Sam Lashlee is really no different than a lot of BassFans. He's a darn good regional stick who has to work his tournament schedule around the 40-hour-a-week job that supports his family.
Now the Camden, Tenn. resident has lived the dream of all local aces – he went toe-to-toe with many of the best tour pros in the country on a lake he knows well, and he beat the pants off of them.
The 44-year-old mortgage banker caught 9-10 today to close out his victory at the Old Hickory FLW Series with a 4-day total of 52-10. He started the day with a 4 1/2-pound lead over a Top 10 field that included a guy who could boast of a victory in both of the sport's biggest events (Luke Clausen), another who owns two FLW Tour Angler of the Year trophies (Clark Wendlandt), a current FLW Tour AOY contender who's red-hot (Matt Herren) and a wily veteran who's got a Classic crown and four other Bassmaster victories on his ledger (Woo Daves).
When it was over, he'd extended his day 3 advantage by a few ounces.
Clausen, the reigning Bassmaster Classic champion from Washington, finished a distant 2nd with 47-15 (12-13 today). Virginia's Jacob Powroznik caught the day's best bag (13-05) and finished 3rd with 47-13, and Georgia's Michael Brown, the day 2 leader, ended up 4th with 47-02 (8-10 today).
Wendlandt, the 1997 and 2000 FLW Tour AOY from Texas, rounded out the Top 5 with 9-15 today and a 46-07 total.
Here's how the bottom half of the Top 10 field finished:
6. David Walker: 44-07
7. Art Berry: 44-06
8. Gary Clouse: 44-04
9. Matt Herren: 44-03
10. Woo Daves: 43-13
It was an extremely pleasant day in Gallatin, Tenn. (mostly sunny, a high temperature of about 84 degrees and just a light breeze). The entire field weighed in a limit, but nobody caught the type of sack that could give Lashlee a run for the big money.
When Lashlee came to the stage, he needed only 5 pounds to unseat Clausen. He had nearly twice that.
Prior to today, his biggest victories were two BFLs and an ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series at Kentucky Lake, his home water. None were worth as much as $4,000, so today was his biggest payday – more than 25 times over.
Lashlee Seals the Deal
Lashlee, who got into the tournament off the waiting list, didn't find out he'd be fishing until the day before it started. He initially turned down the invitation.
"I'd even forgotten that it was coming up," he said. "When they first called me and told me my number had come up, I told them no, I couldn't get to the (pre-tournament) meeting on time, and I hung up the phone.
"My wife looked at me and said, 'Sam, you're crazy if you don't fish.' I thought about how there'd be 170 of the best fishermen in the country and 30 of the best locals in it, and I thought, yeah, that would be crazy.
"So I called them right back and told them I'd be there."
Family members and friends from all over the region traveled to Gallatin today to watch him try to nail down the victory.
"I'm just thrilled and blessed and I can't say enough about what this means to me," he said. "I never could have done this without my family.
"I'm just a country boy who lives on Kentucky Lake and loves to fish for bass, and I'm pretty good at it. I'm just thrilled that I was able to put everything together this time to win.
"I didn't have one lick of practice and I hadn't been on the lake all year. I just feel very blessed by the Good Lord."
His winning margin was big, but his day was by no means a cakewalk.
"I caught nine keepers, but they were all pretty small," he said. "I lost one huge fish (he estimated it at 5 1/2 pounds), I broke a rod and I had a 4-pounder throw my jig. I really thought it wasn't meant to be.
"But I stayed calm and kept working hard, and I just continued to cull small fish. I kept believing, and everything turned out for the best."
He caught most of his best fish on a 1/2-ounce prototype Strike King football-head jig. "I've been working on it for about a year and a half with a guy who works at Strike King. I don't know when they're planning to come out with it, but I think it's ready right now."
Details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the 2nd- through 5th-place finishers, will be posted soon.
Runner-up Luke Clausen wonders when he'll win his first regular tour event.
2nd: Clausen Satisfied
Clausen had no qualms about his finish – it was better than he'd anticipated.
"I didn't expect to do that good, but I caught one fish every day that was better than average, and that kind of separated me," he said.
He said he never really felt like he was fishing for a victory today.
"Lashlee had such a big lead that I never worried about what anybody else was doing," he said. "I was more focused on trying to catch as much as I could.
"In the last 45 minutes, I culled two fish. Both were under 2 pounds, but they meant the difference between 2nd and 3rd."
Now he's left to wonder when he'll win his first regular tour event. His two victories thus far are the Classic and the 2004 FLW Tour Championship.
