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Oklahoman Newby Takes Lead at Bassmaster Central Open

Category: press release

 Mar 6th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Mar 6th, 2009 at 12:00 AM

MANY, La. – The expectation among Bassmaster Central Open anglers was for lots of 20-pound sacks after the first day of competition was canceled due to unsafe weather conditions on Toledo Bend Reservoir. Sam Newby of Pocola, Okla., was the only angler to bring a five-bass limit of 20 pounds, 12 ounces to the scales during the tournament’s weigh-in.

	Sam Newby with two of his bass that has him in the lead at Toledo Bend(Photo courtesy of BASS)

The full field of pros and co-anglers will compete Saturday, March 7, the final day of competition. At stake for the pros is a top prize of $45,000 and valuable points toward qualifying for the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series season and the 2010 Bassmaster Classic out of Birmingham, Ala., set for Feb. 19-21. Co-anglers will compete in the Opens for the top prize of a Triton/Mercury boat and motor package valued at $32,000.

Fans are invited to the Open’s final day takeoff and weigh-in Saturday at Cypress Bend Park, located at 3462 Cypress Bend Drive, Many, La. Anglers will launch their boats at 6:30 a.m. CT and the weigh-ins are scheduled to begin at 2:35 p.m. at the park. All activities are free and open to the public. Fishing fans can also follow the action on Bassmaster.com with daily stories, photo galleries and more.

As Newby sat and watched nine more flights of anglers go through the weigh-in, he was shocked that his sack of bass held the lead.

“I don’t think it’s going to last,” said Newby after exiting the weigh-in stage. “There are going to be a lot of big fish weighed in. I really thought it would be better today.”

In second-place is Texas’ Harold Allen, whose 19-pound, 8-ounce bag included a 10-pound, 15-ounce bass, followed by Carl Svebek III of Siloam Springs, Ark., with 19 pounds. Rounding out the top five were Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., and Gary Key of Laveen, Ariz., each of which weighed full limits totaling 18-13.

	Harold Allen of Texas holds a 10-pound, 15-ounce bass from Day 2 (Photo courtesy of BASS)

Most of the field commented on having great practices and a very tough day of fishing, but Newby said he didn’t have any problem putting together his limit. His was fishing about 25 miles north of the launch and focused on pre-spawners.

“I lost almost as many as I caught,” said Newby. “I think I’m kind of in the migration route. I think I’m catching them coming in to spawn.”

He declined to go into detail about his pattern, but admitted that he wasn’t covering a lot of water.

“I fished basically pretty slow,” Newby said.

Allen of Shelbyville, Texas, sitting just over one pound behind Newby, was very open about his pattern, a 5-inch V&M Chopstick.

“I was blind casting on spawning flats,” said Allen. “We were just covered up with (other) guys. I only caught two fish and I knew I needed to go. I just left and went for broke.”

By the time he found another productive flat, he only had time to put two more fish in the boat.

The highlight of his day, which occurred after he found a second location to fish, came when his 10-15 lunker nabbed his bait.

“I throwed up there, and the line just started easing away,” Allen said. “I set the hook and said, ‘Oh! Get the net.'”

Robbie Latuso of Gonzales, La., goes into the final day leading the co-angler division with 16-5, who was using a Smithwick Rogue and a crank bait.

Ken Coats of Tulsa, Okla., is in second place in the co-angler division with a 15-pound, 14-ounce total, while Glenn Robertson of Shreveport, La., sits in third place with 15 pounds, 8 ounces.

The next stop in the three-tournament Central Open division is the Sept. 3-5 event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir out of Jasper, Texas.

Sponsors of the 2009 Bassmaster Opens: Toyota Trucks, Berkley, BOOYAH Baits, Evan Williams Bourbon, Mercury, OPTIMA Batteries, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Marine.

About BASS

For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. With its considerable multi-media 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 sports broadband network, Bassmaster.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, Women’s Bassmaster Tour and the Bassmaster Classic, the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing. Through its grassroots network, the BASS Federation Nation, BASS sanctions more than 20,000 events annually.

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.