2nd Top 5 For Reese
Velvick Notches First Tour Win With 22-14 Final-Day Bag

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Byron Velvick didn't have quite what he needed today to surpass the 100-pound mark for the tournament, but he had more than enough to win at the Clear Lake Bassmaster Elite Series.

The former star of "The Bachelor" and ex-BassCenter talking head continued his ascendancy of the pro fishing ranks by closing out a wire-to-wire win at the Clear Lake Bassmaster Elite Series. He caught a 22-14 sack today that gave him a 98-06 total and a victory margin of just under 6 pounds.

He came up 1-08 short of claiming his second belt, which is given to anglers who catch 100 pounds or more for a tournament. That aside, the week in his native state went just about like he'd have scripted it.

Ohio's Bill Lowen and North Carolina's Guy Eaker closed out their 4 days of fishing together in a narrow slough by holding onto their respective 2nd- and 3rd-place positions. Lowen weighed 23-00 today for a 92-09 total and Eaker caught 22-07 for a 90-11 aggregate.

Fourth-place finisher Randy Howell of Alabama also stayed right where he was when he started the day, as his 18-14 stringer gave him an 86-02 total. Californian Skeet Reese moved up six places to claim his second Top 5 of the new season with a day-best 25-01 for an 85-03 total, and he has a dominant lead in his quest for his second Angler of the Year (AOY) title.

Here's a look at how the Top 12 finished up:

1. Byron Velvick: 98-06
2. Bill Lowen: 92-09
3. Guy Eaker: 90-11
4. Randy Howell: 86-02
5. Skeet Reese: 85-03
6. Tommy Biffle: 81-14
7. Terry Butcher: 80-08
8. Bradley Roy: 79-11
9. Boyd Duckett: 79-08
10. Jared Lintner: 78-09
11. Brian Snowden: 76-00
12. Matt Herren: 75-13

There's always a certain level of excitement inherent in an event at a hawg haven like Clear Lake, but this one became a bit monotonous as it went on. Anglers did the same thing each day and weighed about the same bag they'd brought to the scale the day before, and there was very little dramatic movement at the top of the leaderboard throughout the tournament.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Velvick's determination to have some fun with a swimbait was a big key to his victory.

New Level for Velvick

Velvick was the epitome of calm when he pulled up at the docks this afternoon. He knew he had plenty of weight to nail down the win and whether he'd reach the 100-pound mark was the only mystery that remained.

"I'm pretty excited, but I really wish I could've caught one more good one," he said. "I was blessed to catch one good one every day, but I never could get two.

"Don't get me wrong, though; I was thankful to have the one each day."

As expected, he did all of his real damage with a swimbait – a new model called a BV3D that the maker, Californian Jerry Rago, named in his honor.

"The swimbait fishing was awesome and if you can't do that here this time of year, it can murder a guy. The only thing that hurt it a little bit was the lack of wind."

He caught his first keeper on his third cast of the day and completed his limit at about 10:00 with a 6-pounder that topped his bag. He had about 20 pounds at that point, which would've been enough to win, but he went on to make four or five culls.

"There's nothing I would've changed about this tournament. I had a bad practice and I was out throwing a split-shot and a Carolina rig around, and I finally decided I wanted to have fun, so I picked up the swimbait.

"It was too cold for it when practice started, but I got one bite (in the staging area that would serve as his primary locale) that told me those fish were going to want to be there, and that's what they were going to bite."

Details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be posted soon.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Bill Lowen's finish was 91 places higher than the last time the Elite Series visited Clear Lake.

Lowen had finished 93rd on his previous visit here 3 years ago, so his runner-up showing was something to celebrate.

"It feels great, especially after last time," he said. "It's nice to come out here and get the season off to a good start."

His day could've been better, but he had to release three 5-pounders that were hooked outside the mouth. Two were impaled underneath the lower jaw and one had the steel below the eye.

"I should have had over 25 pounds."

His primary weapons were a Chatterbait and a swimjig.

3rd: Great Start for Eaker

The 70-year-old Eaker's finish was his best since the inception of the Elite Series in 2006. He not only ended up 3rd in the event, but he's 3rd in the AOY standings in his quest to make his 11th Bassmaster Classic in what he's said may be his final pro season.

