Tournament results

BASSMASTER CENTRAL OPEN

145 pros, 144 co-anglers; Oct. 30-Nov. 1, Lake Texoma, Denison, Texas

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Terry Butcher of Talala, Okla., claimed a bittersweet victory Saturday at the Bassmaster Central Open on Lake Texoma, the final Central Open division event of the season, weighing in five fish at 15 pounds, 14 ounces for a three-day total of 46 pounds, 8 ounces.

Along with chasing a victory in the Central Open tournament, the top pros among the 30 who made the cut for the final day were vying for a 2009 Bassmaster Classic berth and an invitation to compete in the 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series, the premier level of tournament fishing.

Kathy Crowder of Sherwood, Ark., won the co-angler competition Saturday at the Bassmaster Central Open. She didn't realize until later that she had also scored a first for her gender.

"I had no idea," said Crowder, who became the first woman to win a co-angler competition in a Bassmaster Open tournament. "I was out to win a $3 bet with the two co-anglers I travel with. It was a just-for-fun, bragging-rights bet on who would do the best."

Crowder's Open win came one week after Kim Bain-Moore of Alabaster, Ala., became the first woman to qualify for a Bassmaster Classic. Bain-Moore earned her berth by winning the Toyota Tundra Women's Bassmaster Tour Angler of the Year title at the WBT Championship on Oct. 25 in Crowder's home state of Arkansas on Lake Hamilton.

Butcher claimed the tournament's top prize of $45,000 but missed out on qualifying for the Classic by just two points in the final Central Open division standings. Ironically, the Elite pro and good friend who loaned him a boat when motor problems plagued Butcher on the first day of the tournament, Jami Fralick of Martin, S.D., was the pro who squeaked past him to qualify for what will be Fralick's second Classic. It would have been Butcher's first.

Butcher said his key strategy in winning the event was fishing rocks early, in about four to five feet of water, and cranking a 4A Bomber in a foxy shad color. He switched in the afternoons to a fat free shad in a chartreuse sparkle color, fishing eight to 10 feet around brush piles.

"The whole key was to soak it in the brushpile," Butcher said "The first day I fished a brushpile for 15 minutes. I was just getting ready to leave but I made another pitch and caught a 5-pounder. That let me know that I needed to soak that worm in there."

On day two, the wind changed directions, which made for better conditions around the shallower riprap but shut down the bite on his deeper brushpiles. He still managed to bring in over 13 pounds by cranking a Foxy Shad 4A Bomber in about 4 feet of water.

BOATER DIVISION: 1, Terry Butcher, Talala, Okla., 15 bass, 46 pounds, 8 ounces, $38,286; 2, Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., 15 fish, 34-10, $16,571; 3, Michael Burns, Plano, Texas, 12 fish, 33-9, $14,086; 4, Brian Clark, Haltom City, Texas, 14 fish, 32-15, $10,357; 5, Andy Gaia, Tomball, Texas, 15 fish, 32-9, $8,286; 6, Charles Hammack, New Caney, Texas, 12 fish, 31-15, $7,457; 7, Rick Clunn, Ava, Mo., 15 fish, 31-4, $6,629; 8, Paul Ferguson, Whitehouse, Texas, 12 fish, 30-11, $7,800; 9, Mike Pharr, Shreveport, La.,13 fish, 30-5, $4,971; 10, Chris Burnham, Farmerville, La., 15 fish, 29-1, $3,728.50; 10, Lance Vick, Mineola, Texas, 12 fish, 29-1, $3,728.50; 12, Keith Combs, Del Rio, Texas, 14 fish, 28-15, $2,900

TOP N.C. ANGLER: none

NON-BOATER DIVISION: 1, Kathy Crowder, Sherwood, Ark., eight fish, 20 pounds, 10 ounces, $32,600; 2, Trey Albright, Gordonville, Texas, 10 fish, 20-9, $4,114; 3, Frank Villa, Windsor, Colo., eight fish, 17-15, $3,291; 4, Anthony Plescia, Slidell, La., seven fish, 16-8, $2,469; 5, Keith Johnson, Oklahoma City, Okla., nine fish, 15-10, $1,954; 5, Mickey Davis, Wilson, Okla., nine fish, 15-10, $1,954; 7, Larry Ford, Lonsdale, Ark., eight fish, 15-7, $1,646; 8, Rocky Cummings, Emmet, Ark., six fish, 14-14, $1,863; 9, Larry Rike, Callisburg, Texas, six fish, 14-4, $1,399; 10, Jerry Thye, Guymon, Okla., seven fish, 13-12, $1,070; 11, Jacob Greenwell, Sachse, Texas, six fish, 13-1, $905; 12, Darrel Musslewhite, Lubbock, Texas, seven fish, 12-14, $823

TOP N.C. CO-ANGLER: none

INFORMATION: BASS 407-566-2208, www.bassmaster.com