BASSMASTER CLASSIC

Angler’s ‘best day’ good for $300,000

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Randy Howell of Springville, Ala., scrapped his game plan and followed his instinct to win the 44th Bassmaster Classic on Sunday at Lake Guntersville.

He won $300,000, 41 years after the late Rayo Breckenridge of Paragould earned $15,000 by winning the 1973 Classic.

Breckenridge, Blake Honeycutt, the late Doug Hannon and the late Penny Berryman of Dardanelle were inducted into the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame on Wednesday in the Classic’s opening ceremonies in Birmingham.

Howell caught five bass weighing 29 pounds, 2 ounces to complete a three-day total of 67-8. It was enough to clip Paul Mueller of Naugatuck, Conn., who caught five bass weighing 24-11 for a total of 66-8.

Howell’s move from 11th was largest leap to first in Classic history, and the second-most dramatic jump in weight. It’s also only the second time an angler has won the Classic in his home state. Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Ala., was the first to do it in the 2007 Classic, also in Birmingham.

“It was the day of a lifetime,” Howell said. “Riding back here, I cried for an hour trying to get it all out. I didn’t know if I was going to win, but it’s the best day of fishing I’ve ever had.”

Doug Thompson of Mabelvale finished ninth by catching five bass weighing 25-5 for a total of 60-3.

At takeoff, Howell planned to fish in Mill Creek. He even told all of his friends and family and the television camera crew that’s where he would be, so they all waited for him there.

But en route to Mill Creek, he decided to fish in Spring Creek.

He said he’s experienced instinctive nudges before at critical times. He ignored it at an Elite Series tournament in August 2012 at Lake Oneida, N.Y., and he lost by 6 ounces to Duckett after leading the first three days. The second time was in June 2013 at an Elite Series event on the James River in Virginia, which he won by ounces.

“I was going to start in Mill Creek, but about a mile from the bridge, a voice in my head said, ‘Do you want to be good, or do you want to be great?’” Howell said. “I felt sick, but I turned and went back to Spring Creek. When I got there, I felt such a rush of peace. I caught them on every cast. I had 22 pounds very quickly.”

Howell’s crankbait sponsor is Livingston, but he said he caught his first 20 pounds on a Rapala DT-6. He said it’s an excellent crankbait for cold water. Later, the fish went deeper. He used a Livingston prototype to complete his weight.

“I’ve been developing a lotof lures with Livingston, but the Classic isn’t a good time to be trying new baits,” Howell said. “I could see big arches on my depthfinder where fish were looking up at the rocks. I got out my box and tried to find bright orange crawfish colored bait that wobbles good in deep water. I put big hooks on it and tuned it, and I’ll bet I caught 30 or 40 on that bait. We had cameras going the whole time, so it’s all documented. This lure is so new it doesn’t have a model number. It says ‘4’ on the bottom of the bait. There’s so few of them that they are individually numbered.”

Howell’s final fish was the most important. Again following a gut feeling, he changed course to fish a spot in the back of a creek. Check-in time was 2:45 p.m. At 2:25 p.m., he caught a 6-pounder on a lipped jig similar to a Chatterbait. That allowed him to cull a 4 pounder and provided the deciding weight.

“I’ve had this dream so many times, and I feel like I’m dreaming now, but it’s really real,” Howell said. “I don’t win tournaments very much, and I’m the least likely guy to win the Classic. I can’t believe it. I can’t quit crying.”Bassmaster Classic at Lake Gunterville, Ala.

PL. NAME TOT. WEIGHT

  1. Randy Howell .............15 67- 8

  2. Paul Mueller ...............13 66- 8

  3. Edwin Evers ...............15 65-11

  4. Ott DeFoe ...................15 63- 6

  5. Randall Tharp .............15 62-12

  6. Jordan Lee .................14 62-1

  7. Todd Faircloth ............15 61-1

  8. David Kilgore ..............15 60- 7

  9. Doug Thompson ..... 14 60- 3

  10. Adam Wagner ..........15 59- 3

  11. Casey Ashley ............15 57- 9

  12. Bobby Lane ..............15 56- 7

  13. Aaron Martens .........15 55-10

  14. Brandon Palaniuk ....15 54- 6

  15. Morizo Shimizu ........15 53-10

  16. Jonathon VanDam ...15 53- 5

  17. Dean Rojas ...............15 52-13

  18. Jason Christie ...........13 51-9

  19. David Walker ............14 51-2

  20. Ish Monroe ..............14 50-9

  21. Fred Roumbanis ......13 49-0

  22. Keith Combs ............15 49-0

  23. Chad Morgenthaler ..13 47-12

  24. Coby Carden ............13 46-9

  25. Terry Scroggins .......11 43-6

Sports, Pages 13 on 02/24/2014

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