Local ace Kelly Pratt of Williamsburg, Va. caught a 12-03 bag Saturday to complete a wire-to-wire win at the James River Northern Bassmaster Open with a 3-day total of 42-06. He outdistanced runner-up Randall Tharp by more than 5 pounds to capture the top prize, worth nearly $54,000, and a berth in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic at the Red River in Louisiana.
“I can’t even describe this right now," he said. "It’s a dream come true.
“Every bass fisherman dreams about going to the Classic, so it’ll be fun. I’m already signed up for the next two Opens so I can qualify. (The Red River offers) my kind of fishing, too. I like chunking around stumps in shallow water.”
Pratt caught most of his fish on a Zoom finesse worm. Full details of his winning pattern will be published soon.
Here are the totals for the final Top 12:
1. Kelly Pratt: 42-06
2. Randall Tharp: 37-01
3. Chris Daves: 36-07
4. Mike Iaconelli: 35-01
5. Sean Wieda: 33-08
6. Greg Cooper: 33-08
7. Clark Wendlandt: 33-04
8. Pat Golden: 32-01
9. Mike Hicks: 32-00
10. Jon Dodson: 31-12
11. Tracy Adams: 27-06
12. Bernie Schultz: 26-11
