Griffin Wins Bass Fishing Tournament on Oneida Lake

August 16, 2009
B.A.S.S. News - Archived

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Thirty-two-year-old Chad Griffin caught his first bass at 22 years old and instantly became addicted. Ten years later, the Cresson, Texas, resident who grew up in Alaska - a state reportedly with no largemouth bass population - cashed in on a dream, to the tune of $100,000, at the regular-season finale, the Champion's Choice bass fishing tournament on Oneida Lake. Griffin, an Elite Series rookie, worked Oneida for both relevant species - largemouth and smallmouth - and tallied 65 pounds, 10 ounces, enough to hold off hard-charging Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., by more than 2 pounds.

   He credited his versatility, a must on Oneida, to his years of toiling in grassroots and lower-level tournaments in various states. His main bait for the final two days was a white XCalibur Zell Pop with chartreuse. Heading into the final day, Griffin carried a stout lead of 4-plus pounds and got off to a blazing start Sunday. But as the day progressed so did his troubles - including battery issues and a few missed fish.

   "I thought I blew the tournament. I was really worried," said Griffin, who moved up to 42nd in the Angler of the Year standings. "Honestly, I'm not sure what the heck I just accomplished. This means the world to me."

   While growing up in Alaska, Griffin followed The Bassmasters and idolized anglers like Kevin VanDam through hellacious winters. He said his passion was so strong that he used to tell family members that he was going to be a pro.

   Seizing the lead Friday, Griffin didn't waiver, catching the biggest bass of the tournament, a 5-pound, 8-ounce largemouth, and landing the biggest limit of the tournament of 18 pounds, 8 ounces, Friday.

   He wiped out two less-than-perfect days with two stellar days in the four-day event. On Thursday he failed to cash in on what he thought could have been more than 20 pounds, and Sunday he failed to land several fish that struck his lure. In the end, Griffin's Friday and Saturday performances were enough.

   Throughout the tournament, he executed a pattern developed in practice - targeting smallmouth in the grass. It was something he has never done, on a lake he had never before seen. But the one-time BASS winner has spent considerable time in Texas scouring Lone Star fisheries, where an abundance of grass also exists, and that helped his cause in New York.

   The victory netted Griffin $100,000 and peace of mind. Perhaps most important, after struggling through his rookie year, Griffin gained confidence in addition to the financial security.

   "It certainly takes some pressure off," he said. "It's nice to be able to tell my family that it finally happened. I always wanted this so bad. It's just really special."

   Kriet nearly toppled Griffin on Sunday with an 18-pound, 2-ounce limit. Despite some obvious disappointment in the finish, Kriet sewed up a qualifying berth into the 2010 Classic - his sixth - set for Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala.

   Kriet strictly targeted smallmouth - despite the tournament being won on largemouth in previous visits. He said his bite didn't really turn on until Sunday, when he boated the event's second-largest catch. He was throwing jigs and a drop-shot rig to suspended fish in the grass.

   Second is a familiar position for Kriet who has failed to land an Elite Series win despite being in contention numerous times.

   "Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder why I haven't won one of these yet," said Kriet, 40. "I sure would like to. But I have been working it out, and when I win one of these I think the door is going to open and I'm going to get a few."

   Last year's Oneida champion Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., was third with 59 pounds, 3 ounces. Home-state favorite Matthew Sphar of Pavilion was fourth with 58 pounds, 14 ounces, while Jason Quinn of York, S.C., rounded out the top five with 57 pounds, 8 ounces.

   Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Ala., finished ninth, which was good enough to sew up the final berth in the inaugural Elite Series postseason. Championship Week is set for Sept. 10-18 on two productive Alabama fisheries. The first of the two postseason tournaments, the Trophy Chase, will take place Sept. 12-13 on Lake Jordan out of Wetumpka; the finale, the Evan Williams Bourbon Trophy Triumph, is slated for Sept. 17-18 on the Alabama River from Montgomery.

   Terry Butcher of Talala, Okla., sewed up his first Classic berth by way of his 10th-place finish at Oneida. The final regular-season Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings can be found below.

