Wirth Hangs Tough on Day 2

Kevin Wirth of Crestwood, Ky., maintained the lead through Friday’s Day 2 of the Tennessee Triumph presented by Longhorn on Old Hickory Lake with a five-fish limit weighing 15 pounds, 10 ounces. The Bassmaster Elite Series veteran widened his lead to more than 3 pounds for 32 pounds, 12 ounces overall heading into Day 3, when just the top 50 pros and their co-anglers will compete.

Four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., shot into second place with 29-7 overall, while Marty Stone of Fayetteville, N.C., who was second after Day 1, slipped to seventh with 25-4 overall, and reigning Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., dropped from third to 35th after weighing in just three fish Friday for 19-13 overall.

Rounding out the top five: Randy Howell of Springville, Ala., with 28-10 overall and the Purolator Big Bass of the day (6 pounds, 6 ounces), Bill Lowen of North Bend, Ohio, with 27-3 and Davy Hite of Ninety Six, N.C., with 26-12.

Just the top 12 anglers after Day 3 will compete for the $100,000 first-place prize Sunday, the final day. More than the trophy is at stake at the Tennessee Triumph, as the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race is heating up dramatically. With just two events remaining after this one, three-time Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., leads Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, and Skeet Reese by a shrinking margin. The winner of the AOY will receive $250,000 and the points will also determine the brunt of the 2009 Bassmaster Classic qualifiers.

VanDam, who now leads Faircloth by just 28 points in the AOY race, squeaked into the top 50 at Old Hickory on Friday with 17-2 overall, while Faircloth is tied for 32nd with 20-3. Mike McClelland of Bella Vista, Ark., leapfrogged Reese for third in the AOY points, now 46 behind VanDam with 20-14 overall and tied for 22nd place in the Tennessee Triumph. Reese is 122 points back in the points race.

Fishing fans can catch all of the action on The Bassmasters on Saturday, July 5, at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2. As always, live, streaming video of the daily weigh-ins and real-time leaderboards can be accessed on http://www.Bassmaster.com.

With the fishing on the Cumberland River impoundment improving in the afternoon through both days of competition so far, Wirth was able to cull throughout the day Friday after catching his biggest bass – 5 pounds, 5 ounces – around 11 a.m. Wirth is fishing at a depth he’s not used to, but he said the fish have been doing the same thing all week. He added that the conditions – wind, sun or no sun – don’t seem to matter.

“I was real fortunate – this morning I lost a couple, broke a couple off, but I still had a limit at 8:30. Ten or 11 pounds,” said Wirth, 45. “I felt real comfortable and put it in shut-down mode and kind of eased around, tried to expand the water a little bit, see what’s really there. This place is full of fish, they kind of meander around and then pull up on a target.”

Wirth, who has fished nine Bassmaster Classics, has had the Berkley Big Bag through both days at the Tennessee Triumph. His last BASS victory was in 1994 on South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Reservoir.

Clunn, who battled briefly with eventual winner Kevin VanDam for the trophy during the last Elite event on Kentucky Lake out of Gilbertsville, Ky., said he likes how tough Old Hickory is fishing. He’s throwing a crankbait – and occasionally a jig – while working his way through a shallow, flat creek channel that makes it tough for other boats to come and go in the same area.

“This time of year I’m just a little bit better at figuring out the better fish than I am at other times of the year,” said Clunn, 61.

In the co-angler division, Willie Leaver of Tennessee leads the chase for the $25,000 top prize with 15 pounds, 5 ounces. Trailing him are Missouri’s Jim McDevitt, with 13-15, and Tennessee’s Terry Steele, with 13-10.

Daily tournament launches and weigh-ins will take place at Sanders Ferry Park, 100 Sanders Ferry Park Rd., Hendersonville. Launches begin at 6 a.m. CT and weigh-ins at 2 p.m.

Before Saturday’s weigh-in, activities for fans at the park include Bassmaster University’s “Ask the Experts,” a Berkley Beginner Fishing Class, Skeeter boat demo rides and the Purolator Big Bass Fan $1,000 Giveaway.

On Sunday, http://www.Bassmaster.com will provide updates throughout the day and preview the final weigh-in with Hooked Up, live at 2 p.m. CT, hosted by BASS emcee Keith Alan and ESPN2 Outdoors personalities Tommy Sanders and Mark Zona.

For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit Bassmaster.com. Visit ESPNMediaZone.com for ESPN’s latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video, audio clips and more.

The local sponsor of the Tennessee Triumph is the Sumner County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Sponsors of the Bassmaster Elite Series include Toyota Tundra, Advance Auto Parts, Berkley, Lowrance, Mercury, Purolator, Skeeter, Yamaha, Evan Williams Bourbon, Longhorn, OPTIMA Batteries, Triton Boats, Costa Del Mar, MotorGuide and Ramada Worldwide.

Location and Field
Tennessee presented by Longhorn
Old Hickory Lake
Hendersonville, Tenn.
June 26-29, 2008

Field
106 pros, 107 co-anglers
Cut to top 50 pros and co-anglers after Day 2
Cut to top 12 pro anglers after Day 3

Launch/Weigh-in
Sanders Ferry Park
100 Sanders Ferry Park Rd.
Hendersonville, TN
6 a.m./2:30 p.m. CT

2008 Bassmaster Elite Series Event Tournament Locations/Dates

March 6-9 Sunshine Showdown Harris Chain of Lakes Leesburg, Fla.

March 13-16 Citrus Slam Kissimmee Chain Lake Wales, Fla.

April 3-6 Lone Star Shootout Falcon Lake Zapata, Texas

April 10-13 Battle on the Border Lake Amistad Del Rio, Texas

May 1-4 Pride of Georgia Clarks Hill Lake Evans, Ga.

May 15-18 Carolina Clash Lake Murray Columbia, S.C.

June 5-8 Southern Challenge Wheeler Lake Decatur, Ala.

June 12-15 Bluegrass Brawl Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.

June 26-29 Tennessee Triumph Old Hickory Lake Hendersonville, Tenn.

July 31- Aug. 3 Empire Chase Lake Erie/Niagara River Buffalo, N.Y.

Aug. 7-10 Champion’s Choice Oneida Lake Syracuse, N.Y

About BASS

For 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. With its considerable multi-media platforms and expansive tournament trail, BASS is guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer and comprehensive web properties in Bassmaster.com and ESPNOutdoors.com, the organization is committed to delivering content true to the lifestyle. Additionally, television programming on ESPN2 continues to provide relevant content from tips and techniques to in-depth tournament coverage to passionate audiences.

The organization oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Women’s Bassmaster Tour and the Bassmaster Classic, the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing. Through its grassroots network, the BASS Federation Nation, BASS sanctions more than 20,000 events annually.

BASS also offers an array of services to its more than 525,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.