Part 4 Canadian BASS Elite Series Pro Jon Bondy Day Three Results Toyota Texas Bass Classic April 13-15/07 By: Wil Wegman
Pre Tournament Coverage | The Evening Before | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

April 16th, 2007
Well the big Toyota Texas Bass Classic is over and I didn't think it could happen but it did. A 15 pound lead in a bass tournament on day two going into day three is usually something that will almost guarantee you a tournament win if you are ‘on fish’ - but the Toyota Texas Bass Classic was no normal tournament. And when there are four man teams instead of two - or one, with total weights coming in ranging from 20-120 pounds, any guarantees are futile in the first place!

On day two the 4-man team captained by Terry Scroggins was a full 15 pounds behind the Alton Jones team who had lead the entire event. But, Scroggins and teammates Chris Daves, Frank Ippoliti and James Niggemeyer caught 119 pounds worth of Lake Fork bass on Sunday to win the inaugural Toyota Texas Bass Classic with a 3-day total of 244-12. They will share the $250,000 first place purse.

Even though the winners were still 10 pounds down after the morning flight they made up nearly 45 pounds during the final 4-hour session of the Professional Anglers Association-sanctioned tournament to overtake the Jones' team who ended up 2nd with 209-00. They caught 'just' 68-04 on Sunday. David Walker's team held onto its 3rd-place slot with 198-12 pounds and landed 81 pounds of bass on the final day.

The dark, stormy weather of the first two days gave way to bright sunshine on Sunday, which was ideal for the Scroggins team's deep ledge pattern. However, the light hindered the Jones team's swimbait bite, and they had to resort to sight-fishing in the afternoon. They just couldn't get the quality bites under the blue sky conditions. In fact most anglers found the cold-front bluebird conditions resulted in tougher fishing.

Keying on a special 50-yard long underwater point near a channel swing with deep-diving crankbaits, Terry Scroggins and partner Chris Daves led Scroggins’ team to the come-from-behind victory. The two pros, neither of whom had had much previous experience on the famous big bass impoundment, had found the spot earlier in the week, and alternated through it with their teammates, James Niggemeyer and Frank Ippoliti. 
It was the same spot where Niggemeyer and Ippolitti boated more than 40 pounds of fish yesterday “We met last night to have a final game plan today, and we followed it,” said Scroggins.  We thought that because neither Chris nor I had had any real experience on Lake Fork it would be more efficient if he and I went to the point and just stayed on it. Because James is a guide on Lake Fork, we thought he might have a better chance to find other bass, and he and Frank did very well sight fishing for bedding fish.  Our bass were both pre-spawn and post-spawn fish, and came from between 12 and 20 feet.”

When Scroggins first showed the spot to James, he was surprised, and noted that in six years of guiding on the lake he had never seen a boat on the spot.
At the conclusion of the weigh-in, Gulf States Toyota presented a check for $250,000 to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  Phil Durocher, TP&W fisheries chief, indicated he hoped to use part of the funds to help finance additional programs for youth, as well as to strengthen the department’s urban fishing program throughout the state.

The BIG FISH of the tournament was 11 lb 2 oz caught by John Sappington with team #34. Sappington wins a new 2007 White Lucchese edition Toyota Tundra Truck for catching the biggest fish.

Canadian Jon Bondy
Even though Jon Bondy and teammates didn't qualify to fish the final day, they still thought the event was a resounding success. Even better, Jon continued to hold his own amongst the most elite bass anglers on the planet. He also took away some fond memories that will stay with him for a lifetime ... as he relates to us here in this interview

"I ended up fishing with Denny Brauer both days, and our team finished 18th out of 40. We took home $3500 a piece. Not bad for no entry fee. Can't wait for the next one (Oct in Georgia is the rumor)

In practice I was the one guy given the job of looking for the deep gold mine, which I never found. The other guys focused shallow, and they soon figured out that if you swam a flipping jig in green pumpkin or any bluegill type color past a nest, they would swim 10 ft to nail it. They wanted it shaking and swimming by them, not sitting on the bottom. Denny and I did that both days, and so did our team mates. We ended up with 90+lbs, but after the practice, they thought we could win it all, they were that confident.

