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National Coverage
of Paris
JUNE 14, 2010
VanDam collects Bassmasters win
Paris, Tenn. | Kevin VanDam beat
Edwin Evers by nearly 7 pounds
Saturday for his 17th career
Bassmasters victory. VanDam, from
Kalamazoo, Mich., caught 21 pounds,
8 ounces of Kentucky Lake bass on
the day for a four-day total of
92-5. Edwin Evers was second at
85-12 and fellow Talala, Okla.,
resident and brother-in-law Terry
Butcher third at 80-4. It was
VanDam's first victory since winning
the Bassmaster Classic on Feb. 21.
VanDam now has three first-place
finishes, a second and a third in
his last five times at Kentucky
Lake.
TULSA WORLD- JUNE 15, 2010
Rain to make fishing interesting for
pros
By: Kelly Bostian
THE ARKANSAS RIVER is going to
demand the best from the
best-of-the-best this week.
Ninety-three Bassmaster Elite pros
are practice fishing waters from the
lower end of Kerr to the upper end
of the Chouteau Pool on the
McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River
Navigation System in preparation for
the Sooner Run tournament Thursday
through Sunday, based at Three Forks
Harbor near Muskogee.
A lot is at stake in this final
tournament of the regular Elite
season, and Oklahoma isn't going to
make it easy on these guys. The same
weather system that flooded Oklahoma
City on Monday pumped plenty of
water into northeast Oklahoma rivers
and the Three Forks area, where the
Arkansas, Grand and Verdigris rivers
converge, will see some changes.
The exact nature of the changes is
truly impossible to forecast. The
water will come up in the next 24
hours, but after that everything
depends on just how much water has
collected in reservoirs and the fate
of the river, as always, will depend
on that cooperative relationship
between the National Weather Service
Arkansas-Red River Basin Forecast
Center and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers.
"We have a close relationship and,
obviously, when we have lakes up in
flood pool we don't want to keep
them that way for too long," said
Ross Adkins, chief public affairs
officer in Tulsa. "We work with (the
river forecasters) on what
uncontrolled run-off is doing to the
rivers and determine what can be
released."
Monday afternoon, the 12-hour river
forecast for Claremore, at the upper
end of the Chouteau Pool, showed an
increase from about 10 1/2 feet to
15 1/2 or 16 feet, said hydrologist
Britt Westergard. The Arkansas River
at Muskogee was forecast to rise to
25 feet from about 21.
"Practice fishing" for the elite
anglers — for most, anyway — means
they fish and scout and learn the
area every available hour Monday
through Wednesday of this week. The
tournament begins at 6 a.m.
Thursday, and by Sunday the field
will be down to a group of anglers
who may be fighting for a berth in
the Bassmaster Classic and others
who will be sorting out who will be
in postseason contention for the
Bassmaster Angler of The Year
competition, not to mention the
$100,000 first prize for winning the
tournament.
The river is going to come up, and
as the sun comes out it will likely
go back down, but when and how much
is impossible to know. And as
Westergard described it, the Three
Forks area is even harder to predict
because of "all sorts of strange
backwater things that can happen
down there."
These best-of-the-best bass anglers
deal with a wide variety of water
conditions as they compete in venues
coast to coast. This latest twist
just makes it that much more
interesting.
Local anglers Kevin Apple and Shawn
Atwell shared that view Sunday after
they took first place in an American
Rodsmiths Tour tournament held at
Three Forks. They landed an
18.03-pound bag, but the standings
dropped off quickly into 16-, 15-
and 14-pound bags. "The river didn't
show what it can do today," Apple
said of the results.
He said their best bass came early
in the day on top-water baits thrown
in the relatively clear oxbows of
the Verdigris near structure in
about 6 to 8 feet of water. "They
hit that Zara Spook hard," Apple
said. "Like when a beaver slaps the
water with his tail, pow! And if
they missed they came back. They
were committed."
Will those bass still be that
aggressive if the Verdigris rises 5
or 6 feet and murky waters back into
those usually relatively clear
waters while, on top of that, the
area gets a ton more boat traffic?
"Those guys will figure it out,"
Atwell said of the pros. "That's
what really makes it interesting."
MUSKOGEE PHOENIX- JUNE 15, 2010
Fishing fruition
By: Liz McMahan
— Pickups wrapped in flashy
advertising, with empty boat
trailers behind them crowded the
parking lot at the Three Forks
Harbor on Monday afternoon.
The boats and the professional
fishermen who own them were all out
on the navigation system waters —
practicing for this week’s
Bassmaster Elite Series - Sooner Run
fishing tournament. It opens
Thursday on the McClellan-Kerr
Arkansas River Navigation Channel.
The 93 professional fishermen in
this tournament may find it the most
challenging of the eight tournaments
in the series, both because it is on
river waters rather than in a lake,
and the river current is fairly
swift from recent rains, said Sue
Harris, president of the Greater
Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce.
Planning for this year’s tournament
began more than two years ago,
Harris said. Wren Stratton was mayor
at the time. It began when ESPN,
which dominates sports on cable
television, contacted Muskogee about
hosting one of its tournaments,
Harris said.
They ask only cities and towns that
have the hotels and other facilities
large enough to accommodate large
events, said Treasure McKenzie, the
chamber’s tourism director.
