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BassFan World Rankings PRESENTED BY Under Armor

Updated: 1/28/2004

Jones Back In No. 2 Slot

Kevin VanDam still is the No. 1-ranked angler in the world following last week's Okeechobee FLW. But in part because he didn't fish that event, his 12- point margin over the No. 2 angler in the world, now Alton Jones, has shrunk by a third, to a little less than 8 points. But VanDam is fishing the Harris Chain Bassmaster this week, as are all the anglers in the Top 10 in the world except David Dudley.

Jones retakes the 2nd slot from Kelly Jordon, but not by much (0.006 points) partly due to his 12th-place finish at Okeechobee vs. Jordon's 33rd.

David Dudley continues to fish well, and moves up three spots to 5th in the world after finishing 3rd at Okeechobee.

Some jumping around in the rankings occurs as a result of Bassmaster-only or two-tour pros dropping finishes from late 2001, back when the first part of the Bassmaster Tour season was in the fall. Some examples:

> Zell Rowland jumps up from 11th to 5th in the world even though he didn't fish last week (he doesn't fish the FLW Tour) because he had two semi-bad finishes in late 2001. Losing those two finishes pops him up in the rankings, and indicates how strong his performance was last year.

> Jay Yelas drops to 9th because he lost two Top 10 finishes: one at the end of 2001 (9th at the Red River Bassmaster) and one at the beginning of 2002 (3rd at the Okeechobee FLW). He also didn't fish last week, so this week will be the first chance he has at replacing one of those Top 10s.

> John Murray rises to 8th even though he had an awful finish (131st) at Okeechobee, largely because he dropped two bad finishes at the end of 2001.

> Tim Horton drops to 11th in part because he lost his win at Lake Toho in December 2001.

> Larry Nixon (29th) stays exactly where he was even though he finished 9th at Okeechobee, in part because he dropped a 2nd-place finish at the December 2001 Toho Bassmaster.

Other notable items:

> Mike Wurm (18th) continues to drop because he didn't fish as well at the end of 2003 vs. 2002.

> Dean Rojas (32nd) drops 7 spots even though he finished high at Okeechobee (7th), in large part because of a lack of any championship points in 2003.

> Bear in mind that with the exception of 1st and 2nd, the point spread is very tight within the rankings so small losses or gains can result in movements of several places.

> Lee Bailey Jr. enters the rankings for the first time largely because of championship points earned by getting into the Bassmaster Classic via a non- tour mechanism (in his case, the Opens).

> Also bear in mind that some movement is delayed because this is a 2-year ranking (if it was more than 2 years, movement would be delayed even more).

> As always, angler movement will likely become less pronounced as the tour seasons progress.

About the Ranking Usage Policy

Current Rankings - 1/28/2004

Click a column heading to re-sort. Click an angler's name
to view his or her profile

