EVANS, Ga. - The stars were perfectly aligned for Jason Williamson heading into the final day of the Pride of Georgia bass fishing tournament on Clarks Hill Lake. His sisters performed the National Anthem prior to the weigh-in and the crowd was filled with family, friends and fishing buddies who he had smoked in years past at local tournaments. But the Wagener, S.C., rising pro couldn't get the fish to bite.
Sunday, he made a long trek upriver to a spot that produced for him in the past both monetarily - he has won boats in numerous local tournaments relying on the area - and in piscatorial terms - he dredged up a 7-12 brute Saturday, the biggest bass of the tournament.
But the current wasn't running on the sprawling reservoir and Williamson couldn't buy a bite. Showing a veteran's poise, Williamson dug deep into his vast local knowledge bank and decided to downsize from the Buckeye mop jig he primarily worked the first three days of competition. He tied on a shaky head worm and was able to scratch out a quick limit ultimately weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces, upgrading his total to 53 pounds, 6 ounces.
It was enough, albeit barely, to best Elite rookie Cliff Crochet of Pierre Part, La., by 2 ounces and take home the $100,000 top prize.
"Words can't describe how it feels to win in front of these folks," said Williamson. "I won a lot of money from that spot but I just couldn't get anything started today (Sunday). I wish I hadn't run up there but I just had to go. I was regretting it all day."
Although the shaky worm rig carried the day Sunday, the Buckeye mop jig was the key to the victory. Saturday, Williamson built enough of a cushion - more than 4 pounds - that he was able to withstand a stumble. His 19 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday was the biggest limit of the tournament and the 7-12 brute was the biggest bass caught this week.
With skyrocketing temperatures, Williamson knew that the north end of the lake would hold the bigger fish. He settled on his specific area because it was 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the reservoir. He was working flat points filled with rock and crawdads. The bass were still feeding on the tail end of the blueback herring spawn in those areas and were extremely active when current was being pulled.
A relative unknown when he first qualified for the Elite Series, Williamson is proving he is a force to be reckoned with. The victory is Williamson's second in Elite competition and he also scored a second-place finish earlier this year on Smith Mountain Lake.
"When I first qualified, things were really tough," said Williamson. "I just didn't have the experience. I definitely feel comfortable now. Experience is the most important thing that you can have out here. I feel like I can contend in every tournament now and that's a good feeling."
Still, it's been a roller-coaster ride of a season for Williamson as he paired three missed cuts with his two stellar performances. His lack of consistency hasn't hampered him too much, however. After this week, he is 24th in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, and comfortably in position to qualify for the 2011 Bassmaster Classic.
Crochet was absolutely floored. The Elite rookie got his first taste of contention and he thought he had the victory. The Assumption Parish (La.) sherrif's deputy worked a Spro bronzeye poppin' frog in the shallows and exhibited the most consistency in the field over the course of four days.
He toted 11-11 to the scales Sunday and for a moment, it appeared all the hard work he had put in fishing tournaments at the Federation Nation and Bassmaster Open level had paid off. But ultimately, it wasn't enough.
"That's the nature of the beast," said Crochet, who was still shaking minutes after the result had been decided. "I'm wrecked right now but if you look at the big picture, I'm fishing against the best in the world and I'm loving it."
Crochet lost a fish that he estimated to be 2 to 3 pounds that would have put him over the top. The silver lining for Crochet is that he moved up to 36th in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. That puts him on top of the Rookie of the Year standings and in the last qualifying position for the 2011 Classic with two regular-season tournaments remaining.
As the Elite regular-season winds down, Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., still holds a comfortable lead in the AOY standings despite a 58th place stinker this week. Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., was able to close the gap on Reese a bit but still remains a distant second, more than 175 points off the pace.
Rounding out the top five this week was Terry Scroggins of Palatka, Fla., in third with 48-9. Matt Reed of Madisonville, Texas, made a big move Sunday, moving up 8 places from 12th to take fourth with 47-13. Two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gary Klein of Weatherford, Texas, finished fifth with 43-11.
Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., the other local favorite, finished seventh.
Along with the top prize of $100,000, the Pride of Georgia awarded valuable points in the 2010 Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. The top 12 pros in the AOY standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series postseason, in which the Bassmaster Angler of the Year will be determined. The top 36 will qualify for the 2011 Bassmaster Classic.
Up next for Elite pros is the June 9-12 Tennessee Triumph on Kentucky Lake out of Paris, Tenn.
Clarks Hill is a 71,535-acre fishery, an impoundment 39 miles in length located 22 miles north of Augusta. It forms part of the border between Georgia and South Carolina and is renowned for its topwater fishing.
Local sponsor of the Pride of Georgia: Columbia County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
After the Pride of Georgia, the 2010 regular season will have just two events remaining. Up next is the June 9-12 Tennessee Triumph on Kentucky Lake out of Paris, Tenn.
