Weekend Warrior Championship
Sisk Comes Up From 18th, Wins
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Photo: BassFan
Marty Sisk said the difference today was he 'got off to a good start.' |
Well, no wondering anymore. Ligon blanked and Hoosier Open angler Marty Sisk, who celebrated his 24th birthday this morning, moved up huge.
Sisk made the long trip from Evansville, Ind. and was 18th after day 1, but he weighed a 12.85-pound limit today - the heaviest of the tournament. His eight-fish, 17.73-pound total edged runner-up Tadjen "Pete" Peterson by half a pound, and he clinched the $20,000 1st-place prize plus title of greatest weekend warrior bass angler on the continent.
Peterson, a Central Pro-Am competitor from Olathe, Kan., couldn't boat his limit today. He weighed three fish for 7.33 (8, 17.07 total), finished 2nd and won $15,000 cash.
Timothy Cline from Sherman, Texas made the WWC as a wildcard. His four-fish, 8.99-pound sack today pushed his 2-day, seven-fish total to 16.77 pounds. He finished 3rd.
Finishing in 4th place was Springfield, Mo. stick Corey Eutsler, who qualified through Heartland trail competition. He weighed three fish today for 6.74 pounds for a 2-day, eight-fish total of 15.52.
Federation angler (and recent Bassmaster Classic competitor) Jami Fralick from Martin, S.D. finished 5th. He caught one of four limits today and added 8.33 to his 6.65 pounds yesterday for a nine-fish, 14.98 total.
Here's how the rest of the Top 10 finished:
6. Jeff Combs -- Friend, NE -- Team Supreme -- 7, 14.78
7. Gary Pope -- Georgetown, SC -- Federation -- 8, 14.67
8. Wade Ramsey -- Midwest City, OK -- BFL -- 7, 14.61
9. Ray Hanselman -- Del Rio, TX -- Bass Champs -- 9, 13.58
10. David White -- Pierce City, MO -- Central Pro-Am -- 7, 12.25
Two anglers who dropped out of the Top 10 were yesterday's leader Ligon (1st to 14th) and Bradley Hallman (3rd to 17th).
Conditions were again cloudy today, and comparatively cool – anglers reported temperatures in the mid- to upper-80s during competition. And some spitting rain seemed to scatter the fish. The lack of sun certainly hurt the dock bite, which was the predominant pattern.
Yes, conditions were tough – four limits and eight zeroes – but Sisk was the toughest. He battled the summer bite best and proved he is the ultimate weekend warrior.
Sisk Hopes This Helps
Sisk drove to the event with his father Larry, who also fished the event, along with his grandmother and grandfather. He celebrated a birthday today, and cashed his biggest tournament payout ever.
"It feels good," he said. "I didn't know if I'd won. I felt like I'd probably come up a little short – maybe 2nd or 3rd. All the hard work this week paid off, I guess."
When he found out he'd be cashing a $20,000 check, he "knew it was going to be a lot easier drive home.
"I'm hoping this will let my fishing career take off a little bit,
he added. "I do have some money saved, and this might be enough that I can take off with it."
He qualified through Hoosier Open competition, but also fishes the BFLs and EverStarts.
"The difference today was I got off to a good start," he said. "I got my head screwed on right. I didn't get a lot of bites, I just got the right bites."
He also noted that celebrating his birthday today "maybe helped a little mentally. I thought that maybe it was meant to be my day.
"I knew I was on the right fish, if I could just get them to bite. I think I just figured them out today. Everybody else was fishing docks. I changed up and started fishing wood."
Details of his winning pattern, and patterns for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
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Photo: BassFan
Tadjen 'Pete' Peterson's a little disappointed with not winning, but overall is 'ecstatic.' |
Peterson was 2nd yesterday, and finished in the same spot today. As the highest finisher currently enrolled in the Skeeter Performance Program, he won a new boat (details below) plus the $15,000 2nd-place check. But he's a little disappointed at finishing a half-pound behind Sisk.
He only weighed three fish today, so one more keeper would have put him over the top.
