Skeet Reese exuded calm Sunday morning heading into the final day of the Synergy Southern Challenge. Perhaps it's easy to be carefree when you are sitting on a pile of momentum - Reese had already notched one Elite victory this year and four consecutive top-5 finishes -but the Auburn, Calif., figured he had no shot of winning this tournament. Reese's best areas had diminished on Lake Guntersville and Davy Hite moved into the catbird seat Saturday with his second 27-plus pound limit and appeared poised to capture his seventh elusive BASS victory.
But Reese, who took home $100,000 with the victory, performed when it counted most - as he has all year -scoring his second Elite victory in five events and his fifth consecutive top 5, an unprecedented achievement in Elite competition. If not for losing by a whisker on the California Delta - Reese lost by 1 ounce to Virginia's John Crews - the 2007 Bassmaster Angler of the Year would have posted three Elite victories in five events.
As is, Reese has opened up a 258-point margin in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. To illustrate the gap, Reese could finish in dead-last in two weeks on Clarks Hill Lake and his closest competitor, Edwin Evers, could win and Reese would still hold a 50-plus point lead. In Elite Series competition, Reese's domination is entering uncharted territory but the carefree attitude still prevails.
"I can't believe I won this thing," said Reese of his sixth BASS victory. "I really didn't think I had a chance. I was totally relaxed this morning without a worry in the world. I had no pressure and wasn't even thinking about a victory. I would have been happy with 18 pounds."
Instead, Reese caught 25 pounds, 15 ounces, blowing the tournament wide open with his four-day total of 100 pounds, 13 ounces, which accounted for the fourth time the 2009 Bassmaster Classic champion has crossed the 100-pound threshold in Elite competition.
After faltering Saturday, Reese said he would "punt" and scramble together a plan prior to his launch on Sunday morning. He stuck to his guns early and ran some of the same areas he had been fishing. He was spurred by an early good fish - more than 5 pounds - before he decided to move on.
Inadvertently, Hite contributed to Reese's success. A skilled jig angler, Hite had built most of his total this week on the lure, and Reese was astutely aware. Knowing Hite's success, Reese tied on one lone homemade mop jig, colored brown, and decided to work it around a bridge. He boated two 5-plus pounders, which upgraded his weight and effectively closed the competition.
Still, as most in the field, Reese primarily worked a crankbait - a Lucky Craft 3.5 DD - on main lake ledges for the majority of the four days. Key to the victory was Reese's rods -the Wright & McGill brand that hold his namesake - which were designed strictly for long-distance casting with a crank.
"I almost feel like I'm going to get shot by one of these guys (Reese's other competitors) if I keep this up," said Reese, 40. "I always try to do something that hasn't been done before so I'm going to keep putting the pressure on."
While Reese stole the headlines from Hite, the two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year was pleased with the fact that he put himself in contention. It has been a long dry spell for Hite - he had missed out on a top-10 finish dating back to last year - and though he faltered Sunday, the 1999 Bassmaster Classic champion did so to the hottest angler on the planet.
"A 5-pound margin (heading into the final day) just isn't enough on Lake Guntersville," said Hite of Ninety Six, S.C. "Unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards for me to catch them today but at least I finished in second."
Right behind Hite was Crews of Salem, Va., with 92-11. Though Reese bested Crews by more than 1 ounce, he was able to exact some measure of redemption this week for the close call on the California Delta.
Morizo Shimizu of Osaka, Japan, who finished second here in 2005, brought in Sunday's biggest limit at 27-1 and moved up from eighth to fourth. Rounding out the top 5 was homestate pro Russ Lane of Prattville with 91-15.
Paul Elias of Laurel, Miss., moved up to sixth with a 26-2 limit, which included the tournament's biggest bass - an 8-2 brute.
Five-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam posted his best finish in Elite competition thus far this year with a ninth. VanDam moved up to 22nd in the Angler of the Year standings and will look to make a charge to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series Postseason, which only includes the top 12 anglers from the regular-season AOY standings. The full standings can be found below.
Next up on the Elite Series schedule is the Pride of Georgia on Clarks Hill Lake May 20-23. Reese has a phenomenal track there, notching finishes of ninth and sixth.
Defending champion Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., limped in below the cutline in 57th. Guntersville has been the site of 20 top-level BASS events, including the 1976 Bassmaster Classic, won by Elite Series pro Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo. Clunn finished 67th this week.
In 2009, the top four overall weights for the four-day tournament crashed the scales at more than 100 pounds. Reese was the only angler to accomplish the feat this week.
