Sauls hauls in co-angler trophy
HENDERSON, N.C. – In contrast to ultra-confident pro competitors Arlie Napier and Joel Richardson, Doug Sauls didn’t come into the last EverStart Eastern Division tourney thinking he would win it. No, he just wanted to do well. The rookie’s $6,000 victory in the Co-Angler Division came as a welcome surprise – mostly to him.
It doesn’t really look like much on paper, but two bass weighing a collective 6 pounds, 1 ounce is a relative ton in the Co-Angler Division finals. That’s what Sauls, a 31-year-old native of Debary, Fla., caught today and it earned him the 6-ounce win over runner-up co-angler Bob Scott of Lexington, N.C.
“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” Sauls, who fished in just his fourth EverStart tournament ever this week, said afterwards. “It feels great, though. My family’s here for the first time at a tournament.”
Sauls credited much of his success to crucial pro partner match-ups this week. A flipping specialist, he fished behind Rick Couch of Ocala, Fla., on day three and David Wright of Lexington, N.C., both of whom headed straight for the same shallow water that Sauls likes to fish.
“The last two partners I had were on the same bite,” Sauls said. “That’s key to what I like to do. I fished each day for a big bite. And I got it.”
Today, he caught his two big fish by flipping a 1/2-ounce blue-and-black jig with a chunk trailer.
“My partner (Wright) was slaying them with a jig, so I switched over to a jig,” he said.
But Sauls was a bit amazed to have slayed them so well himself this week. Admitting his goal was merely to place in the top 50, he said, “I was really surprised that I won it. I just want to fish as well as I could. The win was a whole added bonus.”
Following Sauls in second place was Scott, who caught two fish weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces and earned $4,000.
“Things kind of toughened up today,” said Scott, a local who also placed second in the semifinal qualifying round.
Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists were yesterday’s leader Jimmy Hale Sr. (third place, $3,500) of Rocky Mount, Va., with two bass weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces; Paul Reed (fourth, $3,000) of Cordova, S.C., with two bass weighing 2 pounds, 15 ounces; Gary Fint (fifth, $2,500) of Frankfort, Ky., with one bass weighing 2 pounds, 9 ounces; Arthur Partin (sixth, $1,900) of Petersburg, Va., with one bass weighing 2 pounds, 1 ounce; Randy Buchanan (seventh, $1,800) of Bullock, N.C., with one bass weighing 1 pound, 15 ounces; Carl Dillard (eighth, $1,700) of Columbia, S.C., with one bass weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces; Bruce Bowersock (ninth, $1,600) of Lake Worth, Fla., with one bass weighing 1 pound, 9 ounces; and Tee Watkins (10th, $1,500) of East Point, Ky., with no bass.
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