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Texan Faircloth Rallies at Bassmaster Elite Series Event on Lake Amistad

Category: Tournament

 Apr 13th, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Apr 13th, 2008 at 12:00 AM

DEL RIO, Texas – Sparked by a “magic tree”, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, jumped Sunday from 10th place to first at the Lone Star Shootout presented by Mahindra Tractors, edging Elite rookie Clark Reehm of Russellville, Ark., by just 12 ounces.With the victory, Faircloth earns $100,000 and moved up to second position in the prestigious Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, which boast a $250,000 top prize and serves as the main qualifying avenue into the Bassmaster Classic. Faircloth’s 29-pound, 14-ounce limit was buttressed by a final-hour stop at a location he found at a 2007 Elite event on Amistad.”Last year, I caught 36 pounds from this area where there was a giant tree,” said Faircloth, 32. “I decided to save it until the very end today. So, I pulled in there and caught two giants with less than an hour to go. That tree is magical.”To see Faircloth’s magic spot and the rest of the big-fish action from Amistad, fishing fans can tune in to ESPN2 on Saturday, April 19, at 9 a.m. ET. The fourth Elite event of the 2008 season was shortened to three days because of unsafe weather conditions Thursday, which would have been the first day of competition.Faircloth primarily used two techniques throughout the three days. He fished a 6-inch Senko to fill out his limit and used a swimbait, as many other anglers in the field did, to entice his bigger bites. The largest bass of his Sunday limit, an 8-13 brute which earned Purolator Big Bass honors and $1,000, was boated on a swimbait.In 2007, Faircloth scored a fourth-place finish at Amistad but had an unproductive three-day practice period heading into this weeked. However, he said he was able to get some much-needed rest Thursday when the tournament day was canceled.”After practice, I didn’t expect to be anywhere near winning this event,” said Faircloth. “Thursday gave me some perspective, I was able to hang out with my children and get some rest. That always helps.”Faircloth now has earned more than $750,000 in his BASS career and has two BASS victories, both in Elite Series competition. With seven events remaining in the 2008 Elites, he has put himself in prime position for a run at the AOY title and Classic qualification.Reehm, who weighed in 76-3 overall, just missed his first Elite Series trophy, but the Elite rookie made a considerable leap in the AOY standings to 46th. Despite being disappointed, Reehm feels that he is still in the learning stages in Elite competition.”Every day you learn something new,” said Reehm, 28. “I made some mistakes that ultimately cost me but I rebounded after a miserable performance last week at Falcon Lake and I had an excellent time.”Reehm, who qualified for the Elites through the Bassmaster Open format, fished Amistad in September 2007, ultimately qualifying for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on the strength of his Amistad tournament.This time around, he targeted similar areas as he did then, primarily Carolina-rigging a big worm in red. He said the bigger bass came later in the day and was focusing on staging fish.Right behind Reehm was fellow Arkansas pro Kevin Short of Mayflower, with 75-10. Short exacted a measure of redemption on Amistad after catching zero legal bass on the second day of the 2007 tournament.Another Arkansas pro, Mike McClelland of Bella Vista, was fourth with 71-1. Although he missed out on a record fourth Elite Series win, McClelland took the top