Defoe Finishes Strong, Wins Bassmaster Open On Douglas
Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., wins the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open presented by Allstate on Douglas Lake. Bringing in a three-day total of 62 pounds, 5 ounces, DeFoe earns a berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.
Ott DeFoe saved his best for last and it turned out to be the best of the tournament. His 24 pound, 1 ounce closing statement gave him a decisive win on his home waters of Douglas Lake with a 3-day total of 62-5 – nearly a 10 pound margin of victory.
This was the first Bassmaster Open of the 2014 Northern Division season. It marked the 4th Bassmaster tournament DeFoe has fished on the lake. In addition to a PAA event, this was his 5th tourney at home. He has always done well, but this time he topped the field.
DeFoe fished further up the lake each day. Today he wrung 37 bass out of his best spots to compile his final weight. He said the bass offered a moving target as far as patterns and techniques were concerned. “It was really all about changing. I caught all of my fish deep the first day, and I caught them off of a couple of different places primarily cranking a Rapala DT16 crankbait in Caribbean shad. I also caught some on a Terminator football jig.”
On Friday DeFoe had to move up the lake a bit to find his limit, another good sack that gave him the lead.
Today he concentrated all of his efforts up that way and simply crushed ‘em. “I changed a little bit again today and fished some different areas,” he said. “Then we got into one place, and we just hammered them.”
For the 2nd year in a row, Dave Mullins finished runner-up in a Bassmaster Open on his home lake. The Elite Series pro tallied 52-11 over 3 days.
As did DeFoe, Mullins found the cure for crowded conditions was to run up the river. He fished ‘up’ on Friday and Saturday and improved his standing each day.
Mullins relied on 3 lures: a Strike King Sexy Swimmer swimbait, a Strike King 6XD and a Strike King 10 XD.
“I caught most of my fish on a Strike King 6XD crankbait, and then today we had enough room down the lake, so I ran down and caught my big one on a Strike King 10XD first thing,” Mullins said.
Daniel Beebe Jr. of Niota, TN won the co-angler division with 30-7. One lure produced all of his fish each day: a Basstrix swimbait with a ¾ oz. Revenge jighead. The color of the swimbait? Tennessee Shad, of course.
“We fished a big flat today and just wore them out there,” said the 44-year-old computer repairman.
Big bass honors went to Elite Series Pro Aaron Martens who caught a 7-1 the first day.
2014 BPS Bassmaster Northern Open 5/29-5/31
Douglas Lake, Dandridge TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 15 62-05 200 $48,271.00
Day 1: 5 19-03 Day 2: 5 19-01 Day 3: 5 24-01
2. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 15 52-11 199 $19,051.00
Day 1: 5 17-02 Day 2: 5 14-00 Day 3: 5 21-09
3. Derrick Snavely Rogersville, TN 15 50-09 198 $14,288.00
Day 1: 5 20-06 Day 2: 5 10-06 Day 3: 5 19-13
4. Luke Clausen Otis Orchards, WA 15 48-13 197 $12,784.00
Day 1: 5 15-11 Day 2: 5 15-06 Day 3: 5 17-12
5. Brent Ehrler Redlands, CA 14 48-12 196 $11,155.00
Day 1: 5 20-12 Day 2: 5 13-13 Day 3: 4 14-03
6. Michael Neal Dayton, TN 15 48-00 195 $9,525.00
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 5 15-09 Day 3: 5 15-12
7. David Walker Sevierville, TN 15 47-08 194 $8,021.00
Day 1: 5 13-13 Day 2: 5 18-02 Day 3: 5 15-09
8. Ricky Shepherd Mosheim, TN 15 47-04 193 $6,392.00
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 20-10 Day 3: 5 11-06
9. Jacob Wheeler Indianapolis, IN 15 47-03 192 $4,763.00
Day 1: 5 17-04 Day 2: 5 17-00 Day 3: 5 12-15
10. Todd Schmitz Goshen, IN 14 42-13 191 $4,387.00
Day 1: 5 20-10 Day 2: 5 14-09 Day 3: 4 07-10
11. Dewayne Wilson La Follette, TN 14 42-11 190 $4,011.00
Day 1: 5 21-12 Day 2: 4 13-02 Day 3: 5 07-13
12. Craig Workman Fort Worth, TX 12 35-06 189 $3,760.00
Day 1: 5 14-14 Day 2: 5 15-06 Day 3: 2 05-02
CARHARTT BIG BASS
Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 07-01 $500.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 122 755 1674-00
2 102 702 1456-13
3 9 55 173-09
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233 1512 3304-06
2014 BPS Bassmaster Northern Open 5/29-5/31
Douglas Lake, Dandridge TN.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Daniel Beebe Jr Niota, TN 9 30-07 200 $25,000.00
Day 1: 3 09-07 Day 2: 3 10-04 Day 3: 3 10-12
2. Mandel Pettus Sound Beach, NY 8 28-06 199 $6,141.00
Day 1: 3 10-08 Day 2: 3 09-13 Day 3: 2 08-01
3. Doug Fowler Conover, NC 9 27-04 198 $4,637.00
Day 1: 3 04-08 Day 2: 3 11-06 Day 3: 3 11-06
4. Travis Dehart Greenville, SC 9 24-13 197 $3,133.00
Day 1: 3 08-01 Day 2: 3 10-06 Day 3: 3 06-06
5. Robert Pelletier Nassau, NY 9 22-14 196 $2,883.00
Day 1: 3 09-10 Day 2: 3 05-09 Day 3: 3 07-11
6. Herschel Brady Morristown, TN 8 21-11 195 $2,757.00
Day 1: 3 07-00 Day 2: 3 11-11 Day 3: 2 03-00
7. Edward Rogers Jr Sparta, MI 9 21-06 194 $2,782.00
Day 1: 3 03-12 Day 2: 3 11-03 Day 3: 3 06-07
8. Jonathan Hankins North Tazewell, VA 9 21-04 193 $2,507.00
Day 1: 3 07-01 Day 2: 3 09-01 Day 3: 3 05-02
9. Bill Kohls Winston Salem, NC 9 20-08 192 $2,381.00
Day 1: 3 08-10 Day 2: 3 07-00 Day 3: 3 04-14
10. Jason Yates Dandridge, TN 8 19-12 191 $2,131.00
Day 1: 3 07-07 Day 2: 3 08-03 Day 3: 2 04-02
11. Mike Henderson Caledonia CANADA 7 19-02 190 $1,880.00
Day 1: 3 08-00 Day 2: 3 10-05 Day 3: 1 00-13
12. Paul Palmer Madisonville, TN 8 18-09 189 $1,755.00
Day 1: 3 11-12 Day 2: 3 04-03 Day 3: 2 02-10
CARHARTT BIG BASS
Stephen Evans Napanee Ontario CANADA05-08 $0.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 93 367 709-04
2 85 336 654-06
3 7 30 71-04
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185 733 1434-14
