Morizo Shimizu will forever ask himself the question: How did I catch 30 pounds on the final day and still lose? And he'll forever be haunted by the same answer: Zell Rowland. While other sacks kept getting smaller, Rowland quietly improved his weight each day. He made a major move on day 3 that pushed him to 2nd, then followed through today with a 27-06 limit to stun the crowd and edge out

Shimizu for the Guntersville victory. His 20-fish, 4-day limit weighed 87-00.

Shimizu weighed 18 fish across the 4 days and finished with 85-09. Edwin Evers, who led days 1, 2 and 3, seemed to run out of fish today. He weighed four for 15-08 (78-01) and finished 3rd. In 4th place was Bud Pruitt with a 14-06 limit today (73-08 total). David Fritts caught a 20-04 limit and finished 5th with 72-02. Michael Hicks was 6th with four today for 12-12 (63-10 total).

Rowland and Pruitt were the only ones to weigh a limit each day.

Rowland Stoked

This was Rowland's 5th BASS win, and his second win at Guntersville. He also won the Alabama Invitational here in 1991.

"I'm about worn out," he said. "But I'm real excited – I'm very excited. Not that many professional anglers have ever won five events, and this being my fifth event to win, it gets me a little closer to being one of the elite guys to win $1 million fishing BASS."

His win today pushed his BASS lifetime winnings to over $900,000.

"I felt lucky," he said. "When I watched (Shimizu) weigh 30 pounds, my heart went to my throat. I didn't think I had that much. I really didn't.

"I knew I had over 20 and they kept asking me how much I had. I said I don't think I've got 26 pounds. Edwin (Evers) came over and asked me, and I said I think I've got about 23 or 24 pounds.

"When they weighed them I couldn't believe it. But it was a great day on the water, I do know that. I had a great time fishing. (Guntersville) is just full of them."

He'd changed baits quite a bit throughout the tournament. Yesterday he told BassFan he would make a last-minute decision on where and how to fish today.

"I didn't really change today," he said. "But I changed water. I went back to an area that I fished the first day, because I knew it had a whole bunch in it. I actually had about a 20-pound bag in that one area by 10:00.

"I didn't think I could better myself any more by staying there. There were a couple of other areas I wanted to go fish that I'd fished yesterday. One of the areas I didn't have a bite in yesterday. But I guess I overlooked some of the fish and I caught a couple of 5s there."

Details on his winning pattern, and patterns for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.

2nd: Shimizu Up and Down

"It's hard to say how I feel," Shimizu said through a translator. "I caught 30 pounds today. I caught a 6-pound, 15-ounce fish on my last cast, and I thought, okay, I've won.

"I thought it would be like Takahiro (Omori) at the (Bassmaster) Classic.

"But Rowland got 27 pounds today, so I'm both disappointed and happy. I was happy when I caught 30, then disappointed that I didn't win. But I had a great week. I caught over 30 pounds on the last day and I really enjoyed the tournament. I would like to congratulate Zell on winning the tournament. "

He has won three pro events in Japan, and finished in the Top 10 "many" times there, but said he rarely finishes 2nd. "I either win or I don't do good, so this is kind of new."

He caught six fish today and said he lost a good one. "I got a big bite on a spinnerbait, but couldn't hook up."

Most of his bites today, including the 6-15 on the last cast, came on a Strike King Series 4 crankbait.

3rd: Evers' Spot Petered Out

Evers had the hot stick for the first 3 days, but couldn't catch the sack he needed today.

"I just didn't catch them today," he said. "I just did not catch them. I didn't have the bites. I think I ran out of fish.

"I think the pressure got to them, to be 100 percent honest. My fish were on top of the grass in 4 to 5 feet of water. The water's falling and with all these boats, that put a lot of pressure on them and they just didn't bite.

"But that's not an excuse. I died on the spot today and I didn't change."

He said he had two other spots he could have tried. "Both those spots were done though. When you catch that type of weight out of an area, I think the bass get conditioned. I know I didn't catch all the fish that were there."