FINAL STANDINGS- SYNERGY SOUTHERN CHALLENGE STANDINGS 2010 Guntersville, AL 5/6-5/9 Lake Guntersville, Guntersville AL. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 20 100-13 315 $101,500.00 Day 1: 5 29-03 Day 2: 5 24-01 Day 3: 5 21-10 Day 4: 5 25-15 2. Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 20 93-03 300 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 24-07 Day 2: 5 27-00 Day 3: 5 28-06 Day 4: 5 13-06 3. John Crews Salem, VA 20 92-11 290 $20,000.00 Day 1: 5 18-00 Day 2: 5 24-15 Day 3: 5 28-04 Day 4: 5 21-08 4. Morizo Shimizu Osaka JAPAN 20 92-05 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 24-03 Day 2: 5 20-10 Day 3: 5 20-07 Day 4: 5 27-01 5. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 20 91-15 280 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 23-15 Day 2: 5 23-11 Day 3: 5 17-14 Day 4: 5 26-07 6. Paul Elias Laurel, MS 20 89-14 276 $14,500.00 Day 1: 5 26-12 Day 2: 5 18-10 Day 3: 5 18-06 Day 4: 5 26-02 7. Cliff Pace Petal, MS 20 88-13 272 $13,000.00 Day 1: 5 23-06 Day 2: 5 22-13 Day 3: 5 19-12 Day 4: 5 22-14 8. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 20 88-10 268 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 27-12 Day 2: 5 23-10 Day 3: 5 15-09 Day 4: 5 21-11 9. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 20 83-09 264 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 23-00 Day 2: 5 20-06 Day 3: 5 22-12 Day 4: 5 17-07 10. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, OK 20 82-08 260 $11,500.00 Day 1: 5 27-11 Day 2: 5 16-15 Day 3: 5 18-11 Day 4: 5 19-03 11. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, AR 20 82-06 257 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 26-01 Day 2: 5 19-05 Day 3: 5 18-07 Day 4: 5 18-09 12. Derek Remitz Grant, AL 18 72-01 254 $10,500.00 Day 1: 5 24-05 Day 2: 5 22-05 Day 3: 5 17-08 Day 4: 3 07-15 BIG BASS OF TOURNAMENT Paul Elias Laurel, MS 08-02 $1,000.00 BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT OF TOURN Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 29-03 $500.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 90 462 1805-09 2 88 455 1623-09 3 45 231 804-07 4 11 58 248-02 ---------------------------------- 234 1206 4481-11 BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS Pro Points After Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, Ala. ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Skeet Reese Calif. 1485 2 Edwin Evers Okla. 1227 3 Dave Wolak N.C. 1202 4 Brian Snowden Mo. 1198 5 Cliff Pace Miss. 1174 6 Greg Hackney La. 1162 7 Dean Rojas Ariz. 1131 8 John Crews Va. 1118 9 Derek Remitz Ala. 1117 10 Greg Vinson Ala. 1105 11 Gary Klein Texas 1102 12 Bill Lowen Ohio 1092 13 Jeff Kriet Okla. 1083 14 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 1081 15 Aaron Martens Ala. 1079 16 Stephen Browning Ark. 1078 17 Mark Davis Ark. 1070 18 Terry Butcher Okla. 1056 19 Steve Kennedy Ala. 1042 20 Tommy Biffle Okla. 1032 21 Kevin VanDam Mich. 1030 21 Jared Lintner Calif. 1030 23 Todd Faircloth Texas 1029 23 Morizo Shimizu Japan 1029 25 Shaw Grigsby Fla. 1025 26 James Niggemeyer Texas 1024 27 Russ Lane Ala. 1022 28 Mike McClelland Ark. 1011 29 Bobby Lane Fla. 1010 30 Scott Rook Ark. 1009 31 Clark Reehm Ark. 1001 32 Kevin Wirth Ky. 987 33 Guy Eaker N.C. 984 33 Paul Elias Miss. 984 35 Gerald Swindle Ala. 982 36 Denny Brauer Mo. 974 37 Mark Tucker Mo. 967 38 Ish Monroe Calif. 961 39 Takahiro Omori Texas 959 40 Brent Chapman Kan. 956 41 Zell Rowland Texas 950 42 Billy McCaghren Ark. 943 43 Boyd Duckett Ala. 938 44 Kelly Jordon Texas 933 45 Bradley Roy Ky. 932 46 Jason Williamson S.C. 931 47 Davy Hite S.C. 922 48 Randy Howell Ala. 911 49 Kevin Short Ark. 905 50 Mark Menendez Ky. 897 51 Dustin Wilks N.C. 896 52 Matt Herren Ala. 894 53 Terry Scroggins Fla. 887 54 Alton Jones Texas 886 55 Fred Roumbanis Okla. 880 56 Cliff Crochet La. 863 57 Pete Ponds Miss. 857 58 Byron Velvick Texas 848 59 Jason Quinn S.C. 847 59 Rick Morris Va. 847 61 Marty Stone N.C. 837 62 Timmy Horton Ala. 833 63 Casey Ashley S.C. 827 64 Pat Golden N.C. 817 64 Bradley Hallman Okla. 817 66 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 815 67 Marty Robinson S.C. 814 68 Jeff Connella La. 811 69 Dennis Tietje La. 805 69 J Todd Tucker Ga. 805 71 Matt Reed Texas 794 72 Peter Thliveros Fla. 793 73 Charlie Hartley Ohio 791 73 Grant Goldbeck Md. 791 75 Kenyon Hill Okla. 785 76 John Murray Ariz. 783 77 Bernie Schultz Fla. 775 78 Matt Greenblatt Fla. 755 78 Wade Grooms S.C. 755 80 Jami Fralick S.D. 741 81 Mark Tyler Okla. 731 82 Rick Clunn Mo. 730 83 Vince Fulks Okla. 709 84 Britt Myers S.C. 707 85 Chris Lane Ala. 693 86 Keith Poche Ala. 690 87 Chad Griffin Texas 685 88 Mark Burgess Mass. 647 89 Byron Haseotes Mass. 597 90 David Smith Okla. 595 91 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 587 92 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 563 93 Scott Ashmore Okla. 523