Randy Phillips had never fished a tournament in Florida prior to last week's Bassmaster Federation Nation Championship, and most of what he learned during the 10 days he spent pre-practicing at the Harris Chain of Lakes prior to the cutoff became moot because conditions had changed. Nonetheless, the 36-year-old from Massachusetts beat out 53 competitors from around the country and earned a long-sought Bassmaster Classic berth.
"Making the Classic is the dream of everybody at my level, and it's something I'd been dreaming about since I was a little boy," said the general manager of a packaging company based in Sutton, Mass. "It's a dream that's finally come true and I get to go and compete with all of the big boys, and hopefully I'll do well."
He caught the biggest bag of the tournament (14-11) on day 2, and then won it on day 3 with a 6-15 limit under windy conditions. His 31-10 total bested the runner-up, Washington's Dan Hogue, buy 2 pounds even.
Here's how he did it.
Practice
Phillips had had some success throwing lipless crankbaits on his pre-practice visit to the Harris Chain, but once the 3-day official practice period got under way, it was evident that "Traps" were a ticket to nowhere.
"I threw it on the first day and I didn't get the bites I needed," he said. "I changed to flipping a worm on a 1/4-ounce weight, and I noticed that as I was traveling along the shore, whenever I'd come up to some reeds I'd usually see some fish activity on the outside scattered weed patches.
"I could see the reeds moving – the (bass) were chasing bait – and I started flipping those. I caught three and then cut my hook off, and I still managed to land one. That let me know that they were eating the bait pretty well."
He explored that pattern some more on the second day, again on Lake Eustis, and got about a dozen bites. He decided to spend the final practice day in Lake Dora, and found more reed beds that were amenable to it.
Competition
> Day 1: 3, 9-07 (8th)
> Day 2: 5, 14-11 (2nd)
> Day 3: 5, 6-15 (1st)
> Total = 13, 31-01
Day 1 of the tournament was a bit blustery, and that adversely affected Phillips' reed bite. He picked up just one keeper from the windward bank in Eustis that he fished in the morning, so he opted to move to Dora to try one that faced the other direction.
He got two more quality bites there and landed in the Top 10 after the weigh-in despite a bag that was two fish short of a limit.
Day 2 brought dead-calm, sunny conditions and he was back in business with the worm. The bigger fish were relating to the most isolated weed patches in 4 to 7 feet of water, and many times he could see them prior to making a flip or pitch.
He had bites throughout the day and landed six fish while losing three. His biggest weighed about 4 1/2 pounds and his event-best sack moved him up to 2nd place, just 7 ounces behind leader Hogue.
The wind was back for day 3, but he decided to stick with the worm – at least for the morning. He'd caught only a couple of shorts and one keeper by 11:30 when the wind began to increase in intensity, making it even tougher to make accurate presentations with the worm.
His primary focus wasn't on winning the tournament, but holding off fellow Eastern Division angler Skip Sjobeck for the Classic slot. He believed Sjobeck was fishing a topwater pattern, and he knew the surface approach would be difficult under the conditions. Therefore, he opted for a conservative play and headed for some canals that he and partner Wayne Marquis had fished during pre-practice.
Marquis had caught numerous fish on a Rapala Original Floater in the silver color, so he tied one on and quickly picked up two keepers from the first canal he visited. A stop in another canal produced the two fish he needed to round out his limit.
Phillips used a Rapala Original floater in the silver color to catch four of his five fish on the final day.
"A lot of people were flipping in those canals and those fish were so high-pressured, I think they just wanted something that finessed them a little bit more," he said.
With five in the well, he thought he stood a pretty good chance of realizing his Classic dream.
"I knew Skip would need 8 or 9 pounds to beat me and if he could catch that on a topwater that day, then he deserved it," he said. "Then I ran into Hogue and he said he had only three fish, and that's when it clicked in that I had a shot at winning the whole thing."
Winning Gear Notes
> Flipping gear: 7'6" heavy-action Team Daiwa flipping stick, Daiwa Advantage casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 50-pound Power Pro braided line, 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight (black), 5/0 Gamakatsu SuperLine worm hook, 6" Bitter's worm (junebug).
> "The fish I saw ahead of time wanted a real subtle presentation," Phillips said. "I'd spooked some by pitching and boat position was critical."
> Cranking gear: 6'6" medium-heavy G. Loomis spinning rod, Team Daiwa spinning reel, 14-pound P-Line fluorocarbon line, Rapala Original Floater (silver).
> He said he fished the crankbait with a steady retrieve, but gave it an occasional jerk. Those fish were relating to seawalls at the backs of the canals.
The Bottom Line
> Main factor in his success – "Finding the flipping pattern was critical, as was the last-minute decision on the last day to go to the canals and get out of the wind."
> Performance edge – "It was the whole package – the boat and motor, the Daiwa equipment and the Power Pro line I was using."
