SKEET REESE

LEESBURG, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2005) - Skeet Reese has one goal in mind - win his first CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. His eighth-place finish on the Harris Chain of Lakes this past week is definitely a step in that direction for this Lucky Craft Pro Staff member.

The California pro hauled in 39 pounds and 5 ounces of Florida bass, after posting a 17-pound, 15-ounce Friday weigh in to make the round of 12. With the effort, Reese moved into fourth place in this year's Angler of the Year race, a mere 23 points behind current leader David Walker.

"Angler of the Year is my goal every year - that's why I come out here," Reese said. "I'm off to a good start and I go to every tournament looking for a top-20 finish. If I can pull off six-straight top-20 finishes, then I'm probably going to be Angler of the Year.

"There are four tournaments left though," Reese continued. "Anything can happen because one bad day and you're out. At least I know I'm going into the next event in good shape as far as points and I'm going to continue to work hard at qualifying for the Classic. If everything goes right, I get that bonus at the end."

Reese peered into the looking glass and towards Alabama's Lake Guntersville.

"There are three basics there, a spinnerbait; a jerk bait and a lipless crankbait," Reese stated. "That's all you throw there unless, for some reason, it gets really warm and the fish move up on beds. But I don't see that happening because they've had some super-cold weather move through there the last couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a pre-spawn deal and we'll be using the bigger baits.

"We're going to see some big bags again because someone is going to find a big group of fish that are spawning," Reese added. "It hasn't been great to me, but I've survived there over the last couple of years. I'm going to change my game plan and look for some different areas that will get me in the top 20."

TAKAHIRO OMORI

Last week's winner Takahiro Omori is also a major player for Angler of the Year honors after this past week. Omori currently sits second on the strength of his 35th-place finish on the Harris Chain, boating 20 pounds and 3 ounces. He talked about his week.

"I didn't have as good a tournament, but it wasn't too bad," Omori said. "You can't win every tournament out there, so I'm pretty happy with everything. I went to where I thought the fish would be. The pattern changed and I wasn't able to track it as well (on Friday). But I'm pretty happy with things overall."

MARTY STONE

Marty Stone was right in Omori's heels, garnering the 36th slot with 20 pounds and 1 ounce of Florida bass. The North Carolina resident followed up last year's victory with a solid outing this week - keeping him well within the scope of this year's Angler of the Year race.

"I have survived Florida again," Stone said. "I feel like I'm in pretty decent shape for the Classic. We have four pretty good lakes coming up and I would like to sneak into a couple of top-10 finishes somewhere and maybe compete for Angler of the Year."

Ironically, last year's Harris Chain triumph was this year's bane.

"I knew there were going to be a lot of fish up in the same area I won it on last year," Stone noted. "But I also knew I wouldn't be alone either, as these guys have learned to read, watch television and pay attention to how things were won the year before.

"Even with everyone there, one or two guys still made the cut fishing in that area," Stone continued. " (Thursday) I had one big bite that I lost or I would have had a 16 or 17-pound stringer, which would have helped. (Friday), I never had a big bite because it's so unpredictable. I basically threw the same thing in the same area and didn't get a big bite. Last year, I had a big bite during each day of the tournament. This year, I only had one big bite the entire week."

JOE THOMAS

Joe Thomas had struggled for bites the entire week, all the way up until the final hours of the second day (Friday) of fishing. Then he caught fire, reeling in 15 pounds, 1 ounce of bass and the 52nd position - his best of the young season. Is it what Thomas needs to spurn further momentum?

"I caught that big one about 30 minutes before I came in," Thomas recalled. "It all came to a point and it all came together. It felt like someone had taken a 1,000-pound rock off my chest.

"I was kind of struggling the entire day, but I just decided to get out there and fish," Thomas continued. "I felt like I was thinking through it too much on the first day. I tried to catch spawning bass in the morning and do what everyone else was doing, instead of doing what I do best, which is to flip and throw a spinnerbait. One of the areas where I had caught two, were muddy. I then made a long run up Eustis and caught a three pounder there. I just scrambled around, pitched and threw a spinner bait."

KELLY JORDON

Lucky Craft's Kelly Jordon nabbed the 57th position, bringing home 17 pounds of fish. But he felt this week was all about survival because the dye was cast before the tournament had started.

"There was a lot of sight fishing out there and a lot of big catches because some spawning fish moved up on the beds," Jordon said. "I was stuck in the final flight of (Thursday), so I knew my chances of sight fishing would be over by the time I got out there. I also knew it was going to be an uphill battle going in because a lot of those fish would be gone. That was pretty much the case.

"I found them pretty good considering," Jordon continued. "I dropped off a little bit (on Friday), but still had a decent week. I caught three fish and lost another one that would have really helped. It feels really good to get out of this tournament the way I did because of having such a bad draw. I had 15 bites yesterday (Thursday), but really had to slow down a lot to get those. I scrambled around a lot and tried to do some different things. It was tough because it was so windy out there as well."

MIKE AUTEN

Mike Auten also did well, finishing in the 57th position after putting together a two-day total of 16 pounds and 12 ounces.

"It was typical Florida fishing where people were catching spawning fish in the canals," Auten said. "That's not really my deal however. Last year, I did pretty well at this tournament, but they sprayed and killed all the grass I used to fish around. I made an adjustment and basically threw a worm into the canals, which was painful for me. I forced myself to do that and ended up scratching out 16-12. I received a check, so I'll take it. It was tough because it wasn't my type of fishing- to cast a worm 20 feet and out."

GERALD SWINDLE

Gerald Swindle wound up in the 62nd spot, with 16 pounds and 4 ounces. The reigning Angler of the Year is in the thick of the title chase again this year, showing up in the 17th position with four Tour stops remaining.

"I'm not really satisfied with how my week turned out," Swindle said. "I think the lake got inside my head a little too much. I wanted to go fish some pockets up river, but I didn't think I would have had enough time, so I stayed out on the lake and fished an area I found during practice. I actually had one big bite in that area, but it broke off. It probably cost me a decent day because I broke one off yesterday as well.

"I did make the right decisions (on Friday) and I think I fished the area well," Swindle continued. "It just seemed like I was in an area where everyone but me had caught a big fish. The fishing really slowed down once the front moved through. The fish were real aggressive in the morning and the bites would make my line jump through the water. But it slowed down and that's hard because I was trying to cover a lot of water."