Coble catches them again, leads charge into All-American final
Field pared to five for Super Saturday, will restart at zero
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jeff Coble, 37, of Henderson, N.C., leads five of the nation’s top weekend anglers into the final round of the Red Man All-American Championship after racking up a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 2 ounces on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark.
Coble caught five bass weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces on opening day of the championship, which features the best of more than 28,000 Red Man Tournament Trail participants nationwide. He then boated five bass weighing 11 pounds on day two to retain the lead. On Friday, however, he will have to repeat his early success as the five finalists start from scratch to determine the champion.
“The wind caused execution problems today, but it didn’t hurt the fish,” said Coble, who caught his limit by casting a crankbait around submerged brush. “The clouds, however, really affected them. This morning was a struggle. If the sun shines (Saturday) I’ll be okay. If it’s cloudy and rainy, I’ll have to find something else.”
Fishing in his sixth All-American Championship, Gary Simpson, 44, of Gainesville, Fla., advanced to the final round after receiving the CITGO All-American Leadership Award on Thursday. A long shot to make the event after being diagnosed with advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1998, Simpson underwent treatment and set a goal to fish the first Red Man tournament of the 1999 season. After winning big bass at that event, he went on to fish other division tournaments and qualify for the 2000 All-American.
“One thing I learned through this experience that was surprising to me,” said an emotional Simpson, “was my first thought was that I might be leaving my little girl and my wife. And the next thing I thought was that gosh darn it, I’ll never be able to win the All-American.
“I’m truly blessed to be here.”
Simpson’s highest All-American finish to date came in 1993, when he placed fourth on the Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa, Ala. He qualified for the final round this year in third place with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 4 ounces.
The other finalists and their two-day total weights are Ricky Smith of Collinsville Miss., with 22 pounds, 3 ounces; Keith Green of Arkadelphia, Ark., with 19 pounds, 15 ounces; and David Poort of Olathe, Kan., with 19 pounds, 11 ounces.
Jay Scott of Jay, Okla., caught the day’s big bass, which weighed in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces and was worth $500.
The 2000 All-American, which is the culmination of the 140-event, 1999 Red Man Tournament Trail, features an elimination-style format. The full field competes for two days with only the top five anglers based on heaviest total catch advancing to the final day. The angler with the heaviest one-day catch on the final day of competition will be crowned the champion.
Each competitor earned a berth in the championship by finishing the season as one of the top 30 anglers in one of 22 divisions nationwide. Each angler then had to finish eighth or better at one of five two-day regional championships. A sixth (Western) regional advanced five contenders, and six anglers who failed to qualify for a regional championship advanced through two Chevy Wild Card events.
The championship weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Doors will open to the public noon for an antique tackle show and guest appearances by Olympic gold medallist and former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks and John Wayne impersonator Ermal Williamson.
The winner of the 17th annual Red Man All-American will receive $100,000 and priority entry into the 2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour – the most lucrative bass fishing series in history.
In 2001, the Red Man Tournament trail, which opened competitive fishing to the masses, will become the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (BFL) as the world’s largest retailer continues its expansion in the fishing market.