Wolak, Reehm and Fuller get Classic berths

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Dave Wolak of Wake Forrest, N.C., qualified Saturday for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic through the Bassmaster Central Open circuit along with Clark Reehm of Russellville, Ark., and Jay Fuller of Kingston, Okla.

DEL RIO, Texas — Bassmaster Elite Series pro Dave Wolak of Wake Forrest, N.C., qualified Saturday for the 2008 Bassmaster Classic through the Bassmaster Central Open circuit along with Clark Reehm of Russellville, Ark., and Jay Fuller of Kingston, Okla.

 The three pros won the coveted Classic entries by holding on to the top three spots in the Central Open's year-long points race, which reached the finish line Saturday at the conclusion of the season finale on Lake Amistad out of Del Rio.

 Wolak, Reehm and Fuller join the 36 pros who qualified earlier this month through the Elite Series to compete for the $500,000 first prize of the Classic, set for Feb. 22-24 on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville, S.C. Elite pro Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Ala., automatically qualified as defending Classic champion.

 Wolak, 31, prevailed in his struggle to gain his third Classic berth, which he narrowly missed securing this year through the Bassmaster Elite Series.

 "This year I was almost the first person out," said Wolak, who was the 2005 Toyota Rookie of the Year. "It was one of the most disappointing things of my career last year being at the Classic, but not being in it. Making it this year is awesome.

 "I felt relaxed on the water today knowing I made the Classic. It was a big sense of relief."

 Fuller, 24, who works for a Lake Texoma marina, competed this year for the first time as a pro.

 "I'm speechless," Fuller said. "The Classic is a dream come true, and I am looking forward to it."

 Only 10 of the 50 Classic contenders are left to be determined. Three will be Bassmaster Southern Open pros who lead the circuit's points race when that season ends Oct. 21. Six will be BASS Federation Nation anglers who will qualify through their championship event, Nov. 8-10 on Florida's Lake Tohopekaliga, an event that will air on ESPN2 at 9 a.m. ET, Feb. 16, 2008.

 The final Classic slot will be filled by the winner of the Nov. 14-17 championship of the Bassmaster Weekend Series Operated by American Bass Anglers on Georgia's Clarks Hill Lake.

 Elite Series qualifiers
The five pros at the top of the Central Open points standings earned eligibility to advance in 2008 to the upper echelon of competitive bass fishing, the Bassmaster Elite Series. Even though points leader Wolak re-qualified through the 2007 Elite Series, he takes his qualifier through the Central Open.

 Besides Wolak, Reehm and Fuller, the pros who obtained Elite status Saturday were Brian Clark, 31, of Haltom City, Texas, who turned to fishing after an injury put an end to his bull-riding career; and Pat Golden of High Point, N.C.

 Clark was the points leader until the Central Open's season finale, but his points tally fell to fourth place after the Lake Amistad event. He said he will join the Elite Series.

 Oklahoman Fuller also intends to use his eligibility.

 Said Fuller: "The Elite Series has been a goal of mine for quite a while. I'm ready. I'm 24 and single and if I'm going to do it, this is the time to do it."

 The top 50 pro and co-angler points leaders are awarded a one-week priority window to register as either a pro or a co-angler in all 2008 Bassmaster Open events. Full standings can be found below.

Bassmaster Central Open final points standings
 

Place  Name               St            Pts

 

 1 Dave Wolak            N.C.          819

 

 2 Clark Reehm           Ark.          767

 

 3 Jay Fuller            Okla.         736

 

 4 Brian Clark           Tex	    692

 

 5 Pat Golden            N.C.          676

 

 6 Bobby Myers           Okla.         669

 

 7 Danny Smith           La.           659

 

 8 Trevor Rogge          Minn.         635

 

 9 Larry Byrd            La.           632

 

 10 Robert Byrd           Texas         630

 

 11 Dave Parsons          Texas         620

 

 12 Bradley Hallman       Okla.         611

 

 13 Paul Ferguson         Texas         601

 

 14 Ken Adamson           Ark.          598

 

 15 Billy Brewer          Texas         587

 

 16 Chip Hawkins          Ark.          577

 

 17 Chad Griffin          Texas         565

 

 18 David Sherrer         La.           557

 

 19 Mike Pickett          Ky.           542

 

 20 Ross Watkins          Miss.         539

 

 21 Teddy Bogard          Ark.          536

 

 22 Randy Allen           La.           532

 

 23 Corey Waldrop         Texas         524

 

 24 Billy McCaghren Jr.   Ark.          517

 

 25 Scott Dean            Texas         513

 

 25 Craig Schuff          Texas         513

 