I on the other hand, had spent most of practice deep and had only found two Shallow spots. Had I found the deep mother load, we would have benefited greatly. The fish were really moving around a lot, as some guys did great one day and not the next. That is what is hard for me in the southern spring events...following migrating bass. These suckers move in a hurry, and it's pretty hard to relocate them at a moments notice.

Fishing with Denny was good. He is such a legend, but I felt respected by him, and we worked well together. He wanted me to use my boat on day two and even run the electric.

Imagine how you would feel if Denny is standing on the front deck behind you while you are both pitching to the bank and docks, in a million dollar event no less. I was intimidated to say the least, but did quite well. I even joked on stage that I was scared to death that every pitch I made was being analyzed for a scolding that was to come later.

Denny gave me this advice at the end of the event..." Never dwell on your failures, and never dwell on your successes either. Jut move on to the next event... So, it’s on to Clarks Hill”.

On a personal note … Denny is great at offering sound/practical advice for anglers of all skill levels – whether you are an Elite Series Bassmaster like Jon Bondy or even right down to a wannabee like me.  I was fortunate enough once as an official B.A.S.S. Press Observer, to be paired with Denny Brauer at one of the Bassmasters Classic – a couple years before he won it.  I’ll never forget the very logical advice he gave me when the time came, that I often share with those fishing in the boat with me – when their time comes.  He said, and I quote” Wil, never keep fishing if ya gotta pee… Cause when ya gotta pee, ya should just stop and go pee. If ya don’t, you’ll be fishin’ too fast and you won’t be concentrating enough on fishin’ cause part of ya will still be thinking of that pee ya gotta still take!”

For those interested in more Canadian related views of the Toyota Texas Bass classic, I am sure our very own Dave Mercer will be posting his take on the event on his popular blog soon after he returns.  You can check out Dave’s site at www.factsoffishing.com .

TOYOTA TEXAS BASS CLASSIC PRESENTED BY ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR
Tournament Final Standings - Day 3 of 3
Reservoir: Lake Fork
City/State: Lake Fork, Texas
Start date: 04/13/07 End date: 04/15/07
Standings below are cumulative from days 1, 2 and 3 and are official. The first five winning teams from days one and two qualified for day three.

Place Team # Team Capt. City/St Day One #Fish/Weight Day Two #Fish/Weight Day Three #Fish/Weight Team Total #Fish/Weight Total Purse Per Team

1 40 Terry Scroggins Palatka, FL 17 68-12 29 125-12 54 244-12 54 244-12 $ 250,000
2 4 Alton Jones Waco, TX 16 82-0 30 140-12 49 209-0 49 209-0 $ 88,000
3 20 David Walker Seveirville, TN 18 81-8 28 117-12 46 198-12 46 198-12 $ 70,000
4 28 Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, IL 13 52-8 27 112-4 47 194-0 47 194-0 $ 60,000
5 17 Randy Howell Springville, AL 14 46-8 33 108-8 44 142-4 44 142-4 $ 44,000