"It's kind of bittersweet," he said. "I'm tickled to death that I got 2nd and won the boat and money. That's a lot of money. I'm ecstatic, and it's excellent to be able to fish this tournament. On the other hand, I'm still disappointed I didn't finish it off like I wanted to do so bad.
"But I'm happy. I'll try even harder at the next tournament. That's the way it goes."
On winning the new Skeeter, he noted: "It's great to win a Skeeter. I think they're the best boat built in the world. Winning a boat from my sponsor is just a great feeling. I'm still kind of in shock. I'm on cloud 9 right now."
He wanted to thank his sponsors: "Skeeter,
Yamaha, Angler's Port Marine (Warsaw, Mo.), Critterbait.com and also my
family – my wife Heidi and my children Wyatt and Lindsey."
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Photo: BassFan
Timothy Cline's happy, but the competitor in him wanted to win. |
Timothy Cline was steady. He never weighed a limit, but put three on the scales for 7.78 on day 1, then 4 for 8.99. His 16.77 total was just under a pound short of the winner.
"I feel pretty good about it," he said. "You always want to win. I'm happy with my finish, but a competitor always wants to win."
He had his fifth fish on today, but couldn't boat it. "I had her at the boat and she came off. She was about 2 pounds. I caught about all the same class fish – just solid chunks.
"I know I had a chance to win," he added. "I lost fish both days and never weighed a limit. I had the fish on to win. The gameplan was right, but the execution failed. That's what it comes down to. The guy who won did what it took."
4th: Eutsler Left Nothing
Eutsler weighed a limit yesterday (8.78) and started the day in 5th. He only weighed three fish today (6.74) but moved up one spot to finish 4th.
"I had one fish that weighed 3.2," he said.
"I left nothing (on the water). Both days, I landed all my
keeper bites (keepers are 14 inches in Texas). I just didn't get those
two extra bites I needed today.
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Photo: BassFan
Corey Eutsler landed all his keeper bites, but couldn't sack a limit today. |
5th: Fralick Happy Too
Fralick, a BASS Federation angler who recently fished the Bassmaster Classic, was 9th yesterday with 6.65. He moved up 4 spots to finish 5th with his 8.33-pound limit today.
"I'm happy," he said. "I didn't have that great of a practice, so I scrambled a whole lot. I fished whatever looked good, so I'm happy with that finish."
And unlike most of the field, lost fish weren't a problem. "Every fish I hooked I put in the boat. There's not much else I could have done.
"I fished my strengths, and I'm happy with 5th."
6th: Combs Cites Luck
Jeff Combs of Friend, Neb. made the trip to Texas with his son Paul, who also fished the WWC. But father bested son today when the senior Combs made a big move with an 11.45-pound limit. It was the second-largest sack of the tournament and he finished 6th with 14.78 pounds.
"I had two over 3 today," he said. "I weighed two yesterday, and lost two. Those will be haunters now I'm sure. But that's hindsight. I got them all in the boat today, and that was the difference."
The Team Supreme angler wasn't on much, and decided to change at about 10:00 today. "I only had one keeper, and I told my partner, 'We'll go practice now.' I jumped down, rushed down the lake, saw a row of docks and started fishing them.
"I'd been fishing deeper, but I just started running water anywhere from 10 inches to about a foot, kicking up mud."
He found one hotspot. "It was kind of an old railroad track. I threw my Matzuo (topwater) and a 3.8 hit it. Then I popped a couple of shorts. Then I threw the tube in and got three, went a little further and caught another."
He finished out his limit with a Zoom Super Fluke by noon.
He noted the fish that haunts him was one that could have won the tournament. He raised what he said was a 6-pounder yesterday. "I dropped the tube down, his mouth was right on it, I felt a tick and had him on for a hair.
"I guess I would have had 8 or 9 pounds yesterday (with that fish), but I had a terrible practice, so I'm tickled to be in the Top 10. This was a great show. I had a really nice time."
