Big Final Day Vaults Texan Ben Matsubu to Victory in Bassmaster Elite Series Lake Toho Event
Ben Matsubu, winner of the Bassmaster Elite Series Sunshine Showdown
All the drama of the Sunshine Showdown can be viewed on The Bassmasters on ESPN2 on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. ET.
Matsubu's Berkley Heavyweight Bag of the Day — the biggest of the tournament — was anchored by the tournament's biggest bass of 8-13. The Hemphill, Texas, pro finished with a four-day total weight of 66-8 to win the season-ending Bassmaster Elite Series event. Matsubu's second career victory and first Elite Series win was worth a total of $111,000.
Bill Smith of Somerset, Ky., was second at 52-7. Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan., who had a 1-pound lead over Matsubu going into the final day, was third at 52-5, followed by Glenn Delong of Bellville, Ohio, at 50-9 and Scott Rook of Little Rock, Ark., at 41-9.
"I've struggled the last four years here in Florida. I can't figure out the fish here in spring," said Matsubu, 45. "But I've won the last two tournaments here in the fall."
Matsubu's first BASS tournament title was the Bassmaster Elite Series Wild-Card Qualifier last November on Florida's Harris Chain of Lakes.
Matsubu said he fished in the dead center of Lake Toho, where he had eight clumps of grass. He'd move from clump to clump until he found a concentration of fish. The first day Matsubu fished the area for about an hour because he already had a nice limit fishing a different spot with an RC 1.5 square bill crankbait.
"I gave the spot to Takahiro (Omori) so he could make the (Bassmaster) Classic," Matsubu said.
Matsubu ended the first day in third place at 16-1. He went to the area Friday, threw his crankbait all day and caught five fish weighing only 7-10 to drop to seventh place, nearly six pounds behind Chapman.
His co-angler that day, Mary Delgado, caught 14-7 on the same crankbait, then sat down and fished a Carolina rig while Matsubu continued to crank. That turned out to be one of the keys to Matsubu's victory.
"She'd drag that Carolina rig behind us and catch keepers," Matsubu said. "The next day I threw that crankbait for an hour and a half and didn't catch anything. Then I switched to a Carolina rig."
Fishing a junebug-colored finesse worm, Matsubu caught a limit weighing 17-8 Saturday to move into second behind Chapman.
"My goal was to get within three pounds of Brent," Matsubu said. "When I came from six pounds behind to one pound, I felt I had a chance at it."
Matsubu followed the same strategy Sunday, throwing his crankbait for 90 minutes, but he didn't get a bite. Then he switched to the Carolina rig and started hitting each of his clumps.
"I had to go to all of them today," Matsubu said. "I'd catch three or four fish, then wait two hours for them to bite again.
"At one spot I caught a 5-pounder, then got another 5 and a half. Two minutes later I caught a 1-pounder, then a 2 and a half. That was the end, so I went to the last clump in the area and that's when I got the 9."
Bill Smith, runner-up at the Sunshine Showdown presented by Allstate Boat Insurance
He caught some of his fish on a bait that is no longer made, a blue pearl-colored Bass Assassin soft-plastic jerkbait that he Texas-rigged with an eighth- or three-sixteenths-ounce sinker. He also caught fish on a junebug trick worm Texas-rigged with an eighth-ounce weight. Sunday he fished the trick worm on a Carolina rig.
"I was fishing a hydrilla bed with lily pads on the outside and outside the pads was a shell bed," said Smith, 36, who caught two 5-pounders. "I caught some fish inside, then moved out to the shell bed and that's where I got the two big ones."
Chapman had caught his bigger fish flipping a Zoom Super Hog and filled out his limit drop-shotting a 6-inch Zoom finesse worm at the south end of Lake Kissimmee. Sunday, only the drop shot was working.
"The thing that hurt me was I didn't get any of my flipping bites," said Chapman, 35, who caught five fish weighing 10-2 on the drop shot.
Location and Field
Sunshine Showdown
Lake Tohopekaliga
Kissimmee, FL
Sept. 13-16, 2007
Field
108 pros, 108 co-anglers
Cut to top 50 after Day 2
Cut to top 12 pro anglers after Day 3
Launch/Weigh-in
Kissimmee Lake Front Park
698 Lakeshore Blvd.
Kissimmee, Blvd. 34744
6:50 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. ET
Local sponsors: Central Florida Sports Commission and the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Bassmaster Elite Series sponsors: Sponsors of the Bassmaster Elite Series include Toyota Tundra, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Advance Auto Parts, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Evan Williams Bourbon, Ramada Worldwide and Costa Del Mar.
