DeFoe Leads Elite Rookies
Mar 24th, 2011 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Mar 24th, 2011 at 12:00 AM
DeFoe leads Elite rookies: Ott DeFoe, 25, of Knoxville, Tenn., is the top rookie after the first two events of the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series.
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| Ott DeFoe (Photo OutdoorsFIRST) |
Last Sunday, DeFoe advanced from third place to lead the season’s 15 rookies with 454 points. His 28th-place finish at the Power-Pole Citrus Slam, combined with his 20th-place finish the week before, put him in the lead.
Second among the rookies is Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas, with 415 points. Jonathon VanDam, 22, the rookie leader after the first event of the season, now is third with 409 points.
Within the full field of 99 Elite Series pros, DeFoe is 19th; Combs is 25th; and VanDam is 29th. At the moment, their positions make them the most likely rookies to earn a 2012 Bassmaster Classic berth and a spot in the postseason. After eight regular-season events, the Top 8 pros of the entire field will advance to the postseason; the Top 28 in points will earn Classic berths.
The stories of 10-plus-pounders: Florida fisheries produced two fine examples of 10-pound-class bass during the first two Bassmaster Elite Series events of the season.
Jason Williamson boated a 10-pound, 3-ounce St. Johns River bass on the first day of the March 17-20 Power-Pole Citrus Slam. The Aiken, S.C., pro gives all the details in the latest edition of Lunker Lessons at Bassmaster.com. He won the event’s $500 Berkley Big Bass of the Tournament bonus for bringing in the behemoth.
On the water, before he knew the bass’ weight, Williamson was overheard telling another angler, “I’ve got one over 10 pounds. If it ain’t, it’s close. Biggest one I’ve ever caught here.”
He found the big girl on a spawning bed carved out of eelgrass in about 2 feet of water. He got the bass to react to his presentation of a Texas rigged Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw in junebug red.
At the March 10-13 Sunshine Showdown on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes, Matt Greenblatt weighed in a 10-4 to win the $500 Berkley bonus.
He landed the largemouth on 8-pound fluorocarbon line. All the details of Greenblatt’s big one are in his edition of Lunker Lessons at Bassmaster.com.