HUDDLESTON, Va. - While others zigged this week, Skeet Reese zagged and the decision paid off in spades. Bucking the sightfishing trend and primarily working a swimbait, the Auburn, Calif., pro left the competition in the dust - his closet competitor was Jason Williamson more than the 14 pounds behind - amassing 78 pounds, 1 ounce, of Smith Mountain Lake bass to take his fifth Bassmaster victory at the Blue Ridge Brawl bass fishing tournament.
Reese continued the good vibes in what has been a white-hot start to the Elite Series. But it all hasn't been roses for Reese as he had a bitter taste after the season-opening California swing. Reese fell to Virginian John Crews on the California Delta by 1 ounce and failed to score victory on what he considers his home fishery, Clear Lake.
But Reese left nothing to chance this week, posting more than 17 pounds all four days of competition. With the victory, Reese moves ahead in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings by a wide margin of more than 85 points. Full standings can be found below.
"I worked my tail off this week and I burned through a ton of water," said Reese, the 2007 Bassmaster Angler of the Year. "I knew it can be a grind here and you're never guaranteed to catch them so I never felt comfortable, even until the end. But it was a great week and it's special to win like this."
Reese built a 6-plus pound margin heading into Sunday but with changing conditions on Smith Mountain, the 2009 Bassmaster Classic champion knew nothing was guaranteed. Fortunately, the steady wind Reese needed blew Sunday allowing him to put the nail in the coffin with a final-day tally of 19 pounds, 14 ounces.
Reese said the swimbait - a 6-inch Rago SKT Swimmer in light hitch - was key for two reasons. One, it was large enough to entice the right bites. Additionally, the color and design mimicked bluegill, a main forage on Smith Mountain.
Reese's conviction in the swimbait was important as well. On Friday, nearly 2/3 through his competition day, he only had two fish in the boat. And he began to question his technique.
"I knew that these fish aren't necessarily used to seeing bigger lures," said Reese. "But there are some bigger fish in this lake and they are capable of eating bigger baits. That's why I stuck to my guns."
Though the swimbait was instrumental, Reese did mix in other techniques - he sight fished for a minority of his time throughout the tournament and worked a Berkley worm Sunday.
Smith Mountain sets up well for Reese. The clear fishery littered with docks is similar to Clear Lake, where Reese is supremely comfortable. And Reese has performed here, notching a fourth and a ninth in past events.
And the first event, in 2007, laid the groundwork for this week's victory. Reese said he caught a few on a swimbait that year and developed the pattern in the 2009 event before committing full-bore this week.
While Reese held steady throughout the week, other anglers were all over the map. Williamson of Wagener, S.C., started off the event with a bang, a 22-9 limit, the biggest of the tournament. But the sight bite subsequently died off, causing Williamson to settle for second.
Still, Williamson was pleased with the week and the Bassmaster Angler of the Year points he was able to rack up.
"I have no complaints this week," said Williamson, 29. "This was Skeet's tournament and there is not a thing that I did that I would change."
Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., gave Williamson a scare for second but finished in third with 61-8. Ounces behind Rojas was shallow-water specialist Terry Scroggins of Palatka, Fla., with 61-5. Rounding out the top five was Matt Reed of Madisonville, Texas, with 61-2.
With a 10th place finish in the event, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., stands as Reese's closest competition in the Angler of the Year standings. With five events left in the Elite Series, anglers will be jockeying to qualify for the Elite Series Postseason and 2011 Bassmaster Classic (New Orleans, Louisiana Delta). Rojas was third in the AOY standings followed by Edwin Evers of Oklahoma and Dave Wolak of North Carolina.
Only the top 12 qualified for the final day of competition on Sunday. Full standings can be found below.