 27 Trent Huckaby         Texas         504

 

 28 Monty Fralick         S.D.          492

 

 29 Marvin Ettredge       La.           491

 

 30 Wayne Brown           Okla.         487

 

 31 Jeff Stevens          Texas         475

 

 32 Larry Ford            Ark.          462

 

 33 Randy Dearman         Texas         460

 

 34 Teb Jones             Miss.         454

 

 35 Ryan Brown            La.           453

 

 36 Jeff Bruhl            La.           451

 

 37 Thomas Law            Texas         448

 

 38 Benjamin Jackson      Okla.         447

 

 39 Austin Banks          Miss.         441

 

 40 Logan Sherrer         La.           438

 

 41 Cliff Crochet         La.           435

 

 42 Shawn Johnson         Fla.          434

 

 43 Pete Cherkas          Iowa          433

 

 44 Rob Lee               Ala.          432

 

 45 Marc Schilling        Texas         428

 

 46 Tony Chachere         La.           426

 

 47 Jonathan Garrie       Texas         423

 

 48 Royce Dennington      Okla.         418

 

 49 Patrick Pierce        Fla.          414

 

 50 Ed Whaley             Texas         412

 

 50 Stan Gerzsenyi        Texas         412

 

 52 Jason Christie        Okla.         406

 

 53 Dean Perkins          Texas         402

 

 54 Mark Morton           Ark.          401

 

 55 Gary Giudice          Okla.         389

 

 56 Ryan Lovelace         Texas         386

 

 57 Matt Mize             Ark.          385

 

 58 Alan Kelly              384

 

 58 Aaron Lee Jakub       Neb.          384

 

 60 Timmy Reneau          Texas         382

 

 60 Al Fisher             Ark.          382

 

 62 Steven Bunt           N.Y.          376

 

 63 Joe Pope                375

 

 63 E.P. Fletcher         Ark.          375

 

 65 Dwayne Mcpeek         Texas         374

 

 66 David Stewart         Texas         366

 

 67 Ray Hanselman         Texas         363

 

 68 Charlie King          La.           361

 

 68 Michael Burns         Texas         361

 

 70 Scott Ashmore         Okla.         360

 

 71 Aaron Martin          Mo.           358

 

 72 Sammy Burks           Mo.           355

 

 73 Casey Merriman          351

 

 74 Dale Jackson          Texas         344

 

 75 J Todd Tucker         Ga.           335

 

 76 Jeremy Vandenbosch      332

 

 77 Blane Dyess           Texas         330

 

 78 Gary Graffagnino      La.           329

 

 79 Mark Hicks            Ohio          322

 

 80 Marvin Wells          Okla.         321

 

 80 Craig Gipe            Ky.           321

 

 82 Brandon Mosley        Okla.         319

 

 83 Mark Smith            La.           315

 

 83 Matthew McCabe        La.           315

 

 85 Randy McCarty         Ky.           313

 

 86 Lee Cox               Md.           312

 

 87 Anton Silvester       Ill.          310

 

 88 Thomas Loving         Texas         307

 

 89 Kelly Owens           La.           300

 

 89 Dee Cagle             Texas         300

 

 91 Terry Bloom           Fla.          298

 

 92 Chad Kallina          Texas         297

 

 93 Robert Mcfarlane      Texas         295

 

 93 Jami Fralick          S.D.          295

 

 95 Scott Mcgehee         Miss.         291

 

 96 Vincent Parello       Texas         289

 

 97 Jeff Cloud            Texas         288

 

 98 Yoshikazu Sato          287

 

 99 Doug Garrett          Ark.          285

 

 100 Jason Cyboron         Neb.          284

 

 101 Brian Penso           Texas         282

 

 102 Mike Bates            Texas         280

 

 102 Mike Pedroza          La.           280

 

 104 Jacky Hawthorne       Texas         276

 

 105 Tommy Durham          Texas         269

 

 106 Matt Hupp             Texas         259

 

 107 Glenn Eastwood        Ark.          258

 

 108 Stacy Leonard         La.           255

 

 109 Brandon Collins       La.           253

 

 110 Jj Ducharme           Texas         250

 

 111 Billy Graves          La.           248

 

 112 Steve Pyle            Ky.           247

 

 113 Homer Humphreys, Jr   La.           246

 

 114 Johnny Grice          Texas         245

 

 115 Ishama Monroe         Calif.        243

 

 115 James Morgan          Okla.         243

 

 115 Dwight Dickerson      Texas         243

 

 118 Ray Brazier           Tenn.         239

 

 119 Arron Lance           La.           235

 

 120 Charles Haralson        234

 