Place Prior Start Angler City State Boat/Motor Points
187 -  -  Masaki Shimono Shiga-Pref Ranger 46.254
11 6 6 Tim Horton Muscle Shoals AL Nitro/Mercury 125.375
33 30 30 Gerald Swindle Warrior AL Phoenix/Mercury 108.753
34 28 28 Aaron Martens Leeds AL Phoenix/Mercury 108.665
39 37 37 Randy Howell Guntersville AL Triton/Mercury 106.612
65 74 74 Steve Kennedy Auburn AL Bass Cat/Yamaha 93.955
85 98 98 Dalton Bobo Northport AL Triton 84.868
124 120 120 Kotaro Kiriyama Moody AL Bass Cat/Yamaha 74.390
134 137 137 Warren Wyman Calera AL Ranger/Mercury 70.660
138 158 158 Greg Pugh Cullman AL Phoenix/Evinrude 69.091
139 140 140 Mark Rizk Arab AL Champion/Mercury 68.548
164 163 163 Johnny McCombs Mount Olive AL 56.852
167 179 179 Roger Schofield Killen AL 56.470
178 183 183 Rickie Harp Cottondale AL Triton/Mercury 52.226
9 9 9 Mark Davis Mt. Ida AR Bass Cat/Mercury 125.817
18 17 17 Mike Wurm Hot Springs AR Ranger/Evinrude 116.962
25 21 21 Ron Shuffield Bismarck AR Ranger/Evinrude 113.723
29 29 29 Larry Nixon Quitman AR Ranger/Mercury 112.585
46 44 44 Keith Williams Conway AR Ranger/Yamaha 101.329
52 52 52 Rob Kilby Hot Springs AR Ranger/Mercury 99.113
69 62 62 George Cochran Hot Springs AR Ranger/Evinrude 91.156
71 89 89 Stephen Browning Hot Springs AR Ranger/Mercury 90.234
87 87 87 Wesley Burnett Hot Springs AR Ranger/Yamaha 84.028
142 134 134 Scott Rook Little Rock AR Ranger/Mercury 67.103
143 142 142 Mark Rose Wynne AR Bass Cat/Mercury 66.949
149 159 159 Jerry Williams Conway AR 63.641
154 144 144 Jim Nolan Bull Shoals AR Ranger/Evinrude 62.333
157 146 146 Keith Green Arkadelphia AR 61.015
175 180 180 Doug Garrett Cabot AR 54.642
188 176 176 Eddie Woody N. Little Rock AR 45.717
189 181 181 Greg Carpenter Royal AR 44.979
32 25 25 Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City AZ Blazer/Suzuki 108.811
54 41 41 Andre Moore Scottsdale AZ Legend/Evinrude 97.671
119 130 130 Brett Hite Phoenix AZ Vexus/Mercury 76.325
12 26 26 Skeet Reese Auburn CA Ranger/Mercury 123.024
41 59 59 Ish Monroe Hughson CA Skeeter/Yamaha 102.948
74 53 53 Robert Lee Angels Camp CA Bass Cat/Mercury 89.299
84 -  -  Lee Bailey, Jr. Amston CT Legend/Mercury 85.263
169 153 153 Terry Baksay Easton CT Skeeter/Yamaha 56.152
20 38 38 Shaw E. Grigsby, Jr. Gainesville FL Triton/Mercury 114.855
23 20 20 Roland Martin Naples FL Nitro/Mercury 114.059
28 36 36 Peter Thliveros Jacksonville FL Ranger/Evinrude 112.942
35 46 46 Scott Martin Clewiston FL Skeeter/Yamaha 108.107
37 71 71 Jim Bitter Fruitland Park FL Ranger/Mercury 106.760
59 67 67 Mike Surman Boca Raton FL Ranger/Evinrude 94.816
80 70 70 Bernie Schultz Gainesville FL Ranger/Mercury 86.882
82 112 112 Koby Kreiger Bokeelia FL Ranger/Evinrude 85.345
86 118 118 J.T. Kenney Palm Bay FL Ranger/Mercury 84.774
114 81 81 Roger Crafton Boca Grande FL Ranger/Evinrude 77.293
115 125 125 Sandy Melvin Boca Grande FL Ranger/Yamaha 77.274
130 149 149 Mark Rogers Naples FL Gambler/Mercury 72.007
140 141 141 Robert Beatty Clermont FL 68.245
152 127 127 Chuck Economou Redington Bch. FL 62.433
160 154 154 Steve Daniel Clewiston FL Triton/Mercury 59.708
168 174 174 Charlie Youngers Oviedo FL Triton/Mercury 56.354
170 162 162 Terry Segraves Kissimmee FL Ranger/Evinrude 55.916
193 196 196 Sean Stickler Ft. Lauderdale FL 42.628
48 50 50 Tom Mann, Jr. Buford GA Ranger/Evinrude 100.606
62 48 48 Pat Fisher Dacula GA Ranger/Yamaha 94.362
72 55 55 Stanley Mitchell Fitzgerald GA Ranger 89.900
81 103 103 Allen Armour Norcross GA Ranger 86.705
88 80 80 Jimmy Millsaps Canton GA Ranger/Evinrude 84.010
103 84 84 Mickey Bruce Buford GA Stratos 79.908
109 92 92 Donald Eaton Covington GA Ranger 78.424
110 110 110 Danny Kirk Bartow GA Ranger 78.412
135 131 131 Tony Couch Buckhead GA Ranger 70.123
