For the first time in four days, the wind and waves were calm on mighty Lake Oahe. Mark Daniels Jr. was not. The Alabama pro started Championship Monday with a lead of more than 6 pounds over the rest of the field.
However, he struggled to get bites from the bigger bass he needed, and it seemed the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Oahe presented by Abu Garcia was slipping through his hands.
Former Bassmaster Classic winner Casey Ashley was reported on Bassmaster.com to have caught up to Daniels. However, when the scales settled, Daniels’ last-round 13-pound, 3-ounce limit was enough to take home the big blue trophy. His final tally was 69-9, besting Ashley, the runner up, by more than 3 pounds.
“This is a special place in South Dakota! Beautiful place, beautiful people and an awesome fishery. There is nothing you can complain about here,” Daniels said before getting emotional over his very first Elite Series win. “I have literally dedicated my life to this sport. And I never gave up. And let me say one thing, if anyone out there has something they love, pursue it. I’m living proof you can live your dream if you are willing to work for it.”
And Daniels worked hard for it this week. He found an area where postspawn bass were congregating after the spawn, and he used finesse techniques to catch them. “I was fishing deep points adjacent to shallow flats. The fish were pretty finicky, so I relied heavily on a Finesse TRD soft-plastic bait by Z-Man with the mushroom head (Ned rig), and drop shotting a Z-Man Finesse WormZ,” Daniels explained.
Although the majority of the field was drop shotting, he believes he was doing something a little different. “Instead of using the worm in a traditional manner, I was wacky rigging it on the drop shot. Plus, I was able to scan around my boat with my Garmin Panoptix. This allowed me to see fish 60 feet away and then cast to them. That was crazy important as the event went on because I wouldn’t spook the bass by getting too close.”
Daniels’ victory was especially meaningful to him because it came a week after veteran Elite Series angler Ish Monroe captured the Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River presented by Go RVing. It is the first time African-American anglers have won back-to-back Elite Series events.
“Following up Ish’s win with a win here for me is monumental. Historic. As a black man representing this sport, I feel overwhelmed at the moment. I hope this inspires more people in the black community to get involved in the sport that has made my dreams come true,” Daniels said.
Ashley made a serious run at the title, bringing 16-9 to the scales today for a total of 66-5. The biggest limit of the day, however, was weighed in by Clifford Pirch. His epic comeback from 87th place on the first day of the event to a third-place finish was emphasized by the 20-pound, 11-ounce limit of bass he weighed in on Championship Monday. His monster catch included the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day, a 4-9 smallmouth. The $1,500 Phoenix Boats Big Bass bonus of the tournament, however, goes to Fred Roumbanis, who weighed in a 5-6 smallmouth on Saturday.
Not only did Daniels win the event, but he also claimed the Toyota Bonus Bucks Award of $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the program. The second highest-placing eligible entrant, Casey Ashley, received $2,000. Ashley also won the Power-Pole Captain’s Cash award of $1,000 for being the highest-placing angler who is registered and eligible and uses a client-approved product on his boat.
Bradley Roy, who chalked up a solid sixth-place finish on Oahe, climbed to the top of the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race. He was awarded $1,000 for taking over the top spot.
The Oahe event was the seventh of nine regular-season tournaments on the prestigious Bassmaster Elite Series, and it marks the first time in B.A.S.S.’s 50-year history for the organization to hold a professional tournament on the 370,000-acre impoundment.
Next up is the Huk Bassmaster Elite at Upper Chesapeake Bay presented by Mossy Oak Fishing. The event is July 26-29 in Harford County, Md.
2018 Bassmaster Elite At Lake Oahe Title Sponsor: Berkley
2018 Bassmaster Elite At Lake Oahe Presenting Sponsor: Abu Garcia
2018 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2018 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Huk, Hummingbird, Mercury
2018 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Phoenix Boats, T-H Marine, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Carhartt 2018 Bassmaster Elite Series Elite Partner: Black Velvet Canadian Whisky
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing. The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Series presented by Magellan Outdoors, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods
2018 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Oahe presented by Abu Garcia 6/29-7/2
Lake Oahe, Pierre SD.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Mark Daniels Jr. Tuskegee, AL 20 69-09 110 $100,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-12 Day 2: 5 20-04 Day 3: 5 17-06 Day 4: 5 13-03
2. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 20 66-05 109 $26,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-00 Day 2: 5 20-06 Day 3: 5 12-06 Day 4: 5 16-09
3. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 20 66-02 108 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 07-10 Day 2: 5 18-04 Day 3: 5 19-09 Day 4: 5 20-11
4. Boyd Duckett Guntersville, AL 20 64-11 107 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 5 17-02 Day 3: 5 16-06 Day 4: 5 14-10
5. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 20 63-04 106 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 5 14-10 Day 3: 5 17-06 Day 4: 5 18-04
6. Bradley Roy Lancaster, KY 20 63-01 105 $14,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 5 14-13 Day 3: 5 17-15 Day 4: 5 13-10
7. Jacob Wheeler Harrison, TN 20 62-01 104 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-12 Day 2: 5 14-02 Day 3: 5 14-02 Day 4: 5 17-01
8. Josh Bertrand San Tan Valley, AZ 20 61-12 103 $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-08 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 15-05 Day 4: 5 13-04
9. Justin Lucas Guntersville, AL 20 58-03 102 $12,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-05 Day 2: 5 15-09 Day 3: 5 09-08 Day 4: 5 15-13
10. Brent Ehrler Redlands, CA 20 56-06 101 $11,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-12 Day 2: 5 13-07 Day 3: 5 13-06 Day 4: 5 14-13
11. Jordan Lee Grant, AL 20 53-10 100 $11,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 13-14 Day 3: 5 09-10 Day 4: 5 11-09
12. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 20 53-10 99 $10,500.00
Day 1: 5 15-11 Day 2: 5 11-14 Day 3: 5 14-07 Day 4: 5 11-10
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Fred Roumbanis Russellville, AR 05-06 $1,500.00
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 93 515 1130-08
2 64 432 895-05
3 41 224 526-06
4 12 60 181-01
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210 1231 2733-04
By: JamieDay Matthews
