DURANT, Okla. — Coming into GEICO BASSfest presented by Choctaw Casino at Lake Texoma, Greg Hackney was leading the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race. Now that the event has concluded, and Hackney won … you guessed it: He’s still leading AOY.
The big talk at this event surrounded the flooded and dirty water conditions and the hot temperatures. But, just as they always do, the Bassmaster Elite Series field had a few anglers who figured out how to catch heavy bags of bass.
BASSfest not only offered the anglers a $100,000 payday, the champion also earned a berth to the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, which is to be held on Lake Conroe, near Houston, Texas. You can plan on seeing Hackney there next spring.
While nobody had a perfect roster, the best one for this event was set by “Big daddy” who earned 1,456 points, ranking him 17,176th and in the 43.9 percentile.
“Big daddy’s” picks:
Bucket A: Greg Hackney, 310 points
B: Ott DeFoe, 280
C: Casey Ashley, 286
D: Brandon Card, 335
E: David Walker, 245
Total: 1,456
The current No. 1 ranked Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing player after BASSfest is “CRomanowski” with a total of 6,952 points.
“CRomanowski’s” picks for Lake Texoma:
Bucket A: Greg Hackney, 310 points
B: Kevin VanDam, 231
C: Todd Faircloth, 167
D: Jeff Kriet, 179
E: David Walker, 245
Total 1,132
BASSfest’s perfect team:
Bucket A: Greg Hackney, 310 points
B: Ott DeFoe, 280
C: Casey Ashley, 286
D: Brandon Card, 335
E: Chad Morgenthaler, 285
Total: 1,496
BUCKET A: HACKNEY
Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., had the highest ownership in Bucket A with 51 percent, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since he came into this event leading the AOY race. He earned his supporters 310 points.
Second-best choice: Gerald Swindle finished third at BASSfest and earned his 4.5-percent ownership 290 points. Following BASSfest, Swindle is in second place in AOY.
Worst choice: Dave Lefebre had a difficult tournament and earned his 0.3-percent ownership only 97 points.
BUCKET B: DEFOE
Ott DeFoe from Knoxville, Tenn., had a great showing and finished in fifth place. He was the top pick in Bucket B earning his 2.1-percent ownership 280 points. Following BASSfest, DeFoe is sitting in 20th place in the AOY race.
Second-best choice: Dean Rojas was the second best choice in this bucket after finishing in eighth place, and earning his 1.8-percent ownership 268 points.
Worst choice: John Crews had an uncharacteristic showing, and finished in 107th place earning his 1.5-percent ownership only 61 points.
BUCKET C: ASHLEY
Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., led two days of BASSfest on Lake Texoma, and surprised his 13.2-perent ownership with a solid sixth-place finish and 286 points. Ashley is currently in 34th in the AOY race.
Second-best choice: Rick Clunn had a very strong showing, and finished in seventh place earning his 8.6-percent ownership 272 points.
Worst choice: Brandon Lester endured a tough tournament finishing in 101st earning his 1.4-percent ownership 73 points.
BUCKET D: CARD
Brandon Card of Caryville, Tenn., was the overall best Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing pick of the event. Card earned his 2-percent ownership 335 points, and he is sitting in 55th place in AOY.
Second-best choice: Keith Poche finished in 11th place, and earned his 2.2-percent ownership 257 points.
Worst choice: Mark Davis had a tough tournament earning his 15.5-percent ownership only 65 points.
BUCKET E: MORGENTHALER
Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., was the second most popular choice in Bucket E. He finished in fourth place earning his 14.4-percent ownership 285 points. Morgenthaler is currently in 67th place in AOY.
Second-best choice: David Walker finished in 15th place and was the most popular choice in the bucket. He earned his 47.1-percent ownership 245 points, and is currently in 85th place in AOY.
Worst choice: Fabian Rodriguez finished in 108th place earning his 0.1-percent ownership only 59 points.