As the reigning Bassmaster Classic Champion, Boyd Duckett had a free pass into each of this season's three Majors. It didn't do him much good until this last one.
The Alabamian finished 50th (one spot from dead-last) and 36th (better, but still way out of the money) in the first two no-entry-fee events that paid $250,000 to the winner.
Today, he claimed the last of those quarter-million-dollar checks for himself.
He caught a 13-09 limit from the six-hole course on the Illinois Bayou portion of Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle, and that gave him a 30-01 total for the final 2 days of the Legends Major. He outdistanced runner-up Jason Quinn of South Carolina by 10 ounces.
Quinn weighed 14-07 today for a 29-05 total and, like Duckett, he moved up one place in the standings from day 3. Michigan's Kevin VanDam caught the biggest final-day sack (16-00) and also climbed one spot to finish 3rd with 28-06.
Day-3 leader Dean Rojas saw his frog pattern dissipate under today's bright sun, and he caught just three keepers for 9-05 to fall to 4th with a 26-03 total. California's Ish Monroe caught 11-05 and moved up one place to 5th with 23-00.
Alabama's Tim Horton spent the day gambling for big bites from deep water, and he didn't get them. He weighed two fish for 4-13 and dropped one place to 6th with a 16-11 total.
Duckett, the 47-year-old businessman who'd fished just three tour-level events prior to this year, made history last February by becoming the first angler to win the Classic in his home state (it was held at Lay Lake). Now, with the Majors off the schedule for 2008 (and maybe permanently), he could go down as the final angler to win an event of this kind.
Duckett Does it Again
This win should remove all remaining ideas that Duckett's Classic triumph was a fluke.
"I had a couple of bad tournaments coming off the Classic, and with this being my first year on the Elites, some people were saying that the only reason I won was because it was in Alabama and that I got lucky to win," he said. "I've had to mill through that mess and I've made six Top 12s for the year, so I think most if it has been put to bed.
"I was real excited about the opportunity I had here. I didn't have a great day today, but I caught just enough to win."
The Legends is held in honor of BASS founder Ray Scott, and that gave the win extra significance for Duckett.
He caught a 16 1/2-pound bag of deep fish on a dropshot rig on day 3 and figured that would be the ticket again today. But when he didn't get any bites through the first 1 1/2 rotations, he resorted to flipping grass with a 7-inch Berkley Power Worm.
All five of his weigh-in fish came from the grass. He caught six keepers for the day, and the biggest weighed 3-08.
The win carried special significance for him because the tournament was a tribute to BASS founder Ray Scott.
"I've been a BASS member since I was 11 years old in 1971, and I've saved every (Bassmaster) magazine since then," Duckett said. "Ray Scott built this sport, and even though others have taken it farther, you had to have somebody like Ray to put it on the map."
Details of his winning pattern, as well as pattern information for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
2nd: Quinn Disappointed
Quinn had an excellent day on the water, but that didn't ease the pain of coming up just short of what would have been his first tour-level win.
"I feel disappointment, and that's all I can feel right now," he said. "I fished a good tournament and I caught everything that bit.
"I know I caught more fish than anybody over the last 2 days and I think I was on the fish I needed to win, but I just never got a big bite today."
He caught a limit in his first hole and culled several times throughout the day. All five of his weigh-in fish were right around the 3-pound mark.
3rd: VanDam not Thrilled
VanDam caught the day's best stringer and posted his third straight Top 10 at a Dardanelle hole-course event, but those feats carried little satisfaction.
"I didn't win, so it's disappointing," he said. "The payouts are so top-heavy in the Majors that if you don't win, it's pretty tough.
Jason Quinn 'caught everything that bit,' but it wasn't quite enough.
"But I had a fun week, without a doubt," he added. "I caught lots of fish, and this place suits my run-and-gun style."
He fished deeper today than on day 3 due to the weather conditions.
"It was a totally different day with the sun and no wind and stuff like that. I wish it would have been like that yesterday.
"Today I focused on deeper stuff with a little bit of current and caught them real good."
5th: Ish Okay With It
Monroe gained one spot with his 11-05 bag, and that was at least some reward for his efforts.
"It wasn't a great day, but it wasn't a bad day," he said. "I moved up one place and that's an extra ($3,000), so I can't complain."
His grass-flipping bite went south today. Four of his five weigh-in fish came from the Illinois Bayou intake in hole 1, which was his last stop of the day. He remained there through "happy hour" (the final 80 minutes of the day when anglers can fish wherever they choose), so his stay there consumed 2 1/2 hours.
He caught them on a Reaction Innovations Flirt worm.
"I caught it when the current was just right, and I wailed on them," he noted. "At that time of the day, they were just biting like crazy."
6th: Horton Swings, Misses
Horton's day contained little excitement, but he was happy with his performance here on the whole.
"It went good," he said. "Anytime you get to fish one of these things for all 4 days, then you've had a good week.
"I was on some good fish and I wish we could have stayed on the (entire) lake. But I'm sure there's some other guys who are saying that too."
He started the day in 5th place, 5 pounds out of the lead, and tried to play catch-up by pursuing big, deep-dwelling fish. They didn't cooperate.
"I spent pretty much all day off the bank because I really had to catch them to make up some ground," he said. "It didn't pay off, which is what happens most of the time.
"I only had one place to drop, and I dropped it."
His primary patterns were fishing a Carolina-rigged Yum lizard on structure and flipping grass with a Yum Big Show craw.
Notable
> Day 4 stats – Six anglers, 4 limits, 1 three, 1 two.
> Duckett flew back to Alabama after dinner and said he'd be in his office (he owns a company that leases tank trailers) tomorrow morning.
> Monroe said Duckett told him he didn't catch anything at the intake during his time in hole 1. But the winner got in on the action during the red-hot period at the end of the day. "He probably caught seven or eight keepers – maybe more than that – but none of them helped him," Monroe said. "I kept watching him throw them back."
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 10, 30-01 -- $250,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-08 -- Day 4: 5, 13-09
2. Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10, 29-05 -- $33,500
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-14 -- Day 4: 5, 14-07
3. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 10, 28-08 -- $29,500
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08 -- Day 4: 5, 16-00
4. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu, AZ -- 8, 26-03 -- $22,000
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 16-14 -- Day 4: 3, 09-05
5. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 10, 23-00 -- $20,000
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 11-11 -- Day 4: 5, 11-05
6. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 7, 16-11 -- $17,000
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-14 -- Day 4: 2, 04-13
Big Bass
Day 4: Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 4-04 -- $1,000
Day 3: Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5-06 -- $1,000
Day 2: Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5-11 -- $1,000
Day 1: Fred Roumbanis -- Auburn, CA -- 6-12 -- $1,000
