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June 4-6 Women’s Bassmaster Tour Event Moves from Arkansas River to Nearby Maumelle Lake; WBT Points Leader Pam Martin-Wells of Georgia Gets Crackin’ at Decoding the Lake

Category: press release

 May 27th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified May 27th, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Heeding a small craft warning in effect for the Arkansas River near Little Rock, BASS announced Wednesday the fishery for the June 4-6 Academy Sports + Outdoors Women’s Bassmaster Tour event has been changed to Maumelle Lake.

	Pam Martin leads the points race (Photo Courtesy of BASS)

“BASS’ first concern in these situations is always safety of the anglers,” said Bruce Mathis, WBT tournament director. “We have been monitoring the Arkansas River, and we were prepared for the possibility of a move just a short distance west to Maumelle.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers routinely issues a small craft warning when a river flow exceeds 70,000 cubic feet per second. According to the corps, the velocity of the Arkansas River at Little Rock was 180,000 cfs early this week. The WBT competitors were notified of the change Wednesday.

The launch site on Maumelle will be Jolly Roger’s Marina, 11800 Maumelle Harbour Road, Roland, AR 72135 (501-868-5558). Take-off time is 5:45 a.m. CT. Daily weigh-ins are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Academy Sports + Outdoors retail location at 6100 Warden Road, Sherwood, Ark., across the river from the city of Little Rock.

All WBT events are free and open to the public. The competition will be covered daily by http://www.Bassmaster.com with live streaming video and real-time leaderboards, plus daily photo galleries and results.

The Arkansas tournament will be the WBT’s third event of the 2009 season. The top prize in the pro division is $1,000 plus a fully rigged boat-and-motor package valued at $55,000. In the co-angler division, the first-prize package consists of $500 and a boat rig worth $25,000.

And, for the pros, the tournament continues the 2009 Toyota Tundra Women’s Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year points race, the qualifying route to the Academy Sports + Outdoors WBT Championship, Oct. 16-18 on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. After the WBT Championship, the winner of the AOY will receive a berth in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 19-21 Classic out of Birmingham, Ala., on Lay Lake.

Leading the points race is four-time WBT winner Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga. Her first look at the reservoir, which is almost 9,000 acres, was last Tuesday.

“I’m just riding around, starting out by looking at the water,” she said. “I don’t know a whole lot about it. So far, I see bank grass and a lot of rocks.”

Martin-Wells will have to do well at Maumelle to stay in front of the tight AOY race. She is only 26 points ahead of Juanita Robinson of Highlands, Texas, and 29 points away from Laura Gober of Pendergrass, Ga.

It isn’t all their race, either; the top-10 spread is less than 100 points.

The angler who takes the AOY crown will win a new Toyota Tundra as well as a berth in the Classic. She will follow in the historic footsteps of WBT pro Kim Bain-Moore of Alabaster, Ala., who as the 2008 AOY became the first woman to qualify for a Classic.

For WBT pro Danalee Lofton of Little Rock, the change to Maumelle was good news. Although she’s at home on the Arkansas River, she said she’s fished Maumelle “about 200 times.”

She is not banking on a home-lake advantage.

“Yes, I’ve been on the lake a lot, but that doesn’t mean I can be complacent and not work very, very hard. There’s a lot of very, very good anglers on the circuit, so I’m sure they can figure it out as well,” said Lofton, who jumped 37 places in the AOY standings on the strength of a 18th-place finish in April on the Ouachita River.

No one should have trouble hooking into Maumelle bass, she said.

“There’s a ton of small fish in the lake, so a kicker will definitely make your bag,” she said. “I predict the weights will be close and leaders will have to have about 10 pounds or so each day.”

The lake holds largemouth and Kentucky spotted bass, but not smallmouth bass, she said.

“There is a lot of rocky structure, lot of shoreline willow grass, some lily pads, some submergent grass, but very little wood,” she described. “It’s an old lake, so most of the timber is gone.”

According to the Web site of lake overseer Central Arkansas Water (http://www.carkw.com), Maumelle Lake was constructed in the mid-1950s by damming the Big Maumelle River. The lake is about 12 miles long. Its average depth is about 25 feet; maximum depth is 60 feet.

Because Maumelle supplies water for the Little Rock metroplex, its shoreline is unbroken by private docks and homes. Personal watercraft, skiing, wakeboarding, and swimming are not allowed. Those restrictions, noted Lofton, might work to an anglers’ advantage on high-traffic days.

Local sponsors include the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (http://www.littlerock.com) and the Heart of Arkansas (http://www.heartofarkansas.com).

