2014 Bassmaster Classic Champion Randy Howell - from Good to Great: $15,000 to $300,000 in 8 Hours of Bass Fishing
Day 4: 2014 Bassmaster Classic Champion Randy Howell Mentally Stays in the Hunt But Is in 12th Place before the Classic’s Day 2
Editor’s Note: Going into the second day of competition, Randy Howell (www.randyhowell.com) of Springville, Alabama, knew he had to catch a really heavy five-fish limit to have a chance to win the 2014 Bassmaster Classic (www.bassmaster.com) at Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Ala. (www.guntersvilleal.org). He still hadn’t established a pattern he could depend on to put five big bass in his live well on the second day of competition. But Howell knew, “If you don’t quit, you’ve got a chance to win.” He had seen God perform miracles before. He was putting his faith and trust that he could do what he needed to do with God’s help to win this tournament, but he had to deal with another setback on the second day.
  On the second day, I went to the back end of Spring Creek. The water temperature had really dropped. The lake was as still as a desert with no wind. I fished for 1-1/2-hours and never got a bite. So I left that spot and raced back to Mill Creek to try to catch bass on the riprap. The current was running strong around the bridge at Mill Creek, and the bass really started to bite. When I was casting for the corner of the riprap, the water began swirling around the corner of the bridge. Suddenly, a big bass inhaled my lure. I set the hook, and the bass dug hard for the bottom. Then the line holding what could have been the bass to win it all went slack; the big fish was gone. I immediately cast back to where I had lost the big fish. This time, I hooked a big bass weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces and put it in my live well. This bass was the biggest fish caught on Day 2 at the Classic.
The water was warming-up, and apparently there was a little school of big bass coming under the bridge and around the point of the riprap. I reasoned, “This place is really getting right. The water’s warming-up, and some of those big, fat female bass are coming into the creek to spawn. I should really catch big bass tomorrow here on Day 3 of the Classic.” I gave myself enough time to run back to Spring Creek. However, instead of going to the back of Spring Creek, I decided to try to fish the riprap around the second bridge. I reasoned, “Since I lost a big bass and caught a 6 pounder at Mill Creek, the bass that were holding off the riprap in deep water should have moved into the riprap like they did at Mill Creek.” Once I started fishing the riprap at Spring Creek, I caught a good number of small bass and a couple of keepers. Eventually I thought, “I’ll go to Mill Creek first and try to catch some big bass there. Then I’ll come back to Spring Creek and hopefully catch some big bass there.” Maybe this plan also would work on the final day of the Classic. When I got to the weigh-in on the second day, Edwin Evers edged out Randall Tharp for 1st place. My catch weighed 18 pounds, 3 ounces. I moved up to 11th place in the tournament but with fewer pounds of fish than I’d had on the first day. I was disheartened, but I changed my tune, when I learned the bite had been sporadic for everybody; no one had really caught as many bass as they had on the first day. When I looked at the leader board, I saw I was only 9 pounds and a few ounces away from first place. All I had to do to win the tournament was catch one 9 pounder - that would put me even with the leader. Then, I needed to catch more bass than the leader on the last day.
  My mind told me, “Nine pounds is a lot of weight to get to first place, and you’re going to need more big bass to win this tournament.” My mind replied, “Randy, there aren’t many lakes where you can overcome a 9-pound lead. But because Guntersville has so many big bass, you’ve still got a chance.” I thought if I could catch five bass with a total weight of 31 or 32 pounds on the final day of the Classic, I would have a chance to win - even though I’d have to average 6 pounds or more per bass. Catching that many big bass was a big hill to climb, but I knew I could do it.
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About the Author
John Phillips, winner of the 2012 Homer Circle Fishing Award for outstanding fishing writer by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors. Click here for more information and a list of all the books available from John E. Phillips.
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