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Norman,
OK - The Angler of the Year title is the most coveted among in-the-know bass pros.
The Bassmaster Classic can lead to bass fishing immortality.
Elite Series wins put money in the bank.
But the greatest adrenalin rush in the sport of bass fishing may be catching the big bag of a tournament. Dean Rojas has seen his four-day record of 108 pounds eclipsed several times, but his one-day 45 pound bag may never be topped (more on that later). The angler who weighs in a bag bigger than anyone thought likely or possible tends to walk with a little extra spring in his step and an attitude toward his fellow competitors that can border on condescension.
Given the fact that the Elite Series tends to fish great waters at great times, these days it can be hard to surprise fishing fans with big limits. Where 20 pound bags were once cause for headlines, today they barely raise an eyebrow, even on tough lakes. But still the pros manage to shock us each year with monster catches that strain the average angler’s imagination.
The following six one-day catches aren’t the six biggest limits caught in 2008 (although the single biggest limit did make the list), but they are the six that we deemed most impressive, over a variety of circumstances.
Hartley Shocks Everyone But Himself
The sandbagging began early in 2008, with the Classic qualifiers primarily characterizing Hartwell as a stingy waterway. But once competition began, the mid-teen bags that many local experts predicted began to materialize. But only three anglers cracked the twenty pound mark the entire tournament, and all three big bags came on day one. The first two were caught by Classic veterans Kevin VanDam and Scott Rook. The third, the biggest of the three at 21-01, was brought to the scales by Classic rookie Charlie Hartley.
It was a dramatic highlight in what was otherwise a difficult year for Hartley, but on fishing’s biggest stage he shined brightly for one day. He caught another limit the second day and fizzled on day three, eventually ending up in 15th place. While he surely would have liked to maintain his first day dominance throughout the three days, the publicity and goodwill that resulted from his “Little Engine that Could” story was priceless.
Bobby Lane Makes His Presence Known
Like Mark Davis, Bobby Lane made the jump from the FLW Tour to the Elite Series for the 2008 season. But unlike Davis, who had previously won both a Classic and a BASS AOY title, the fishing world didn’t know if Lane would be able to compete on this tour.
Despite a 4th place finish at Hartwell, it appeared to some that he was in over his head when he found himself in 85th place after the first day at the Harris Chain After all, if he couldn’t catch them in his home state of Florida, how was he going to catch them when they left the Sunshine State? But he erased all doubts on the second day when he whacked a 26-09 limit with a spinnerbait to move up to 3rd place, where he remained for the rest of the tournament.
He came in 7th the next week and left Florida in the lead of the AOY race. He eventually dropped a bit, but still claimed the rookie of the year title and his second consecutive Classic berth.
Scroggins Threatens Rojas at Falcon
It took quite a bit for an angler to distinguish himself at Falcon, the slugfest to end all slugfests. It took a 25 pound average just to squeak into the top fifty cut and thirty pound bags barely raised eyebrows. Tournament director Trip Weldon urged contestants not to slow down the weigh-in by asking to weigh any fish individually if they were under ten pounds. It was that kind of tournament.
The major record that fell, of course, was the all-time four day weight record, previously held be Steve Kennedy and before him by Preston Clark and before Clark by Dean Rojas. Paul Elias blew that mark out of the water with 132-08. In fact, every angler who made the top twelve eclipsed the century mark and several more would have had they been allowed to fish another day.
But the “unbreakable” record that came close to being broken is the single-day weight record, set by Dean Rojas in 2001 at Toho, of over 45 pounds. Terry Scroggins, who was twenty pounds out of the lead heading into the final day, came within ounces of beating Elias on the strength of a 44-04 bag, fishing. His big bag came courtesy of a Big Show worm. Both Elias and Rojas could breathe a sigh of relief, especially when Scroggins reported that he had lost a double digit bass in the afternoon. That might’ve pushed him over the 50 pound mark – a record that might be considered unbreakable, at least until threatened or broken.
Horton Makes a Charge at Kentucky
Once again 2008 was Kevin VanDam’s year. Not only did he win the AOY title, but he earned two Elite Series wins on the way. But the latter win, at Kentucky Lake, almost didn’t happen, and the spoiler would have been Alabama’s Timmy Horton.
Horton sacked 24-11 on a crankbait that final day. It wasn’t the biggest bag that week – indeed, VanDam had one two ounces heavier earlier in the tournament – but it showed that Superman might be beatable. Horton entered that day with a nine pound plus deficit and lost a couple of big bass that would have easily given him the win, but even though he lost a couple of fish that would have given him the win, he expressed satisfaction with his performance and with his specially-modified Fat Free Shad, which will soon be available to the general public.
Kota Ponders the
Smallmouth Century Mark at Erie
When BASS first started giving out the Century Club heavyweight belts for four-day hundred pound catches, did anyone think they’d ever issue one for a smallmouth-only catch?
They still haven’t had to do so, but the day may be coming. After all, in winning the Empire Chase on Lake Erie, Kota Kiriyama sacked consecutive 25 pound bags of smallmouths on days three and four, despite having limited fishing time due to a long run and rough water. When your smallest bag of the week is 20-15 of bronze gold, you’re certainly living right.
While both of his 25 pound catches are impressive on their own, so too are his consistency, his ability to capitalize on a unique pattern and his eight pound plus margin of victory.
Ike Upsets the Apple Cart at Oneida
Dean Rojas was the big story at Oneida, achieving his first BASS win since 2001 and doing it on his signature frog lure. But for a single day catch, no one was better than New Jersey’s Mike Iaconelli, who weighed in 20-01 on day two to jump 39 places and take the lead.
While multiple 16 to 18 pound bags were caught at Oneida, no one else threatened to hit the twenty pound mark. Even the normally ultra-confident Iaconelli seemed surprised by his haul, although he predicted that day that he might do it again the next day. But he couldn’t repeat it and Rojas won by averaging just over 16 pounds a day.
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