163 157 157 Mark Hardin Jasper GA Ranger/Yamaha 57.289
165 168 168 Johnny Lesesne Blue Ridge GA 56.787
171 171 171 Jim Murray, Jr. Arabi GA 55.404
180 190 190 Michael Johnson Talking Rock GA Skeeter/Yamaha 50.775
70 56 56 Wes Thomas Hanover IN Ranger 90.589
93 79 79 Shad Schenck Waynetown IN Ranger/Mercury 82.568
101 111 111 Chip Harrison, Jr. Bremen IN Ranger/Yamaha 80.497
159 156 156 David Lauer South Bend IN 60.278
27 19 19 Brent Chapman Lenexa KS Triton/Mercury 113.198
172 160 160 Cecil Kingsley Lawrence KS 55.225
198 195 195 James Sprague Kansas City KS 38.965
21 24 24 Mark Menendez Paducah KY Skeeter/Yamaha 114.805
40 18 18 Dan Morehead Paducah KY Ranger/Evinrude 103.361
49 68 68 Kevin Wirth Crestwood KY Triton/Mercury 99.930
98 104 104 Jack A. Gadlage Benton KY Ranger/Yamaha 81.814
104 90 90 Randy Alexander London KY 79.582
113 69 69 Terry Bolton, Jr. Paducah KY Ranger/Evinrude 77.588
116 113 113 Mike Auten Benton KY Skeeter/Yamaha 77.013
13 13 13 Greg Hackney Gonzales LA Phoenix/Mercury 122.911
19 33 33 Roger Boler Slidell LA Skeeter/Yamaha 115.861
177 166 166 Sam Swett Covington LA Ranger/Evinrude 52.285
179 187 187 Mark Sabbides Bastrop LA ProCraft 51.753
190 -  -  Homer Humphreys, Jr. Minden LA Bass Cat/Mercury 44.353
131 128 128 Danny Correia Marlboro MA Skeeter/Yamaha 71.081
196 -  -  Al Gagliarducci Agawam MA 39.302
158 143 143 Frank Ippoliti Mt. Airy MD Bass Cat/Mercury 61.007
174 155 155 Aaron A. Hastings Boonsboro MD Ranger/Evinrude 54.934
1 1 1 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo MI Nitro/Mercury 153.260
120 96 96 Kevin Vida Clare MI Ranger/Yamaha 76.280
155 145 145 Kim Stricker Howell MI 61.413
161 184 184 Gerald Gostenik Dearborn MI Triton/Mercury 59.118
191 194 194 Art Ferguson III St. Clair Shores MI Triton/Mercury 43.173
73 78 78 Jim Moynagh Carver MN Ranger/Yamaha 89.798
42 32 32 John Sappington Willard MO Ranger/Evinrude 102.496
57 57 57 Rick Clunn Ava MO Nitro/Mercury 95.071
67 54 54 Dion Hibdon Sunrise Beach MO Ranger/Evinrude 92.207
76 77 77 Randy Blaukat Joplin MO Ranger/Mercury 88.201
92 119 119 Stacey D. King Reeds Spring MO Nitro/Mercury 82.811
94 91 91 Randall Hutson Washburn MO Ranger/Mercury 82.303
95 73 73 Guido Hibdon Gravois Mills MO Ranger/Evinrude 81.924
96 99 99 Brian Snowden Reeds Springs MO Nitro/Mercury 81.869
102 116 116 Denny Brauer Camdenton MO Ranger/Evinrude 80.046
156 151 151 Chad Brauer Osage Beach MO Ranger/Evinrude 61.065
166 165 165 Mark Tucker Kirkwood MO Bass Cat/Mercury 56.763
173 164 164 Eric Holt Galena MO Ranger/Yamaha 55.033
195 191 191 Ralph Laster, Jr. Camdenton MO 41.122
197 198 198 Tim Sainato Branson MO 39.272
38 42 42 Paul Elias Laurel MS Bass Cat/Honda 106.620
133 170 170 Tim Loper Terry MS Bass Cat/Mercury 70.827
200 192 192 Jeff Magee Mendenhall MS 37.669
10 10 10 Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount NC Skeeter/Yamaha 125.682
22 23 23 Todd Auten Gastonia NC Ranger/Mercury 114.708
47 49 49 Alvin Shaw State Road NC Ranger/Evinrude 100.791
58 64 64 Chris Elliott Gloucester NC Ranger/Yamaha 95.030
75 85 85 Tracy Adams Wilkesboro NC Nitro/Mercury 88.244
97 93 93 David Fritts Lexington NC Ranger/Evinrude 81.843
108 75 75 Joel G. Richardson Kernersville NC Ranger/Yamaha 78.963
111 124 124 Guy Eaker Cherryville NC Triton/Mercury 78.385
117 72 72 Chris Baumgardner Gastonia NC Ranger/Evinrude 76.916
126 122 122 Chris Daniels Clayton NC Ranger 72.994
127 129 129 Marty Stone Linden NC Bass Cat/Mercury 72.630
128 117 117 David Cooke Davidson NC Ranger 72.579
136 121 121 Ken Strickland Oak Ridge NC Ranger 69.341
141 132 132 Jeffrey Thomas Broadway NC Ranger/Yamaha 68.099
146 188 188 Robert Karbas, Jr. Wake Forest NC Ranger/Evinrude 64.696
194 197 197 Scott Browning Franklin NC 42.197
