Faircloth Stages Final-Day Rally To Claim Win At Amistad

Lone Star State? From a professional bass-fishing perspective, maybe Texas should be called the Comeback State.

Pulling a page from the book that Paul Elias wrote a week earlier at Falcon Lake, native Texan Todd Faircloth caught 29-06 on the final day of the weather-shortened Amistad Bassmaster Elite Series and rallied all the way from 9th place to his second career Elite win. His 3-day total of 76-15 gave him a 12-ounce margin of victory.

Louisiana rookie Clark Reehm held onto his 2nd-place position with 21-09 today for a 76-03 total. Two Arkansans who began the day tied for 3rd were next: Kevin Short caught 22-07 today (a bag that was exceeded only by Faircloth's) and ended up 3rd with 75-10, and Mike McClelland caught 17-14 to land in 4th with 71-10.

Day-2 leader Jason Williamson managed just 14-00 today and dropped four places to 5th with 69-12.

Here's a look at the final Top 12:

1. Todd Faircloth: 76-15
2. Clark Reehm: 76-03
3. Kevin Short: 75-10
4. Mike McClelland: 71-01
5. Jason Williamson: 69-12
6. Gary Klein: 69-06
7. Greg Hackney: 68-04
8. Billy Brewer: 67-10
9. Edwin Evers: 67-04
10. Denny Brauer: 64-04
11. Kurt Dove: 61-12
12. Kotaro Kiriyama: 56-07

Faircloth began the day 8-11 behind Williamson. Weight-wise, his rally wasn't as dramatic as Elias' last week but he had to leapfrog for more anglers than the Mississippian did.

He's become one of the most consistent anglers on the planet, with 15 finishes in the Top 30 in his last 20 outings. This was his third Elite Series Top 12 since he closed out the 2006 season with a win at Table Rock.

Today's bright, dead-calm conditions rendered swimbaits less effective, and those who caught the biggest bags relied on slower presentations for at least part of the day.

Faircloth in Disbelief

When the day started, Faircloth had a hard time foreseeing himself holding up the trophy on the weigh-in stage.

"I still can't believe it," he said. "I didn't really feel like I had a legitimate chance, but at Amistad, and Falcon last week as well, you know that a 30- or 40-pound bag is out there. You're never completely out of it, and that's what's good about these kinds of fisheries."

This victory was quite different than the one at Table Rock.

"I led that event going into the last day, so there was a lot more pressure on me. Today I just went fishing. "There was no real pressure whatsoever. There was nowhere to go but up."

He caught most of his weigh-in fish throughout the tournament on a swimbait, and that was the case today, too. But due to the slick conditions, he didn't throw it nearly as often today.

"I just let the conditions dictate what I did. We had real slack water this morning, so I picked up a Senko and threw that quite a bit.

"There's be times throughout the day when the wind picked up a little bit, and when that happened, I'd go to the swimbait. I'd try to be fishing my best areas when the wind kicked up."

He caught his three best fish in the last 2 1/2 hours, including an 8-13 brute that took big-bass honors.

"I didn't have much at 2:00, and then I caught good one, and I got my two biggest ones right at the end of the day. It didn't really hit home – I knew I had a pretty good bag, but I didn't think I had that much."

Details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be posted soon.

2nd: Mixed Feelings for Reehm

Reehm's runner-up finish was bittersweet.

"It's one of those deals where I'm excited to finish 2nd, but at the same time, I know that I was on good enough fish to win if I'd corrected a few things," he said. "The thing that killed me was that dead fish (on day 1) – not the 4-ounce penalty, but not being able to cull that 2 1/2-pounder. I could've ended up with a lot bigger sack that day."

He also made a fruitless trip into Mexican waters today that cost him about 2 1/2 hours that he could have spent Carolina-rigging in his primary area.

"Those fish weren't there, and as soon as I got back to my spot, I caught two real good ones."

He ended up going through more than two dozen keepers. His bag contained a 7-pounder, a 5 1/2, a 4 and two 2 1/2-pounders.

"I was happy with my execution. I only lost one fish in 3 days of fishing, so that was pretty good."

3rd: Short Ties Personal Best

Short's finish equaled his best during the 3 seasons of the Elite Series' existence. He also took 3rd at Table Rock in 2006 (ironically, that was Faircloth's other win), and finished in that same position at the Legends Major just 2 weeks prior to that.

"It's pretty good, but I'm also a little disappointed," he said. "I was pretty close starting the day out, and I knew if I caught 26 or 27 pounds, it was going to be a horse race.

"I really can't complain, but I've finished 3rd before. That's getting a little old, and I need to figure out a way to close it out."

He caught more fish today than on either of the 2 previous days, but their average size was smaller.

"They came from where I thought they would, but they just weren't as big. It was pretty cool here last night, so maybe the females didn't move up (to feed) until late in the day. If that wasn't it, then I'm not sure what happened."

4th: McClelland Happy

A 4th-place showing is considerably better than McClelland could have hoped for after the practice period.

"I'm thrilled to have finished the way I did," he said. "Looking back at practice, I'm actually tickled to death.