She said nearly every Muskogee motel
room is booked for the next several
nights with those here for the
tournament.
The chamber, the city, the Port of
Muskogee and other entities have
worked hard the last two years to
put everything together to make the
tournament work, Harris said. That
included numerous committee meetings
working on everything from parking
to signage for the weekend.
McKenzie said the chamber signed a
confidentiality agreement early in
the process, agreeing not to reveal
how much money has been put up to
bring the tournament here.
Part of the agreement involved
furnishing 105 motel rooms for ESPN
representatives.
McKenzie said the funding for
bringing the tournament here came
from the hotel/motel tax and from
the Port.
Part of the contract with the
tournament also called for providing
a “carnival-like” atmosphere for the
big weigh-in events.
The weigh-ins on Thursday and Friday
are expected to draw 200-300 people
each and tournament officials first
told the chamber to expect
8,000-10,000 for Saturday’s and
Sunday’s events, McKenzie said.
However, ESPN officials now have
told them to be prepared for
12,000-15,000 visitors for each of
those two days.
Festivities Saturday and Sunday will
include something for all ages,
including a huge concert on
Saturday, Harris said.
VIRGINIA PILOT- JUNE 15, 2010
It ain’t over until its over
By: Lee Tolliver
Seemingly out of hope for making the
2011 Bassmaster Classic, Rick Morris
pulled off a No. 18 finish in last
weekend's Bassmaster Elite Series
stop at Kentucky Lake.
Yep, he won a much-needed $10,000 -
his third paycheck in the eight-stop
tour.
But more importantly, he earned some
quality points and moved up from
84th overall to 59th. The top 37
qualify for the Classic. Morris is
just 159 points out of the 37th
position heading into the regular
season finale.
That final tour stop starts this
Thursday on the Arkansas River in
Oklahoma.
If there is any real hope left of
qualifying for the Classic, Morris
will need to make it to Sunday's
final round of the top 12. He'll
also those in between him and the
37th spot to really tank.
A victory - which would be a first
for Morris in BASS events - would
serve him well in the points race.
And the $100,000 prize sure wouldn't
hurt.
Morris has made a habit of making
Classic qualifying interesting. Of
his four times in the Super Bowl of
bass fishing - he was second in 2006
- his spot has come down to the wire
three times. He even earned a spot
one year when he didn't finish in
the top 37, but got his ticket
punched because two anglers ahead of
him had qualified in other series.
So it's down to this - one
tournament.
We'll keep you updated when the
action starts Thursday.
PARIS POST INTELLIGENCER- JUNE
15, 2010
Kevin VanDam wins Tennessee
Bassmaster Elite Series event at
Tennessee Triumph
By: Staff
Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.,
managed to hold on to the 6-pound
lead he opened up Thursday to clinch
the Tennessee Triumph Bassmaster
Elite tournament at Paris Landing
State Park Saturday.
The win netted VanDam a $100,000
purse, and gave him his 17th career
win.
VanDam, 42, finished the four-day
tournament with a total of 92
pounds, 5 ounces.
The five-time Bassmaster Angler of
the Year brought in four consecutive
limits weighing more than 20 pounds
each.
The win racked up enough points to
propel VanDam to eighth place in
this year’s Angler of the Year race,
putting him safely in the finals for
the Bassmaster Elite Series post
season.
The Angler of the Year title
includes a $200,000 purse.
One more event remains in the
regular season, the Sooner Run on
the Arkansas River at Muskogee,
Okla., coming up this Thursday
through Sunday.
Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., placed
a distant second with 85 pounds, 12
ounces — nearly 7 pounds off
VanDam’s final total — which netted
him a $25,000 purse.
Evers regretted the bites he failed
to land, but took consolation in his
second-place position in the overall
standings.
“It’s an eight-event season and you
have to perform throughout,” he
said. “I like where I’m at and I
can’t wait to get back to fishing
next week.”
Evers’ brother-in-law, Terry Butcher
of Talala, finished third at the
Tennessee Triumph with a total of 80
pounds, 4 ounces, moving him to
sixth place in the Angler of the
Year contest, and landing him
$20,000.
Jason Quinn of Lake Wylie, S.C., was
fourth with 78 pounds, 15 ounces,
while Derek Remitz of Grant, Ala.,
finished a close fifth with 78
pounds, 9 ounces.
Quinn took home $15,000, while
Remitz won $14,000.
VanDam, who has won more than
$600,000 in prize money during this
year’s tour, said he’s been
disappointed with his results so far
— particularly with his performance
at the Clarks Hill Lake event at
Evans, Ga., where he finished in the
38th spot.
“I was really disappointed after the
last event,” he said. “So I wanted
to come in here and do everything I
could to have a shot at the Angler
of the Year. That has been my goal
when I started the season and it
will still be my goal when it ends.”
The win seems to have only
solidified his fondness for Kentucky
Lake.
“This lake is so special to me, and
I knew I had a good shot here,” he
said. “It really suits my style. It
just feels great.”
Television coverage of the Tennessee
Triumph will air at 9 a.m. July 4 on
“The Bassmasters” program on ESPN2.
The show can be viewed on Charter
cable’s channel 36 in Paris and the
lake area, and channel 9 in Puryear.
The network also can be found on
Dish network’s channel 144, and
DirecTV’s channel 209.
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