"It's not bothering me yet, but I'd really like to win one," he said. "It's a goal of mine."
Jacob Powroznik weighed in the best bag on the final day.
3rd: Powroznik Pumped
Powroznik was pleased both by his final placement and the fact that he caught the heaviest final-day bag.
"It's awesome," he said. "If I can't win, then 3rd is fine. Every time I go out I'm shooting to win, but I'm very, very pleased to make it into the Top 10.
"This is about the toughest group of fishermen you can find, and to make the Top 10 is a real accomplishment."
He fished bluff walls near the launch today.
"I started there every morning, and I said I'd stay there today if I got a couple good ones early. In the first 20 minutes, I caught two of the best ones I had. I stayed within 3 or 4 miles of the launch each way."
4th: Brown Glad to be Back
Brown's made the Top 10 at a tour-level event for the first time since 2004. His finish was his best since two 2nds on the FLW Tour in 2001.
"It's just great to do it against that caliber of fishermen," he said. "A lot of guys fish there whole careers without making a Top 10, so I'm fortunate.
"I knew I had it in me, but I didn't know how long it was going to take to get it out."
He got seven keeper bites today and didn't secure his limit until 30 minutes before quitting time. "I just hung in there and kept casting, and it worked out."
He started the day in 2nd, but faced a 4 1/2-pound deficit.
"I knew if I caught what I'd been catching and (Lashlee) really stumbled, I'd win. I just didn't do too well."
5th: Wendlandt Could've Had More
Wendlandt is in the midst of a strong comeback season after a poor 2005 campaign and was happy to pick up another high finish. He thinks it could've been a little higher though.
"I felt that I left a little bit on the table today," he said. "I didn't lose any fish, but I think if I'd made a couple of different decisions, I could've had a bigger bag."
He caught about a dozen keepers today, none bigger than 2 1/4 pounds. He fished rather conservatively because he came in 6 1/2 pounds behind Lashlee.
"The Series has got so much money in it that I felt I just had to go out and get the best limit I could," he said. "Second place was worth $50,000, and these are about the best-paying tournaments I've ever fished."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 10 limits.
> Lashlee isn't ready to quit his job and fish full-time. "I'd love to do that if the right opportunity presented itself and I had the blessing of my family," he said. "But I'm not going to blow this money trying to build a pro fishing career – I'm going to invest it. Now if I could get the right people and the right sponsors behind me, then that's something I would consider."
> Lashlee is still waiting to get a call for the Kentucky Lake Midwestern Stren, which starts Wednesday. "That's the one I've been concentrating on," he said. "This one was kind of an afterthought."
> It was the second straight Series Top 10 for Clausen, Wendlandt and Powroznik. They were 3rd, 7th and 9th, respectively, at Cumberland.
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. Sam Lashlee -- Camden, Tn -- 5, 16-06 -- 3, 9-00 -- 5, 17-10 -- 5, 9-10 -- 18, 52-10 -- $100,000
2. Luke Clausen -- Spokane, Wa -- 5, 13-11 -- 5, 11-11 -- 5, 9-12 -- 5, 12-13 -- 20, 47-15 -- $50,000
3. Jacob Powroznik -- Prince George, Va -- 5, 12-05 -- 5, 9-07 -- 5, 12-12 -- 5, 13-05 -- 20, 47-13 -- $40,000
4. Michael Brown -- Rocky Face, Ga -- 5, 14-09 -- 5, 12-02 -- 5, 11-13 -- 5, 8-10 -- 20, 47-02 -- $30,000
5. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Tx -- 5, 13-05 -- 5, 11-06 -- 5, 11-13 -- 5, 9-15 -- 20, 46-07 -- $20,000
6. David Walker -- Sevierville, Tn -- 5, 8-07 -- 5, 16-10 -- 5, 10-00 -- 5, 9-06 -- 20, 44-07 -- $19,000
7. Art Berry -- Hemet, Ca -- 5, 10-01 -- 5, 8-11 -- 5, 15-11 -- 5, 9-15 -- 20, 44-06 -- $18,000
8. Gary Clouse -- La Vergne, Tn -- 5, 15-05 -- 5, 10-13 -- 4, 7-12 -- 5, 10-06 -- 19, 44-04 -- $17,000
9. Matt Herren -- Trussville, Al -- 5, 13-14 -- 5, 12-08 -- 5, 8-02 -- 5, 9-11 -- 20, 44-03 -- $16,000
10. Woo Daves -- Spring Grove, Va -- 4, 12-05 -- 5, 13-04 -- 4, 9-11 -- 5, 8-09 -- 18, 43-13 -- $15,000