FINAL STANDINGS

 

(PRO Division) Standings Day 4

 

   Angler                  Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

 

1.  Chad Griffin          Cresson, Texas       20  65-10  315  $101,000.00

  Day 1: 5   15-03    Day 2: 5   18-08    Day 3: 5   16-05    Day 4: 5   15-10  

2.  Jeff Kriet             Ardmore, Okla.        20  63-06  295   $25,000.00

  Day 1: 5   13-12    Day 2: 5   15-09    Day 3: 5   15-15    Day 4: 5   18-02  

3.  Dean Rojas             Lake Havasu City, Ariz 20  59-03  290   $20,000.00

  Day 1: 5   14-08    Day 2: 5   15-15    Day 3: 5   14-02    Day 4: 5   14-10  

4.  Matthew Sphar         Pavilion, N.Y.         20  58-14  285   $15,000.00

  Day 1: 5   12-01    Day 2: 5   17-09    Day 3: 5   14-08    Day 4: 5   14-12  

5.  Jason Quinn            York, S.C.            20  57-08  280   $14,000.00

  Day 1: 5   15-07    Day 2: 5   16-05    Day 3: 5   13-03    Day 4: 5   12-09  

6.  Steve Kennedy          Auburn, Ala.          20  57-04  276   $13,500.00

  Day 1: 5   10-13    Day 2: 5   17-04    Day 3: 5   14-12    Day 4: 5   14-07  

7.  Greg Hackney           Gonzales, La.         20  57-02  272   $13,000.00

  Day 1: 5   13-07    Day 2: 5   17-04    Day 3: 5   15-01    Day 4: 5   11-06  

8.  Tommy Biffle          Wagoner, Okla.        20  56-05  268   $12,500.00

  Day 1: 5   15-13    Day 2: 5   12-13    Day 3: 5   14-10    Day 4: 5   13-01  

9.  Gerald Swindle        Warrior, Ala.         20  56-04  264   $12,000.00

  Day 1: 5   15-09    Day 2: 5   13-04    Day 3: 5   16-03    Day 4: 5   11-04  

10. Terry Butcher          Talala, Okla.         20  56-04  260   $11,500.00

  Day 1: 5   15-06    Day 2: 5   14-01    Day 3: 5   13-11    Day 4: 5   13-02  

11. Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, Fla.     20  55-06  257   $11,000.00

  Day 1: 5   15-07    Day 2: 5   16-12    Day 3: 5   12-11    Day 4: 5   10-08  

12. Takahiro Omori         Emory, Texas          20  55-04  254   $10,500.00

  Day 1: 5   16-11    Day 2: 5   13-04    Day 3: 5   12-12    Day 4: 5   12-09  

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Big Bass

Day

 1   Chad Griffin           Cresson, Texas           5-08       $.00

 2   Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, Fla.          4-13       $.00

 3   Randy Howell            Springville, Ala.         4-03       $.00

 3   Alton Jones             Waco, Texas                4-03       $.00

 4   Dean Rojas             Lake Havasu City, Ariz.    3-14       $.00

 

Big Bass of Tournament

     Chad Griffin           Cresson, Texas           5-08  $1,000.00

 

Angler of the Year Leader

     Skeet Reese            Auburn, Calif.                  $1,000.00

 

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Totals

Day   #Limits    #Fish     Weight

 1       96       480     1251-09

 2       98       490     1274-03

 3       48       244      650-10

 4       12        60      162-00

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        254      1274     3338-06

 

BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS - REGULAR SEASON

 

