the main qualifying route into the Bassmaster Classic.  The full standings can be found below.

Reese, the 2007 AOY, missed out by one ounce at the Delta tournament last week and while he didn’t get total redemption, he has his eyes on a larger prize.

“I’ll take second place finishes all year as long as I come out first in the Angler of the Year race,” said Reese, also the 2009 Classic champion.  “That’s what I’m really focused on.”

Only the top 12 fished Sunday and that included 19-year-old Elite Series rookie Bradley Roy of Lancaster , Ky.   Roy, the youngest competitor to fish an Elite event, finished eighth. 

DAY 3 GOLDEN STATE SHOOTOUT FINAL STANDINGS

2010 Golden State Shootout 03/18-03/21

Clear Lake , Lakeport   Calif.

(PRO Division) Standings Day 4

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Byron Velvick          Del Rio , Texas          20  98-06  320  $100,500.00

  Day 1: 5   29-00    Day 2: 5   22-00    Day 3: 5   24-08    Day 4: 5   22-14  

2.  Bill Lowen             North Bend , Ohio        20  92-09  295   $25,000.00

  Day 1: 5   22-14    Day 2: 5   22-09    Day 3: 5   24-02    Day 4: 5   23-00  

3.  Guy Eaker              Cherryville , N.C.       20  90-11  290   $20,000.00

  Day 1: 5   21-14    Day 2: 5   22-06    Day 3: 5   24-00    Day 4: 5   22-07  

4.  Randy Howell           Springville , Ala.       20  86-02  285   $15,000.00

  Day 1: 5   23-03    Day 2: 5   23-07    Day 3: 5   20-10    Day 4: 5   18-14  

5.  Skeet Reese            Auburn , Calif.          20  85-03  280   $15,000.00

  Day 1: 5   20-04    Day 2: 5   18-12    Day 3: 5   21-02    Day 4: 5   25-01  

6.  Tommy Biffle           Wagoner, Okla.          20  81-14  276   $13,500.00

  Day 1: 5   16-08    Day 2: 5   21-13    Day 3: 5   20-10    Day 4: 5   22-15  

7.  Terry Butcher          Talala , Okla.           20  80-08  272   $13,000.00

  Day 1: 5   18-03    Day 2: 5   21-13    Day 3: 5   22-12    Day 4: 5   17-12  

8.  Bradley Roy            Lancaster , Ky.          20  79-11  268   $12,500.00

  Day 1: 5   19-08    Day 2: 5   22-01    Day 3: 5   22-09    Day 4: 5   15-09  

9.  Boyd Duckett           Demopolis , Ala.         20  79-08  264   $12,000.00

  Day 1: 5   17-14    Day 2: 5   20-14    Day 3: 5   22-15    Day 4: 5   17-13  

10. Jared Lintner          Arroyo Grande , Calif.   20  78-09  260   $11,500.00

  Day 1: 5   23-04    Day 2: 5   17-14    Day 3: 5   21-06    Day 4: 5   16-01  

11. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, Mo.       19  76-00  257   $11,000.00

  Day 1: 5   17-06    Day 2: 5   21-03    Day 3: 5   22-12    Day 4: 4   14-11  

12. Matt Herren            Trussville, Ala.        20  75-13  254   $10,500.00

  Day 1: 5   21-13    Day 2: 5   18-06    Day 3: 5   21-12    Day 4: 5   13-14  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Bass of Tournament

     Bobby Lane               Lakeland , Fla.             11-01  $1,000.00

Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year Leader

     Skeet Reese             Auburn , Calif.                    $1,000.00

Berkley Big Bag of Tournament

     Byron Velvick           Del Rio , Texas             29-00    $500.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Totals

Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight

 1       72       416      1429-12

 2       75       425      1496-09

 3       44       228       876-06

 4       11        59       230-15

----------------------------------

        202      1128      4033-10

TOYOTA TUNDRA BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

2010 Golden State Shootout - Lakeport , CA Pro Points After Clear Lake , Lakeport , Calif.   Ending 03-21-2010, Day 4

-------------------------------------------

Place  Name               St             Pts

-------------------------------------------

  1 Skeet Reese           Calif.         575

  2 Greg Hackney          La.            538

  3 Guy Eaker              N.C.           517

  4 Bill Lowen            Ohio           516

  5 Michael Iaconelli       N.J.           510

  6 Denny Brauer          Mo.            493

  7 James Niggemeyer      Texas          487

  8 Dave Wolak             N.C.           483

  9 Greg Vinson           Ala.           478

 10 Shaw Grigsby          Fla.           471

 11 Gary Klein             Texas          462

 12 Edwin Evers           Okla.          454

 13 Jeff Kriet            Okla.          452

 13 Brian Snowden         Mo.            452

 15 Matt Herren           Ala.           445

 16 Bradley Roy           Ky.            443

 17 Pat Golden            N.C.          442

 18 Derek Remitz          Ala.           441

 19 Dean Rojas            Ariz.          440

 20 Stephen Browning      Ark.           439

 21 John Crews            Va.            436

 21 Kevin Wirth           Ky.            436

 23 Byron Velvick         Texas          431

 24 Clark Reehm           Ark.           428

 25 Mark Davis            Ark.           418

 26 Zell Rowland          Texas          415

 26 Jared Lintner         Calif.         415

 28 Todd Faircloth        Texas          410

 29 Kotaro Kiriyama       Ala.           408

 29 Bradley Hallman       Okla.          408

 31 Kelly Jordon          Texas          406

 32 Scott Rook            Ark.           404

 32 Grant Goldbeck        Md.           404

 34 Terry Butcher         Okla.          401

 35 Matt Greenblatt       Fla.           400

 36 Peter Thliveros        Fla.           396

 37 Randy Howell          Ala.           394

 37 Mike McClelland       Ark.           394

 39 Bobby Lane            Fla.           390

 39 Morizo Shimizu        Japan         390

 41 Tommy Biffle          Okla.          383

 42 Kevin VanDam          Mich.          374

 43 Dustin Wilks           N.C.           373

 44 Brent Chapman         Kan.           370

 44 Billy McCaghren       Ark.           370

 46 Jami Fralick           S.D.           368

 46 Cliff Pace            Miss.         368

 46 Alton Jones           Texas          368

 49 Mark Tucker           Mo.            366

 49 Aaron Martens         Ala.           366

 51 Casey Ashley          S.C.          364

 52 Boyd Duckett          Ala.           363

 53 Steve Kennedy         Ala.           360

 54 Russ Lane             Ala.           356

 55 Rick Clunn            Mo.            353

 56 J Todd Tucker         Ga.            344

 57 Jason Quinn            S.C.           342

 58 Marty Stone           N.C.          340

 59 Gerald Swindle        Ala.           338

 60 Kevin Short           Ark.           336

 61 Takahiro Omori        Texas          334

 62 Vince Fulks            Okla.          332

 63 Paul Elias            Miss.         330

  64 Jeff Connella         La.            324

  65 Dennis Tietje         La.            316

  66 Cliff Crochet         La.            306

 67 Ish Monroe            Calif.         302

 68 John Murray           Ariz.          300

 69 David Smith            Okla.          296

 69 Terry Scroggins        Fla.           296

 71 Chad Griffin           Texas          292

 72 Pete Ponds            Miss.         290

 73 Timmy Horton          Ala.           286

 74 Matt Reed             Texas          284

 75 Bernie Schultz        Fla.           282

 76 Mark Tyler            Okla.          278

 77 Rick Morris           Va.            276

 77 Mark Menendez         Ky.            276

 79 Kenyon Hill           Okla.          272

 80 Wade Grooms           S.C.          270

 81 Marty Robinson        S.C.          266

 82 Davy Hite              S.C.           264

 83 Charlie Hartley       Ohio           258

 83 Mark Burgess          Mass.          258

 85 Yusuke Miyazaki       Texas          254

 86 Jason Williamson       S.C.           248

 87 Scott Ashmore         Okla.          242

 88 Fred Roumbanis         Okla.          240

 89 Britt Myers            S.C.           234

 90 Chris Lane            Ala.           216

 91 Byron Haseotes         Mass.          208

 92 Jeremy Starks         W.Va.          198

 93 Keith Poche           Ala.           185

 

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