61 58 58 Rick Lillegard Atkinson NH Ranger/Yamaha 94.583
68 60 60 Michael Iaconelli Pittsgrove NJ Bass Cat/Yamaha 92.164
150 139 139 Pete Gluszek Franklinville NJ Bass Cat/Evinrude 62.539
184 186 186 Tom Dolin Palatine Bridge NY 47.141
63 86 86 Joe Thomas Milford OH Ranger/Evinrude 94.234
107 82 82 Dale Teaney Williamsburg OH Ranger 78.968
132 123 123 Frank Scalish Cleveland Heights OH Legend/Mercury 71.057
176 173 173 Charlie Hartley Grove City OH Ranger/Mercury 52.973
14 7 7 Tommy Biffle Wagoner OK Ranger/Mercury 122.114
15 16 16 Kenyon Hill Norman OK Triton/Yamaha 120.828
17 14 14 Edwin Evers Talala OK Nitro/Mercury 118.603
26 39 39 Jeff Kriet Ardmore OK Triton/Yamaha 113.720
66 51 51 Harmon Davis Marlow OK Ranger/Yamaha 93.037
77 88 88 O.T. Fears III Sallisaw OK Ranger/Mercury 88.200
79 135 135 Mark Tyler Vian OK Bass Cat/Mercury 87.711
89 66 66 Sam Newby Pocola OK Ranger/Yamaha 83.720
99 94 94 Darrel Robertson Jay OK Ranger/Yamaha 80.966
121 100 100 Ken Cook Meers OK Triton/Mercury 74.956
123 108 108 Mark Goines Shady Point OK Ranger/Mercury 74.619
148 148 148 Joel Baker Talala OK 64.253
162 177 177 Jim Carnell Muskogee OK 58.187
185 193 193 Jimmy Houston Cookson OK Ranger/Mercury 47.047
186 172 172 Marty Fourkiller Cyril OK 46.749
199 -  -  Dave Smith Del City OK Ranger/Mercury 38.956
7 5 5 Jay Yelas Lincoln City OR Skeeter/Yamaha 128.971
129 126 126 Jack Bell Kane PA Ranger/Evinrude 72.513
78 83 83 Anthony Gagliardi Prosperity SC Falcon/Evinrude 87.969
83 45 45 Davy Hite Ninety Six SC Phoenix/Evinrude 85.290
118 105 105 Ray Sedgwick Cross SC Triton/Mercury 76.492
122 152 152 Ricky Shumpert Lexington SC Stratos/Yamaha 74.940
192 175 175 Carl Maxfield Summerville SC 42.852
8 12 12 John Murray Spring City TN Ranger/Mercury 126.050
31 22 22 Wesley Strader Spring City TN Ranger/Evinrude 110.669
36 47 47 David Walker Sevierville TN Ranger/Evinrude 107.968
44 40 40 Andy Morgan Dayton TN Bullet/Evinrude 102.050
50 102 102 Jack L. Wade Knoxville TN Ranger/Evinrude 99.481
55 76 76 Tommy Stiles McMinnville TN Triton/Mercury 96.520
112 114 114 Dwayne Horton Knoxville TN Ranger/Mercury 78.096
137 147 147 Charles Ingram Santa Fe TN Ranger/Honda 69.141
147 107 107 Craig Powers Rockwood TN Ranger/Yamaha 64.491
2 3 3 Alton Jones, Sr. Waco TX Ranger/Mercury 145.504
3 2 2 Kelly Jordon Mineola TX Bass Cat/Mercury 145.498
4 4 4 Gary Klein Mingus TX Triton/Mercury 136.365
6 11 11 Zell Rowland Montgomery TX Skeeter/Yamaha 129.493
16 27 27 Todd Faircloth Jasper TX Skeeter/Yamaha 120.458
24 15 15 Clark Wendlandt Cedar Park TX Ranger/Evinrude 113.947
30 35 35 Bud Pruitt Spring TX Skeeter/Yamaha 112.461
43 43 43 Mike Hawkes Sabinal TX Skeeter/Yamaha 102.180
45 34 34 David Wharton Sam Rayburn TX Nitro/Mercury 101.806
56 65 65 Elton Luce, Jr. Brookeland TX Bass Cat/Mercury 95.973
60 63 63 Takahiro Omori Emory TX Bass Cat/Yamaha 94.604
64 61 61 Gary Yamamoto Mineola TX Legend/Yamaha 94.183
100 109 109 Ben Matsubu Hemphill TX Legend/Mercury 80.649
105 97 97 Mark Pack Mineola TX Ranger/Yamaha 79.409
106 95 95 Jim Tutt Longview TX Ranger/Evinrude 79.011
144 138 138 Yusuke Miyazaki Mineola TX Skeeter/Yamaha 66.099
145 150 150 Carl Svebek III Orange TX Ranger/Mercury 65.727
153 136 136 Tommy Martin Hemphill TX Nitro/Mercury 62.366
182 178 178 Randy Dearman Onalaska TX 49.438
183 182 182 Darren Wolf Longview TX 48.572
5 8 8 David Dudley Lynchburg VA Ranger/Mercury 131.765
53 -  -  Woo Daves Spring Grove VA Nitro/Mercury 98.104
90 106 106 Curt Lytle Suffolk VA Ranger/Yamaha 83.670
91 101 101 John Crews, Jr. Salem VA Bass Cat/Mercury 83.008
125 133 133 Rick Morris Bracey VA Falcon/Mercury 73.262
151 189 189 Mike Hicks Richmond VA 62.533
181 169 169 Jimmi Leuthner Vernon VT 50.467
51 31 31 Bill Chapman Salt Rock WV Bass Cat/Evinrude 99.387

