Posted by Edward D. Bohn from 152.163.204.206 on April 28, 2001 at 09:47:10:
BY:Tim Hipps, AP, The Jackson Sun
BC-FISH--BASS Federation Championships
B.A.S.S. Federation Championship Day 1 MOBILE, Ala. (AP) _ First-day leader Michael Holt hopes to make history in the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society's Federation Championship this weekend on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta.
Holt, 43, of Lexington, Tenn., caught his limit of five bass Thursday that weighed 11 pounds, 12 ounces, including a 3-pound, 13-ounce largemouth the biggest catch of opening day. "I would really like to win this because it would be a record-book thing," said Holt, a telephone technician who won this tournament in 1993 at Pine Bluff, Ark. "Nobody's ever won a national twice, and that's really driving me. I remember winning the other one like it was yesterday."
Marco Rodriguez, 36, of Nyassa, Ore., is in second place with four fish weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Rusty Jacobsen of Hillsboro, Ore., Todd Serfoss of Aberdeen, S.D., and Kevin Rathke of Albion, Ind.
The field of 51 fishermen represent 46 states, Ontario, Canada, and national champions from Japan, South Africa, Italy and Zimbabwe. They are divided into five geographical divisions for the sake of qualifying for the BASS Masters Classic Aug. 2-4 in New Orleans. Each regional winner here advances to the world's richest bass tournament in the Big Easy.
Holt, hailing from the Southern division, is joined by first-day regional leaders Rodriguez (Western), Serfoss (Northern), Jody Linder of Ponca City, Okla. (Central), and Bill Lentine of Woburn, Mass. (Eastern).
"I had a limit by 10 o'clock this morning, and I culled the rest of the day," Holt said. "I probably had 12 or 15 keepers and about eight or 10 small bass.
Then there were two that got away.
"Those two son-of-a-gun bass," Holt said. "That really hurt. And I know I won't catch them tomorrow because one has a jig stuck in his head and the other one's pinned shut with a crankbait, so there's no way I'll catch them unless I snag 'em.
"I know a lot of people saw me today, and I'm sure they're going to swarm me. I'll just have to out-fish them."
The three-day tournament resumes Friday and concludes Saturday, with weigh-in set for 2:30 p.m. each day inside Mobile Convention Center