ESPN Elite Series

What's at stake:
$673,150 in cash to the top 50 Elite pros and valuable points towards qualifying in the Bassmaster Majors and the race for the Bassmaster Angler of the Year award. The top 50 co-anglers compete for $122,250 in cash and merchandise.

Telecast:
The "Battle on the Border" will be aired on The Bassmasters on March 17 at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

The Pros Said It
"My expectations are to win this event again. This lake is my style of fishing. It's a clear-water lake and it's deep. There are a more bedding fish but they're not staging up shallow like last year. There will always be fish shallow, but the bigger bass just haven't moved in yet. With the weather warming up, it could end up just like last year." — Ish Monroe, 33, Hughson, Calif., 2006 "Battle on the Border" winner, ranked 52nd on the Bassmaster Elite Series Power Index

"The bite is off because of the cold weather, but Lake Amistad has so many big fish you won't see the leaders' weights drop. I'm just not catching numbers like they did last year. It was stacked tight because everyone was catching them, but this year that won't be the case. It's not as easy to catch a limit and you won't see everyone with 18 to 20 pounds a day this year." — Boyd Duckett, 46, Demopolis, Ala., 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion and Bassmaster Elite Series rookie

"After last year, seeing all those big weights come in, I know that I've got to target big fish. I caught 40 or 50 last year and a lot of 3-to-4-pound bass, but that didn't do me any good at all. You can only weigh in five fish and you'll have to have five really good fish to do well here. It's tough to do because you want to catch 20 or 30 a day and you really have to make yourself be patient to target bigger fish, not numbers. There are a lot more boats out on the water too. An awful lot of people have discovered this little jewel." — Davy Hite, 41, Ninety Six, S.C., 1999 Bassmaster Classic champion ranked 25th on the Bassmaster Elite Series Power Index

The Strategy
Monroe: Monroe said he doesn't have a primary pattern just yet. He's fishing a variety of lures, rods and reels and trying different things to entice the bigger bass. The two-time BASS winner feels that the gradual change to warmer weather throughout the competition will improve conditions and by Saturday expects anglers to bring in heavy five-fish limits.

Duckett: Duckett said he is changing locations often and says that he hasn't found what he feels is the winning pattern yet. He says the fish are scattered right now and he's got a pattern to catch a few big ones, but he's still scrambling trying to figure them out.

Hite: Hite said he is fishing water 30 to 40 feet deep and targeting big bass. He's fishing a variety of lures including jigs, worms, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. He hasn't quite figured out which pattern will work best and hopes to have it figured out by the end of practice. Hite believes it will take over 100 pounds to win the tournament and around 20 pounds a day to make the top 50 cut.

Location and Field
Battle on the Border — Bassmaster Elite Series
Lake Amistad
Del Rio, Texas
March 8-11

Field
108 pros, 108 co-anglers
Cut to top 50 after Day 2
Cut to top 12 pro anglers after Day 3

Launch
Lake Amistad Resort & Marina
16 East Diablo
Del Rio, Texas 78841
6:50 a.m. CT

Weigh-in
Lake Amistad Resort & Marina
16 East Diablo
Del Rio, Texas 78841
3 p.m. CT

Background
Previous BASS events
2007 Mercury Marine Women's Bassmaster Tour
2006 Bassmaster Elite Series Battle on the Border

Previous winners on lake
56-8, Juanita Robinson, 2007
104-8, Ish Monroe, 2006

Heaviest winning weight
104-8, Ish Monroe, 2006

Lowest winning weight
56-8, Juanita Robinson, 2007

Weather
Temperature
77 degrees

Lake level
1,117 ft. above mean sea level

Local sponsors: Local sponsors include the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce.

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 and Costa Del Mar.