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Final Standings
(Note: Top finisher from each division qualified for 2010 Bassmaster Classic)
1. Randy Phillips -- Oxford, Mass. (MA) -- Eastern -- 13, 31-01 -- $60,000
2. Don Hogue -- Pasco, Wash. (WA) -- Western -- 13, 29-01 -- $5,000
3. Jody Adkins -- North Canton, Ohio (OH) -- Northern -- 13, 28-03 -- $2,500
4. Brent Long -- Cornelius, N.C. (SC) -- Southern -- 12, 28-00 -- $1,000
5. Skip Sjobeck -- Randolph, Vt. (VT) -- Eastern -- 6, 26-07 -- $1,500
6. Chuck Murray -- Louisburg, N.C. (NC) -- Southern -- 15, 25-07 -- $500
7. Jeff Freeman -- Max Meadows, Va. (VA) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 14, 24-05 -- $1,000
8. Randy Wieczorek -- Buffalo City, Wisc. (MN) -- Northern -- 13, 24-05 -- $500
9. Brian Hensley -- Edwardsburg, Mich. (IN) -- Northern -- 15, 24-00 -- $500
10. Ron Cherkas -- Grimes, Iowa (IA) -- Northern -- 12, 23-13 -- $500
11. Gerry Jooste -- Harare, Zimbabwe (ZWE) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 15, 23-02 -- $500
12. Bryan Schmidt -- Olney, Texas (TX) -- Central -- 11, 23-00 -- $250
13. Samuel Anthony -- Independence, La. (LA) -- Central -- 9, 20-07 -- $250
14. Matt Massey -- Lakewood, Colo. (CO) -- Western -- 8, 20-07 -- $250
15. Brandon Card -- Lexington, Ky. (KY) -- Southern -- 14, 19-11 -- $250
16. Wes Haney -- Baldwin, Wisc. (WI) -- Northern -- 10, 19-08 -- $250
17. Scott Weiland -- Saddle Brook, N.J. (NJ) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 9, 19-03 -- $250
18. Jacopo Gallelli -- Firenze, Italy (ITA) -- Northern -- 6, 19-00 -- $750
19. Tom Jessop -- Dalhart, Texas (TX) -- Central -- 10, 18-08 -- $250
20. Kenneth Pannell -- Springville, Ala. (AL) -- Southern -- 10, 17-09 -- $250
21. Brandon Rose -- Saginaw, Mich. (MI) -- Northern -- 15, 17-03 -- $250
22. John Soukup -- Agra, Okla. (OK) -- Central -- 11, 16-15 -- $250
23. Jared Taliaferro -- Rogers, Ark. (AR) -- Central -- 12, 16-03 -- $250
24. Tim Dolon -- Cherryville, Pa. (PA) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 13, 15-07 -- $250
25. Mark Desjardin -- Vassalboro, Maine (ME) -- Eastern -- 11, 15-01 -- $250
26. Mike Wolfenden -- Warwick, R.I. (RI) -- Eastern -- 9, 13-14 -- $250
27. Mamoru Suzuki -- Tokyo, Japan (JPN) -- Western -- 8, 13-11 -- $250
28. Samuel Russell -- Salt Lake City, Utah (WY) -- Western -- 10, 13-07 -- $250
29. Brett Quader -- Pasadena, Md. (MD) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 10, 12-12 -- $250
30. Joe Matt -- Syracuse, N.Y. (NY) -- Eastern -- 8, 12-09 -- $250
31. Chris Neely -- Chattahoochee, Fla. (GA) -- Southern -- 10, 12-02 -- $250
32. Al Gambardella -- North Haven, Conn. (CT) -- Eastern -- 7, 11-11 -- $250
33. Jay Ladner -- Kiln, Miss. (MS) -- Central -- 6, 11-05 -- $250
34. Paul Reutlinger -- West Jordan, Utah (UT) -- Western -- 9, 11-02 -- $250
35. Don Denault -- Delmar, Md. (DE) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 8, 10-07 -- $250
36. Mark Warner -- Overland Park, Kan. (KS) -- Central -- 6, 10-03 -- $250
37. David Boyd -- Quincy, Fla. (FL) -- Southern -- 7, 10-01 -- $250
38. Ben Grande -- Las Vegas, Nev. (NV) -- Western -- 8, 10-00 -- $250
39. Nick Wood -- Yreka, Calif. (CA) -- Western -- 7, 9-13 -- $250
40. Leroy Starling -- Whitefish, Mont. (MT) -- Western -- 8, 9-12 -- $250
41. Tyler Hanatow -- Alstead, N.H. (NH) -- Eastern -- 6, 9-12 -- $250
42. Richard Risewick -- Norton, Kan. (NE) -- Central -- 9, 9-11 -- $250
43. Dave Johnson -- Keswick, Canada (ON) -- Eastern -- 7, 9-10 -- $250
44. Shane Cowan -- Pierre, S.D. (SD) -- Northern -- 5, 9-10 -- $250
45. Gerald Sobkowiak -- Granville, Ill. (IL) -- Northern -- 6, 9-07 -- $250
46. Rick Hamer -- Charleston, W.Va. (WV) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 5, 9-06 -- $250
47. Byron Chaves -- Salem, Ore. (OR) -- Western -- 6, 9-01 -- $250
48. Justy Varkevisser -- Edenvale, South Africa (SA) -- Southern -- 6, 8-15 -- $250
49. John Clark -- Bossier City, La. (PVA champion) -- Mid-Atlantic -- 7, 8-05 -- $250
50. Russell Matt -- Saint Joseph, Mo. (MO) -- Central -- 7, 7-09 -- $250
51. Ben Parker -- Union City, Tenn. (TN) -- Southern -- 6, 6-14 -- $250
52. Owen Lounsbury -- St Maries, Idaho (ID) -- Western -- 5, 5-09 -- $250
53. Chuck Rizuto -- Navajo Dam, N.M. (NM) -- Western -- 4, 2-13 -- $250
54. Jeff Guerrette -- Glendale, Ariz. (AZ) -- Western -- 2, 2-06 -- $250
Big Bass
Day 3: Jacopo Gallelli -- Firenze, Italy (ITA) -- 8-12 -- $500
Day 2: Jeff Freeman -- Max Meadows, Va. (VA) -- 5-11 -- $500
Day 1: Skip Sjobeck -- Randolph, Vt. (VT) -- 9-05 -- $500
