Kevin Wirth is perhaps best known as the angler who once rode a horse in the Kentucky Derby. Today, he wrapped up a Secretariat-like run at the Old Hickory Bassmaster Elite Series in Tennessee.
The veteran Kentuckian caught a 10-13 bag that gave him a 4-day total of 55-10, and that was easily enough for his first tour-level victory. His strength is offshore structure-fishing, but he went away from that this week and plied the shallows in the backs of creeks, and the result was a wire-to-wire triumph.
He won by 5-05 over third-year Ohio pro Bill Lowen, who caught a day-best 14-09 today to finish with 50-05. The runner-up showing was his best to date on the Elite Series.
Alabama's Randy Howell sacked 12-15 today and stayed in 3rd with an even 50 pounds. Dean Rojas of Arizona also held his starting position as he caught 11-14 to finish 4th with 48-12.
The No. 5 position was shared by the reigning Bassmaster Classic champion and the guy who's won that event more times than anybody. Texan Alton Jones (12-03 today) and Missouri's Rick Clunn (7-00) both ended up with 48-10.
Here's a quick look at the final Top 12:
1. Kevin Wirth: 55-10
2. Bill Lowen: 50-05
3. Randy Howell: 50-00
4. Dean Rojas: 48-12
5. (tie) Alton Jones: 48-10
5. (tie) Rick Clunn: 48-10
7. Brent Chapman: 47-11
8. Ray Sedgwick: 44-14
9. Mike Iaconelli: 44-03
10. Todd Faircloth: 42-14
11. Steve Daniel: 42-04
12. Marty Stone: 42-03
The tournament, which was originally scheduled to be held in Iowa but had to be relocated due to flooding along the Mississippi River, was the 9th stop on the 11-event Elite Series. The circuit now takes a month-long break before finishing up with two events in New York (Lake Erie/Niagara River and Lake Oneida).
Kevin VanDam will go to Erie as the leader in the Angler of the Year race, but Texas' Todd Faircloth tightened things up considerably with his 10th-place finish here (the gap was 65 points when the event began, but is now just 12). Mike McClelland is 3rd, 120 points behind VanDam, and 4th-place Skeet Reese, the 2007 AOY, is another 22 back.
Wirth had plenty of family on hand to help him celebrate his victory.
This was Faircloth's fifth Top 10 of the season and the 14th straight regular-season Elite tournament at which he's finished among the Top 50.
Overnight rain brought Old Hickory's water level up a foot or so (it was already at full pool), and that did nothing to hurt the shallow bite that the majority of the Top 12 were exploiting. With two anglers topping 14 pounds and half the field clearing the 10-pound mark, the final-day weights were pretty strong for this place.
Wirth Somewhat Shocked
Wirth's lone previous BASS win was a 1994 Invitational at Santee Cooper in South Carolina. This one was bigger, and it was one he couldn't have foreseen as recently as last week.
"My initial reaction is just, 'Wow,''' he said. "It's been so darn long since I've won a tournament, and to come out here and win this one is kind of a shock – especially going against the grain like I was.
"I gave up a lot of fishing time trying to save water this week, and I think it actually paid off."
He started the day with a lead of more than 7 1/2 pounds over everyone except Clunn, who was a little more than 3 1/2 back. But the higher water made things interesting – and perhaps even a little scary – for him.
"I only had three keepers when I ran to my backup area at 11:00, and I really noticed it when I got there," he said. "There were four or five key pieces (of wood) that I couldn't see.
"That dropped me down to about three pieces, and there were aluminum boats in there banging off two of them, so I knew they wouldn't be any good. Fortunately, I caught a 2 1/4-pounder off one of the ones I could find."
He went back to his primary area and filled out his limit, and then culled one about 5 minutes later. But on the way back to the launch, he was afraid the long-awaited win had slipped away.
"My whole thought process was that (Clunn) would catch 14, maybe 15 pounds. I thought I was beat.
"But then when we were getting ready to weigh in and he was putting his fish into the bag, I could see he'd had a weak day."
His main tactic all week was flipping a Berkley Power Hawg, but he caught his two biggest fish today on a buzzbait. Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be published soon.
2nd: Lowen Loves the Points
Lowen was happy about notching his best-ever Elite finish, and even happier about garnering the 295 AOY points that came along with it. He's now up to 17th in the AOY standings.
"It's pretty awesome," he said. "Those are some valuable points, that's for sure. What I was wanting more than anything was the points."
His day transpired along the same lines of the first 2 – he caught them well early, but then was unable to upgrade. A major stumble on day 3, when he weighed just 8-09, cost him any chance of victory.
