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Floridians Dominate Harris Chain Bass Fishing Tournament
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LEESBURG, Fla. — The whims of Florida's wintertime weather struck again Sunday in the final round of the $618,000 CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on the Harris Chain of Lakes, shaking up the leaderboard and pushing a pair of Floridians into the top two spots.
   Instead of cold, this time it was wind - brisk and relentless - playing havoc with the chain's resident largemouths, even causing two of the six finalists to strike out completely.
   Somehow it played into the hands of Peter Thliveros and Jim Bitter, who moved up from second and third, respectively, to capture the top spots.
   Thliveros, 44, from Jacksonville, brought in the day's largest catch (19 pounds, 15 ounces), earning the Busch Heavyweight award for the day and posting his fourth BASS victory with 69 pounds, five ounces. He took home a cool $100,000 for his efforts, plus an additional $2,000 for having the Busch Heavyweight bag on both the third and final day.
   Bitter, 62, a hometown favorite from nearby Fruitland Park, weighed in an impressive 18-9, but fell 1 pound, 11 ounces short with 67-10. He earned $40,000.
   Third-round leader Todd Faircloth of Texas managed just 12-3 Sunday and fell to third place with 64-6, followed by North Carolina's Guy Eaker (15-12 Sunday) with 60-14. Fifth-place finisher Larry Nixon (46-9) of Arkansas and California's Aaron Martens (42-5) both zeroed on Sunday.
   Bitter took Sunday's Purolator Big Bass Award with an eight-pound, nine-ounce largemouth. It earned him an extra $1,000.
   Thliveros scored a much appreciated victory on the day that Super Bowl XXXIX was taking place in his hometown.
   "It's just unbelievable," said Thliveros, who last won a BASS event in 1997. "It's almost as good as the first time. The first time was fabulous, and this time it's almost surreal."
   "I'm still floating. I don't even really know where I'm at. The adrenaline's flowing."
   Thliveros' success came in the shallow grass in Lake Eustis on a 1/2-ounce Team Supreme spinnerbait thrown on 20-pound monofilament line. He also used a Zoom Brush Hog and paddletail worm on 14-pound line.
   Peter T's strategy involved targeting spawning bass that others overlooked. He used the spinnerbait early and the soft-plastics later in the day.
   "Going out this morning, I thought my chances were pretty good," he said. "I really did. I don't know why I thought they were pretty good. I just had a good feeling. For once, I didn't have any negative thoughts. I didn't talk myself out of it. I just kind of kept myself in a positive frame of mind and really, really worked hard."
   It was a disappointing ending for Bitter, the early leader and a clear favorite among the Leesburg fishing fans. The five-time BASS winner won a BASS MegaBucks event here in 1989.
   "Sure, I'm disappointed. I had a great opportunity to win this thing," he said. "I was on plenty of fish. I just didn't control my area well enough."
   Bitter shared the Yale Canal with several top finishers, including Eaker. He scored by pitching two sizes of a Brush Hog into shallow vegetation for bedding bass that he couldn't see.
   For Faircloth, it was another near miss at his first BASS victory. His third place showing leaves him with two seconds and two thirds on his tournament résumé.
   "I felt really good going out this morning," Faircloth said. "I had a 2-pound lead, and I felt good about my area.
   "What I was most concerned about was that my bites were coming so late in the day. That was the situation again today. I didn't catch my first bass until 10:00, and I caught three after 12 o'clock."
   In the Purolator Big Bass Fan Contest, Brian Naugle won the luck of the draw and was paired with Bitter. When his 8-9 largemouth hit the scales, Naugle earned the $1,000 prize.
   Catch all the action from the CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on the Harris Chain on The CITGO Bassmasters next Saturday, Feb. 12, at 10:00 a.m. ET.


2005 Florida CITGO Bassmaster Tour Pro 02/03-02/06
Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Fla.
(PRO Division) Standings Day 4

