DECATUR, Ala. — There may be no greater birthday present for a bass fisherman than to hoist a tournament trophy over his head, one that he’s been wanting for at least 15 years.
That was Mark Dove’s gift today, when he won the 2012 Bassmaster Federation Nation Championship on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake.
“I crossed the Bassmaster Classic off my bucket list back in 1997,” said Dove after his big win today, referencing the last time he qualified for the Classic through the Federation Nation. “I am looking forward to going back again. But the best thing for me is to be able to say that I was at the top of my peers here at the Federation Nation, at least for a period of time. For me, it was more about winning the tournament.”
As part of his prize, Dove will take home the Bryan D. Kerchal Memorial Trophy, a Skeeter ZX200 with a Yamaha 200SHO, Humminbird Electronics and a Minn Kota Trolling Motor, all valued at $53,465. He also wins entry in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Okla., and eligibility to compete in the 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Joining Dove at the Classic in February will be Jonathan Carter of Maine, representing the Eastern division; Andy Bravence of Arizona, representing the Western; Mark Pierce of Tennessee, Southern; Jared Knuth of Nebraska, Central; and Gerry Jooste of Zimbabwe, Mid-Atlantic.
Dove came in with 8 pounds, 12 ounces on Day 1 and followed it up with 10 pounds, 3 ounces on Day 2. His middle-of-the-pack weights on the first two days provided the foundation; the huge 20-pound, 1-ounce sack he brought in today provided the win. It also won him the Lowrance Heavyweight of the tournament, with a Lowrance HDS-7 Touch worth $1,599 as the prize.
“It was just one of those days where you catch one and then another one,” said Dove. “I was throwing back fish today that I would have died to have on the first two days.”
When Dove qualified to fish the 1997 Bassmaster Classic, his colleagues were Gerry Jooste and Dalton Bobo. Bobo came within 2 ounces of winning the 1997 Classic and went down in history as the Federation Nation representative closest to winning without actually winning the Classic. Bryan Kerchal won it for the Federation in 1994.
Bobo taught Dove a pattern that he asked Dove to not disclose, so he’s keeping that a secret. That pattern is what Dove was fishing for the first two days, running and gunning from the I-65 bridge down to the Guntersville Dam.
But today, Dove tried something a little different, what he calls a classic pattern for the Tennessee River in the fall. “I fished a main river flat adjacent to the creek along the break. The bass were holding on the break. I wasn’t surprised to catch them doing that; I was just surprised at the size of the ones I was catching.”
Dove paralleled the drop with three lures — a 1/2-ounce Accent Fishing Products River Special spinnerbait (silver skirt with green flake), a Boogerman buzzbait (black with a nickel blade) and a Paycheck Baits Repo Man (Blow-Up color, which is silver with a chartreuse belly). He used G. Loomis GLX rods, Shimano Chronarch reels and 15-pound Berkley Big Game line with all three lures.
Dove finished with 39 pounds even. Just behind him was Mark Pierce, with 37 pounds, 14 ounces. Pierce flipped laydown trees with a Big Bite Baits Dean Rojas Fighting Frog (black/blue sapphire) with a 3/8-ounce Eco-Pro tungsten sinker. He fished it with 7-foot St. Croix Mojo rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX reel with a 6.4:1 gear ratio and 16-pound Gamma fluorocarbon.
“I was slower getting my fish today,” said Pierce. “My area was more crowded. I tried a spinnerbait for a couple of hours but didn’t get a bite.” He went back to the frog and got his limit, and later in the day, the spinnerbait was responsible for helping him cull three times.
Today’s biggest bass was caught by Brent Boyette of North Carolina, who brought a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass to the scales. It was the biggest of the tournament, and it won him Cabela’s Big Bass honors for the day, which includes a $200 Cabela’s gift card.
Many contenders had expressed concern that their bite would shut off today, but almost the same number of bass were brought in today, and the average fish weight moved up to 2 pounds from yesterday’s 1-14 average. And 37 of the anglers brought in limits.
You’ll see Dove, Pierce, Jooste, Bravence, Carter and Knuth on the Classic stage, beginning Feb. 22, 2013, in Tulsa, Okla. The anglers will fish Oklahoma’s Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees, competing against top Bassmaster Elite Series pros and reigning champion Chris Lane, as well as anglers from the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens, the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series and the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series operated by American Bass Anglers.
