RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. -Old-school fishing fans are rejoicing as Mark Menendez of Paducah, Ky., laughed in the face of modernization, simplifying his approach by using an aluminum boat-rig with minimal trappings to accumulate 55 pounds, 7 ounces on his way to victory at the Diamond Drive bass fishing tournament on Lake Dardanelle.
Four-time Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam threatened Menendez with his tally of 53 pounds, 4 ounces, but Menendez's old-school approach in the end earned him his third BASS victory.
For the first time in nearly 15 years - BASS legend Roland Martin scored victory out of an aluminum rig on the Connecticut River in 1994 - Menendez scored victory at a top-level BASS event with aluminum, piloting a 17-foot G3 armed with a 90-horsepower Yamaha engine across Dardanelle for three days of the weather-shortened tournament.
With the victory, Menendez earns $100,000 and valuable points in the Angler of the Year standings, which awards the top 36 anglers qualifying berths in the 2010 Classic. Two years running, Menendez, who is seventh in the AOY standings in 2009, has been the first angler out of the Classic cut and is seeking redemption this season after lost opportunities and doses of misfortune.
"This goes to show that sometimes you don't need the most modern equipment to perform at the highest level," said Menendez, 44. "This is the purest form of fishing, absolutely old school. But at the end of the day, it's just a method of transportation and you have to catch the fish to win. Thankfully, I did."
While it paid off, Menendez was taking a huge gamble with his unique approach. It took him nearly an hour each to get to his spot and return to the weigh-in site and he estimates that he only fished for 10 hours over the three days of competition. Furthermore, with cold and windy conditions throughout the tournament, the ride was far from pleasant and on the final day, Menendez had to move rocks and other obstacles out of his way to reach his honey hole.
Still, when he got to his area, roughly a 1/2-mile stretch, he was free of the boat traffic that plagued other competitors. On Sunday, he flipped a Strike King KVD Tube, eerily named after VanDam, in black neon to the shallows to close out the victory.
Within his area, the most productive areas were grapevines positioned adjacent to wood. Amazingly enough, Menendez, who typically runs a Skeeter boat, borrowed the aluminum rig from a good friend. It was so beat up by the end of the tournament, Menendez felt it wasn't salvageable.
"I was 100% committed to aluminum this week," said Menendez. "The thought flickered through my mind to go back to my comfort zone but I knew that the only shot of getting to that area was the smaller rig."
With a late charge, VanDam narrowly missed out on his 15th BASS victory. Using the traditional approach, VanDam fished in an area found by many other Elite Series competitors but was able to capitalize on the final day by flipping a Strike King rouge to the shallows.
He trailed Menendez by more than 5 pounds heading into the final day and lamented a decision on the first day of competition to not upgrade his weight, opting instead to not burn out an area. He felt had he exploited the area, he would have had a better shot heading into the final day.
But VanDam, a BASS veteran and perhaps the best angler on the planet, is able to keep things in perspective. With another solid finish, he leads the Angler of the Year standings through two Elite Series event. A victory in the season-long points race would give VanDam five AOY trophies, a feat only matched by Martin.
"It's never any fun to lose," said VanDam, a two-time Classic champion. "I really had them dialed in around Noon but I just left myself at too much of a disadvantage."
In third was Chris Lane of Winter Haven, Fla., with 48-1 followed by Jim Murray of Arabi, Ga., with 45-9 in fourth. Denny Brauer, the 1998 Classic champion, was fifth with 43-8.
Continuing their solid runs, 2009 Bassmaster Classic champion Skeet Reese finished sixth while 2008 Classic champ Alton Jones was 10th. Elite anglers will get little rest as the next event on the schedule is set for next week, April 2-5 on Lake Wheeler out of Decatur, Ala. Part of the Arkansas River Valley, the 34,300-acre Lake Dardanelle has been host to five BASS events.
