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Orlando,
Florida--February 9--It was Day Two of the Fourth Annual Tracker Marine Legends
Tournament® held at Disney's Bay Lake in Orlando, Florida, and the $50,000.00
first-place prize could have been claimed by anyone.
Early
into the tournament weigh-in on the parking lot of Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World,
popular TV fishing show host Jimmy Houston wowed the crowd with a big bass of
6.06 pounds and total weight of 17.80 pounds.
His two-day total of 28.44 pounds nudged him into the lead.
While
most anglers commented on fishing being slower and the fish much smaller than
the first day, later in the weigh-in 1998 BASSMASTER Classic Champion and 1999
Tracker Legends winner Denny Brauer showed he found the key to catching more and
bigger fish with a day's total of 14.66 pounds bringing his two day total to
30.24 pounds. That
total pushed him into the lead position.
As
the crowd's excitement built, first day leader, 1993 BASSMASTER Classic Champion
David Fritts, entered the weigh-in area. Tension
mounted as Fritts started lifting bass from his live well.
The crowd held its breath as he reached in for the last fish and pulled
out a 7.10 ounce monster bass to give him a total for the day of 23.20 and a two
day total of 40.54 pounds to make him the 2001 Tracker Marine Legends Tournament®
champion. The 7.10 ounce bass also earned Fritts the big bass trophy.
Fritts
caught his fish on a variety of baits including a new prototype crankbait from
Normark, spinnerbaits, a One-Knocker and a 10 inch, Junebug-colored Zoom Monster
Worm. The key he said was learning
to control the depth of the bait.
Brauer's
second place position earned him a $20,000.00 paycheck, while Jimmy Houston took
home $15,000.00 for third. 1999 BASSMASTER Classic Champion Davy Hite and Sports
Legends Hall of Famer Babe Winkelman tied with total weights of 27.22 pounds to
split fourth and fifth place prize money totaling $15,000.00.
Of
the 28 amateur anglers selected from a nationwide contest to pair with a pro for
the day's fishing, it was Joe Deluca, a school teacher from Hazelwood, Missouri
who won a Tracker TX-17 fishing boat package with his total weight of 13.60
pounds. He fished with Florida's
favorite son Shaw Grigsby. Deluca
announced to the crowd he would be giving the boat to his father-in-law.
Another
amateur, Octavio Casuso from Staten Island, New York, fished all day with a
homemade lure crafted by his 10-year old son Jason. Mike
Walker
of Collinsville, Texas, who was paired with Denny Brauer, opted to become a
spectator in the boat so as not to interfere with Brauer's chance to finish in
the money.
Master
of Ceremonies and country music recording artist, Tracy Byrd, was joined on
stage by Bass Pro Shops founder John L. Morris for the awards presentation.
Tracy had earlier thrilled the crowd by performing a variety of his hits
including his tribute song to conservation, "Pass It On."