ZAPATA, Texas — In case there was any doubt that Randall Jackson would surpass the BASS co-angler tournament record of 72 pounds, 9 ounces on Falcon Lake, his Day Three pro angler dispelled that in the weigh-in line.
"It's broken," Jason Williamson said.
"Obliterated" would have been more like it. Jackson's limit went 25-5, giving him a three-day total of 85-3 in the Lone Star Shootout presented by Longhorn.
The record is the sort that could stand a while. It was only 2 ounces shy of tying Byron Velvick's pro angler record for a three-day BASS tournament.
"How 'bout that?" said the home builder from Broken Arrow, Okla. "I got one."
He said his win — with its $25,000 first-place check — as the best tournament moment of his life, edging out a second-place finish in the first tournament he ever entered: a 134-boat event back in 1981.
"Everyone was catching them dragging a worm, and that's what we do best," said Jackson's son, Benjamin, who also fished the co-angler side, jumping from 50th to 16th on Day Three. "That's what we live and die by, really. We knew going into this deal that one of us would do really well; it would depend on the draw."
The father's draw was impeccable. On Day One he fished with leader Aaron Martens, sacking 32-10, and landed his first fish, a 4-plus-pounder, as he reeled in a 10-inch Berkley worm on his first cast.
On Day Two, he fished the same water with Byron Velvick, catching 25-4. On both days, his pros caught a 40-plus-pound limit. With about a 12-pound lead heading into the final day, his victory lap with Williamson was almost a formality.
Second-place Alex Meza of San Jose, Calif., finished with 76-7 after amassing a Day Three sack of 32-4 flipping deep bushes with Rick Morris.
He broke two rods in practice but replaced them and on Day One caught a six-pounder on his final cast with Steve Kennedy, flipping it into the boat. On Day Two, he caught his limit while technicians fixed a mechanical problem on Randy Howell's boat.
David Doty of Cottage Grove, Minn., surged into third place (71-15) on the strength of a 39-3 sack that would have been 40-5 without penalties for dead fish. Tournament director Trip Weldon proclaimed it a co-angler record.
Doty said he fished the co-angler side on Lake Amistad last year and enjoyed himself so much that he was dialing a phone and getting online once registration for tournament came available. He then drove 1,500 miles from Minnesota to fish for largemouth the way he fishes for walleye and smallmouth in Wisconsin, mostly Carolina rigging.
On the way to his record sack, "I culled eight fish over 7 pounds," he said.
Chad Kallina of Garwood, Texas, who made a big push on Day Two to threaten Jackson, caught four fish in four casts on the way to a 24-15 bag and fourth place (70-3).
"I know why they call him the Big Show," Kallina said of fishing with pro Terry Scroggins. "It was a big show all day long."
Chance Hundley, a student from San Angelo, Texas, landed one of the biggest fish of the day with a 9-12 kicker, a little shy of John Struthers' biggest, of 10-13. Hundley's description of catching it summarized the day for the entire field.
"It was one of many," he said.