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total
$$$

1.  Peter E Thliveros      Jacksonville, Fla.     19  69-05  305 
$102,000.00
  Day 1: 5   16-00    Day 2: 5   16-09    Day 3: 5   16-13    Day 4: 4  
19-15   
2.  Jim Bitter             Fruitland Park, Fla.   18  67-10  305  
$40,000.00
  Day 1: 5   26-12    Day 2: 5   13-09    Day 3: 3    8-12    Day 4: 5  
18-09   
3.  Todd Faircloth         Jasper, Texas          19  64-06  295  
$23,000.00
  Day 1: 5   18-02    Day 2: 5   18-05    Day 3: 5   15-12    Day 4: 4  
12-03   
4.  Guy Eaker              Cherryville, N.C.      19  60-14  285  
$20,000.00
  Day 1: 5   15-06    Day 2: 5   17-14    Day 3: 4   11-14    Day 4: 5  
15-12   
5.  Larry Nixon            Bee Branch, Ark.       13  46-09  280  
$15,000.00
  Day 1: 3   16-14    Day 2: 5   16-02    Day 3: 5   13-09    Day 4: 0   
0-00   
6.  Aaron Martens          Castaic, Calif.        11  42-05  276  
$14,000.00
  Day 1: 5   26-03    Day 2: 1    2-04    Day 3: 5   13-14    Day 4: 0   
0-00   
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Purolator Big Bass
Day
 1   Tim Horton              Muscle Shoals, Ala.        9-07  $1,000.00
 2   Art Ferguson III        Saint Clair Shores, Mich. 11-01  $1,000.00
 3   Mark Rogers             Naples, Fla.               7-13  $1,000.00
 4   Jim Bitter              Fruitland Park, Fla.       8-09  $1,000.00

Purolator Big Bass of Tournament
     Art Ferguson III        Saint Clair Shores, Mich. 11-01  $1,000.00

Busch Heavyweight
     Jim Bitter              Fruitland Park, Fla.      26-12  $1,000.00
     Scott Rook              Little Rock, Ark.         22-08  $1,000.00
     Peter E Thliveros       Jacksonville, Fla.        16-13  $1,000.00
     Peter E Thliveros       Jacksonville, Fla.        19-15  $1,000.00

CITGO Angler of the Year Leader
     David Walker            Sevierville, Tenn.               $1,000.00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1       37       434      1061-09
 2       56       524      1276-04
 3        5        41       112-07
 4        2        18        66-07
----------------------------------
        100      1017      2516-11

Busch Heavyweight

NAME                           LAKE                           LBSOZS
------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------
Jim Bitter                     Harris Chain of Lakes, FL      26-12
Scott Rook                     Harris Chain of Lakes, FL      22-8
Peter Thliveros                Harris Chain of Lakes, FL      19-15
Takahiro Omori                 Toho/Kissimmee, FL             17-15
Peter Thliveros                Harris Chain of Lakes, FL      16-13
Kevin Wirth                    Toho/Kissimmee, FL             15-5
Gerald Swindle                 Toho/Kissimmee, FL             12-4
Jeff Reynolds                  Toho/Kissimmee, FL             8-13

