ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas, surprised many Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing contestants by proving his Alabama prowess once again by winning the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin presented by Econo Lodge.
Omori won on Lake Martin in the early 2000s, and won in 2016 on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake indicating a certain level of understanding for Alabama waters. He spent the majority of his time up the Tallapoosa River fishing a small eddie below a point that was created by an inflowing creek.
The spot was the size of a pick-up truck and produce the vast majority of his four-day limit that weighed 59 pounds, 8 ounces. His impressive stringer topped second-place finisher Bassmaster Rookie Roy Hawk of Lake Havasu, Ariz., by an impressive seven pounds.
Speaking of impressive, the top Fantasy Fishing finisher was “zbass13” who managed to place three anglers in the Top 12, including Omori for the win.
zbass13’s selections:
Bucket A: Casey Ashley, 245 points
B: Luke Clausen, 280
C: Justin Lucas, 276
D: Takahiro Omori, 315
E: Boyd Duckett, 223
Total: 1,339
Martin’s perfect team:
Bucket A: Dustin Connell, 254 points
B: Luke Clausen, 280
C: Adrian Avena, 290
D: Takahiro Omori, 315
E: Roy Hawk, 295
Total: 1,434
BUCKET A: CONNELL
Dustin Connell great up fishing the impoundments along eastern Alabama, and considers Lake Martin one of his home lakes. He came into this event heavily favored to do well, if not win. And he did not disappoint. Connell finished in 12th place having earned his 8.6-percent ownership 254 points.
The second best selection in Bucket A was Tennessee pro Ott DeFoe who barely missed the Top 12 cut by finishing 13th. DeFoe earned his 9.8-percent ownership 251 points for his performance.
The worst pick in this bucket was an uncharacteristic Mark Davis who only managed 65 points for his 0.5-percent ownership after a difficult 105th-place finish.
BUCKET B: CLAUSEN
Former Classic champion Luke Clausen of Otis Orchards, Wash., enjoyed a solid start to his year with an impressive fifth-place finish, which earned his 0.9-percent ownership 280 points.
The second best selection was Jonny VanDam who earned his 1.7-percent ownership 264 points for a very respectable ninth-place finish.
The worst selection in Bucket B was a very surprising Kelley Jaye, who is a local angler that was favored to do well at this event. Jaye earned his 3.4-percent ownership 75 points for a 100th-place finish.
BUCKET C: AVENA
Adrian Avena, a young New Jersey native kicked off his season well with a solid third-place finish, earning his 0.8-percent ownership 290 points.
The second best selection was Paducah, Ky., resident Mark Menendez who earned his 0.8-percent ownership 268 points for finishing eighth place.
The worst selection in Bucket C was Marty Robinson who earned his 1.7-percent ownership 67 points for finishing in 104th place.
BUCKET D: OMORI
Omori gambled and stuck to his guns most of his fish at Martin in one small spot way up the river. He earned his 5.5-percent ownership 315 total points, 300 of which for winning the event, plus 15 bonus points for leading three of the days, (5 points per day of leadership).
The second best selection was Jared Lintner who enjoyed a great start to his season by finishing in fourth place having earned his 0.8-percent ownership 285 points.
The worst pick in Bucket D was a surprising Tommy Biffle to earned his 1.9-percent ownership only 61 points after a tough 107th-place finish.
BUCKET E: HAWK
Bassmaster rookie Roy Hawk enjoyed a tremendous first appearance on the Elite Series by finishing in second place earning his 1.3-percent ownership 295 points.
The second best selection was rookie Ray Hanselman who earned his 2.2-percent ownership 248 points for finishing in 14th place.
The worst selection in the final bucket was another rookie Kyle Monti who earned his 0.6-percent ownership only 55 points by finishing in 110th place.
