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| FishTails: May
2000 |
Smarr Qualifies
The excitement built as the final day's catch was weighed in at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The crowd was jazzed,
the music playing, weighmaster Fish Fishburne was cracking jokes-and in the center of it all was West Virginia
Bass Federation member Russ Smarr. Smarr, the mild mannered clerk at Anglers Roost in Mink Shoals, stood by as
fellow Eastern Division Angler Ed Cowan of Greeley, Pennsylvania rolled into the ceremony. Russ' two bass on the
final day put him back in the lead of the BASS Federation National Championship, but not by much-and hanging in
the balance was a berth in the prestigious BassMasters Classic.
"I was wired, I was wired up!" says the normally unemotional Smarr, "I really didn't think I had
enough weight until I seen him pull his fish out of the livewell. I knew it was going to be very, very close
but
I kindly figured I had him. We knew it was going to be within a couple of ounces either way it went."
It went Russ' way by a mere two ounces. The three-day total of 17-pounds-2 ounces was enough for the Eastern berth
in the Classic and an 8th place finish overall. Although thrilled to be headed to Chicago, Russ couldn't help but
harbor a little disappointment at not winning the whole shooting match.
"I lost five big fish while I was down there. Another 10-pounds or so would have won it overall and I lost
about 20-pounds."
Russ makes no bones about why he was in Knoxville. It was the same reason he's at the boat ramp come daylight of
every Federation tournament.
"When I fish a tournament, I fish for first place. When I saw that Bryan Kerchel Memorial Trophy the first
day we got there, I really wanted it. But it just wasn't meant to be. It was meant for me to go to the Classic
I guess, but it wasn't meant for me to win the Nationals."
Russ' appearance in Chicago in July will place him in rare company among West Virginia anglers. Frank Haught's
1989 Classic on the James River serves as the lone appearance by a West Virginian in the big dance.
Russ' success was home grown.
"I ended up catching the biggest part of my fish on a little spinner-bait that Darren Elder makes. He owns
Catch'Em Lures out of Saint Albans. I caught one of my fish on one of the jigs I make and the other two came on
a Berkeley PowerTube."
Sticking to his normal format of fishing and not running, Russ put all of his chips on the table with two small
areas where he'd located a few bass in pre-spawn and a few more on the beds.
"Some people will run 40-miles and have lots of areas. I don't like to do that, that's wasting fishing time
for me." Says Smarr, "The closer to the blast off area I can find fish, I concentrate on those. I like
to have as much time with my lure in the water as possible."
Smarr now faces the daunting task of taking on the best in the business. He'll have a grand total of seven days,
on a body of water bigger than the entire state of West Virginia (Lake Michigan), which he's never seen.
"I don't let any water intimidate me. I go into a tournament with thoughts of just picking out spots I can
find a few fish and work 'em over real hard."
"I need to get contour maps and find some humps and ledges out there and go for that. I'll concentrate on
those. If it's a shallow ledge I'll run a shallow-running crankbait or spinner-bait to start with for reaction
strikes. Then I can slow down with a tube or Carolina rig and catch a few more."
Russ knows the odds are stacked against him as he challenges the likes of Davy Hite, Rick Clunn, and Kevin VanDam,
but country boy philosophy keeps him straight.
"Bryan (Kerchel) showed us all it's possible." Remarks Smarr. "It's like (Federation National Director)
Don Corkran told us down there. We start out with 51-fishermen and by the end of the tournament, there are no losers
and
he said it right. I'll go out there and do the best I can and we'll let the chips fall where they may." |
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