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PEORIA,
AZ
John Perkins of Whittier topped a record field of 382 anglers at
Lake Pleasant over the weekend, weighing in a total of 25.72 pounds
to win the WON BASS Miller High Life Tour's Arizona Invitational,
the
first South Region event of 2002.
The Team Crown Royal angler led the first round with a whopping
18.01 pounds to take a 4-pound lead over Brett Hite of Phoenix,
who twice has won the Lake Pleasant tournament. Hite finished with
23.60 pounds, while another Phoenix Pro, two-time U.S. OPEN and
seven-time WON BASS champion, John Murray, placed third with 22.42
pounds.
Perkins said, "I caught fish the first day in the Bass Bay
and Humbug areas while drop-shotting a Roboworm FX straight-tail
plastic worm in the new softshell crawdad color."
On Sunday, after a sleepless night, he felt the pressure of leading
the West's best pros, and didn't have a fish in the boat until 12:30
p.m. I finally got lucky in the last hour of the tournament and
caught four quick fish."
His victory gave him total winnings of $38,500 including the Ranger
518VX boat and trailer, Mercury 175 Optimax, Lowrance Electronics
and MotorGuide trolling motor, a $1,500 bonus for Saturday's biggest
bass in the Miller High Life Daily Double with a 6.78-pound lunker,
and another $1,000 in Ranger Cup money.
Hite pocketed $11,650 for second place while Murray went home with
$7,110. All three of the top anglers used Roboworms in the drop-shot
method to catch their fish in 20 to 50 feet of water at Lake Pleasant.
The AAA division was won by John Krumsiek of Riverside, CA, with
21.47 pounds, bolstered by the 18.01 pounds recorded with Perkins
on Saturday. Krumsiek did his part, however, including a 4.21 pounder
in that catch. He won a total of $1,750.
Second place and $1,500 went to another Riverside angler, Jeffrey
Woods, who had 19.96 pounds. It was the first-ever Pro bass
tournament for both of these anglers. Chris Faehling of Pioche,
NV, placed third with 19.64 pounds to win $1,000.
While Perkins had the tourney's top fish, 6.78 pounds, the largest
bass on Sunday, 6.61 pounds, earned $1,500 for Bill Lanier of Spring
Valley. Second place Saturday earned $500 for Art Berry of Ramona
with a 4.37 pounder. Sunday's second biggest bass earned $500 for
Chris Dello of Henderson, NV, at 5.35 pounds.
The tournament had a record turnout as 181 boats went on the water
for the West's largest tournament organization, breaking last year's
WON BASS mark of 179 at Lake Pleasant for a Pro/Am tournament.
The next tournament for the WON BASS Miller High Life Tour will
be at Lake Mead on March 22-23, out of Callville Bay Marina with
headquarters at the Sunset Station Hotel & Casino in Henderson/Las
Vegas, NV.
First place at all WON BASS Miller High Life Tour invitational tournaments
is a $36,000 package of a Ranger 518VX boat and trailer, Mercury
175 Optimax outboard, Lowrance X-51 and X-71 fish finders and MotorGuide
767 trolling motor.
WON BASS Miller High Life tournaments are sponsored by Ranger boats
and trailers, Mercury outboards, Daiwa rods and reels, Miller Brewing
Co., Quantum rods and reels, MotorGuide trolling motors, El Cajon
Ford, Kelly Tires, Berkley Trilene line and Frenzy lures, Lowrance
Electronics, Luhr-Jensen lures, Owner Hooks/Cultiva Lures, Lucky
Craft lures, Phenix graphite/boron fishing rods, Tackle Logic soft-sided
bags, Costa del Mar sunglasses, West Marine stores, Roboworm, Matzuo
lures, El Salto Pro Bass Adventures, Anglers Marine boat/tackle
sales, The Outdoor Channel television network, Water Gremlin sinkers,
Rebel lures, Heddon lures and
Excalibur lures.
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