Mid-Season CITGO BASSMASTER Tournament Trail News

MONEY

After three of six regular season events, South Carolina's Davy Hite has won $227,500 on the CITGO BASSMASTER Tour. That total currently ranks as the
fourth best single season total in B.A.S.S.' 34 year history. Shaw Grigsby's 2000 total of $237,000 currently ranks third and Dean Rojas' $333,940
performance last season is second best. Denny Brauer still holds the record with his 1998 total of $347,000.

MORE MONEY

Several anglers are closing in on the $1 million mark in career winnings and with a win or several top finishes could join the elite B.A.S.S. Millionaires club
soon. Texan Gary Klein, currently sixth on the All-time money list with $947,743 is next in line to join the club. In seventh place on the All-time list
is 19-time winner Roland Martin with $893,642. A CITGO BASSMASTER Tour victory would propel Martin into the millionaire level. The 61 year old
Clewiston, Fla. angler is also currently third in the CITGO B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year standings.

WINNERS

In the first three events of the season on the prestigious CITGO BASSMASTER Tour there have been only two winners, Davy Hite and
Alabama's Tim Horton. Hite claimed victory in each of the season's first two events (Michigan and Louisiana), becoming just the 11th person in B.A.S.S.
history to win back-to-back tournaments. Interestingly each of the last three seasons has seen an angler claim back-to-back victories, with Shaw Grigsby in
2000 and Dean Rojas in 2001. Horton claimed the Florida CITGO BASSMASTER Tour event for his second career victory.

CITGO B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year Standings

Davy Hite enters the second half of the season with a substantial lead over all
competitors. Hite's two victories and a tenth place finish in Kissimmee, Fla. give him a total of 441 points, 33 points more than second place Chuck
Ecomomou with 408. Roland Martin is one point behind Economou at 407. Kevin Wirth is in fourth at 391 points and Chip Harrision Jr. rounds out the top
five with 390 points. The point system requires anglers to "drop" their worst finish of the season essentially making the system the top five finishes.
Following the next event at Lake Seminole (Georgia) in February the worst finish for each angler will be thrown out. Currently for the top five anglers their
worst finishes are: Hite: 10th, Economou: 26th, Martin: 36th, Wirth: 28th and Harrison: 43rd.



THE CLASSIC

If the season ended today the field for the Classic would include some new faces and have some familiar ones left out. First-timers in the field would
include: Chuck Economou, Chip Harrison, Jr., Frank Scalish, Tom Burns, Yusuke Miyazaki and Jack Gadlage.

With only three events left in the season, one of the sports biggest names could be left out. Rick Clunn's amazing streak of 28 consecutive Classics is in jeopardy. He currently finds himself in 68th place on the points list.

Others in jeopardy of missing the Classic include Aaron Martens (101) who has qualified for the last three Classics, David Walker who finished third in
2001  (73), Curt Lytle (68), Rob Kilby (58) and Skeet Reese(88). On the bubble are Scott Rook (37) and Todd Faircloth(38). George Cochran who won
the last Classic held on Lay Lake is currently 36th.

Only the top 30 anglers in the season point standings earn berths in pro fishing's biggest event.

TELEVISION

Even though the CITGO BASSMASTER Tournament Trail doesn't have any events scheduled in January the nation's most prestigious fishing series can still be watched on television. The Bassmasters will be broadcast on ESPN2 a
total of 10 times in the month of January with the following schedule (all times Eastern):

1/5/2002        10:30 a.m.      Michigan CITGO BASSMASTER Tour
1/11/2002       10:00 a.m.      Michigan CITGO BASSMASTER Tour
1/11/2002         4:00 p.m.     Michigan CITGO BASSMASTER Tour
1/12/2002       10:30 a.m.      Washington CITGO BASSMASTER Western Open
1/18/2002       10:00 a.m.      Washington CITGO BASSMASTER Western Open
1/18/2002         4:00 p.m.     Washington CITGO BASSMASTER Western Open
1/19/2002       10:30 a.m.      Louisiana CITGO BASSMASTER Tour
1/25/2002       10:00 a.m.      Louisiana CITGO BASSMASTER Tour
1/25/2002         4:00 p.m.     Louisiana CITGO BASSMASTER Tour
1/26/2002       10:30 a.m.      Oklahoma CITGO BASSMASTER Central Open

Editors Note: It is not to early to begin thinking about this summer's CITGO BASS Masters Classic. The event which will crown bass fishing's World
Champion is slated to be held in Birmingham, Ala. July 25-27. Also keep in mind the CITGO B.A.S.S. Federation Championship which will decide the
world's top amateur fisherman is scheduled to take place in Shreveport, La.
April 18-20. Additional information will follow about both events in the coming months.