Bassmaster Elite Series Anglers:
1.	  Matt Amedeo				Akron, Ohio
2.	  Rick Ash				Pottstown, Pa.  
3.	  Casey Ashley				Donalds, S.C. 
4.	  Lee Bailey				Boaz, Ala.	
5.	  Tommy Biffle				Wagoner, Okla.
6.	  Jon Bondy				Windsor, Ontario
7.	  Denny Brauer				Camdenton, Mo.
8.	  Ken Brodeur				Niantic, Conn.
9.	  Stephen Browning			Hot Springs, Ark.
10.	  Terry Butcher				Talala, Okla. 
11.	  Scott Campbell			Springfield, Mo.  
12.	  Brent Chapman				Lake Quivira, Ks.
13.	  James Charlesworth			St. Cloud, Fla.
14.	  Preston Clark				Palatka, Fla.
15.	  Rick Clunn				Ava, Mo.
16.	  Jeff Connella				Bentley, La.
17.	  Ken Cook				Meers, Okla.
18.	  John Crews				Salem, Va.
19.	  Steve Daniel				Clewiston, Fla.
20.	  Glenn DeLong				Bellville, Ohio
21.	  Kurt Dove				Warrenton, Va.  
22.	  Boyd Duckett				Demopolis, Ala.
23.	  Guy Eaker				Cherryville, N.C.  
24.	  Paul Elias				Pachuta, Miss.
25.	  Edwin Evers 				Talala, Okla.
26.	  Todd Faircloth			Jasper, Texas
27.	  Jami Fralick				Martin, S.D.
28.	  Grant Goldbeck			Gaithersburg, Md.
29.	  Shaw Grigsby				Gainesville, Fla.
30.	  Greg Gutierrez			Red Bluff, Calif.
31.	  Greg Hackney 				Gonzales, La.
32.	  Bradley Hallman			Norman, Okla.
33.	  Charlie Hartley			Grove City, Ohio
34.	  Kenyon Hill				Norman, Okla.
35.	  Paul Hirosky				Guys Mills, Pa.  
36.	  Davy Hite				Ninety Six, S.C.
37.	  Timmy Horton				Muscle Shoals, Ala.
38.	  Randy Howell				Springville, Ala.
39.	  Bryan Hudgins				Orange Park, Fla
40.	  Michael Iaconelli 			Runnemede, N.J.
41.	  Alton Jones				Waco, Tex.
42.	  Kelly Jordon				Mineola, Texas
43.	  James Kennedy				Lacombe, La.  
44.	  Steve Kennedy				Auburn, Ala.
45.	  Kotaro Kiriyama			Moody, Ala.
46.	  Gary Klein				Weatherford, Texas
47.	  Jeff Kriet 				Ardmore, Okla.
48.	  Chris Lane				Winter Haven, Fla.
49.	  Russ Lane				Prattville, Ala.
50.	  Kevin Langill				Terrell, N.C.
51.	  Jared Lintner				Arroyo Grande, Calif.
52.	  Bill Lowen				Cincinnati, Ohio
53.	  Elton Luce Jr.			Brookeland, Texas
54.	  Aaron Martens				Leeds, Ala.
55.	  Jimmy Mason				Rogersville, Ala.  
56.	  Ben Matsubu				Hemphill, Texas
57.	  Mike McClelland			Bella Vista, Ark.
58.	  Mark Menendez				Paducah, Ky.
59.	  Doc Merkin				Downers Groove, Ill.  
60.	  Yusuke Miyazaki			Mineola, Texas
61.	  Jimmy Mize				Ben Lomond, Ark.
62.	  Ish Monroe				Hughson, Calif.
63.	  Rick Morris				Virginia Beach, Va.
64.	  Jim Murray				Arabi, Ga. 
65.	  John Murray				Phoenix, Ariz.
66.	  Britt Myers				Mt. Holly, N.C.
67.	  Eric Nethery				Acworth, Ga.  
68.	  James Niggemeyer			Lindale, Texas
69.	  Takahiro Omori			Emory, Texas
70.	  Cliff Pace				Petal, Miss.   .  
71.	  Keith Phillips			Calera, Ala.
72.	  Pete Ponds				Madison, Miss.
73.	  Jason Quinn				Lake Wylie, S.C.
74.	  Matt Reed				Madisonville, Texas
75.	  Skeet Reese 				Auburn, Calif.
76.	  Derek Remitz				Hemphill, Texas
77.	  Jeff Reynolds				Idabel, Okla.
78.	  Marty Robinson			Landrum, S.C.
79.	  Mark Rogers				Naples, Fla.  
80.	  Dean Rojas				Lake Havasu, Ariz.
81.	  Scott Rook				Little Rock, Ark.
82.	  Fred Roumbanis			Auburn, Calif.
83.	  Zell Rowland				Montgomery, Texas
84.	  Frank Scalish				Cleveland Heights, Ohio
85.	  Bernie Schultz			Gainesville, Fla.
86.	  Darrin Schwenkbeck			Silver Spring, Md.
87.	  Terry Scroggins 			Palatka, Fla.
88.	  Ray Sedgwick				Cross, S.C.
89.	  Morizo Shimizu			Suita Osaka, Japan
90.	  Kevin Short				Mayflower, Ark.  
91.	  Bill Smith				Somerset, Ky.  
92.	  Dave Smith				Del City, Okla.
93.	  Brian Snowden				Reeds Spring, Mo.
94.	  Matthew Sphar				Pavilion, N.Y.
95.	  Jeremy Starks				Charleston, W. Va.  
96.	  Marty Stone				Linden, N.C.
97.	  Bradley Stringer			Huntington, Texas
98.	  Gerald Swindle			Hayden, Ala.
99.	  Peter Thliveros			Jacksonville, Fla.
100.	Mark Tucker 				Saint Louis, Mo.
101.	Mark Tyler				Scottsdale, Ariz.
102.	Kevin VanDam				Kalamazoo, Mich.
103.	Byron Velvick				Boulder City, Nev.
104.	Jason Williamson			Aiken, S.C.
105.	Kevin Wirth				Crestwood, Ky.
106.	 Dave Wolak				Warrior Run, Pa.
107.	 Mike Wurm				Hot Springs, Ark.
108.	 Charlie Youngers			Oviedo, Fla.

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