About the World Rankings

The BassFan World Rankings were created in 2001 to answer a simple question - who is the best professional bass angler in the world? - and to give fishing fans a way to track their favorite pros, as well as to show the non-fishing world that consistently catching fish isn't "just luck".


While the three leagues - Major League Fishing, B.A.S.S. and FLW - have their own single-year point races (called Angler of the Year races, which are not rankings), and "power rankings" have occasionally up in the sport, these are not World Rankings. World Rankings in all professional sports are complex, multi-year statistical endeavors simply because that's the only way to accurately and fairly show consistent performance over time.


Until BassFan did it, no one produced a statistical, multi-year ranking system for professional bass fishing using results from the top tours. These are the MLF Bass Pro Tour, Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW Tour. The BassFan World Rankings will also include results from other competitive (i.e., non-exhibition) tournaments that feature the world's top pros.



How

Here's a brief overview of what's involved in calculating the BassFan World Rankings. (For confidentiality reasons, the proprietary methodology won't be discussed in detail.)


  • The rankings are based on angler performance in top-level Bass Pro Tour, B.A.S.S. and FLW events. These events are the top competitions in the sport and attract the top fishermen.
  • Events are weighted based on strength of field (calculated using the BassFan World Rank of everyone in the field) and size of field, meaning that it's easier to do well in smaller-field events than larger-field ones.
  • Bonus points are given for winning and for placing in the top 10 percent in all regular-season events. No bonuses are given for league Angler of the Year awards, points or standings because that data is already accounted for in the World Rankings methodology.
  • Championships are treated differently than regular-season tournaments.
  • The BassFan World Rankings methodology ensures that anglers who fish only one circuit are not at a disadvantage versus anglers who fish more than one. Rather, anglers who fish more events have more chances to do better (or worse) than anglers who fish fewer events. A simple example: six 5th-place finishes are better than three, and four 100th-place finishes are worse than two.
  • The rankings use data from the current and immediately prior years only (a rolling 2-calendar year cycle).
  • The rankings are not an indication of who is/was the best bass angler ever. That is not a World Rankings. It's a list.
  • As with all World Rankings in all sports, the methodology used in the BassFan World Rankings calculation will change over time based on feedback from interested parties.
  • Bassmaster Opens, FLW Series (formerly Stren/EverStart) and Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament data are not included in the BassFan World Rankings because these are "minor-league" or "triple-A" events.

Everything on BassFan.com, including the various BassFan ranking methodologies, is copyright Kroenke Sports and Entertainment except where noted (notably photo credits). Members of accredited media may use BassFan content with few restrictions (see the Media Center page for more details). Any use of BassFan content not explicitly permitted by BassFan is a breach of copyright law and will be prosecuted as such.

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