In an already outstanding tournament, Nate Wellman of Newaygo, Mich., put an exclamation mark on one of the most impressive performances of the 2010 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Opens season by landing a 22-15 limit on Saturday, the heaviest tally of the event.
Wellman was clearly dominant as the next closest competitor, Kyle Walling of Fisherville, Ky., finished in second by more than 15 pounds. Wellman had most of his limit by 9:00 this morning and spent the rest of the day helping his co-angler catch fish. For his win, Wellman takes home $27,000.
“I knew that if I could catch 10 pounds I’d be doing pretty well, and if I caught 12 pounds I’d have it sealed,” he said. “But today (Saturday) was just unbelievable. My goal going into this season was to make the Elite Series, and I have that wrapped up.”
Wellman, who finished third and locked up an Elite Series berth, stuck to his deeper water bite Saturday and with the tide being extra-low, it was better than any of the previous days.
“I knew that if I was going to win this thing, it would be from that one spot,” Wellman said referring to a sunken log surrounded by chunky gravel and rocks. “The tide was so low today that it sucked all the fish from the surrounding flats into it and I hammered them.”
His go-to bait was a Texas-rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hog in black and blue, but he also lobbed a Zoom Trick Worm in bama bug to upgrade his catch. The key for him was to work the baits extremely slowly, sometimes moving it only three or four inches at a time.
“The bites were really subtle and they almost felt like bluegill tapping it,” said Wellman. “Sometimes I had to let them take it and eat it for 10 seconds before I’d hammer them.”
Walling made a hard charge – ultimately not enough – to the top on Day 3, toting 15-3 to the scales for a total of 37-14. In third was Elite Series pro Pat Golden of High Point, N.C., with a three-day total of 34-12. In fourth was Darin Doll of York, Pa., with 34-4 and in fifth was Donald Haskins of Rosedale, Md., with 32-12.
On the co-angler side, Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., will add another boat to his garage. For his win, he will take home a Triton 18XS with a 150-horsepower Mercury outboard. Bae won the 2009 Bassmaster Northern Open on Chesapeake Bay and took home a boat for that win as well.
“I just wanted a chance to be competitive here, and to win a second time is great, I’m speechless,” Bae said as he was awarded his trophy.
Bae, who had a three-day total of 17-8, relied on a 4-inch Roboworm on a drop shot rig that he tossed adjacent to grassbeds along the shore. Behind Bae was Mike McDonald of Randleman, N.C., who managed to retain the second place position despite not catching any fish today. His total was 15-12. In third was Jess Salmon of Milford, N.J., with 15-5.
In the race for Bassmaster Classic berths, Ryan Said of Michigan took the Bassmaster Northern Open points championship and was awarded his first Classic berth. Additionally, Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., finished second and took a Classic berth. The first seven competitors in the points standings earned Elite Series berths. The full standings can be found below.
Other Opens Classic competitors and Elite Series potentials will be named after the final stops of the Central and Southern divisions, both of which wrap up in October.
Daily results and photo galleries are available at Bassmaster.com. Full standings can be found on Bassmaster.com.
The event host is the Cecil County Office of Economic Development & Tourism, http://www.ccgov.org/tourism.
Bassmaster Open Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
Bassmaster Open Official Sponsors: Toyota Trucks, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Skeeter Boats and Yamaha
Bassmaster Supporting Sponsors: Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats and Triton Boats
About BASS
For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and its expansive tournament structure while championing efforts to connect directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its considerable multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer; comprehensive Web properties in Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com and ESPN3.com, and ESPN2 television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
BASS oversees the prestigious Bassmaster Tournament Trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, BASS Federation Nation and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
BASS offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
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