6 36 Gary Klein Weatherford, TX 14 62-0 26 103-4 N/A 26 103-4 $ 36,000
7 32 Kelly Jordan Mineola, TX 11 49-4 21 101-12 N/A 21 101-12 $ 32,000
8 26 Zell Rowland Montgomery, TX 13 40-8 29 101-12 N/A 29 101-12 $ 28,000
9 16 Mike Wurm Hot Springs, AR 18 50-4 31 100-0 N/A 31 100-0 $ 24,000 10 27 Luke Clausen Dayton, TN 12 56-12 24 98-12 N/A 24 98-12 $ 20,000
11 3 Charlie Hartley Grove City, OK 12 43-0 25 98-12 N/A 25 98-12 $ 14,000
12 13 Larry Nixon Bee Branch, AR 14 42-4 30 98-8 N/A 30 98-8 $ 14,000
13 25 Jeff Reynolds Idabel, OK 16 50-8 29 96-12 N/A 29 96-12 $ 14,000
14 30 Edwin Evers Talala, OK 12 31-0 31 96-0 N/A 31 96-0 $ 14,000
15 11 Jay Yelas Tyler, TX 15 46-12 30 93-12 N/A 30 93-12 $ 14,000
16 18 Andy Morgan Dayton, TN 14 50-0 25 93-8 N/A 25 93-8 $ 14,000
17 7 Peter Thilevros Jacksonville, FL 12 49-12 21 91-12 N/A 21 91-12 $ 14,000
18 33 Denny Brauer Camdenton, MO 16 35-4 34 91-8 N/A 34 91-8 $ 14,000
19 15 Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AR 16 48-8 30 88-0 N/A 30 88-0 $ 14,000 20 24 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 12 50-8 23 85-4 N/A 23 85-4 $ 14,000
21 22 Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 12 42-12 24 81-12 N/A 24 81-12 $ 8,000
22 19 Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 13 28-0 27 80-4 N/A 27 80-4 $ 8,000
23 14 Chris Baumgardner Gastonia, NC 18 55-8 28 80-4 N/A 28 80-4 $ 8,000
24 2 Mike Iaconelli Runnemede, NJ 13 29-8 26 80-0 N/A 26 80-0 $ 8,000
25 10 Morizo Shimizu Matsugaka Suita, Japan 12 50-12 19 79-12 N/A19 79-12 $ 8,000
26 21 Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 11 31-4 24 74-12 N/A 24 74-12 $ 8,000
27 37 Art Ferguson III St. Clair Shores, MI 9 30-12 22 74-8 N/A 22 74-8 $ 8,000
28 23 Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 12 46-0 20 74-0 N/A 20 74-0 $ 8,000
29 9 Lee Bailey Jr. Boaz, AL 7 16-0 18 70-12 N/A 18 70-12 $ 8,000 30 34 John Crews Jr. Salem, VA 12 32-12 22 69-4 N/A 22 69-4 $ 8,000
31 29 Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 11 54-0 14 66-0 N/A 14 66-0 $ 8,000
32 12 Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 11 39-4 19 66-0 N/A 19 66-0 $ 8,000
33 6 Kevin Wirth Crestwood, KY 11 28-0 23 65-12 N/A 23 65-12 $ 8,000
34 5 Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 9 29-0 16 60-0 N/A 16 60-0 $ 8,000
35 1 Dave Wolak Wake Forest, NC 13 33-12 22 56-4 N/A 22 56-4 $ 8,000
36 8 Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, KS 6 13-8 16 55-8 N/A 16 55-8 $ 8,000
37 35 Guy Eaker Sr. Cherryville, NC 11 29-0 17 54-4 N/A 17 54-4 $ 8,000
38 31 Brian Snowden Reed Springs, MO 11 21-12 20 49-4 N/A 20 49-4 $ 8,000
39 39 Jason Quinn York, NC 7 15-12 18 44-0 N/A 18 44-0 $ 8,000 40 38 Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 7 20-4 16 42-14 N/A 16 42-14 $ 8,000

TTBC Total Final Round Tournament Catches: 93 TTBC Total Final Round Tournament Weight: 988-12

TTBC Total Tournament Catches: 1,060
TTBC Total Tournament Weight: 4358-2

Wil Wegman is an award winning outdoor writer who has covered major fishing tournaments since 1991. As an accredited BASS/ESPN press observer, Wil has attended and covered more Bassmasters Classic’s in the US then another Canadian. He is also an avid tournament competitor and has been teaching bass fishing courses at SenecaCollege for over 20 years.