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2007 Sunshine Showdown 9/13-9/16 Lake Tohopekaliga, Kissimmee FL. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Ben Matsubu Hemphill, TX 20 66-08 305 $111,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 07-10 Day 3: 5 17-08 Day 4: 5 25-05 2. Bill Smith Jr. Somerset, KY 19 52-07 300 $31,000.00 Day 1: 5 18-06 Day 2: 5 10-12 Day 3: 4 06-10 Day 4: 5 16-11 3. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, KS 20 52-05 300 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 10-14 Day 2: 5 18-12 Day 3: 5 12-09 Day 4: 5 10-02 4. Glenn Delong Bellville, OH 20 50-09 285 $18,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 10-02 Day 3: 5 12-03 Day 4: 5 12-13 5. Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 18 41-09 280 $18,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 3 03-08 Day 3: 5 19-06 Day 4: 5 06-14 6. Jon Bondy Windsor CANADA 15 41-01 276 $16,500.00 Day 1: 3 08-15 Day 2: 4 15-14 Day 3: 4 06-06 Day 4: 4 09-14 7. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 17 40-14 272 $15,000.00 Day 1: 2 02-03 Day 2: 5 13-12 Day 3: 5 14-10 Day 4: 5 10-05 8. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 18 40-08 268 $15,500.00 Day 1: 5 08-10 Day 2: 3 05-10 Day 3: 5 19-01 Day 4: 5 07-03 9. Bradley Hallman Norman, OK 19 40-07 264 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 08-07 Day 2: 5 14-01 Day 3: 5 13-02 Day 4: 4 04-13 10. Cliff Pace Petal, MS 20 40-04 260 $13,500.00 Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 5 12-12 Day 3: 5 10-04 Day 4: 5 06-14 11. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 16 36-10 257 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 17-13 Day 2: 5 10-00 Day 3: 4 04-12 Day 4: 2 04-01 12. Mike Wurm Hot Springs, AR 17 35-14 254 $12,300.00 Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 5 11-15 Day 3: 5 10-10 Day 4: 2 03-02 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
PUROLATOR BIG BASS Day 1 Jim Murray Arabi, GA 07-06 $1,000.00 2 Jon Bondy Windsor CANADA 07-15 $1,000.00 3 James Niggemeyer Van, TX 07-15 $1,000.00 4 Ben Matsubu Hemphill, TX 08-13 $1,000.00
PUROLATOR BIG BASS OF TOURN Ben Matsubu Hemphill, TX 08-13 $1,000.00
BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT Day 1 Bill Smith Jr. Somerset, KY 18-06 $1,000.00 2 Pete Ponds Madison, MS 18-13 $1,000.00 3 Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 19-06 $1,000.00 4 Ben Matsubu Hemphill, TX 25-05 $1,000.00
BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT OF TOURN Ben Matsubu Hemphill, TX 25-05 $8,000.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 46 377 649-02 2 58 410 709-10 3 27 209 386-12 4 8 52 118-01 ---------------------------------- 139 1048 1863-09
2007 TOYOTA TUNDRA BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Skeet Reese Calif. 2827 2 Kevin VanDam Mich. 2709 3 Aaron Martens Ala. 2437 4 Terry Scroggins Fla. 2423 5 Jared Lintner Calif. 2357 6 Todd Faircloth Texas 2350 7 Scott Rook Ark. 2334 8 Brent Chapman Kan. 2279 9 Steve Kennedy Ala. 2271 9 Tommy Biffle Okla. 2271 11 Greg Hackney La. 2262 12 Fred Roumbanis Calif. 2241 13 Jeff Kriet Okla. 2236 14 Gary Klein Texas 2234 15 Ishama Monroe Calif. 2229 16 Cliff Pace Miss. 2224 17 Peter Thliveros Fla. 2211 17 Boyd Duckett Ala. 2211 19 Kelly Jordon Texas 2203 20 Chris Lane Fla. 2190 21 Kevin Wirth Ky. 2168 22 Stephen Browning Ark. 2156 23 John Murray Ariz. 2145 24 Edwin Evers Okla. 2143 25 Derek Remitz Texas 2131 26 Timmy Horton Ala. 2127 27 Takahiro Omori Texas 2109 28 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 2065 29 Matthew Sphar N.Y. 2046 30 Mike McClelland Ark. 2035 31 Alton Jones Texas 2033 32 Casey Ashley S.C. 2026 33 John Crews Va. 2016 34 Kevin Short Ark. 2013 35 Mike Wurm Ark. 2009 36 Gerald Swindle Ala. 2002 37 