As the Toho FLW drew down to its final moment, Art Berry and Tom Mann, Jr. stood face-to-face on the FLW stage. Berry was 9 ounces behind Mann and needed to produce just one more keeper. Berry bowed

out – he had no more fish. Mann, with his 16-02, eight-fish, 2-day total, clinched his first tour-level victory since the 1992 Lake Lanier Top 100.

Berry caught 1-02 more than Mann today, but couldn't make up the 2-pound difference from yesterday. His six-fish total weighed 15-07. Local and FLW Tour rookie Bobby Lane finished 3rd with seven fish for 13-03 (2, 2-05 today). Day 1 and 2 leader J.T. Kenney weighed three for 5-06 today and finished 4th with 11-11. Toby Hartsell, also a rookie, was 5th with two for 4-09 today (10-06 total).

Mann Feels Darn Good

It had been 13 years since Mann last stood on the stage as a winner. He said today's victory is a big boost for his career.

"You don't get too many chances to win," he said. "To finally pull it off is awesome. I haven't won one since '92. It does a lot for my confidence. It's awesome for my sponsors, and financially for my family too.

"It's just a darn good feeling all the way around."

"I've finished 2nd two or three times on the FLW Tour. I just couldn't win one – until now."

He made the cut in 2nd with 37-05. Like everyone else, the cold front cut his weight by more than half over the next 2 days. But the veteran persevered.

"When the cold front came with the winds, it dropped the water temperature 12 degrees," he said. "I think it probably helped me.

"I was on a spot with a lot of fish. Even though the bite went bad, I was able to slow down."

Yesterday, his co-angler caught 19 pounds on a Zoom Horny Toad. Mann said he tried to catch those fish this morning, but then switched back to his main pattern.

"I was fishing a Senko all week long. I tried a Toad for the first 2 hours this morning and didn't get a swirl, so I went back to my Senko and got three bites.

"I felt okay coming back to the ramp. I thought I'd be in the Top 5 somewhere. I didn't think I'd won by any means. We talked backstage and then I knew it would be down to us two (he and Berry). It was exciting."

Details of his winning pattern, and the patterns for the rest of the Top 5, will be posted soon.

2nd: Berry Bummed, But Positive

Berry's had a lot of 2nd-place finishes and wanted this one bad. His frog bite had been good the first 2 days. Like everyone, he struggled yesterday. Today, he came up one fish short.

"I feel good," he said. "I'm excited, but the ultimate goal for me is to win. It's not about money – it's the principle of winning.

"I've had so many 2nds and 3rds, but I keep saying to myself, my goal is to get better and improve every day. If these things have to happen to do that, it's all good for me."

He said he had the fish on to win. "I only weighed three yesterday and lost four. But everybody lost fish.

"I came in here shooting for a Top 50, then a Top 10, then a win, so even though I didn't win, I'm still excited about where I ended up.

"I'm very, very happy and incredibly humbled just by the whole nature of the event. To fish with and against the legends, and beat some of them, is incredible for me. I'm still a little bit in awe."

He said Mann offered him encouraging words. "Tom Mann came up, put his arm around me and said, 'I did the same thing for years. I took a lot of 2nds, and it'll make you better.'"

Today Berry banked on a little canal he found yesterday, but it didn't pay off. "I went to my little canal and only had one bite – a small keeper. I decided to move out and throw a spinnerbait. I caught some on a spinnerbait, and one on a swimbait.

"I'm excited with my performance. I fished incredibly hard, and I fished very efficiently. I stayed close today and basically tried to make as many casts as I could in good areas."

3rd: Lane Living His Dream

Lane led yesterday by 2-12 but came up short today with just two fish for 2-05. His sack today weighed less than his margin of lead yesterday. Despite the stumble he was still upbeat.

"I'm living a dream," he said. "I've dreamed all my life to be a pro bass fisherman. Now I can honestly say I've fished with the pros and against the pros, so I guess I'm a pro now."

On his small sack today: "I just didn't get the bites. I know the lake – I know all these lakes. The guys who caught them had better spots.

"I went to areas today that I didn't fish the first 3 days. The fish had lockjaw. But I batted 1,000 today – I had two bites and caught both.

"It's awesome. I'm out here doing what I love. I'll take a 3rd any day of the week."

He said he checked four different areas today. "I went first to my spot where I'd caught every fish of this tournament and did not get one bite. There was just tons of pressure there – local boats and camera boats all with their trolling motors going.

"So I ran to another area where I knew there was some fish. They didn't bite there either."

4th: Kenney Devastated

Florida has been gracious, and cruel, to Kenney. He narrowly missed a win at the Okeechobee EverStart, and had the opportunity to make the cut at the Okeechobee FLW. Today, he came up short again.

