Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504260041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: QUINCY, ILL. LENGTH: Medium
Dudley said he missed a big fish in Friday's second round of the Wrangler/B.A.S.S. National Championship on the raging Mississippi River, and it cost him several places in the standings. Dudley managed to weigh in one bass - something 36 other anglers could not do - and stands in 16th place with 1 pound, 10 ounces.
John Parks of Aztec, N.M., caught the only limit in the first two days of the tournament and leads with 14 pounds, 10 ounces. First-day leader Gerry Jooste of Zimbabwe caught two more fish Friday and is in second with 11 pounds, 12 ounces.
The winner of the tournament receives $15,000 and a berth in the BASS Masters Classic. The winners of each of the five regions - Western, Eastern, Central, Southern and Northern - will qualify for the Classic.
Dudley is fourth in the Eastern Region, which is led by George Acord Jr. of Washington Boro, Pa. Acord has caught only one fish in two days, but it weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and was good enough for fourth overall.
Dudley said he had a shot at a big fish Friday but missed it.
``I had a 5-pounder on,'' he said. ``It was heartbreaker for me. I could be leading [the Eastern Region].
``On the same tree I caught the first fish, I came back later and threw a spinnerbait. I brought it right down the tree and hit a limb and she rocked it, and when she came up to the top, the hook popped out. In tournaments like this, you can't afford to miss anything or lose them. I got two bites today, and I missed one.''
On Thursday, Dudley traveled through two locks and spent nearly four hours running his boat to fishing areas with no luck. Friday, he decided to stay close to the weigh-in site.
``It was still tough as nails,'' he said. ``I just stayed up here and fished for 71/2 hours.
``I'm still within one fish. You've just got to make every bite count. I'm about as tense as I can get, but I'm still in contention.''
Parks, the leader, said he caught his limit about 15 minutes from the weigh-in site.
``I found out where the fish were [Thursday],'' he said. ``I just didn't know how to catch them. Today, I moved inside [the structure], and the fish were there.''
In a tournament boating mishap, Howard Duncan, the B.A.S.S. Federation state president from Arizona, was thrown overboard and into the 52-degree waters of the Mississippi River. The boat, driven by competitor Lester Marsh of Weston, W.Va., encountered a barge-created wave in rough water, causing Duncan to be tossed out.
He was treated at a Quincy hospital for a minor back injury and released.
by CNB