2009 Diamond Drive 3/26-3/29
Lake Dardanelle, Russellville AR.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 15 55-07 315 $100,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 21-08 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 5 16-03
2. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 15 53-04 295 $26,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 5 18-06 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 5 19-08
3. Chris Lane Lakeland, FL 15 48-01 290 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 14-08 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 5 17-11
4. Jim Murray Arabi, GA 15 45-09 285 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 5 19-03 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 5 14-06
5. Denny Brauer Camdenton, MO 14 43-08 280 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-06 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 4 11-13
6. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 15 42-12 276 $13,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 13-09 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 5 13-06
7. Cliff Pace Petal, MS 11 40-08 272 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 5 21-12 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 1 02-01
8. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, OK 13 40-05 268 $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-12 Day 2: 5 15-05 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 3 08-04
9. Matt Herren Trussville, AL 13 39-08 264 $12,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-01 Day 2: 5 15-07 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 3 07-00
10. Alton Jones Waco, TX 13 39-03 260 $11,500.00
Day 1: 5 17-05 Day 2: 5 14-14 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 3 07-00
11. Greg Vinson Wetumpka, AL 11 35-09 257 $11,000.00
Day 1: 4 09-01 Day 2: 5 21-14 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 2 04-10
12. Bradley Hallman Norman, OK 9 28-14 254 $10,500.00
Day 1: 4 10-10 Day 2: 5 18-04 Day 3: 0 00-00 Day 4: 0 00-00
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BIG BASS
Day
1 Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 06-00 $0.00
2 Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 07-08 $0.00
4 Denny Brauer Camdenton, MO 05-07 $0.00
BIG BASS OF TOURNAMENT
Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 07-08 $1,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 41 340 888-05
2 55 408 1136-10
3 0 0 00-00
4 5 41 121-14
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101 789 2146-13
ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
After Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, Ark. Ending 03-29-2009, Day 4
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Place Name St Pts
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1 Kevin VanDam Mich. 563
2 Alton Jones Texas 560
3 Stephen Browning Ark. 514
4 Skeet Reese Calif. 507
5 James Niggemeyer Texas 496
6 Gary Klein Texas 494
7 Mark Menendez Ky. 493
8 Cliff Pace Miss. 491
9 Kevin Short Ark. 487
10 Denny Brauer Mo. 479
11 Dean Rojas Ariz. 469
12 Mark Tucker Mo. 466
13 Boyd Duckett Ala. 463
14 Chris Lane Fla. 459
15 Fred Roumbanis Okla. 455
16 Mike McClelland Ark. 451
17 Bill Lowen Ohio 450
17 Jason Williamson S.C. 450
19 Jared Lintner Calif. 447
20 Jami Fralick S.D. 442
21 Todd Faircloth Texas 441
21 Brent Chapman Kan. 441
23 Kelly Jordon Texas 436
24 Pat Golden N.C. 428
25 Brian Snowden Mo. 424
26 Timmy Horton Ala. 422
27 Bobby Lane Fla. 418
28 Greg Hackney La. 412
29 Matt Herren Ala. 411
30 Gerald Swindle Ala. 408
31 Greg Vinson Ala. 406
31 Casey Ashley S.C. 406
33 Randy Howell Ala. 404
34 John Murray Ariz. 400
35 Jeff Kriet Okla. 398
35 Edwin Evers Okla. 398
37 Kevin Wirth Ky. 396
38 Tommy Biffle Okla. 394
39 Aaron Martens Ala. 390
40 Jim Murray Ga. 374
41 Terry Butcher Okla. 372
42 Chad Griffin Texas 368
43 Russ Lane Ala. 366
44 Bradley Hallman Okla. 365
45 Kenyon Hill Okla. 364
46 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 360
47 Todd Auten S.C. 354
47 Matthew Sphar N.Y. 354
49 Davy Hite S.C. 352
50 Mark Davis Ark. 346
51 Dave Wolak N.C. 344
52 Jason Quinn S.C. 338
53 Pete Ponds Miss. 336
54 Terry Scroggins Fla. 334
55 Billy Mccaghren Ark. 333
56 Jon Bondy Canada 330
56 Byron Velvick Texas 330
58 J Todd Tucker Ga. 328
59 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 326
60 Ish Monroe Calif. 324
60 Charlie Hartley Ohio 324
62 Matt Reed Texas 318
63 Steve Kennedy Ala. 316
64 Shaw Grigsby Fla. 312
65 Ken Cook Okla. 306
66 Guy Eaker N.C. 304
67 Brian Clark Texas 301
68 Britt Myers S.C. 294
68 Paul Elias Miss. 294
68 Marty Robinson S.C. 294
71 Rick Morris Va. 292
72 Marty Stone N.C. 286
72 Elton Luce Texas 286
74 Bernie Schultz Fla. 284
74 Takahiro Omori Texas 284
76 Mark Tyler Okla. 282
77 Wade Grooms S.C. 280
77 Morizo Shimizu Japan 280
79 Scott Rook Ark. 274
79 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 274
81 Jimmy Mize Ark. 270
82 Mike Wurm Ark. 252
83 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 250
83 David Smith Okla. 250
83 Dustin Wilks N.C. 250
83 Vince Fulks Okla. 250
87 John Crews Va. 248
88 Derek Remitz Ala. 246
89 Clark Reehm Ark. 234
90 Luke Gritter Mich. 230
91 Kevin Langill N.C. 228
91 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 228
93 Zell Rowland Texas 218
94 Peter Thliveros Fla. 212
95 Grant Goldbeck Md. 211
96 Rick Clunn Mo. 204
97 Mark Burgess Mass. 198
98 Scott Campbell Mo. 194
99 Jeff Connella La. 178
100 Brent Broderick Ohio 156