"I'm just a little bit disappointed in the way I fished today. I was in a decent position to win, and I rushed things a time or two. I kind of kept pushing, trying to run across more active fish than the ones I was around, when I should've milked the sweet spots a little more than I did."

He'd been catching a few good swimbait fish to begin each day, but that didn't occur today.

"I'd been used to getting a couple of big ones right off the bat. When that doesn't happen, it makes for a lot slower day."

After winning the season opener at the Harris Chain, he was 19th at Toho and 42nd at Falcon. This finish put him back in the lead in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race.

"It's nice to be in that position, but I don't want to get to the point where I feel like I have to be leading it after every tournament in order to have a shot at it. It's a long season and I just need to take it one tournament at a time."

5th: Williamson's Best Yet

Williamson logged the first Top 12 of his 2-year career last week when he was 8th at Falcon. He beat that finish by three spots.

"It feels good to have two good tournaments down here in Texas, and now we're on our way to my two home lakes," he said, referring to Clarks Hill and Murray. "I'm excited about going home and trying to make two more cuts."

"It's always a little disappointing when you go into the last day of the derby with the lead and you can't get it done, but from last year (when he was 67th here), this was a big improvement."

He'd hoped for nastier weather today.

"I needed the wind or the clouds or both, and I was handed any of that. I'd been catching them on a big swimbait and they'd follow it today, but they wouldn't eat.

"I had to back out 30 feet and switch to a Carolina rig just to get what I caught."

Additional Notes

Gary Klein (6th) – "I have no complaints. I fished deep water the whole tournament, thinking there really weren't that many left on the banks. I never really caught more than one that really counted out of any one spot – I had to move around a bunch."

Greg Hackney (7th) – "I fished in 12 to 15 feet of water for staging fish – on points with grass where they were moving up, both pre- and post-spawn. There was a wave that moved up today and I could see them everywhere, but they were just hard to catch."

Billy Brewer (8th) – "Even if I'd zeroed today, it still would've been the best week of my life. This is an awesome body of water. I had to slow down today and throw a Senko because we didn't have any wind, but when the wind did pick up a little, I ran back over to my swimbait spot and caught my biggest one."

Edwin Evers (9th) – "I like this lake a lot – it's clear water, and you get to see a lot of (fish). I had a lot of fun out there today."

Denny Brauer (10th) – "I fished jigs and it was kind of like deep-water flipping – I'd let it hit the bottom and if they didn't take it, I'd bring it back up and make another cast. I had to scramble after I caught that big bag the first day. I'd have to go along 3 or 4 miles of ledges to get what I ended up with."

Kurt Dove (11th) – "I never had a bite until 11:00 today, and then I went into a little pocket and there was a sight-fish here and another sight-fish over there. I caught all my fish today in 8 feet of water or less, and I think for of them came off beds."

Kotaro Kiriyama (12th) – "It was very tough today. I didn't catch as many fish as the last 2 days without much wind."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 12 anglers, 12 limits.

> Hackney's finish snapped a season-opening slump that saw him finish no better than 62nd in any of the first three events.

> Brauer's showing was his best since he won at Champlain in July 2006.

Day 3 (Final) Standings

1. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15 -- 76-15 -- 305 -- $102,000
Day 1: 5, 23-14 -- Day 2: 5, 23-03 -- Day 3: 5, 29-14

2. Clark Reehm -- Russellville, AR -- 15 -- 76-03 -- 295 -- $30,000
Day 1: 5, 28-14 -- Day 2: 5, 25-12 -- Day 3: 5, 21-09

3. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 15 -- 75-10 -- 290 -- $36,000
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 5, 31-06 -- Day 3: 5, 22-07

4. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15 -- 71-01 -- 285 -- $18,000
Day 1: 5, 29-05 -- Day 2: 5, 23-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-14

5. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 15 -- 69-12 -- 285 -- $17,000
Day 1: 5, 25-15 -- Day 2: 5, 29-13 -- Day 3: 5, 14-00

6. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 15 -- 69-06 -- 276 -- $15,500
Day 1: 5, 27-07 -- Day 2: 5, 20-09 -- Day 3: 5, 21-06

7. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15 -- 68-04 -- 272 -- $17,000
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 28-13 -- Day 3: 5, 19-11

8. Billy Brewer -- Bruceville, TX -- 15 -- 67-10 -- 268 -- $14,500
Day 1: 5, 25-12 -- Day 2: 5, 24-01 -- Day 3: 5, 17-13

9. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15 -- 67-04 -- 264 -- $14,000
Day 1: 5, 26-04 -- Day 2: 5, 23-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-02

10. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 15 -- 64-04 -- 260 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 27-03 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07 -- Day 3: 5, 19-10

11. Kurt Dove -- Fairfax, VA -- 15 -- 61-12 -- 262 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 30-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02 -- Day 3: 5, 17-02

12. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 15 -- 56-07 -- 254 -- $12,300
Day 1: 5, 25-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02 -- Day 3: 5, 11-02

Big Bass

Day3: Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 8-13 -- $1,000
Day 2: Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 11-11 -- $1,000
Day 1: Randy -- Howell -- Springfield, AL -- 10-08 -- $1,000