“It means the world to an amateur angler to be invited to fish the Bassmaster Classic,” said Jon Stewart, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation senior manager. “It’s one of the few ways a grass-roots angler can make it to the pinnacle of the sport.”
“We’re especially proud of these guys,” continued Stewart. “The best thing about these anglers is they now have all the members of the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation across the world rooting for them at the Bassmaster Classic.”
Autrey And Goff Take The Junior World Championship
Nik Autrey, 19, of Washington, won the 15 to 18 age group of the Bassmaster Junior World Championship with 10 pounds, 3 ounces. Alex Goff, 15, West Virginia, won for the 11 to 14 age group with 8 pounds even.
Autrey and Goff topped a group of 12 junior anglers from six divisions who fished Wilson Lake near Decatur, Ala., in a one-day tournament Saturday. All 12 anglers will receive scholarships, and Autrey and Goff will receive a Triton-Mercury boat package, in addition to $100 Cabela’s gift cards for the Big Bass award. They each brought in a big bass weighing 3 pounds, 7 ounces.
2012 Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Title Sponsor: Cabela’s
2012 Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Official Sponsors: Toyota, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Mercury, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2012 Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Supporting Sponsors: BOOYAH, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Owner, Simms
2012 Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Clothing Partner: Simms
B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship
10/25/2012 - 10/27/2012
Wheeler Lake - Ingalls Harbor - Decatur, AL
STANDINGS DAY 3
Today's Activity Accumulative
Name City, State # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz PTS
1 Mark Dove North Vernon, IN 5 5 20- 1 15 15 39- 0 0
2 Mark Pierce Clarksville, TN 5 5 12-11 15 15 37-14 0
3 Jared Knuth Wahoo, NE 5 5 15- 8 15 15 37-11 0
4 Gerry Jooste Harare ZIMBABWE 5 5 15-13 14 14 36- 8 0
5 George Crain Cropwell, AL 5 5 12- 7 15 15 35- 3 0
6 Dale Hightower Sand Springs, OK 5 5 9-14 15 15 33-15 0
7 Brady Farrell Fort Atkinson, WI 5 5 12- 5 15 15 33- 9 0
8 Richard Svoboda Cockeysville , MD 5 5 10-14 15 15 32- 6 0
9 Jonathan Carter Brewer, ME 5 5 9- 2 15 15 32- 2 0
10 Andy Bravence Globe, AZ 5 5 12- 6 15 15 32- 1 0
11 Teb Jones Hattiesburg, MS 5 5 9- 7 14 14 31-12 0
12 Josh Polfer Nampa, ID 5 5 10-15 15 15 31- 4 0
13 Jamie Horton Centerville, AL 5 5 10-12 15 15 31- 3 0
14 Bryant Copley Altavista, VA 5 5 7- 7 15 15 31- 2 0
15 Jason Hemminger Oxnard, CA 2 2 4-11 12 12 31- 2 0
16 Bill Golightly Preston, WY 5 5 16- 0 15 14 31- 1 0
