Former tour pro Pete Gluszek of New Jersey earned his third career Bassmaster Classic berth Saturday when he completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Cayuga Lake Bassmaster Northern Open out of Seneca Falls, N.Y.
Gluszek, who'd averaged 20 pounds over the first 2 days, caught a 16-00 bag on the final day for a 56-01 total. He outdistanced runner-up Stephen Browning by more than 4 1/2 pounds.
“Amazing!" he said, referring to his first shot at a Classic title since 1999. "It’s the biggest thing in fishing. It’s why I started fishing as a professional.”
He employed a shallow/deep combo attack that involved Senkos at both ends. Full details of his winning pattern will be posted soon.
Here are the final totals for the Top 12:
1. -- Pete Gluszek -- Mount Laurel, NJ -- 15, 56-01 -- 120 -- $49,800
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-14 -- Day 3: 5, 16-00
2. -- Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 51-05 -- 119 -- $11,520
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-07 -- Day 3: 5, 15-14
3. -- James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 15, 47-12 -- 118 -- $8,640
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 16-00
4. -- Todd Cole -- Geneseo, NY -- 15, 47-08 -- 117 -- $7,680
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-09 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02
5. -- Michael Iaconelli -- Pittsgrove, NJ -- 15, 45-07 -- 116 -- $6,720
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00
6. -- Skip Johnson -- Wales, MI -- 15, 44-10 -- 115 -- $5,760
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 13-06
7. -- Brian Bylotas -- Scott Township, PA -- 15, 44-09 -- 114 -- $4,800
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 19-10 -- Day 3: 5, 08-14
8. -- Deron Eck -- Kittanning, PA -- 15, 44-05 -- 113 -- $3,840
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05 -- Day 3: 5, 11-02
9. -- Chris Daves -- Hopewell, VA -- 15, 40-13 -- 112 -- $2,880
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-07 -- Day 3: 5, 07-14
10. Kyle Kempkers -- Hamilton, MI -- 15, 39-10 -- 111 -- $2,640
Day 1: 5, 17-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 09-11
11. Robert Parmer -- Linden, PA -- 13, 37-08 -- 110 -- $2,400
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 3 -- 07-05
12. Jim Bianchi -- Rush, NY -- 13, 36-05 -- 109 -- $2,304
Day 1: 5, 15-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 3 -- 06-02