"I feel pretty good," he said. Then, after a pause, clarified his emotions. "Actually, I'm devastated. I could have won it easy. I lost three fish today, and any one of them would have put me over the top. But I'm sure the other guys lost them too."

After two tournaments, he's 4th in the FLW points. "I've had a good start to the year," he said. "I'm going to take a week off before the Ouachita (River) FLW."

He said he had eight or nine bites today. "I lost three and whiffed on three more. I actually got more bites today than I thought I'd get.

"I just stayed right around the ramp and flipped. Kissimmee was all muddied up and I thought if I stayed close in Toho and didn't have to deal with the lock that I would win.

"I just stayed within sight of the boat ramp. The tournament could have been won right there."

5th: Hartsell Won't Complain

"I feel pretty good about it," Hartsell said of his 5th-place finish. Like Lane, he's also an FLW Tour rookie.

"You hate to let one get away that's so close and capable of being won with one bite. But you can never complain when you're against that kind of competition and you get in the Top 10.

"There's no complaints here. I'm very satisfied with the way I fished."

He said his flipping area had big fish but they wouldn't bite after the cold front. "I fished in an area with big ones, and I don't know how many big fish I threw around today.

"Whenever you do the things you think you can win with, you'll never look back and say you should have done it differently. I did exactly what I wanted to do and I'd do the same thing again."

He said he didn't look at the water temperature today. "I didn't want it to mess with my mind.

"I fished the same way I had been fishing, but I slowed down a little more today. I lost one fish, but it wouldn't have given me a chance to win. It might have helped me gain a couple of spots, but that's going to happen.

"Everybody's talking about the fish they lost. That's fishing."

He said he had a short day. "We took off at 7:00 and had to be back at 1:45. I was running 55 minutes to the south end of Kissimmee. I spent most of my time running and only fished for a little over 3 hours.

"Late in the day I figured a little something out. I pulled into a pocket and caught a 3-pounder, then lost two keepers. I figured it out a little late."

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, no limits, two zeroes.

> Berry said his mind is already on the next event. "I'm already thinking about the Ouachita River. I had a Top 10 at the (Bassmaster) Open Championship there and barely missed making the Classic. It's pretty familiar to me and I can't wait to go get them."

> Hartsell had a rod problem. "On day 3, we had 4- to 5-foot waves," he said. "I speared a wave and lost all four of my flipping rods. I had to salvage the day with one big old flipping rod I had in the rod locker. It was the only rod left in my boat. Mentally, it messed me up."

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Tom Mann Jr -- Buford, Ga -- 5, 18-02 -- 5, 19-03 -- 10, 37-05 -- 5, 8-02 -- 3, 8-00 -- 8, 16-02 -- $100,000
2. Art Berry -- Hemet, Ca -- 5, 11-08 -- 5, 15-13 -- 10, 27-05 -- 3, 6-05 -- 3, 9-02 -- 6, 15-07 -- $36,000
3. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fl -- 5, 21-14 -- 5, 7-03 -- 10, 29-01 -- 5, 10-14 -- 2, 2-05 -- 7, 13-03 -- $25,000
4. J T Kenney -- Frostburg, Md -- 5, 23-10 -- 5, 17-05 -- 10, 40-15 -- 3, 6-05 -- 3, 5-06 -- 6, 11-11 -- $20,000
5. Toby Hartsell -- Livingston, Tx -- 5, 19-09 -- 5, 14-04 -- 10, 33-13 -- 3, 5-13 -- 2, 4-09 -- 5, 10-06 -- $18,000
6. Ricky Shumpert -- Lexington, Sc -- 5, 13-01 -- 5, 14-05 -- 10, 27-06 -- 3, 5-05 -- 2, 3-14 -- 5, 9-03 -- $17,000
7. Dan Morehead -- Paducah, Ky -- 5, 12-07 -- 5, 14-10 -- 10, 27-01 -- 2, 5-15 -- 2, 3-00 -- 4, 8-15 -- $16,000
8. Greg Pugh -- Cullman, Al -- 5, 15-08 -- 5, 14-09 -- 10, 30-01 -- 3, 6-05 -- 0, 0-00 -- 3, 6-05 -- $15,000
9. Dion Hibdon -- Stover, Mo -- 5, 20-01 -- 5, 14-11 -- 10, 34-12 -- 1, 1-06 -- 1, 4-06 -- 2, 5-12 -- $14,000
10. Warren Wyman -- Calera, Al -- 5, 23-09 -- 3, 4-07 -- 8, 28-00 -- 2, 2-05 -- 0, 0-00 -- 2, 2-05 -- $13,000