17 Albert Collins Nacogdoches, TX 5 5 12- 8 15 15 30-13 0
18 Timothy Klinger Boulder City, NV 4 4 8-11 13 13 30- 5 0
19 Curt Samo Rochelle, IL 5 5 8-10 15 15 29-13 0
20 Greg Cooper Monroe City, MO 5 5 7-15 15 15 29- 8 0
21 Tony Choe Fairfax, VA 5 5 6-14 15 14 29- 3 0
22 Eddie Levin Westerville, OH 5 5 8- 2 15 15 28- 9 0
23 David Mays Portland, OR 5 5 12- 0 14 14 28- 1 0
24 Tyler Swaney Fort Collins, CO 5 5 13-10 13 13 27- 4 0
25 Shane Baertsch Lolo, MT 4 4 7-15 13 13 26- 6 0
26 Robby Fleshman Tad, WV 4 4 7-13 14 14 25-14 0
27 Preston Frazell Glenpool, OK 5 5 7-14 15 15 25-11 0
28 Jason Pecoraro Youngsville, LA 5 5 13- 6 12 12 25- 8 0
29 JJ Patton Eldridge, IA 5 5 9- 9 12 12 25- 5 0
30 Manuel Concha Castella Puebla MEXICO 5 5 7-10 15 15 25- 2 0
31 Franco Vallejos Albuquerque, NM 5 5 8-11 15 15 25- 0 0
32 Pieter De Beer Limpopo SOUTH AFRI 5 5 7- 0 14 14 23- 3 0
33 Tim Dycus Carlisle, AR 5 5 11- 5 12 12 22-14 0
34 Brent Boyette Kenly, NC 5 5 11-10 15 15 21-13 0
35 Jamie Sochocki Bridgeport, MI 5 5 6-15 15 15 21-13 0
36 Tim Hennemann Florence, KY 5 5 6-11 15 15 21-13 0
37 Jeremy Percifield Kennewick, WA 4 4 12- 2 11 11 20- 8 0
38 Darin Doll Jacobus, PA 5 5 8- 2 11 11 19-14 0
39 Bruce Leeson Port Rowan ONTARIO 5 5 13-13 9 9 19- 0 0
40 Robert Williamson Gorham, ME 2 2 3-11 10 10 18-14 0
41 Mickey Soler Newington, CT 5 5 5- 9 15 15 18- 5 0
42 Corey Peterson Yankton, SD 2 2 2- 1 12 12 17- 6 0
43 Jeremy Pridgen Hahira , GA 5 5 13- 1 9 9 17- 4 0
44 Raymond Trudeau Saint Cloud, FL 4 4 5-13 12 12 16- 9 0
45 Frank Villa Windsor, CO 5 5 6-14 11 11 16- 9 0
46 James Jeffries Rouses Point, NY 4 4 6-12 9 9 16- 2 0
47 Paul LeBlanc Medway, MA 2 2 2- 1 12 12 15- 6 0
48 Edward Cox Goose Creek, SC 2 2 1-15 11 11 15- 4 0
49 Chris Molineaux Hope Valley, RI 2 2 2- 7 8 8 12-13 0
50 Steve Pickard Fulton, NY 4 4 4-14 10 10 12- 6 0
51 Jonathan Patrick El Dorado, IA 1 1 1- 8 7 7 10- 0 0
52 Mike Morris Three Ponds Bassmas 1 1 1- 5 6 6 10- 0 0
53 Kentaro Yamada Osaka JAPAN 1 1 0-14 6 5 7-15 0
54 Enrique Bernal Morera Rivasvacia Madrid S 2 2 2- 1 7 6 7- 5 0
55 Marco Cambi Scandicci ITALY 3 3 2- 5 7 7 6- 9 0
56 Antonio Gomez Paterson, NJ 1 1 1- 5 2 2 3-13 0
BIG BASS TOTALS
Day Name City,State Lbs-Oz Day # Fish # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
1 Bill Golightly Preston, WY 5- 9 1 226 224 407-15 34
2 Teb Jones Hattiesburg, MS 5-13 2 242 240 461-15 41
3 Brent Boyette Kenly, NC 5-14 3 234 234 473-11 37
B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship
10/25/2012 - 10/27/2012
Wheeler Lake - Ingalls Harbor - Decatur, AL
STANDINGS BY TEAM DAY 3
Today's Activity Accumulative
Name City, State # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz # Fish # Live Lbs - Oz
CENTRAL
1 Jared Knuth Wahoo, NE 5 5 15- 8 15 15 37-11
2 Dale Hightower Sand Springs, OK 5 5 9-14 15 15 33-15