"If I hadn't stubbed my toe yesterday, things might have been different. I just fished through my area too fast.
"I had an area I was saving and I kept thinking, I need to get there, I need to get there, and I only had three little ones when I left it. Today I just put my head down and picked it apart."
Bill Lowen is solidly entrenched inside the Bassmaster Classic cutoff after his runner-up finish.
He went through seven keepers today, and his best fish was a little over 4 pounds.
"The wind started blowing and muddying things up, and it was real difficult to fish the way I needed to."
3rd: No Complaints from Howell
There was a point this morning at which Howell thought he might be able to make a run at the win, but those hopes were dashed shortly thereafter.
"The first one I caught was a 3 1/2-pounder and the next one was a 4 1/2, and I knew those were two solid ones for this lake," he said. "I kept catching fish, but I didn't get any more big ones.
"I'm real excited and happy with the finish and I don't have any complaints other than one good one that I lost today. I tried to swing it in and it fell off – it was just a rush job – and it kept me from moving up to 2nd place."
He started today on a grassy bank that he'd passed on the way to the lake each day, but hadn't fished.
"It just looked so good and when I put the boat in and saw the water had risen, I knew it would be really flooded in there. I swam that (Vertical Lures) Jig X and they were just eating it up."
4th: Rojas Enjoyed 'Purity'
Rojas was jazzed about logging a Top-5 finish in an event that featured so much spontaneity stemming from the relocation.
"It was good," he said. "What I'm really excited about is we went to a lake that was just spung on the whole field, and you had to react to the lake instead of relying on homework. It really tested your abilities.
"It was just pure, and I wish more tournaments were like this. You go into it knowing that it is what it is, and you go out and do the best you can."
He'd hoped to equal or exceed his 14-03 sack from day 3, but that didn't transpire.
"I never had the 4-pound bites I needed – I got 3 1/2s, but no 4s. I thought I had a little more (weight) than I did, but it wouldn't have moved me up because Howell caught them pretty good.
"But I'll take it – I'm back in the Top 5 in the (points race), and that's golden. And we've got two events left, so I still have an outside shot at winning (the AOY). You never know what might happen."
5th: Clunn Didn't Encroach
Clunn had a monkey wrench thrown into his gameplan last night when he found out the creek he'd planned to use as a backup was actually Wirth's primary spot. His own main area didn't hold up for him.
He weighed just four fish and dropped three places.
"This is the third time I've made a Top 10 at this lake (BASS and FLW combined) – all in this particular creek," he said. "It never seems to be able to hold up for 4 days and I knew that, so I had that other creek to use for a backup when it petered out.
"Still, if you told me I wasn't going to grind out 10 pounds, I'd have called bull. I only got four fish in the boat, and (the lack of) that fifth one cost me some dough."
His action slowed considerably today.
"I didn't get a quarter of the bites I'd been getting. Something changed, and maybe it had something to do with the clouds and wind.
"But the real mistake I made was yesterday, when I only fished about a third of my water (due to traffic). I adopted an attitude of trying not to lose, and when you do that, you get away from the attitude of trying to win."
5th: Jones Felt Good
Jones couldn't find much fault in his performance here.
"I feel really good," he said. "I fished well all week and my execution was good – I only had one pull off that would have helped me.
"I was hoping that having 12-03 would move me up, but I stayed in the exact same position. Some of the other guys caught them good, too."
He was forced to abandon the area where he caught his 15-11 bag on day 3.
"I started there and caught some small keepers, but it was pretty obvious it had been maximized, so I had to punt. I went about 30 miles farther and found a similar place, and ended up with a nice sack of fish."
Dean Rojas had another good day, but his bites weren't quite as big as they were on day 3.
He caught about a dozen keepers – the most of any day – and his bag was topped by a 4-pounder.
"They were biting good early until about 10:00, then there was a lull until about 12:00. But the afternoon was good after that little front moved through."
Weigh-In Notes
Following are some notes from the weigh-in from anglers who finished in the lower half of the Top 12.
Brent Chapman (7th)
"I was dumbfounded to make the Top 12. I thought this tournament was going to be won deep, and that's where I spent a lot of my practice time.
"It was amazing how shallow the fish were today. I'd pitch my worm up there and it wouldn't sink 6 inches, and my line would take off."
Ray Sedgwick (8th)
"I caught most of my fish shallow, swimming a jig in 2 feet of water or less. The sun had to position the fish on the wood, and today it came out too late.
