Classic and Elite Status Nearing Completion
By David A. Brown
BASS Press Release
Williams ride out difficult last day to win.
(Photo: BASS)
Enduring a tough day marked by mishaps and disappointment, Tommy Williams of Shepherdsville, Ky., won the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open on Lewisville Lake with a three-day total of 41 pounds, 15 ounces.
On Day 1, Williams caught a second-place limit of 18-8 and trailed early leader Brandon Dillard by 6-1. Adding a Day 2 limit of 15-8 sent him into Championship Saturday with a 6-3 lead.
Saturday, that margin proved essential as Williams found only three keepers for 7-15, but held on to claim the top prize of $35,934 and a berth in the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk scheduled for March 19-21 on Lake Ray Roberts.
“Everybody knows how tough it is to win a tournament when you have a missed opportunity and I had a couple of them,” Williams said. “The fish bit funny today. I had fish blow up on a spinnerbait and I lost fish on a flipping stick.
“I fished clean all week, but today, they just pulled off. But it’s been a wonderful experience. Texas has treated me well. This is the first time I’ve been in contention to win one of these events.”
Williams spent his tournament in three areas. Two comprised windward pockets with baitfish blown into dense tangles of shallow wood. The third was a main-lake flat.
“I spent seven days of practice and it came together on the third day,” he said. “I fished my strengths through the whole thing.”
He flipped the wood with a Texas-rigged green pumpkin creature bait with the tails dipped in chartreuse. On the flat, he fished a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait with a single No. 3 willow-leaf blade and a chartreuse curly tail grub for a trailer.