3 Teb Jones Hattiesburg, MS 5 5 9- 7 14 14 31-12
4 Albert Collins Nacogdoches, TX 5 5 12- 8 15 15 30-13
5 Greg Cooper Monroe City, MO 5 5 7-15 15 15 29- 8
6 Preston Frazell Glenpool, OK 5 5 7-14 15 15 25-11
7 Jason Pecoraro Youngsville, LA 5 5 13- 6 12 12 25- 8
8 Manuel Concha Castella Puebla MEXICO 5 5 7-10 15 15 25- 2
9 Tim Dycus Carlisle, AR 5 5 11- 5 12 12 22-14
EASTERN
1 Jonathan Carter Brewer, ME 5 5 9- 2 15 15 32- 2
2 Bruce Leeson Port Rowan ONTARIO 5 5 13-13 9 9 19- 0
3 Robert Williamson Gorham, ME 2 2 3-11 10 10 18-14
4 Mickey Soler Newington, CT 5 5 5- 9 15 15 18- 5
5 James Jeffries Rouses Point, NY 4 4 6-12 9 9 16- 2
6 Paul LeBlanc Medway, MA 2 2 2- 1 12 12 15- 6
7 Chris Molineaux Hope Valley, RI 2 2 2- 7 8 8 12-13
8 Steve Pickard Fulton, NY 4 4 4-14 10 10 12- 6
9 Enrique Bernal Morera Rivasvacia Madrid S 2 2 2- 1 7 6 7- 5
MID-ATLANTIC
1 Gerry Jooste Harare ZIMBABWE 5 5 15-13 14 14 36- 8
2 Richard Svoboda Cockeysville , MD 5 5 10-14 15 15 32- 6
3 Bryant Copley Altavista, VA 5 5 7- 7 15 15 31- 2
4 Tony Choe Fairfax, VA 5 5 6-14 15 14 29- 3
5 Robby Fleshman Tad, WV 4 4 7-13 14 14 25-14
6 Darin Doll Jacobus, PA 5 5 8- 2 11 11 19-14
7 Mike Morris Three Ponds Bassmas 1 1 1- 5 6 6 10- 0
8 Antonio Gomez Paterson, NJ 1 1 1- 5 2 2 3-13
NORTHERN
1 Mark Dove North Vernon, IN 5 5 20- 1 15 15 39- 0
2 Brady Farrell Fort Atkinson, WI 5 5 12- 5 15 15 33- 9
3 Curt Samo Rochelle, IL 5 5 8-10 15 15 29-13
4 Eddie Levin Westerville, OH 5 5 8- 2 15 15 28- 9
5 JJ Patton Eldridge, IA 5 5 9- 9 12 12 25- 5
6 Jamie Sochocki Bridgeport, MI 5 5 6-15 15 15 21-13
7 Corey Peterson Yankton, SD 2 2 2- 1 12 12 17- 6
8 Jonathan Patrick El Dorado, IA 1 1 1- 8 7 7 10- 0
9 Marco Cambi Scandicci ITALY 3 3 2- 5 7 7 6- 9
SOUTHERN
1 Mark Pierce Clarksville, TN 5 5 12-11 15 15 37-14
2 George Crain Cropwell, AL 5 5 12- 7 15 15 35- 3
3 Jamie Horton Centerville, AL 5 5 10-12 15 15 31- 3
4 Pieter De Beer Limpopo SOUTH AFRI 5 5 7- 0 14 14 23- 3
5 Brent Boyette Kenly, NC 5 5 11-10 15 15 21-13
6 Tim Hennemann Florence, KY 5 5 6-11 15 15 21-13
7 Jeremy Pridgen Hahira , GA 5 5 13- 1 9 9 17- 4
8 Raymond Trudeau Saint Cloud, FL 4 4 5-13 12 12 16- 9
9 Edward Cox Goose Creek, SC 2 2 1-15 11 11 15- 4
WESTERN
1 Andy Bravence Globe, AZ 5 5 12- 6 15 15 32- 1
2 Josh Polfer Nampa, ID 5 5 10-15 15 15 31- 4
3 Jason Hemminger Oxnard, CA 2 2 4-11 12 12 31- 2
4 Bill Golightly Preston, WY 5 5 16- 0 15 14 31- 1
5 Timothy Klinger Boulder City, NV 4 4 8-11 13 13 30- 5
6 David Mays Portland, OR 5 5 12- 0 14 14 28- 1
7 Tyler Swaney Fort Collins, CO 5 5 13-10 13 13 27- 4
8 Shane Baertsch Lolo, MT 4 4 7-15 13 13 26- 6
9 Franco Vallejos Albuquerque, NM 5 5 8-11 15 15 25- 0
10 Jeremy Percifield Kennewick, WA 4 4 12- 2 11 11 20- 8
11 Frank Villa Windsor, CO 5 5 6-14 11 11 16- 9
12 Kentaro Yamada Osaka JAPAN 1 1 0-14 6 5 7-15