2007 Elite Series in Review
I know I titled this the ”2007 Elite Series in Review”, but I am also going to add in the Bassmasters Classic as well. So with that quick little notation, let’s begin to refresh our memories and review an outstanding 2007 season.
Bassmaster Classic - Lay Lake, Alabama: Boyd Duckett won fishings most prestegious event. Even more impressive, he did it in his home state and became the first angler to do so. Take the pressure of fishing in your home state and add it in with 2nd place finisher Skeet Reese and 3rd place finisher Kevin Vandam on your heels and you’ve got an overnight guarantee to give anyone gray hair.
Battle on the Border: Lake Amistad, Texas- Rookie Derek Remitz made himself quickly recognizable securing a win in his first ever Elite Series tournament. Remitz, who qualified for the Elites through the Opens, secure the victory fishing a deep water structure pattern completely different than anyone else in the field. 2006 AOY winner Mike Iaconelli finished up the event in 2nd, a solid 2007 start after a spectacular 2006 season.
Golden State Shoot Out: Clear lake, California- Two words, BIG FISH! This tournament saw plenty of them. 7 anglers went on to weigh-in over 100 lbs. of bass for their total weight, but it was Steve Kennedy who won the event with 122.14 lbs. That weight would become the new BASS four day catch total record. Skeet Reese finished second and Greg Gutierrez, three day leader, finished up in 3rd.
Duel in the Delta: California Delta, California- Aarron Martens won his 4th BASS event here in his home state. Also with the win he joined BASS’s $1 million club. Fan also got to see more proof that rookie Derek Remitz was for real with a close 2nd place finish. 3rd place went to Arkansas Stephen Browning.
Pride of Georgia: Clarks Hill Reservoir,Georgia - Deep water jig specialist Mike McClelland showed up for the event, something Chris Lane wished hadn’t happened. McClelland use his small eakins jig to land his four day total of 70.7 lbs. beating out Chris Lane with a total of 69.0 lbs. All of Lanes fish came out of the same pocket in the far back of a creek. He was hoping to win his first Elite Series tournament.
Southern Challenge: Lake Guntersville, Alabama- You knew I wouldn’t be able to give a year in review with out saying Kevin Vandam at least once. KVD went on a day three assault bringing in 25.05 for a three day total of 66.03 lbs. Weather played a part in shortening the tournament. If anything, it just teased the rest of the field by keeping KVD closer to 2nd palce finisher Mark Tucker with 59.1 lbs and 3rd place finisher Terry Butcher with 58.4 lbs.
Blue Ridge Brawl: Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia- This tournament gave way to another rookie. Casey Ashley fought the field and the fish all tournament long. Regardless of the fact that Ashley only brought 4 fish to the scales on day four, he still had enough to best the rest of the field. After the win, the 2007 Elite series season was dubbed as “The year of the Rookie”.
Sooner Run: Grand lake, Oklahoma- Hey, KVD, we know your the best already! Is there anything left for this guy to accomplish. Don’t think so, just some more records to break. With a four day total of 78.02 lbs., KVD, in true form won the event doing what he loves, power fishing. Jeff Kriet and BASS/Nitro teammate Edwin Evers finished 2nd and 3rd.
Champions Choice: Lake Champlain, New York- I promise you will never again see what we all saw at this event. Day four leader Timmy Horton launched on the final day, fished for 45 minutes, figured he already had enough to win, drove back to the launch, and slept the rest of the day on his boat. Well that’s not completely true. He did have some pizza with his wife and kids for lunch. Amazing. This wasn’t even a close competition for 1st. Horton had 83.10 lbs beating out second place finisher Skeet Reese with 70.13.
Empire Chase: Lake Erie, New York- If you are not a patient fisherman or fan, than this was probably not an exciting tournament for you. With the whole field of final day qualifiers drop-shotting, Edwin Evers found the largest school of smallies. While braving the treacherous wind and waves, he won the event with a 3 day total of 65.07 lbs, claiming his 4th BASS victory.
Capitol Clash: Potomac River, Maryland- Whenever you mention tidal water, you automatically have to assume you will see Skeet Reese near the top. Not only was he near the top in this event, he was the top. After a long agonizing streak of 2nd place finishes on the Elite series, Reese finally broke through to capture the win. After a horrible practice, Skeet claims, he still managed a four day total of 66 lbs to beat out Kelly Jordan. After a day three slip-up from KJ, he had 57.07 lbs. The victory was not only sweet for Reese because he had finally won in the Elites, but it was this same event exactly a year ago, when KJ would beat out Reese on the final weigh-in of day four to claim the victory and start Reese’s 2nd place skid.
Sunshine Showdown: Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida- With a monster 8lb fish caught on the final day of competition, Ben Matsubu claimed his first Elite Series victory with 66.08 lbs. 2nd and 3rd palce went to Bill Smith Jr. and Brent Chapman. It was here that Skeet Reese also claimed his first “Angler of the Year” title beating out Kevin Vandam after a year long battle and point lead reversal.
Majors:
Bassmaster American- Fred Roumbanis wins his first ever Elite Series event in the wake of his son’s birth.
Bassmaster Memorial- Peter Thliveros repeats last years tournament to give him back to back Memorial victories.
Bassmaster Legends- 5lb bucket of Duckett. Boyd won his second event of the year after winning the Bassmasters Classic.
Next on tap is the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. Hopefully it will be the spawn of another great follow-up season to 2007.
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POSTED IN: BASS, BASS Elite Series, Miscellaneous
1 opinion for 2007 Elite Series in Review
Tim
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Congrats to Duckett on the Classic, Skeet on AOY, Remitz on ROY, and all of the ‘08 Classic qualifiers. Classic should shake up to be a good one. That time of the year, the lake will be hit or miss.
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