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New Orleans, LA .... With one day remaining in the 29th annual BASS Masters Classic world championship, South Carolina pro Davy Hite has found the Louisiana Delta to be The Big Easy when it comes to consistently catching the bass residing in its shallow, marshy habitat. On Friday, Hite brought an impressive 19-pound, 3-ounce, five-bass limit catch into the famed Superdome and went away with a lead of 5 pounds, 12 ounces in the race for the $100,000 and competitive fishing^s most important title.
After two days, Hite, 34, owns a seemingly insurmountable lead with a total of 35-12. Arkansas^ Ron Shuffield, who weighed in 16 pounds Friday, jumped from sixth to second with a total of 30 pounds. Mickey Bruce of Georgia is third with 28-11, followed by Arkansas^ Larry Nixon (28-8) and Gary Klein of Texas (28-3).
The Classic, the crowning event of the $4 million BASSMASTER Tournament Trail, concludes Saturday. Of the top-five contestants, only Nixon has ever won the Classic.
"It feels great to be in this position," said Hite, a former B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year. "I^ve got an area that I have been fishing that has a lot of big fish in it, and I haven^t seen another boat anywhere near it the last two days. That^s a real luxury in a tournament like this.
"I feel confident that I can catch another big string (Saturday). I only fished about half of the area today that I feel is the best part. So I should be in good shape."
Hite won the $1,000 Pennzoil big-bass award Friday with a 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth.
Shuffield, a 43-year-old former steel worker, was pessimistic about his chances of overtaking Hite on the final day.
"That lead is pretty insurmountable," he said. "I say that because it will take some big bass to catch up, and I^ve only seen two fish in the 4-pound range since I got here. But I will stay after it."
Nixon was the surprise of Friday^s weigh-in festivities, bringing an 18 1/2-pound catch to the scales and climbing from 16th to fourth. "After messing up yesterday and catching only 10 pounds, that pretty much took me out of the running unless a lot of people ahead of me stumbled," he said. "But not enough people stumbled."
Sponsors of the BASS Masters Classic: Ranger Boats, RangerTrail Trailers, Mercury Outboards, Chevrolet Trucks, ACDelco Voyager Batteries, Kmart, Humminbird/Zercom, JERZEES American ActiveWear, Pennzoil, Wrangler Rugged Wear, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Plano Tackle Systems, MotorGuide Trolling Motors, City of New Orleans, State of Louisiana, Jefferson Parish and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation.
PLACE NAME CITY STATE FISH/DEAD LBS-OZ
001 Davy Hite Prosperity SC 10/0 35-12
002 Ron Shuffield Bismarck AR 10/0 30-00
003 Mickey Bruce Buford GA 10/0 28-11
004 Larry Nixon Bee Branch AR 10/1 28-08
005 Gary Klein Weatherford TX 10/1 28-03
006 Denny Brauer Camdenton MO 10/0 28-02
007 Jack L. Wade Knoxville TN 10/0 26-10
008 Michael Iaconelli Runnemede NJ 10/0 26-06
009 Peter E. Thliveros Jacksonville FL 10/0 22-08
010 Dustin Wilks Raleigh NC 9/0 22-03
011 Tom Biffle Wagoner OK 10/0 22-02
012 Jay Yelas Tyler TX 10/0 20-15
013 John Sappington Wyandotte OK 10/0 20-09
014 Mark Rizk Redding CA 10/0 20-08
015 Lendell Martin, Jr. Nacogdoches TX 10/0 20-06
016 Stacey D. King Reeds Spring MO 10/0 20-03
017 Mark Davis Mount Ida AR 10/0 20-00
018 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo MI 10/0 19-11
019 Randy Howell Trussville AL 9/0 18-12
020 Stanley Mitchell Fitzgerald GA 10/1 18-02
Uploaded: 7/31/1999
Uploaded: 7/31/1999