"It feels good, and I'd like to get a few more of them," he said. "Making the Classic again would be a great way to cap off my career."

He caught more than 15 keepers today, all between 3 and 5 pounds. He again worked the deeper parts of the slough while leaving the shallower haunts to Lowen.

"I just didn't get the big ones. I wouldn't do anything different – it's hard to give up on a place when you're catching so many fish, even though you know you're not going to win."

He primarily threw a Lucky Craft LV 500 rattlebait, but also caught weigh-in fish on a big worm and a chatterbait.

4th: Mixed Emotions for Howell

Howell was content with his final placement, but there was a time in this event when he had bigger dreams.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Guy Eaker is off to a great start in his quest to qualify for his 11th Bassmaster Classic.

His early-morning jerkbait pattern went awry today, so he switched to a jig. He left his main area and had only three fish in the well when he returned at 2:00, but he caught a 3-pounder and one that was nearly five to round out his bag.

"After that I was even able to cull a few times, so I was feeling a lot better."

5th: Reese Pleased

Reese didn't pick up a win in either event in his own stomping grounds, but a 2nd (by a single ounce at the Delta) and a 5th put him well on his way to his ultimate goal – the AOY.

"I'm pleased," he said. "The Delta left me with a little bit more of a (sour) feeling, but I came over here and scraped up some fish and did the best I could do. At the Delta, I got beat by one last flip (by winner John Crews)."

He threw several different baits during the event, including three different swimbaits.

"In the end, I'd rather have the AOY than anything else, so I'll take a 2nd and a 5th all year long."

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 12 anglers, 11 limits, 1 four.

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Byron Velvick -- Del Rio, Texas -- 20, 98-06 -- 320 -- $100,500
Day 1: 5, 29-00 -- Day 2: 5, 22-00 -- Day 3: 5, 24-08 -- Day 4: 5, 22-14

2. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, Ohio -- 20, 92-09 -- 295 -- $25,000
Day 1: 5, 22-14 -- Day 2: 5, 22-09 -- Day 3: 5, 24-02 -- Day 4: 5, 23-00

3. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, N.C. -- 20, 90-11 -- 290 -- $20,000
Day 1: 5, 21-14 -- Day 2: 5, 22-06 -- Day 3: 5, 24-00 -- Day 4: 5, 22-07

4. Randy Howell -- Springville, Ala. -- 20, 86-02 -- 285 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 23-03 -- Day 2: 5, 23-07 -- Day 3: 5, 20-10 -- Day 4: 5, 18-14

5. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, Calif. -- 20, 85-03 -- 280 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12 -- Day 3: 5, 21-02 -- Day 4: 5, 25-01

6. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Okla. -- 20, 81-14 -- 276 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 20-10 -- Day 4: 5, 22-15

7. Terry Butcher -- Talala, Okla. -- 20, 80-08 -- 272 -- $13,000
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-13 -- Day 3: 5, 22-12 -- Day 4: 5, 17-12

8. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, Ky. -- 20, 79-11 -- 268 -- $12,500
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 22-01 -- Day 3: 5, 22-09 -- Day 4: 5, 15-09

9. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, Ala. -- 20, 79-08 -- 264 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-14 -- Day 3: 5, 22-15 -- Day 4: 5, 17-13

10. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Calif. -- 20, 78-09 -- 260 -- $11,500
Day 1: 5, 23-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14 -- Day 3: 5, 21-06 -- Day 4: 5, 16-01

11. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, Mo. -- 19, 76-00 -- 257 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 17-06 -- Day 2: 5, 21-03 -- Day 3: 5, 22-12 -- Day 4: 4, 14-11

12. Matt Herren -- Trussville, Ala. -- 20, 75-13 -- 254 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 21-12 -- Day 4: 5, 13-14

Big Bass

Day 2: Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fla. -- 11-01 -- $1,000