> Topwater gear: 6'6" medium-action Falcon rod, Shimano MG50 reel, 14-pound Mustad Thor line, Matzuo Spit & Sputter topwater.
> Tube gear: 7' medium-heavy Falcon rod, Shimano MG100 reel, 3/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight, 2/0 Mustad Big Mouth Tube hook, 4" Team Supreme tube (watermelon/purple-flake).
> On his 10:00 to noon flurry today, he said: "I think we caught the right place at the right time. The shad were there, and it hadn't been molested in a while. The fish may have been out deeper, then moved up on a feed. I hit it perfectly. I believe in luck and it was on my side today."
Notable
> Day 2 stats – 37 anglers, 4 limits (same as yesterday), 8 zeroes (3 more than yesterday).
> Fish Fishburne served as emcee at today's weigh-in. He will also emcee the Cabela's Top Gun Championship later this week.
> Sisk was put in the onstage hotseat and was left there for about half of the weigh-in show. Because of the long tradition of weighing in the winning angler last, everyone – and particularly his father – figured he would get knocked off. But he didn't.
> Sisk said he'll drive home right away to fish a crucial tournament with his father this weekend. "On Sunday we're fishing the Hoosier Open. We're sitting in 2nd in the points right now. The tournament Sunday will decide the points for the season."
> Peterson on his WWC experience: "I rate it as 100 on a 1 to 10 scale. It was excellent. It was a well-run tournament. And they couldn't have picked a better place. The people here are just fantastic. Complete strangers were coming up and talking to me. I'll remember this for the rest of my life."
> Richard LaPoint caught 8.79 today and moved up from 27th to finish 12th.
> Tournament officials reported a 100% live-release rate. No fish were transported to the weigh-in show. Instead, anglers weighed in at the marina dock, then their catch was immediately moved to Skeeter boats and released throughout the lake in a grid pattern.
> Norman Ligon's 4.79-pound day 1 fish held up as big bass of the tournament, and he received the $500 Tru-Tungsten Big Bass Award.
Day 2 (Final) Standings
1. Marty Sisk -- Evansville, IN -- Hoosier Open -- 3, 4.88 -- 5, 12.85 -- 8, 17.73 -- $20,000
2. Tadjen Peterson -- Olathe, KS -- Central Pro-Am -- 5, 9.74 -- 3, 7.33 -- 9, 17.07 -- $15,000 + Boat*
3. Timothy Cline -- Sherman, TX -- Wildcard -- 3, 7.78 -- 4, 8.99 -- 7, 16.77 -- $7,000
4. Corey Eutsler -- Springfield, MO -- Heartland -- 5, 8.78 -- 3, 6.74 -- 8, 15.52 -- $5,000
5. Jami Fralick -- Martin, SD -- Federation -- 4, 6.65 -- 5, 8.33 -- 9, 14.98 -- $3,000
6. Jeff Combs -- Friend, NE -- Team Supreme -- 2, 3.33 -- 5, 11.45 -- 7, 14.78 -- $1,500
7. Gary Pope -- Georgetown, SC -- Federation -- 3, 6.25 -- 5, 8.42 -- 8, 14.67 -- $1,500
8. Wade Ramsey -- Midwest City, OK -- BFL -- 5, 9.35 -- 2, 5.26 -- 7, 14.61 -- $1,500