"When you're fishing in water that shallow, you should never let (the bait) hit the bottom, because that's mostly silty mud and the fish don't like it in that stuff. Just swim it by them and they'll hit it and jerk the rod out of your hand."
Mike Iaconelli (9th)
"I was really surprised how shallow these fish were in 90-degree water – I was catching them out of 6 inches. I figured out the first day of practice that ledges were not going to be the deal, and I concentrated on mud flats with any little piece of wood.
"It didn't have to be a big, beautiful log – just a stick or a branch, and that's where the fish would be holding."
Todd Faircloth (10th)
"My goal today was to accumulate as many (AOY) points as I could. I was shooting for a Top 6, but I never got any key bites today.
"This body of water is tough, but there's a lot of fish. The size isn't there, but it's easy to catch 30 to 40 fish a day and it's just a blast."
Steve Daniel (11th)
"When we came here, I don't think anybody thought this was going to be won shallow. But with no moving water, anybody with any experience knows you have to at least have a shallow backup pattern.
"I took a page out of my 1983 playbook, when I finished 2nd in a tournament I should've won. I have a 25-year-old Fenwick rod and some fluorescent Stren line, and I tied on a jig with big old barbs – I did everything but put a pork chunk on the back of it.
"I've had some good practices this year and I've let some Top 50s get away. To make the Top 12 here was special."
Marty Stone (12th)
"Today I untied everything I had, I put eight rods on the deck and just went after it. I probably caught 40 fish, but I only had five keeper bites and I never had a big bite.
"I feel like I'm back on track. The cuts I've been missing, I'm just barely missing them. I'm fishing good enough to win, and I can feel it. Something else that's special is going to happen before the year's over with."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 12 anglers, 11 limits, 1 four.
> Wirth piloted Mythical Ruler to a 17th-place finish in a 21-horse field in the 1981 Kentucky Derby. He was just 18 years old at the time.
> Clunn said anybody who claims they've caught all the fish out of an area is mistaken. "What they've done is catch all the alphas. The bass in an area are like a pack of wolves – when the alphas are removed, they get confused for awhile until it's established who the new alphas are."
Day 3 Standings
1. Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 20, 55-10 -- 320 -- $113,000
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01 -- Day 4: 5, 10-13
2. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, Ohio -- 20, 50-05 -- 295 -- $31,000
Day 1: 5, 14-13 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06 -- Day 3: 5, 8-09 -- Day 4: 5, 14-09
3. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 20, 50-00 -- 290 -- $27,000
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-08 -- Day 3: 5, 8-07 -- Day 4: 5, 12-15
4. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, Az. -- 20, 48-12 -- 285 -- $18,000
Day 1: 5, 12-06 -- Day 2: 5, 10-05 -- Day 3: 5, 14-03 -- Day 4: 5, 11-14
5. Alton Jones -- Waco, Texas -- 20, 48-10 -- 278 -- $16,250
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 10-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-11 -- Day 4: 5, 12-03
5. Rick Clunn -- Ava, Mo. -- 19, 48-10 -- 278 -- $16,250
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03 -- Day 4: 4, 7-00
7. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 20, 47-11 -- 272 -- $16,000
Day 1: 5, 10-02 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-08 -- Day 4: 5, 14-06
8. Ray Sedgwick -- Cross, S.C. -- 20, 44-14 -- 268 -- $16,000
Day 1: 5, 9-02 -- Day 2: 5, 9-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-14 -- Day 4: 5, 10-03
9. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, N.J. -- 20, 44-03 -- 264 -- $14,000
Day 1: 5, 11-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-00 -- Day 3: 5, 9-12 -- Day 4: 5, 9-05
10. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, Texas -- 20, 42-14 -- 260 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 11-03 -- Day 2: 5, 9-00 -- Day 3: 5, 13-05 -- Day 4: 5, 9-06
11. Steve Daniel -- Clewiston, Fla. -- 19, 42-04 -- 257 -- $13,000
Day 1: 5, 11-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 4, 10-10 -- Day 4: 5, 8-04
12. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, N.C. -- 19, 42-03 -- 254 -- $12,300
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 8-15 -- Day 3: 4, 8-11 -- Day 4: 5, 8-04
Big Bass
Day 4: Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, Kan. -- 5-08 -- $1,000
Day 3: Ray Sedgwick -- Cross, S.C. -- 4-07 -- $500
Day 3: Steve Daniel -- Clewiston, Fla. -- 4-07 -- $500
Day 2: Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 6-06 -- $1,000
Day 1: Kevin Wirth -- Crestwood, Ky. -- 6-04 -- $1,000