Pro Points After Oneida Lake

-------------------------------------------

Place  Name               St            Pts

-------------------------------------------

  1 Skeet Reese           Calif.       2043

  2 Kevin VanDam          Mich.        2033

  3 Alton Jones           Texas       1979

  4 Kelly Jordon          Texas        1819

  5 Todd Faircloth        Texas        1799

  6 Randy Howell          Ala.         1796

  7 Gary Klein            Texas        1789

  8 Tommy Biffle          Okla.        1778

  9 Mark Menendez         Ky.          1775

 10 Cliff Pace           Miss.        1765

 11 Michael Iaconelli     N.J.        1754

 12 Gerald Swindle        Ala.         1740

 13 Steve Kennedy         Ala.         1717

 14 Jeff Kriet            Okla.        1692

 15 Greg Hackney          La.         1689

 16 Aaron Martens         Ala.         1679

 17 Takahiro Omori        Texas        1673

 18 Kevin Short           Ark.         1667

 19 Shaw Grigsby          Fla.         1661

 20 Brent Chapman         Kan.         1637

 21 Byron Velvick         Texas        1634

 22 Mike McClelland       Ark.         1629

 23 Kevin Wirth           Ky.          1625

 24 Casey Ashley         S.C.         1598

 25 Dean Rojas            Ariz.        1571

 26 James Niggemeyer      Texas        1567

 27 Billy McCaghren       Ark.         1561

 28 Matt Herren           Ala.         1553

 29 Russ Lane             Ala.         1547

 30 Stephen Browning      Ark.         1540

 31 Boyd Duckett          Ala.         1525

 32 Denny Brauer          Mo.          1517

 33 John Murray           Ariz.        1514

 34 Bobby Lane            Fla.         1513

 35 Terry Butcher         Okla.        1491

 35 Jason Quinn           S.C.        1491

 37 Jami Fralick          S.D.        1481

 37 Mark Tucker           Mo.          1481

 37 Matt Reed             Texas        1481

 40 Timmy Horton          Ala.         1478

 41 Fred Roumbanis        Okla.       1466

 42 Chad Griffin         Texas      1464

 43 Jason Williamson      S.C.        1462

 44 Edwin Evers           Okla.        1460

 44 Bradley Hallman       Okla.        1460

 46 Bernie Schultz        Fla.         1454

 47 Davy Hite             S.C.        1451

 48 Todd Auten            S.C.        1448

 49 Dave Wolak            N.C.        1446

 50 Terry Scroggins       Fla.        1442

 51 Brian Snowden         Mo.          1438

 52 Rick Morris           Va.          1422

 52 Pat Golden           N.C.         1422

 54 Marty Stone          N.C.         1385

 55 Dustin Wilks          N.C.        1380

 56 Greg Vinson           Ala.         1378

 56 J Todd Tucker         Ga.          1378

 58 Brian Clark           Texas        1377

 59 Jeff Connella         La.         1371

 60 Bill Lowen            Ohio         1370

 61 Kotaro Kiriyama       Ala.         1366

 62 Jared Lintner         Calif.       1363

 63 Rick Clunn            Mo.          1354

 64 Matthew Sphar         N.Y.        1350

 65 Mark Tyler            Okla.        1334

 66 Britt Myers           S.C.        1323

 67 Mark Davis            Ark.         1322

 68 Morizo Shimizu       Japan        1314

 69 Scott Campbell        Mo.          1273

 70 Derek Remitz          Ala.         1264

 71 Chris Lane            Fla.         1255

 72 Pete Ponds           Miss.        1242

 72 Vince Fulks           Okla.       1242

 74 John Crews            Va.          1236

 75 Wade Grooms          S.C.         1232

 76 Jim Murray            Ga.          1228

 77 Kenyon Hill           Okla.        1224

 78 Peter Thliveros       Fla.        1208

 79 Ish Monroe            Calif.       1204

 80 Marty Robinson       S.C.         1178

 81 Guy Eaker             N.C.        1158

 82 Charlie Hartley       Ohio         1134

 83 Jeff Reynolds         Okla.        1108

 84 Ken Cook              Okla.        1102

 85 Paul Elias           Miss.        1097

 86 Scott Rook            Ark.        1084

 87 Clark Reehm           Ark.         1078

 88 Jimmy Mize            Ark.         1064

 89 Yusuke Miyazaki       Texas        1056

 90 Grant Goldbeck       Md.          1029

 91 Luke Gritter          Mich.        1028

 92 Jeremy Starks         W.Va.        1022

 93 Mike Wurm             Ark.         1016

 94 Mark Burgess          Mass.         994

 95 Zell Rowland          Texas         974

 96 Elton Luce            Texas         970

 97 Brent Broderick       Ohio          844

 98 David Smith           Okla.         785

 99 Jon Bondy             Canada       495

100 Kevin Langill         N.C.         484