9. Ray Hanselman -- Del Rio, TX -- Bass Champs -- 5, 7.70 -- 4, 5.88 -- 9, 13.58 -- $1,500
10. David White -- Pierce City, MO -- Central Pro-Am -- 4, 7.08 -- 3, 5.17 -- 7, 12.25 -- $1,500
11. Robert Bagby -- Westville, OK -- Skeeter/Yamaha -- 3, 6.01 -- 2, 5.56 -- 5, 11.57 -- $1,000
12. Richard LaPoint -- Springfield, MO -- Central Pro -- 1, 2.52 -- 4, 8.79 -- 3, 11.31 -- $1,000
13. Frank Cuccurullo -- Carrollton, TX -- Bass Champs -- 3, 5.68 -- 3, 5.35 -- 6, 11.03 -- $1,000
14. Norman Ligon -- Moulton, AL -- ABA -- 3, 10.73 -- 0, 0.00 -- 3, 10.73 -- $1,500
15. Larry Sisk -- Evansville, IN -- Hoosier Open-- 3, 5.49 -- 3, 5.11 -- 6, 10.60 -- $1,000
16. Mark Mitchell -- Sulphur Springs, TX -- Wildcard -- 2, 4.53 -- 3, 5.69 -- 5, 10.22 -- $1,000
17. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- Skeeter/Yamaha -- 4, 9.49 -- 0, 0.00 -- 4, 9.49 -- $1,000
18. Phil Strader -- Glide, OR -- Wildcard -- 1, 2.33 -- 4, 6.09 -- 5, 8.42 -- $1,000
19. Kenneth Warren -- Olin, IA -- ABA -- 1, 3.07 -- 2, 5.19 -- 3, 8.26 -- $1,000
20. Mike Eutsler -- Springfield, MO -- Heartland -- 3, 6.15 -- 1, 1.80 -- 4, 7.95 -- $1,000
21. Charles Simmons -- Waco, TX -- TTT -- 3, 5.56 -- 1, 2.01 -- 4, 7.57 -- $590
22. Derrick Patch -- Alta Loma, CA -- Won -- 3, 4.96 -- 1, 1.68 -- 4, 6.64 -- $590
23. Jerry Jeranka -- Dover, DE -- ABA -- 2, 4.19 -- 1, 1.75 -- 3, 5.94 -- $590
24. David Curtis -- Trinity, TX -- Wildcard -- 3, 5.81 -- 0, 0.00 -- 3, 5.81 -- $590
25. Brian Jackson -- Dyer, IN -- U.S. Angler's Choice -- 0, 0.00 -- 3, 5.61 -- 3, 5.61 -- $590
26. Steve Hammond -- Farmington, NM -- U.S. Angler's Choice -- 1, 2.02 -- 2, 3.57 -- 3, 5.59 -- $590
27. Blaine Shelton -- Moulton, AL -- ABA -- 0, 0.00 -- 3, 5.55 -- 3, 5.55 -- $590
28. Larry Hayes, Sr. -- Martin , MI -- NBAA -- 1, 2.79 -- 1, 2.44 -- 2, 5.23 -- $590
29. Raymond Leyerly -- Laguna Niguel, CA -- Won -- 2, 3.49 -- 1, 1.61 -- 3, 5.10 -- $590
30. John Gorman -- Bolivar, MO -- Wildcard -- 1, 1.33 -- 1, 2.31 -- 2, 3.64 -- $590
31. Paul Combs -- Yankton, SD -- Team Supreme -- 2, 3.44 -- 0, 0.00 -- 2, 3.44 -- $590
32. Mike Petrovic -- Arlington, TX -- Media Bass -- 2, 3.29 -- 0, 0.00 -- 2, 3.29 -- $590
33. Scott Dye -- Ionia, MI -- NBAA -- 1, 2.09 -- 0, 0.00 -- 1, 2.09 -- $590
34. Dennis Cook -- Farmington, NM -- U.S. Angler's Choice -- 0, 0.00 -- 1, 1.79 -- 1, 1.79 -- $590
35. Joel Kinnaird -- Garland, TX -- Media Bass -- 0, 0.00 -- 1, 1.78 -- 1, 1.78 -- $590
36. Randall Stewart -- Marion, IL -- US Anglers Choice -- 1, 1.46 -- 0, 0.00 -- 1, 1.46 -- $590
37. Donald Watts -- Gowen, MI -- NBAA -- 0, 0.00 -- 0, 0.00 -- 0, 0.00 -- $590
Tru-Tungsten Big Bass Award
> Norman Ligon -- Moulton, AL -- ABA -- 4.79 -- $500
* Skeeter SX-180 with Yamaha 115 awarded to highest finisher enrolled in Skeeter Performance Program.
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