Sponsors of the Women’s Bassmaster Tour
Title Sponsor: Academy Sports + Outdoors. Official Sponsors: Toyota Trucks, Berkley, BOOYAH Baits, Mercury, OPTIMA Batteries, Skeeter Boats and Yamaha Marine. Supporting Sponsors: Ramada,Triton Boats, LaserLure and Legend Boats.

For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit Bassmaster.com. Visit ESPNOutdoorsMedia.com for BASS and ESPN Outdoors latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos and more.

About BASS
For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. With its considerable multimedia platforms and expansive tournament trail, BASS is guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer and comprehensive Web properties in ESPN360.com, ESPN’s broadband sports network, Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com and ESPNOutdoors.com, the organization is committed to delivering content true to the lifestyle. Additionally, television programming on ESPN2 continues to provide relevant content – from tips and techniques to in-depth tournament coverage – to passionate audiences.

The organization oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Academy Sports + Outdoors Women’s Bassmaster Tour and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic. Through its grassroots network, the BASS Federation Nation, BASS annually sanctions more than 20,000 events.

BASS also offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.

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Media Contact: Doug Grassian, (407) 566-2216 or [email protected]

2009 TOYOTA TUNDRA WOMEN’S BASSMASTER TOUR ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

——————————————-
Place Name St Pts
——————————————-
1 Pam Martin-Wells Ga. 582
2 Juanita Robinson Texas 556
3 Laura Gober Ga. 553
4 Sheri Glasgow Okla. 543
5 Tammy Richardson Ark. 540
6 Debra Petrowski Texas 525
7 Janet Parker Texas 512
8 Lisa Johnson Ala. 495
9 Patti Campbell Texas 489
10 Dianna Clark Tenn. 479
11 Mary Croft Va. 478
11 Emily Shaffer Tenn. 478
13 Melinda Mize Ark. 475
14 Jennifer Nevans Tenn. 468
15 Judy Wong La. 466
16 Lori Masters Tenn. 465
17 Cindy Hill Tenn. 460
18 Karen Savik Minn. 455
19 Lynda Gessner Mo. 452
20 Robin Babb Texas 451
21 Mary DiVincenti La. 442
22 Lucy Mize Ark. 436
23 Christiana Bradley Va. 435
24 Teri Neal Ga. 434
24 Paula Alexander Ga. 434
26 Debbie Kemp Texas 432
27 Tami Kashiwabara Ark. 428
28 Cheryl LaLumandier Mo. 426
29 Heather Broom N.C. 424
29 Sandi Karnes Texas 424
31 Robinette Fox Ark. 419
32 Kathy Womack Ala. 412
33 Kris McClendon Texas 410
34 Debra Hengst Texas 384
34 Jan Heavener Ark. 384
36 Christena Baugh Ark. 382
37 Laura Heflin Kan. 380
38 Meta Burrell Texas 379
39 Kali Weatherford Texas 374
40 Bridget Allen Pa. 366
41 Susan Gregory Miss. 356
41 Linda Redford Mo. 356
43 Helen Gordon Texas 354
44 Danalee Lofton Ark. 352
44 Marsha Gipson Ark. 352
46 Kathi Hurst Miss. 348
47 Keri Schieber Ga. 346
48 Michelle Armstrong N.C. 344
48 Jo Dee Lake Ala. 344
50 Terri Elkins Texas 342
51 Lisa Craig Texas 332
52 Lila Bass Texas 324
53 BJ Carson Okla. 322
54 Mary Hencken N.C. 320
55 Cindy Van Horn Texas 314
56 Secret York Ky. 302
57 Robbie Hartline Mo. 290
58 Rhonda Pope Ga. 285
59 Kim Stapp Ga. 264
60 Kim Bain-Moore Ala. 251
61 Pam Bolton Ark. 245
62 Cheryl Bowden Texas 233
63 Karen Elkins Ala. 227
64 Kat Ealey Ala. 221
65 Gina Jones Ala. 217
66 Penny Berryman Ark. 213
67 Linda Sands Ala. 195
68 Diane Phillips Texas 193
69 Kathy DiMartino Ala. 191
70 Audrey McQueen Ariz. 187
71 Betty Stahl Ala. 185
72 Barbara Wetzel Ala. 169
73 Lisa Sternard Tenn. 165
74 Kelley Shepherd Ariz. 163
74 Deb Doyal La. 163
76 Sherri Dodson Ala. 155
77 Kimberlee Striker Ala. 151
78 Pat White Texas 149
79 Patsy McDaniel Ala. 137
80 Kim Hicks Ga. 127
81 Judy VanCanneyt Ala. 125
82 Ann Swinks Ga. 119
83 Kathy Freehling Fla. 115
84 Sharon Teague S.C. 0