The weather today was rainy and overcast with moderate wind. That obviously helped Rowland and Shimizu, but Evers said it hurt him.

"I was fishing muddy water. These kinds of conditions today are not a muddy deal. Clear water would have been a better pattern for today.

"I don't have any regrets. I fished well.

"I'm completely exhausted. I spent every ounce of energy I had."

5th: Fritts Missed His Chance

"Even if I caught 30 today, there was no way I could have won," Fritts said. "I had my chance yesterday. That's when I should have done it. It just didn't work out.

"I can't complain. I had the third-best sack today. Those fish kept coming up and coming up and they got away from me finally."

He said he feels he fished a good tournament. "I did the best I could do. I would love to have won, and think I was on enough fish to win, but that big flood over last weekend put a little damper on it.

"I really felt like I could have done it. And I felt pretty confident today. You can't overcome people ahead of you catching 27 and 30 pounds."

6th: Hicks Happy

Today was Hicks' first time in the Top 6 cut. "I feel great," he said. "I didn't do as well today as a lot of the guys, but I had an awesome experience. It was my first Top 6, so I'll take it.

"I got a lot of experience. The camera man, the helicopter, all the hoopla – it was a big experience."

He fished his main area this morning, but said he regretted staying there so long. "I stuck to my guns for the first half of today, then I knew I had to do something different.

"I made a change and caught a few fish, then caught a 4-pounder with less than an hour left to fish.

"I wish I would have tried something different earlier, but it's hard to leave an area that got you so far. I don't have any regrets. If I had to do it all over, I'm sure I'd do the same thing.

"(Rowland) has a lot of experience – he knows how to adapt. I don't, but it's something that'll come in time."

He said he caught a 9-pounder on a Glamour Shad jig (peanut butter and jelly) in practice, but cranked during competition.

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 6 anglers, 4 limits, no zeroes.

> Rowland's previous four BASS victories were: 2003 Santee Cooper Bassmaster, 1999 Lake Mead Top 150, 1991 Guntersville Invitational, 1986 Tennessee River Super Invitational.

> Although this was Shimizu's first BASS Top 10, he finished in the Top 10 twice last year on the FLW Tour: Old Hickory (3rd) and Kentucky Lake (8th).

> Hicks said he fished the same area where George Cochran won the tournament last year.

Day 4 (Final) Standings



1. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Texas -- 20 -- 87-00 -- 305 -- $101,000
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03 -- Day 3: 5, 22-06 -- Day 4: 5, 27-06
2. Morizo Shimizu -- Murrita, Calif. -- 18 85-09 -- 295 -- $40,000
Day 1: 5, 21-05 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14 -- Day 3: 3, 12-01 -- Day 4: 5, 30-05
3. Edwin Evers -- Mannsville, Okla. -- 19 78-01 -- 305 -- $24,000
Day 1: 5, 27-15 -- Day 2: 5, 19-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-02 -- Day 4: 4, 15-08
4. Bud Pruitt -- Spring, Texas -- 20, 73-08 -- 285 -- $21,000
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 21-04 -- Day 3: 5, 21-15 -- Day 4: 5, 14-06
5. David Fritts -- Lexington, N.C. -- 19 72-02 -- 280 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15 -- Day 3: 4, 15-07 -- Day 4: 5, 20-04
6. Mike Hicks -- Mineral, Va. -- 17 63-10 -- 276 -- $14,000
Day 1: 5, 21-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 3, 10-14 -- Day 4: 4, 12-12

Big Bass

> Day 4 -- Morizo Shimizu -- Murrita, Calif. -- 6-15 -- $1,000
> Day 3 -- Bud Pruitt -- Spring, Texas -- 8-04 -- $1,000
> Day 2 -- Chris Bielert -- Danbury, Conn. -- 9-11 -- $1,000
> Day 1 -- Gerald Gostenik -- Dearborn, Mich. -- 9-12 -- $1,000