2010 Evans, GA 5/20-5/23 Clarks Hill Lake, Evans GA. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 20 53-06 310 $101,500.00 Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 14-07 Day 3: 5 19-02 Day 4: 5 07-10 2. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 20 53-04 295 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 12-07 Day 2: 5 14-14 Day 3: 5 14-04 Day 4: 5 11-11 3. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 20 48-09 295 $20,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 12-06 Day 3: 5 10-05 Day 4: 5 08-13 4. Matt Reed Madisonville, TX 20 47-13 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 5 10-00 Day 3: 5 12-07 Day 4: 5 15-13 5. Gary Klein Weatherford, TX 19 43-11 280 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 10-13 Day 3: 5 09-06 Day 4: 4 09-10 6. Derek Remitz Grant, AL 20 43-08 276 $13,500.00 Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 11-04 Day 3: 5 10-07 Day 4: 5 07-09 7. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 20 43-02 272 $13,000.00 Day 1: 5 08-03 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 5 13-03 Day 4: 5 06-07 8. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 19 43-00 268 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 14-12 Day 2: 5 12-05 Day 3: 4 06-08 Day 4: 5 09-07 9. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 18 41-14 264 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 13-09 Day 3: 3 04-04 Day 4: 5 08-04 10. Terry Butcher Talala, OK 18 37-03 260 $11,500.00 Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 11-10 Day 3: 4 08-02 Day 4: 4 04-13 11. Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 18 36-10 257 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 10-00 Day 3: 5 10-05 Day 4: 3 02-10 12. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 15 32-08 254 $10,500.00 Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 10-13 Day 3: 5 08-02 Day 4: 0 00-00 BIG BASS OF TOURNAMENT Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 07-12 $1,000.00 BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT OF TOURN Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 19-02 $500.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 75 430 865-09 2 73 418 791-06 3 32 207 370-08 4 8 51 92-11 ---------------------------------- 188 1106 2120-02 2010 BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS GA Pro Points After Clarks Hill Lake ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Skeet Reese Calif. 1642 2 Edwin Evers Okla. 1464 3 Derek Remitz Ala. 1393 4 Gary Klein Texas 1382 5 Cliff Pace Miss. 1381 6 Dave Wolak N.C. 1361 7 Brian Snowden Mo. 1353 8 Mark Davis Ark. 1338 9 Jeff Kriet Okla. 1336 10 Dean Rojas Ariz. 1334 11 John Crews Va. 1333 12 Greg Hackney La. 1327 13 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 1322 14 Terry Butcher Okla. 1316 15 Aaron Martens Ala. 1308 16 Tommy Biffle Okla. 1296 17 Bill Lowen Ohio 1289 18 Steve Kennedy Ala. 1265 19 Bobby Lane Fla. 1264 20 Morizo Shimizu Japan 1262 21 Stephen Browning Ark. 1259 22 Mike McClelland Ark. 1256 23 Russ Lane Ala. 1253 24 Jason Williamson S.C. 1241 25 Todd Faircloth Texas 1230 26 Kevin VanDam Mich. 1229 27 Kevin Wirth Ky. 1212 28 Shaw Grigsby Fla. 1210 29 Jared Lintner Calif. 1209 30 Scott Rook Ark. 1200 31 Greg Vinson Ala. 1198 32 Gerald Swindle Ala. 1191 33 Clark Reehm Ark. 1188 34 Terry Scroggins Fla. 1182 35 Denny Brauer Mo. 1169 36 Cliff Crochet La. 1158 37 Brent Chapman Kan. 1139 38 Matt Herren Ala. 1133 39 James Niggemeyer Texas 1131 40 Boyd Duckett Ala. 1127 41 Billy McCaghren Ark. 1120 42 Paul Elias Miss. 1113 43 Mark Tucker Mo. 1112 43 Ish Monroe Calif. 1112 45 Guy Eaker N.C. 1103 45 Alton Jones Texas 1103 47 Casey Ashley S.C. 1099 48 Davy Hite S.C. 1095 49 Bradley Roy Ky. 1085 50 Kelly Jordon Texas 1082 51 Matt Reed Texas 1079 52 Zell Rowland Texas 1073 53 Dustin Wilks N.C. 1067 54 Pat Golden N.C. 1060 55 Marty Robinson S.C. 1049 56 Takahiro Omori Texas 1048 57 Randy Howell Ala. 1042 58 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 1036 59 Mark Menendez Ky. 1032 60 Jason Quinn S.C. 1010 61 Timmy Horton Ala. 1008 62 Charlie Hartley Ohio 1004 63 Kevin Short Ark. 1000 64 J Todd Tucker Ga. 998 65 Kenyon Hill Okla. 996 66 Fred Roumbanis Okla. 991 67 Rick Clunn Mo. 981 68 Bernie Schultz Fla. 980 69 Byron Velvick Texas 973 70 Peter Thliveros Fla. 960 70 Pete Ponds Miss. 960 72 Bradley Hallman Okla. 958 72 Marty Stone N.C. 958 74 Rick Morris Va. 956 75 Jeff Connella La. 954 76 Grant Goldbeck Md. 952 77 Mark Tyler Okla. 950 77 Chris Lane Ala. 950 79 John Murray Ariz. 916 80 Dennis Tietje La. 910 81 Wade Grooms S.C. 902 82 Matt Greenblatt Fla. 872 83 Chad Griffin Texas 854 84 Vince Fulks Okla. 846 85 Jami Fralick S.D. 842 86 Britt Myers S.C. 822 87 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 814 88 Keith Poche Ala. 781 89 Mark Burgess Mass. 746 90 Byron Haseotes Mass. 736 91 David Smith Okla. 722 92 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 660 93 Scott Ashmore Okla. 636