Every Ounce Important
Points Are Ultra-Valuable
At Final Elite Series Event
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 by: Bassfan.com
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Photo: ESPN Outdoors Mike Iaconelli will try to clinch his first Angler of the Year (AOY) title this week.
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Baseball is a game of inches, and tournament bass fishing is a game of ounces. The short- or long-term futures of many Bassmaster Elite Series anglers could hinge on a just a few ounces in one direction or the other this week.
The Series will conclude its 6-month, 11-tournament run at Missouri's Table Rock Lake, and all indicators point to a low-weight, tough-bite donnybrook. For anglers trying to maintain or improve their positions in the points race, the pressure will be intense.
Here's a quick look at what'll be at stake at the Rock beginning Thursday.
Angler of the Year (AOY)
New Jersey's Mike Iaconelli has led this dance for more than 4 months – he took over the top slot after his 12th-place finish at Clarks Hill in May, which came on the heels of his victory at Guntersville. But an advantage that was greater than 100 points in early July has shrunk to just 45 over ultra-consistent Steve Kennedy of Alabama.
Kennedy has been hot recently – his last three finishes were 7th at the Legends Major (Arkansas River), 3rd at the Potomac River and 7th at the FLW Tour Championship (Logan Martin). Iaconelli, who was among the Top 18 in each of the first seven events before a mid-summer cool-off, is coming off a 4th at the Potomac and a 16th at the Arkansas River.
Iaconelli was 77th at Table Rock last year, when a late-March event wrapped up a spring-oriented Bassmaster season. Kennedy, who's concluding his first Bassmaster campaign, has never competed at the Rock, but he'd never been to the Arkansas River or Amistad (5th) prior to this year either.
One other factor: Table Rock has a 15-inch minimum-length requirement, so that could open the back door for Dean Rojas (3rd), Kevin VanDam (4th) or 2005 AOY Aaron Martens (5th) if both Iaconelli and Kennedy tank. Rojas trails Iaconelli by 111 points, VanDam is another 13 back, and Martens is seven behind VanDam.
The Elite Series' incremental points structure awards 300 points to the winner of an event, all the way down to 74 for the last-place finisher, with a five-point bonus for the daily leader.
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Photo: ESPN Outdoors Brent Chapman occupies the final 2007 Bassmaster Classic qualification spot heading into the season's final event.
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Bassmaster Classic
Luke Clausen, the 2006 Bassmaster Classic champion, did not fish the Elite Series this year and thus won't be eligible to claim the automatic Classic berth that goes to the previous champion. Therefore, the Top 37 in the points will earn trips to Alabama's Lay Lake in February 2007.
Brent Chapman, who's competed in six Classics but failed to qualify the last two, sits in that 37th spot as he's recovered from a rough start to the season (one Top 50 in the first five events). His record at Table Rock is stellar – he won the Busch Shootout last fall and finished 3rd in the '05 Bassmaster event.
Rookie Bill Lowen is one spot in front of Chapman, and 2004 Classic champ Takahiro Omori is one behind. Omori (38th) and Paul Elias (41st) are the only winners of past Classics who are fishing the Elite Series, but aren't within the cutoff.
Terry Scroggins nearly back-doored his way into the '07 Classic, but ended up 5th in the Bassmaster Southern Tour points. If he'd finished two positions higher, he could make his plans for Lay right now. Instead, he'll have to try stay within the cutoff (he's currently 34th).
Todd Faircloth (35th) is hoping to get back to the Classic after sitting out last year. Terry Butcher (40th) can qualify for the first time by moving up three places.
Notables who might be in trouble if they lay a big egg at Table Rock include Randy Howell (27th), Mike McClelland (28th), Gary Klein (29th), Rick Clunn (30th), Mark Tucker (31st) and Jeff Kriet (32nd).
Elite Series Requalification
There's also a race going on toward the bottom of the points list, as only the Top 70 will be eligible for the 2007 Elite Series. Charlie Youngers occupies that spot right now, and he's done his best fishing of the year over the past three events. A fourth straight Top 50 will seal the deal for him.
Two anglers who competed in the '06 Classic will battle to stay above that 70th-place barrier.
Brian Snowden's season got off to a horrendous start, but he's made the Top 26 in four of the last five tournaments to climb to 67th, and as a former Table Rock guide, he has a lot going for him this week.
Mark Menendez (68th) was 43rd at the Potomac, but missed six straight cuts prior to that and doesn't want to take this weekend off.
Mike Reynolds, another '06 Classic qualifier, started the season with a bang by taking 3rd at Amistad, but he followed that up with four straight finishes of 70th or worse. He's 72nd in the points and in need of a good outing.
Rookie Jami Fralick is 62nd, so a decent showing should get him an '07 invite. Among other first-year pros, Jeff Connella is in a bit more jeopardy at 66th, and Jon Bondy (74th), Paul Hirosky (75th) and Keith Phillips (77th) will need upward moves.
Hirosky also has a chance to requalify – and perhaps even make the Classic – through the Bassmaster Northern Tour. He's 15th in the points through three of the five events, and the Top 5 gain Elite eligibility. Only the Top 3 gain berths in the Classic.
Those with little or no chance to crack the Top 70 include Joe Thomas (89th), Guy Eaker (93rd) and Byron Velvick (94th).
Notable
> Anglers who finish in places 6-25 in either the Southern or Northern Tour will be invited to the Bassmaster Wild-Card Qualifier at Florida's Harris Chain of Lakes in November. Ten Elite Series spots will be available at that event.