2005  ANGLER OF THE YEAR PRO Points
After Leesburg, Fla.  Ending 02-06-2005
-------------------------------------------
Place  Name               St            Pts
-------------------------------------------
  1 David Walker          Tenn.         530
  2 Takahiro Omori        Texas         520
  3 Scott Rook            Ark.          513
  4 Skeet Reese           Calif.        507
  5 Andre Moore           Ariz.         505
  6 Guy Eaker             N.C.          498
  7 George Cochran        Ark.          481
  8 Terry Scroggins       Fla.          475
  9 Curt Lytle            Va.           458
 10 Kevin Wirth           Ky.           452
 11 Ron Shuffield         Ark.          450
 12 Jeff Reynolds         Okla.         449
 13 Todd Faircloth        Texas         442
 14 Mike Reynolds         Calif.        440
 14 Mark Rizk             Ala.          440
 16 Ishama Monroe         Calif.        436
 17 Gerald Swindle        Ala.          427
 18 Marty Stone           N.C.          426
 19 Luke Clausen          Wash.         422
 20 Mark Tyler            Ariz.         420
 21 Jay Yelas             Texas         417
 22 Jimmy Mize            Ark.          416
 23 John Crews            Va.           415
 24 Tim Horton            Ala.          402
 25 Brian Snowden         Mo.           397
 26 Roger Boler           La.           392
 27 Aaron Martens         Calif.        375
 28 Larry Nixon           Ark.          371
 29 Art Ferguson III      Mich.         368
 30 Alton Jones           Texas         362
 31 O T Fears III         Okla.         358
 32 Peter E Thliveros     Fla.          349
 33 Lee Bailey            Conn.         348
 34 Michael Iaconelli     N.J.          346
 35 Greg Hackney          La.           344
 36 Mike Wurm             Ark.          342
 37 Jim Bitter            Fla.          341
 38 Dave Wolak            Pa.           338
 39 Jeff Kriet            Okla.         336
 39 Bernie Schultz        Fla.          336
 39 Dean Rojas            Texas         336
 42 Kevin VanDam          Mich.         333
 43 Robert Hamilton Jr    Miss.         330
 44 Dustin Wilks          N.C.          324
 45 David Dudley          Va.           320
 45 Darryl Burkhardt      Ore.          320
 47 Woo Daves             Va.           319
 48 Kelly Jordon          Texas         312
 49 Chip Hawkins          Ark.          310
 50 Tommy Martin          Texas         305
 51 John Murray           Ariz.         304
 51 Kenyon Hill           Okla.         304
 53 Edwin Evers           Okla.         300
 53 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr    Fla.          300
 55 Scott Suggs           Ark.          298
 56 Roland Martin         Fla.          294
 56 Jimmy Houston         Okla.         294
 58 Mark Rogers           Fla.          290
 58 Chad Brauer           Mo.           290
 60 Mark Tucker           Mo.           284
 60 Joe Thomas            Ohio          284
 60 Jay Kendrick          Tenn.         284
 63 Greg Gutierrez        Calif.        283
 64 Chad Morgenthaler     Ill.          282
 64 Tom Biffle            Okla.         282
 64 Brent Chapman         Kan.          282
 67 David Mansue          N.J.          278
 68 Denny Brauer          Mo.           272
 69 David Fritts          N.C.          260
 69 Stephen Browning      Ark.          260
 71 Gary Yamamoto         Texas         256
 72 Norio Tanabe          Japan         255
 72 Jeff Magee            Miss.         255
 74 Rick Morris           Va.           251
 74 Tim Loper             Miss.         251
 76 Kevin Short           Ark.          250
 77 Tom Mann, Jr          Ga.           248
 77 Randy Yarnall         Pa.           248
 79 Paul Elias            Miss.         247
 80 Pete Gluszek          N.J.          246
 80 Harold Allen          Texas         246
 80 Bud Pruitt            Texas         246
 83 Ben Matsubu           Texas         242
 84 Rick Clunn            Mo.           241
 85 Frank Scalish         Ohio          240
 86 Byron Velvick         Nev.          238
 86 R J Bennett           Calif.        238
 88 Mike Auten            Ky.           236
 88 Stacey D King         Mo.           236
 90 Preston Clark         Fla.          234
 91 Terry Butcher         Okla.         233
 92 Cliff Pace            Miss.         232
 93 Homer Humphreys, Jr   La.           231
 94 Gary Klein            Texas         226
 94 Randy Howell          Ala.          226
 96 Doug Garrett          Ark.          224
 96 Fred Roumbanis        Calif.        224
 98 Russ Lane             Ala.          222
 99 Frank Ippoliti        Md.           220
100 Chris Baumgardner     N.C.          219
101 Mike Hicks            Va.           218
102 Chris Bielert         Conn.         216
103 Jarrett Edwards       Colo.         208
104 Tommy Stiles          Tenn.         203
105 Ray Sedgwick          S.C.          202
106 David Gliebe          Calif.        200
107 Dion Hibdon           Mo.           197
108 Todd Auten            S.C.          195
108 Gerald Gostenik       Mich.         195
110 Matt Reed             Texas         190
111 Mark Menendez         Ky.           187
112 Jesse Draime          Miss.         184
113 Jack A Gadlage        Ky.           182
114 Mike McClelland       Ark.          180
115 Chris Daves           Va.           170
116 Brett Hite            Ariz.         165
117 Danny White           Ga.           163
117 Ken Cook              Okla.         163
119 Zachary Thompson      Calif.        158
120 Morizo Shimizu        Calif.        156
121 Charlie Hartley       Ohio          153
122 Randy Blaukat         Mo.           152
123 Marcel Veenstra       Mich.         151
124 Jason Quinn           S.C.          150
125 Mark Rose             Ark.          149
126 David Wharton         Texas         146
127 Cody Bird             Texas         145
128 Thad Takes            Iowa          144
129 Sean Hoernke          Texas         143
129 Kotaro Kiriyama       Ala.          143
131 Mark Davis            Ark.          142
132 Jason Reyes           Texas         136
133 Charlie Youngers      Fla.          134
134 Robert Lee            Calif.        133
135 Louis Iribarren       N.Y.          123
136 Zell Rowland          Texas         122
137 Davy Hite             S.C.          117
138 Brooks Rogers         Texas         114
139 Yusuke Miyazaki       Texas         107
140 Jimmy Mason           Ala.          104
141 Johnny Lesesne        Ga.           103
142 Charlie Weyer         Calif.        100
143 Elton Luce Jr         Texas          98
144 Bink Desaro           Idaho          97
145 Mike O'Shea           Calif.         93
146 Kyle Mabrey           Ala.           87
147 Terry Adams           La.            84
147 Randy Dearman         Texas          84
149 Terry Baksay          Conn.          83
150 Eric Nethery          Ga.            72
151 Steve Sennikoff       Texas          71
151 Tim Carroll           Okla.          71
151 Grant Goldbeck        Md.            71
154 Pete Ponds            Miss.          65
155 Jack Wade             Tenn.          53
156 Steve Daniel          Fla.           51
156 Bradley Stringer      Texas          51
158 David Cooke           N.C.           33