Angler of the Year Standings

1 Skeet Reese -- Calif. -- 575
2 Greg Hackney -- La. -- 538
3 Guy Eaker -- N.C. -- 517
4 Bill Lowen -- Ohio -- 516
5 Michael Iaconelli -- N.J. -- 510
6 Denny Brauer -- Mo. -- 493
7 James Niggemeyer -- Texas -- 487
8 Dave Wolak -- N.C. -- 483
9 Greg Vinson -- Ala. -- 478
10 Shaw Grigsby -- Fla. -- 471
11 Gary Klein -- Texas -- 462
12 Edwin Evers -- Okla. -- 454
13 Jeff Kriet -- Okla. -- 452
13 Brian Snowden -- Mo. -- 452
15 Matt Herren -- Ala. -- 445
16 Bradley Roy -- Ky. -- 443
17 Pat Golden -- N.C. -- 442
18 Derek Remitz -- Ala. -- 441
19 Dean Rojas -- Ariz. -- 440
20 Stephen Browning -- Ark. -- 439
21 John Crews -- Va. -- 436
21 Kevin Wirth -- Ky. -- 436
23 Byron Velvick -- Texas -- 431
24 Clark Reehm -- Ark. -- 428
25 Mark Davis -- Ark. -- 418
26 Zell Rowland -- Texas -- 415
26 Jared Lintner -- Calif. -- 415
28 Todd Faircloth -- Texas -- 410
29 Kotaro Kiriyama -- Ala. -- 408
29 Bradley Hallman -- Okla. -- 408
31 Kelly Jordon -- Texas -- 406
32 Scott Rook -- Ark. -- 404
32 Grant Goldbeck -- Md. -- 404
34 Terry Butcher -- Okla. -- 401
35 Matt Greenblatt -- Fla. -- 400
36 Peter Thliveros -- Fla. -- 396
37 Randy Howell -- Ala. -- 394
37 Mike McClelland -- Ark. -- 394
39 Bobby Lane -- Fla. -- 390
39 Morizo Shimizu -- Japan -- 390
41 Tommy Biffle -- Okla. -- 383
42 Kevin VanDam -- Mich. -- 374
43 Dustin Wilks -- N.C. -- 373
44 Brent Chapman -- Kan. -- 370
44 Billy McCaghren -- Ark. -- 370
46 Jami Fralick -- S.D. -- 368
46 Cliff Pace -- Miss. -- 368
46 Alton Jones -- Texas -- 368
49 Mark Tucker -- Mo. -- 366
49 Aaron Martens -- Ala. -- 366
51 Casey Ashley -- S.C. -- 364
52 Boyd Duckett -- Ala. -- 363
53 Steve Kennedy -- Ala. -- 360
54 Russ Lane -- Ala. -- 356
55 Rick Clunn -- Mo. -- 353
56 J Todd Tucker -- Ga. -- 344
57 Jason Quinn -- S.C. -- 342
58 Marty Stone -- N.C. -- 340
59 Gerald Swindle -- Ala. -- 338
60 Kevin Short -- Ark. -- 336
61 Takahiro Omori -- Texas -- 334
62 Vince Fulks -- Okla. -- 332
63 Paul Elias -- Miss. -- 330
64 Jeff Connella -- La. -- 324
65 Dennis Tietje -- La. -- 316
66 Cliff Crochet -- La. -- 306
67 Ish Monroe -- Calif. -- 302
68 John Murray -- Ariz. -- 300
69 David Smith -- Okla. -- 296
69 Terry Scroggins -- Fla. -- 296
71 Chad Griffin -- Texas -- 292
72 Pete Ponds -- Miss. -- 290
73 Timmy Horton -- Ala. -- 286
74 Matt Reed -- Texas -- 284
75 Bernie Schultz -- Fla. -- 282
76 Mark Tyler -- Okla. -- 278
77 Rick Morris -- Va. -- 276
77 Mark Menendez -- Ky. -- 276
79 Kenyon Hill -- Okla. -- 272
80 Wade Grooms -- S.C. -- 270
81 Marty Robinson -- S.C. -- 266
82 Davy Hite -- S.C. -- 264
83 Charlie Hartley -- Ohio -- 258
83 Mark Burgess -- Mass. -- 258
85 Yusuke Miyazaki -- Texas -- 254
86 Jason Williamson -- S.C. -- 248
87 Scott Ashmore -- Okla. -- 242
88 Fred Roumbanis -- Okla. -- 240
89 Britt Myers -- S.C. -- 234
90 Chris Lane -- Ala. -- 216
91 Byron Haseotes -- Mass. -- 208
92 Jeremy Starks -- W.Va. -- 198
93 Keith Poche -- Ala. -- 185