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 1986 38 Mark Menendez Ky. 1980 39 Dave Wolak N.C. 1970 40 Randy Howell Ala. 1957 41 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 1956 42 Mark Tyler Okla. 1955 43 Brian Snowden Mo. 1942 44 James Niggemeyer Texas 1941 44 Jason Williamson S.C. 1941 46 Jason Quinn S.C. 1936 47 Shaw Grigsby, Jr Fla. 1923 48 Scott Campbell Mo. 1920 49 Matt Reed Texas 1911 50 Bill Lowen Ohio 1909 51 Dean Rojas Texas 1904 52 Rick Morris Va. 1895 53 Davy Hite S.C. 1891 54 Bernie Schultz Fla. 1866 55 Kenyon Hill Okla. 1864 56 Britt Myers S.C. 1856 57 Ben Matsubu Texas 1854 58 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 1853 59 Bradley Hallman Okla. 1849 60 Denny Brauer Mo. 1841 61 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 1836 62 Paul Elias Miss. 1833 63 Mark Tucker Mo. 1828 64 Marty Robinson S.C. 1817 65 Pete Ponds Miss. 1801 66 Morizo Shimizu Calif. 1791 67 Rick Clunn Mo. 1780 68 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 1779 69 Russ Lane Ala. 1777 70 Jami Fralick S.D. 1761 71 Kurt Dove Va. 1723 72 Jeff Connella La. 1720 73 Ken Cook Okla. 1708 74 Jim Murray Ga. 1666 75 Preston Clark Fla. 1652 76 Jimmy Mize Ark. 1627 77 Lee Bailey Ala. 1623 78 Bryan Hudgins Fla. 1618 79 Charlie Hartley Ohio 1611 80 James Kennedy La. 1594 81 Glenn Delong Ohio 1583 82 Greg Gutierrez Calif. 1562 83 Ken Brodeur Conn. 1557 84 Grant Goldbeck Md. 1553 84 Bill Smith Ky. 1553 86 Paul Hirosky Pa. 1543 87 Terry Butcher Okla. 1529 88 Guy Eaker N.C. 1526 89 Kevin Langill N.C. 1518 90 Matt Amedeo Ohio 1493 91 Mark Rogers Fla. 1480 92 Marty Stone N.C. 1466 93 James Charlesworth Fla. 1462 94 Jon Bondy Canada 1428 95 Dave Smith Okla. 1426 96 Zell Rowland Texas 1409 97 Doc Merkin Ill. 1375 98 Darrin Schwenkbeck N.Y. 1373 99 Frank Scalish Ohio 1361 100 Steve Daniel Fla. 1335 101 Keith Phillips Ala. 1332 102 Jimmy Mason Ala. 1318 103 Bradley Stringer Texas 1244 104 Eric Nethery Ga. 1225 105 Charlie Youngers Fla. 1209 106 Rick Ash Pa. 1165 107 Byron Velvick Texas 1141 108 Elton Luce Jr Texas 929
2007 TOYOTA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR RACE ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Derek Remitz Texas 2131 2 Matthew Sphar N.Y. 2046 3 Casey Ashley S.C. 2026 4 Jason Williamson S.C. 1941 4 James Niggemeyer Texas 1941 6 Scott Campbell Mo. 1920 7 Marty Robinson S.C. 1817 8 Bryan Hudgins Fla. 1618 9 James Kennedy La. 1594 10 Glenn Delong Ohio 1583 11 Matt Amedeo Ohio 1493 12 James Charlesworth Fla. 1462
2007 TOYOTA MOVING FORWARD AWARD
--------------------------------------------------------- Place Name 2006 Finish 2007 Standings --------------------------------------------------------- 1 Fred Roumbanis 69 12 2 Chris Lane 61 20 3 Scott Rook 47 7 4 Kevin Short 67 34 4 Brent Chapman 41 8 6 Mark Menendez 68 38 7 Rick Morris 81 52 8 Terry Scroggins 31 4 9 Stephen Browning 45 22 10 Ishama Monroe 37 15 10 Gary Klein 36 14 10 Mark Tyler 64 42 13 Jeff Kriet 33 13 13 Britt Myers 76 56 15 Pete Ponds 83 65 16 Todd Faircloth 23 6 17 Ken Brodeur 98 83 18 Jared Lintner 18 5 19 Kurt Dove 82 71 19 Brian Snowden 54 43 21 Mark Rogers 99 91 21 Takahiro Omori 35 27 23 Skeet Reese 7 1 24 David Wolak 43 39 24 Grant Goldbeck 88 84 24 Timmy Horton 30 26 24 Charlie Hartley 83 79 28 Preston Clark 78 75 29 Peter E Thliveros 19 17 30 Kotaro Kiriyama 38 37 30 Kevin VanDam 3 2 30 Aaron Martens 4 3
2007 BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT AWARD STANDINGS
Place Name Lbs-Ozs ----------------------------------------------------------- 1 Kevin VanDam 381-07 2 Skeet Reese 366-05 3 Terry Scroggins 348-02 4 Aaron Martens 346-08 5 Derek Remitz 340-02 6 Fred Roumbanis 336-07 7 Cliff Pace 335-04 8 Jared Lintner 334-12 9 Steve Kennedy 334-05 10 Gary Klein 334-00
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