AUGUSTA, Ga. (March 8, 2005) - If one word were to describe Marty Stone's 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Tour season so far, it would have to be consistency. The Lucky Craft Pro Staff standout has been consistently good all year, enough to place him third in points for the coveted CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.

Stone wrapped up 19 pounds and 15 ounces of bass during the first two days of tournament action. Much of that on the strength of a 16 pound, 3 ounce stringer on day one of competition, placing Stone's weekend catch in 36th overall.

"I'm tickled," Stone said. "I had a phenomenal first day of the tournament. Everything that could have gone right - did. I caught more big fish yesterday (Thursday) than I even saw in practice. I started figuring a few things out at that point.

"I'll leave this thing with mixed emotions and know I survived another one," continued Stone, who caught four fish worth a total weight of 3 pounds, 12 ounces on Friday. "There was more out there, but that's the way it goes. At 1:30 today (Friday), I had zero. So to have four fish was a blessing.

Despite a few lost opportunities, Stone was satisfied with how he fished.

"It wasn't how I wanted the tournament to end, but I wound up salvaging a good finish with it," Stone said. "I received a check and earned some points this week and that's important. I'm happy where I am big picture wise, as the E50's and the Classic are important to qualify for.

"Every tournament I've not fully capitalized on my fish, including this one," Stone continued. "I didn't start catching them until this afternoon (Friday) and I was using a little-bitty crankbait on 10-pound test. I ended up getting a nice bite with 40 minutes to go. I felt the bite, leaned in a little and kept the pressure light, but it ran and snapped my line. That five pounds would have added up."

Skeet Reese

California's Skeet Reese continues his chase for the coveted AOY title, bringing home the 65th position with a week total of 16 pounds and 3 ounces. Even though it wasn't the position he wanted, Reese was satisfied with survival.

"I caught more weight today (Friday) and it allowed me to finish in the top 75," Reese said. "I'm not leading it and didn't fall too far, so I'm pleased with how the weekend ultimately turned out.

"It's a cool lake and there's a lot of water to fish," Reese added. "With the cold front we had this week - like when we got down in the 20s for several nights in a row - it really hurt the fishing with the drop in water temperature. The guys still caught them pretty well yesterday (Thursday). A lot of these fish run around and chase these herring, so whether its 45 or 65-degree water, we're going to catch them. Today we had bluebird skies and we were in a post-front weather pattern, the weights went down a little - which was expected."

Reese needed a top-notch reaction bait to help mount his comeback on Friday.

"I caught a couple of my fish (on Friday) with the Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 97," Reese continued. "I also caught a couple of fish on a jig and another couple on a fluke. But, I used the Slender Pointer with some success on Thursday as well."

Kelly Jordon

Kelly Jordon brought home the 71st position after logging 15 pounds and 12 ounces of southeastern bass. The Mineola, Texas resident caught 8 pounds, 5 ounces on day one and 7 pounds, 7 ounces during the second.

"The tournament really played out how I thought it would," Jordon said. "I thought it had a real potential to be a great lake, but we caught it when it was tough. We're still in a really strong winter pattern. It's the same as Guntersville because you really needed to find the areas that had fish. They really grouped up and the guys found them, caught them pretty well.

"Then, some found schools of fish one day, but lost them the next because they moved," Jordon added. "I would love to be here in a couple of weeks. I think we have found a fantastic lake. When the fish are really moving up to bed, I bet it would be excellent. Right now, they are all still pretty deep. It made it tough."

Jordon selected one of Lucky Craft's best reaction and Southeast regional baits for his success.

"I found a lot of my fish on a DD Pointer 100," Jordon said. "They were biting them really well in practice and I caught a lot of my fish this weekend on those type of baits. Once I found them, they were biting."

"I stayed in pretty clear water this week and never made the run up to find muddier water," Jordon continued. "Some of those wound up catching them and it was probably a good thing to do. I didn't think it was going to work as well as it did because it was so cold out there. I guess there was some warmer water up there."

Mike Auten

Lucky Craft's Mike Auten wasn't too far behind Jordon, collecting the 78th slot with 14 pounds and 11 ounces for the week.

"I've fished this chain before, mainly on the lakes north of here," Auten said. I thought we could have caught them on a jerk bait, but it wasn't happening the way I thought it would. I really struggled in practice and neglected the shallow water, which I should have paid more attention to in the end. I should have used a crank bait more in the shallow areas because that's what I really like to do. I wasn't able to establish a jerk bait bite, but I stayed with it for the first day of the tournament and really struggled.

"Today (Friday), I just ran to the opposite end of the lake and into the muddy water," Auten added. "I used a shallow running crank bait and used the Rick Clunn 1.5 to catch a limit. And I did it fairly quickly. I wish I would have done that in practice a little bit more."

Auten talked about the characteristics of such a clear impoundment like Clark Hill.

"When there's high, bright skies and there's wind, it makes it a little tougher to catch fish," said Auten, who came back strong on the second day with 9 pounds and 15 ounces of bass. "You either have to find the wind or some stained water. It was actually very muddy where I went today (Friday) and a lot of the guys were catching them. It took me five days to figure out what I needed to do."

Joe Thomas

Joe Thomas had an 11 pound, 14 ounce total during the tournament, ending in the 110th postion.

"It's a good lake because there were a lot of fish caught in it yesterday (Thursday)," Thomas said. "It lays out the way I like to fish because there's a lot of good grass out there. I caught one good stringer (during practice) jerking a Pointer across the grass.

"I could never get it to go during the tournament and I had to go shallow with a little crankbait to catch them," Thomas added. "I just didn't catch any big ones. All the big ones I caught during practice were in the 12- to14-foot grass areas. I don't know if I just didn't cover enough area, or that the bait moved out from where it needed to be presented. Literally, each afternoon, I had to realize things weren't working and go throw a crankbait to catch the little fish I caught."

Gerald Swindle

It was a frustrating weekend for reigning CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle. He headed into the tournament poised to repeat, but a 125th-place finish this past week dropped the Alabama resident from third to 23rd in AOY points. Swindle relayed his thoughts on the week.

"I worked harder today (Friday) than I ever have at winning the Angler of the Year," Swindle said. "I tried to think, tried to move, tried to stick and jab and nothing really worked. We have another tournament coming up and I really think I can do well there."

Takahiro Omori

Takahiro Omori had one of his toughest weeks as a pro angler at Clarks Hill, only finding and boating one fish for the entire tournament. But the biggest hit of the weekend was to his AOY chances, as the reigning CITGO Bassmaster Classic champ dropped from first to 19th in points.

"The last time I led Angler of the Year points was in 2001," Omori said. "And with two tournaments to go, I really wanted to win the thing. It didn't happen."

"I just put too much pressure on myself," Omori continued. "After this one, the pressure is off and I'm afraid my chances are over. I didn't get any points because I only caught one fish. Yesterday (Thursday), I had an eight pounder on line, but I lost it. It was the biggest fish I had ever lost during a tournament in my 15 years of fishing. That normally doesn't happen because I don't usually lose any fish. The fish were there, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get them to bite. And it's frustrating because I was on some fish. It's just a part of tournament fishing."

Omori still feels satisfied and was philosophical about what he's already achieved.

"Before practice started this week, I knew I led in the points," Omori said. "It was just too much for me. Even the guys that have been fishing for 20 years have never led the points, never won on the Tour or won a Classic - so something like this won't keep me down. I did the best I could and I'm happy with what I have done."