2010 Moneta, VA 4/15-4/18 Smith Mountain Lake, Moneta VA. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 20 78-01 310 $101,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 18-13 Day 3: 5 21-13 Day 4: 5 19-14 2. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 20 63-08 305 $25,500.00 Day 1: 5 22-09 Day 2: 5 14-02 Day 3: 5 15-03 Day 4: 5 11-10 3. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 20 61-08 290 $20,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 5 15-02 Day 3: 5 15-07 Day 4: 5 14-08 4. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 20 61-05 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 19-13 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 5 11-05 Day 4: 5 14-14 5. Matt Reed Madisonville, TX 20 61-02 280 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 16-11 Day 3: 5 13-13 Day 4: 5 13-07 6. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 20 60-07 276 $13,500.00 Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 15-08 Day 3: 5 11-07 Day 4: 5 15-02 7. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 20 58-05 272 $13,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 5 16-15 Day 3: 5 15-03 Day 4: 5 11-06 8. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 20 57-09 268 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 21-07 Day 2: 5 13-09 Day 3: 5 13-02 Day 4: 5 09-07 9. Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 20 57-08 264 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-08 Day 2: 5 17-02 Day 3: 5 12-08 Day 4: 5 12-06 10. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 20 57-08 260 $11,500.00 Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 13-13 Day 3: 5 16-07 Day 4: 5 11-07 11. Ish Monroe Hughson, CA 20 55-08 257 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 5 13-01 Day 3: 5 15-04 Day 4: 5 10-11 12. Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 18 50-05 254 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 19-02 Day 2: 5 15-15 Day 3: 5 09-14 Day 4: 3 05-06 BIG BASS OF TOURNAMENT Guy Eaker Cherryville, NC 06-12 $500.00 Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 06-12 $500.00 BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT OF TOURN Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 22-09 $500.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 86 449 1264-00 2 85 449 1162-03 3 44 228 564-14 4 11 58 150-02 ---------------------------------- 226 1184 3141-03 BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS Pro Points Ending 04-18-2010, Day 4 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Skeet Reese Calif. 885 2 Greg Hackney La. 798 3 Dean Rojas Ariz. 730 4 Edwin Evers Okla. 726 4 Dave Wolak N.C. 726 6 James Niggemeyer Texas 708 7 Guy Eaker N.C. 704 8 Greg Vinson Ala. 693 9 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 681 10 Brian Snowden Mo. 675 11 John Crews Va. 673 12 Jeff Kriet Okla. 661 13 Bobby Lane Fla. 658 14 Scott Rook Ark. 649 15 Aaron Martens Ala. 642 16 Gary Klein Texas 639 16 Todd Faircloth Texas 639 16 Kelly Jordon Texas 639 19 Derek Remitz Ala. 630 20 Byron Velvick Texas 628 20 Jared Lintner Calif. 628 22 Terry Butcher Okla. 626 23 Bill Lowen Ohio 621 23 Clark Reehm Ark. 621 25 Mark Tucker Mo. 617 26 Alton Jones Texas 616 27 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 611 28 Cliff Pace Miss. 607 29 Matt Herren Ala. 606 30 Kevin VanDam Mich. 605 30 Mike McClelland Ark. 605 32 Gerald Swindle Ala. 602 33 Pat Golden N.C. 601 34 Denny Brauer Mo. 600 35 Morizo Shimizu Japan 595 36 Zell Rowland Texas 594 37 Tommy Biffle Okla. 590 38 Steve Kennedy Ala. 587 39 Stephen Browning Ark. 586 40 Shaw Grigsby Fla. 582 41 Terry Scroggins Fla. 581 42 Jason Quinn S.C. 577 43 Matt Reed Texas 564 44 Bradley Roy Ky. 562 45 Randy Howell Ala. 561 45 Bradley Hallman Okla. 561 47 Mark Davis Ark. 559 47 Ish Monroe Calif. 559 49 Kevin Wirth Ky. 557 50 Billy McCaghren Ark. 553 50 Jason Williamson S.C. 553 52 Peter Thliveros Fla. 545 53 Takahiro Omori Texas 533 54 Russ Lane Ala. 529 55 Marty Robinson S.C. 520 56 Marty Stone N.C. 515 57 Dustin Wilks N.C. 512 58 Casey Ashley S.C. 509 59 Davy Hite S.C. 505 60 Vince Fulks Okla. 501 60 J Todd Tucker Ga. 501 62 Matt Greenblatt Fla. 499 63 Mark Menendez Ky. 495 64 Grant Goldbeck Md. 493 65 Boyd Duckett Ala. 492 66 Rick Clunn Mo. 490 67 Jeff Connella La. 489 68 Brent Chapman Kan. 487 69 Paul Elias Miss. 481 70 Mark Tyler Okla. 479 71 Cliff Crochet La. 469 72 Bernie Schultz Fla. 467 73 Jami Fralick S.D. 461 74 Kevin Short Ark. 459 75 Dennis Tietje La. 441 76 Fred Roumbanis Okla. 435 77 Timmy Horton Ala. 421 77 Pete Ponds Miss. 421 79 John Murray Ariz. 415 80 Chad Griffin Texas 405 81 Wade Grooms S.C. 403 82 Keith Poche Ala. 402 83 Charlie Hartley Ohio 401 84 Byron Haseotes Mass. 399 85 Chris Lane Ala. 397 86 David Smith Okla. 387 87 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 381 88 Rick Morris Va. 377 89 Kenyon Hill Okla. 375 90 Mark Burgess Mass. 355 91 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 353 92 Britt Myers S.C. 343 93 Scott Ashmore Okla. 337