McQueen Leads on Neely Henry

Two kicker bass in the last hour of competition saved the day for Audrey McQueen Thursday in the Women’s Bassmaster Tour presented by Academy Sports & Outdoors on Alabama’s Neely Henry Lake.

On what was a lean day for most of the contenders, McQueen of Eager, Colo., brought in 12 pounds, 9 ounces, good enough to stay in front of Pam Martin-Wells of Bainbridge, Ga., who managed 12 pounds, 2 ounces. Two pounds behind Martin-Wells was one-time WBT winner Juanita Robinson of Highlands, Texas, with 10-2.

“I actually caught just my limit, I didn’t cull one time,” said McQueen. “I didn’t have a fish until 8:30, 9 o’clock.”

She said catching the late kicker bass was a big change from what she saw during practice time earlier in the week.

“In practice, I always had a morning bite and really caught them in the first two hours. Today, I don’t know if they weren’t pulling water so there wasn’t any current, or because it was so hot, but they weren’t biting early. And the fish I caught today came on a completely different pattern than I used in practice.”

McQueen said she fished the main channel of Neely Henry, a river-run impoundment of the Coosa River. She said she made a long run Thursday to touch all her spots, hitting them in run-and-gun style. Martin-Wells hinted that her day was much the same.

“I moved quite a bit today,” said Martin-Wells, who holds the title to the 2006 WBT Championship. “I’m going to various areas, trying not to burn anything.”

Rounding out the top five on Day 1 were Jan Heavener of Sherwood, Ark., who had 9-4, and Debra Petrowski of Arlington, Texas, with 8-15.

The Thursday-Saturday stop in Alabama is the second event of 2008 WBT season. Pros are competing for a first-place prize of a Triton/Mercury boat rig valued at $50,000 and $1,000 in cash. They’re also vying for points in the season-long race for the 2008 Toyota WBT Angler of the Year crown, which comes with a berth in the 2009 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 20-22 on the Red River out of Shreveport/Bossier City, La.

As the winner of the season opener at Texas’ Lake Lewisville, Kim Bain of Alabaster, Ala., led the AOY points race going into the Neely Henry event. Bain wrapped up her first competition day on Neely Henry with a weight of 8-9 for seventh place, positioning her to hang on to the AOY race lead.

The three-day tournament continues through Saturday, when only the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers will compete. Fans can follow the competition by gong to http://www.Bassmaster.com for live video and real-time leaderboards beginning at 2:15 p.m. CT. Also on http://www.Bassmaster.com are daily standings, stories and photo galleries.

In the co-angler competition for a Triton/Mercury boat rig valued at $32,000, Sharon Lawson of Red Bank, Tenn., scored the lead with 7 pounds, 13 ounces. In second place was Patti James of Dayton, Texas, with 5-14. Third was Linda Walker of Beebe, Ark., with 5-10.

Pros will launch Friday and Saturday at 5:30 a.m. at Coosa Landing, 200 Lake Street in Gadsden. Daily weigh-ins will be at 2:15 p.m. at Academy Sports & Outdoors, 601 George Wallace Drive in Gadsden. All WBT events are free and open to the public.

To view related images of the event, click here.

Sponsors of the Women’s Bassmaster Tour include Academy Sports & Outdoors, Toyota Tundra, Advance Auto Parts, Lowrance, Mercury, Skeeter, Yamaha, OPTIMA Batteries, Triton Boats, Legend Boats, MoGills and Mustang.

Local hosts include the City of Gadsden Parks & Recreation Department.