TOYOTA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
2005 Tournament Year
After LEESBURG, FL ending 02-06-2005

Place  Angler Name           City                State  Total Points
    1  Andre Moore           Scottsdale          Ariz.       505
    2  David Wolak           Warrior Run         Pa.         338
    3  Chip Hawkins          White Hall          Ark.        310
    4  Greg Gutierrez        Red Bluff           Calif.      283
    5  Preston Clark         Palatka             Fla.        234
    6  Terry Butcher         Talala              Okla.       233
    7  Cliff Pace            Petal               Miss.       232
    8  Fred Roumbanis        Auburn              Calif.      224
    9  Russell Lane          Prattville          Ala.        222
   10  Chris Bielert         Danbury             Conn.       216
   11  David Gliebe          Stockton            Calif.      200
   12  Jesse Draime          Long Beach          Miss.       184
   13  Zachary Thompson      Orinda              Calif.      158
   14  Thad Takes            Center Point        Iowa        144
   15  Louis Iribarren       Port Jervis         N.Y.        123
   16  Terry Adams           Morgan City         La.          84
   17  Grant Goldbeck        Gaithersburg        Md.          71
   18  Bradley Stringer      Huntington          Texas        51
   19  David Cooke           Mooresville         N.C.         33

2005 Toyota Horizon Award
After LEESBURG, FL ending 02-06-2005
---------------------------------------------------------
Place  Name               2004 Finish   2005 Standings
---------------------------------------------------------
  1 Roger Boler              153            26
  2 Todd Faircloth           116            13
  3 Curt Lytle               106             9
  4 Jeff Magee               158            72
  5 John Crews               107            23
  6 Jay Kendrick             143            60
  7 Robert Hamilton Jr       124            43
  8 Woo Daves                127            47
  8 Gary Yamamoto            151            71
 10 Norio Tanabe             148            72
 11 Mark Rizk                 89            14
 12 Mike Reynolds             85            14
 13 Jeff Kriet               109            39
 14 Jeff Reynolds             80            12
 15 Mike Wurm                103            36
 16 Stephen Browning         131            69
 16 Frank Scalish            147            85
 18 Pete Gluszek             138            80
 19 Guy Eaker                 63             6
 20 Art Ferguson III          84            29
 20 Mark Tyler                75            20
 22 Roland Martin            110            56
 23 Tom Mann, Jr             130            77
 24 Scott Rook                55             3
 25 David Mansue             117            67
 26 Jimmy Houston            105            56
 26 Homer Humphreys, Jr      142            93
 28 Luke Clausen              67            19
 28 Rick Morris              122            74
 30 Ron Shuffield             58            11
 31 Jimmy Mize                67            22
 32 George Cochran            48             7
 32 Ishama Monroe             57            16
 34 Byron Velvick            126            86
 34 Michael Hicks            141           101
 36 Frank Ippoliti           135            99
 36 Doug Garrett             132            96
 38 Jay Yelas                 56            21
 38 Tommy Stiles             139           104
 40 Larry Nixon               62            28
 41 Terry Scroggins           40             8
 42 David Walker              27             1
 43 Darryl Burkhardt          70            45
 43 Kenyon Hill               76            51
 43 Jarrett Edwards          128           103
 46 Kevin Wirth               33            10
 46 O T Fears III             54            31
 48 David Fritts              91            69
 49 John Murray               72            51
 50 Randy Yarnall             97            77
 50 Danny White              137           117
 52 Ken Cook                 136           117
 53 R J Bennett              102            86
 54 Joe Thomas                74            60
 55 Kevin Short               86            76
 56 Dustin Wilks              53            44
 57 Tim Loper                 82            74
 58 Takahiro Omori             9             2
 58 Mark Rogers               65            58
 60 Brian Snowden             30            25
 61 Skeet Reese                5             4



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