position in the AOY standings.”Every day I think about winning the Angler of the Year,” McClelland said. “That is the ultimate goal and it’s fantastic to get out to such a great start.”In fifth was Saturday’s leader Jason Williamson of Aiken, S.C., with 69-12. Two Texans also finishing in the top 12 were Gary Klein of Weatherford (6th) and Billy Brewer of Bruceville (8th).For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit Bassmaster.com. Visit ESPNMediaZone.com for ESPN’s latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video, audio clips and more.The local sponsor of the Battle on the Border is the Del Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau.Sponsors of the Bassmaster Elite Series include Toyota Tundra, Advance Auto Parts, Berkley, Lowrance, Mercury, Purolator, Skeeter, Yamaha, Evan Williams Bourbon, Longhorn, OPTIMA Batteries, Triton Boats, Costa Del Mar, MotorGuide and Ramada Worldwide.Location and FieldBattle on the Border presented by Mahindra TractorsLake AmistadDel Rio, TexasApril 10-13, 2008Field109 pros, 109 co-anglersDay 1 was canceled due to unsafe weather conditionsCut to top 12 pro anglers after Day 3Launch/Weigh-inDiablo East MarinaHwy 90Del Rio, Texas2008 Bassmaster Elite Series Event DatesDate Event Name Fishery Host CityMarch 6-9 Sunshine Showdown Harris Chain of Lakes Leesburg, Fla.March 13-16 Citrus Slam Kissimmee Chain Lake Wales, Fla.April 3-6 Lone Star Shootout Falcon Lake Zapata, TexasApril 10-13 Battle on the Border Lake Amistad Del Rio, TexasMay 1-4 Pride of Georgia Clarks Hill Lake Evans, Ga.May 15-18 Carolina Clash Lake Murray Columbia, S.C.June 5-8 Southern Challenge Wheeler Lake Decatur, Ala.June 12-15 Bluegrass Brawl Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.June 26-29 River Rumble Mississippi River Fort Madison, IowaJuly 31- Aug. 3 Empire Chase Lake Erie/Niagara River Buffalo, N.Y.Aug. 7-10 Champion’s Choice Oneida Lake Syracuse, N.Y.Sponsors of the Bassmaster Elite Series include Toyota Tundra, Advance Auto Parts, Berkley, Lowrance, Mercury, Purolator, Skeeter, Yamaha, Evan Williams Bourbon, Longhorn, OPTIMA Batteries, Triton Boats, Costa del Mar, MotorGuide and Ramada Worldwide.2008 Battle on the Border 4/10-4/13Lake Amistad, Del Rio TX.(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$1. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 15 76-15 305 $102,000.00Day 1: 5 23-14 Day 2: 5 23-03 Day 3: 5 29-142. Clark Reehm Russellville, AR 15 76-03 295 $30,000.00Day 1: 5 28-14 Day 2: 5 25-12 Day 3: 5 21-093. Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 15 75-10 290 $36,000.00Day 1: 5 21-13 Day 2: 5 31-06 Day 3: 5 22-074. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 15 71-01 285 $18,000.00Day 1: 5 29-05 Day 2: 5 23-14 Day 3: 5 17-145. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 15 69-12 285 $17,000.00Day 1: 5 25-15 Day 2: 5 29-13 Day 3: 5 14-006. Gary Klein Weatherford, TX 15 69-06 276 $15,500.00Day 1: 5 27-07 Day 2: 5 20-09 Day 3: 5 21-067. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 15 68-04 272 $17,000.00Day 1: 5 19-12 Day 2: 5 28-13 Day 3: 5 19-118. Billy Brewer Bruceville, TX 15 67-10 268 $14,500.00Day 1: 5 25-12 Day 2: 5 24-01 Day 3: 5 17-139. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 15 67-04 264 $14,000.00Day 1: 5 26-04 Day 2: 5 23-14 Day 3: 5 17-0210. Denny Brauer Camdenton, MO 15 64-04 260 $13,500.00Day 1: 5 27-03 Day 2: 5 17-07 Day 3: 5 19-1011. Kurt Dove Fairfax, VA 15 61-12 262 $13,500.00Day 1: 5 30-08 Day 2: 5 14-02 Day 3: 5 17-0212. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, AL 15 56-07 254 $12,300.00Day 1: 5 25-03 Day 2: 5 20-02 Day 3: 5 11-02———————————————————————–PUROLATOR BIG BASSDay1 Randy Howell Springville, AL 10-08 $1,000.002 Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 11-11 $1,000.003 Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 08-13 $1,000.00PUROLATOR BIG BASS OF TOURNGreg Hackney Gonzales, LA 11-11 $1,000.00BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHTDay1 Kurt Dove Fairfax, VA 30-08 $1,000.002 Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 31-06 $1,000.003 Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 29-14 $1,000.00BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT OF TOURNKevin Short Mayflower, AR 31-06 $10,000.00———————————————————————–TotalsDay #Limits #Fish Weight1 107 542 1872-022 107 540 1797-003 12 60 229-10———————————-226 1142 3898-122008 Battle on the Border – Battle on the Border Pro PointsAfter Lake Amistad, Del Rio, Texas Ending 04-13-2008, Day 3——————————————-Place Name St Pts——————————————-1 Mike McClelland Ark. 10172 Todd Faircloth Texas 9953 Mark Davis Ark. 9914 Dean Rojas Ariz. 9705 Scott Rook Ark. 9636 Skeet Reese Calif. 9407 Alton Jones Texas 9068 Derek Remitz Ala. 8959 Bobby Lane Fla. 89210 Bill Lowen Ohio 89011 Bryan Hudgins Fla. 88212 Kenyon Hill Okla. 88113 Rick Morris Va. 87013 Kevin VanDam Mich. 87015 Gary Klein Texas 86516 Terry Scroggins Fla. 85417 Randy Howell Ala. 84218 Brian Snowden Mo. 83819 Byron Velvick Texas 81720 Britt Myers S.C. 80721 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 80122 Kevin Short Ark. 79923 Mark Menendez Ky. 79624 Jason Williamson S.C. 79525 Steve Kennedy Ala. 79326 Bernie Schultz Fla. 79227 Aaron Martens Ala. 79127 Casey Ashley S.C. 79127 Fred Roumbanis Okla. 79130 Jason Quinn S.C. 77731 Jared Lintner Calif. 77232 Edwin Evers Okla. 76733 Billy Brewer Texas 76434 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 76035 Ish Monroe Calif. 75836 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 73736 Brent Chapman Kan. 73738 Morizo Shimizu Japan 73539 Takahiro Omori Texas 73440 Kelly Jordon Texas 73141 Shaw Grigsby Fla. 72942 Mike Wurm Ark. 72843 Scott Campbell Mo. 72744 Dave Wolak N.C. 72645 Matt Reed Texas 70246 Clark Reehm Ark. 70047 Kevin Wirth Ky. 69948 Paul Elias Miss. 69449 Dustin Wilks N.C. 69050 Russ Lane Ala. 68551 Preston Clark Fla. 66752 Gerald Swindle Ala. 66253 Rick Clunn Mo. 65854 Denny Brauer Mo. 65655 Jimmy Mize Ark. 65556 Tommy Biffle Okla. 63957 Marty Stone N.C. 63658 Jay Fuller Okla. 63559 Elton Luce Texas 63460 Cliff Pace Miss. 63361 Jeff Kriet Okla. 62561 Brian Clark Texas 62563 Boyd Duckett Ala. 62464 Jon Bondy Canada 62165 Bradley Hallman Okla. 61866 Greg Hackney La. 61767 Zell Rowland Texas 61668 Timmy Horton Ala. 61569 John Crews Va. 61370 Chris Lane Fla. 61071 Matthew Sphar N.Y. 60872 Guy Eaker N.C. 60673 Terry Butcher Okla. 60374 Stephen Browning Ark. 59175 Ben Matsubu Texas 58576 Wade Grooms S.C. 57977 Pat Golden N.C. 57778 Jami Fralick S.D. 57279 Davy Hite S.C. 57180 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 56781 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 56582 Kurt Dove Va. 56483 Mark Tyler Okla. 55884 Ken Cook Okla. 54985 Mark Tucker Mo. 54086 Peter Thliveros Fla. 53887 Jeff Connella La. 53288 Jim Murray Ga. 53189 Greg Gutierrez Calif. 52990 Charlie Hartley Ohio 51891 Kevin Langill N.C. 51592 Rick Ash Pa. 50093 Todd Auten S.C. 49894 Steve Daniel Fla. 49695 John Murray Ariz. 49396 Marty Robinson S.C. 47997 James Kennedy La. 47898 Grant Goldbeck Md. 47699 Corey Waldrop Texas 461100 James Niggemeyer Texas 451101 David Sherrer La. 449102 Bobby Myers Okla. 438103 Pete Ponds Miss. 425104 Glenn Delong Ohio 414105 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 412106 Paul Hirosky Pa. 388107 Randy Allen La. 373108 David Smith Okla. 357109 Matt Amedeo Ohio 343