Brian Clark Pulls Off Upset Win in His First Bassmaster Open Event
DENISON, Texas —Brian Clark, a bull rider turned professional angler from Haltom City, Texas, started slow, but put it together by the third day of the Bassmaster Central Open on Lake Texoma for an upset win on Saturday.
Ending the first day in 10th, then moving up to third on the second day, Clark brought in 14-7 on Saturday for a total weight of 40 pounds, 3 ounces. He passed Friday’s leader, Trevor Rogge of Carver, Minn., who ended in second with 38-4.
It was Clark’s first win in a BASS event. He collected a check for $6,000 and a Triton/Mercury boat rig valued at $50,000.
“I’ve been waiting three years for this,” said Clark, 30, who said he began to compete full-time in bass tournaments more than a year ago when a riding injury cut his rodeo career short. “When I fished in a Bassmaster Weekend Series event, it lit a fire in me to do this all the time.”
Clark said he fished backwaters of Texoma’s Big Mineral Creek. His primary lures were a 3 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Yum Vibra King tube, a small lipless crankbait, and a Strikeworks Tackle 5/16th-ounce Flipping Finesse Jig in a peanut-butter-and-jelly finish.
Rogge was fishing his first BASS Open event and had an opportunity to win the event.
“I do well on river systems and tough lakes, like Texoma,” said Rogge, 27, a mortgage broker. “But I missed one today that would have made a difference. It swam at me and came off.”
Both Clark and Rogge said their goal is to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series through the Central Open trail. Open anglers who finish in the top five of the points standings qualify for the 2007 Elite Series. The top three points finishers qualify for the Bassmaster Classic.
Finishing third was Bassmaster Elite Series pro Dave Wolak of North Carolina with 35-10. Behind him were Pete Cherkas of Iowa with 33-12, and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Bradley Hallman of Oklahoma with 33-1.
In the co-angler division, Raymond Balcerowicz of Crosby, Texas, landed the first-prize package of $2,000 in cash and a Triton/Mercury rig worth $32,000. A Bassmaster Weekend Series competitor, his three-day total of 24-4 at Texoma gave him his best finish in a BASS event.
A superintendent with a company that installs pipeline for methane gas wells, Balcerowicz, 38, said he has entered all three 2007 Bassmaster Central Opens.
Finishing behind Balcerowicz were Steven Clay of Oklahoma City, Okla., with 23-0; John Hayen of Hurst, Texas, with 18-4; Larry Krueger of Colorado Springs, Colo., with 17-9; and Ryon Donaldson of Grapevine, Texas, with 17-5.
Next stop on the Bassmaster Central Open circuit is on the Red River, June 14-16, out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
In the Bassmaster Southern Open, next on the schedule is the event on Santee Cooper Reservoir, May 3-5, in Manning, S.C.
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Day 3 Purolator Big Bass
Pro: Trevor Rogge, Champlin, Minn., 6-5
Co-Angler: Steven Clay, Oklahoma City, Okla., 5-2
Location/Dates
2007 Bassmaster Central Open
Stop No. 1
Lake Texoma
Denison and Pottsboro, Texas
March 15-17, 2007
Field
175 pros and co-anglers, cut to the top 30 pros and top 30 co-anglers after Friday’s competition
Launch & Weigh-In
Highport Resort and Marina
120 Texoma Harbor Drive
Pottsboro, TX 75020
Local sponsor: Denison Area Chamber of Commerce
Sponsors of the Bassmaster Central Opens include Toyota Tundra, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Purolator, Berkley, Advance Auto Parts, Lowrance Electronics and MotorGuide.
BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, sanctioning more than 20,000 events annually through the BASS Federation Nation annually. Guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has for nearly 40 years.
BASS stages bass fishing tournaments for every skill level and culminates with the Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia platforms, BASS offers the industry’s widest array of services and support to its nearly 550,000 members. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit www.bassmaster.com.
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