Arkansas Bassmaster Elite Series pro Kevin Short rallied from 5th place to win the Table Rock Bassmaster Central Open out of Branson, Mo. His 15-07 final-day bag gave him a 3-day total of 33-08.
“I have not fished Table Rock a whole lot, but I have been fortunate enough to fish it when it was really, really good,” said Short. “When I had a bag like that (15-07), people didn’t even want to talk to me.
"I have also fished it when it was worse than this. There are some of those days when you just absolutely figure it out about what you need to be doing and you're in the right place and you just get it done. Today was one of those days.”
Short can't claim the Bassmaster Classic berth allocated to the event because he didn't fish either of the two previous Central Opens. He competed on the full Northern circuit, but had a high finish of 13th. Under the win-and-you're-in format put in place this year, five of the nine Open berths for the Classic will go unfilled.
His final-day bag was the best in the field by nearly 10 pounds in a tough-bite event plagued by a cold front, falling water, fog, lake turnover and suspended baitfish. His primary weapon was a WEC E-1 crankbait. Full details of his winning pattern will be published soon.
Meanwhile, two 27-year-old anglers – California's Chris Zaldain and Oklahoma's Jared Miller – finished 1st and 3rd, respectively, in the Central points and both told B.A.S.S. they will accept their invitations to fish the Elite Series next year.
James Niggemeyer, already an Elite pro, ended up 2nd in the points. The other automatic Elite qualifiers were 70-year-old Texan and 19-time Classic qualifier Tommy Martin (the runner-up at Table Rock) and Oklahoman Kevin Ledoux. No word yet on whether Martin or Ledoux will fish the Elites.
Here are the final numbers for the Top 12 at Table Rock:
1. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 12, 33-08 -- 305 -- $53,933
Day 1: 3, 07-10 -- Day 2: 4, 10-07 -- Day 3: 5, 15-07
2. Tommy Martin -- Hemphill, TX -- 12, 26-06 -- 300 -- $11,167
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 2, 04-01
3. Robbie Dodson Jr -- Harrison, AR -- 7, 22-13 -- 295 -- $13,400
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 1, 04-04 -- Day 3: 1, 03-00
4. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 9, 22-04 -- 285 -- $8,933
Day 1: 5, 14-03 -- Day 2: 3, 05-13 -- Day 3: 1, 02-04
5. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 9, 21-07 -- 280 -- $8,040
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 4, 08-15 -- Day 3: 0, 00-00
6. Christopher Lee -- Keithville, LA -- 8, 20-13 -- 276 -- $7,147
Day 1: 3, 08-04 -- Day 2: 3, 07-01 -- Day 3: 2, 05-08
7. Casey Scanlon -- Lenexa, KS -- 9, 19-08 -- 272 -- $6,253
Day 1: 5, 10-01 -- Day 2: 3, 06-14 -- Day 3: 1, 02-09
8. Roland Martin -- Naples, FL -- 10, 18-09 -- 268 -- $5,360
Day 1: 3, 05-05 -- Day 2: 5, 09-05 -- Day 3: 2, 03-15
9. Jimmy Johnson -- Ganado, TX -- 9, 18-04 -- 264 -- $4,467
Day 1: 4, 07-09 -- Day 2: 4, 08-07 -- Day 3: 1, 02-04
10. Roger Hughes -- Bartlesville, OK -- 8, 18-03 -- 260 -- $4,020
Day 1: 4, 08-12 -- Day 2: 3, 06-07 -- Day 3: 1, 03-00
11. Ricky Campbell -- Waxahachie, TX -- 7, 17-05 -- 257 -- $3,573
Day 1: 2, 04-05 -- Day 2: 4, 10-15 -- Day 3: 1, 02-01
12. Shawn Kowal -- Linne Creek, MO -- 7, 15-06 -- 254 -- $3,127
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 2, 04-00 -- Day 3: 0, 00-00