 120 Justin Titus          Okla.         234

 

 122 Steve Sennikoff       Texas         231

 

 123 Darrell Newman        Texas         229

 

 124 Trent Loukas          Texas         226

 

 124 Robert Collett        Texas         226

 

 126 Doug Stump            Okla.         223

 

 127 Jamie Jones             221

 

 128 Richard Kennedy       La.           220

 

 129 Sean Wieda            Ohio          215

 

 130 Pete Ponds            Miss.         211

 

 130 Thomas Warren         Ill.          211

 

 132 Bob Sealy             Texas         208

 

 133 Keith Phillips        Texas         205

 

 133 Cody Malone           Texas         205

 

 135 Dean Gilbert          Texas         204

 

 136 David Truax           Texas         203

 

 137 Ryan Dupriest         Texas         201

 

 138 Jason Welch           Texas         197

 

 139 Lee Wheeler, III      Texas         195

 

 140 Jeff Vanderpool       Ark.          191

 

 141 T R Andreas           Texas         189

 

 141 Jason Pittman         La.           189

 

 143 Tim Dungan            Ohio          184

 

 144 Bubba Haralson        Texas         183

 

 145 Bruce Brown           La.           180

 

 146 James Steed             179

 

 147 Darrell West          Ark.          178

 

 148 Chad Brauer           Mo.           173

 

 149 Raul Morineau         Mexico        172

 

 150 Gary Riffle           Texas         170

 

 151 Don Stringer          Texas         166

 

 152 Byron Velvick         Texas         162

 

 153 James Buchanan        Miss.         160

 

 154 Randy Alexander         159

 

 155 Bob Morin             Tenn.         155

 

 156 Donnie Courtney       La.           154

 

 157 Doug Drummonds        Ark.          152

 

 158 Wes Roberts           Ark.          150

 

 159 Jack Sananikone       Texas         149

 

 160 Sean Hoernke          Texas         148

 

 161 Jeremy Montoya        Colo.         144

 

 162 James Harrison        Texas         142

 

 163 Brad Outersky         Mo.           139

 

 163 Darren Burkett        Okla.         139

 

 165 Frank Boothe          Texas         129

 

 165 Kevin Stanley         Texas         129

 

 167 Rocky Cummings        Ark.          128

 

 167 Kip Bodkin            Texas         128

 

 169 Sherman Nofire        Okla.         127

 

 170 Ronald Rogers         Fla.          122

 

 171 Ronald Pierce         Ark.          121

 

 171 Glenn Erskine         Texas         121

 

 173 Kevin Daigle          Texas         118

 

 174 Joe Gilbert           Texas         117

 

 175 Brent Broderick       Ohio          113

 

 176 Roger Boler           La.           109

 

 177 Ron Cherkas           Iowa          108

 

 177 Preston Domingue      La.           108

 

 179 Deryl Janzen          Texas         107

 

 180 Guy Adams             Texas         104

 

 181 Vernon Silver         La.           103

 

 182 Richard Parrish       Ga.            92

 

 183 Dennis Edmonds        Colo.          87

 

 184 James Stricklin       Texas          85

 

 184 Scott Smith           Tenn.          85

 

 186 Shawn Rook            Ark.           83

 

 186 Max Wayne Grubb       Ark.           83

 

 188 Zack Keathley         Texas          81

 

 189 Greg Terzia           La.            79

 

 190 Brad Young            N.M.           76

 

 191 Rick Pierce           Ark.           72

 

 192 Kevin Short           Ark.           69

 

 193 Mike Lott             Texas          68

 

 194 Travis Loyd           Ill.           67

 

 195 Freddie Grant         Texas          62

 

 195 Dean Gilbert          Texas          62

 

 197 Conrad Picou          La.            56

 

 198 Travis Combs          Neb.           54

 

 198 Doug Luper            Va.            54

 

 200 Randy Yarnall         Pa.            52

 

 201 Roy Sanford           Texas          46

 

 202 Joseph New            Texas          45

 

 203 Anre' De Villiers     South Africa   40

 

 204 Dale Elkins           Texas          39

 

 205 Robert Bryant         Ark.           34

 

 206 Keith Stephenson      Texas          31

 

 207 Hugh Rose             Okla.          28

 

 207 Ken Peaker            Mo.            28

 

 209 Gregory Jones         Tenn.          23

 

 210 Ty Frederick          La.            22

 

 211 Chuck Devereaux       Okla.           0

 

 211 Jon Despino           La.             0

 

 211 Bryan Hoffman             0

 

 211 H D   (Howard) Dotson Ky.             0

 

 211 Doug Spigler          Texas           0

 

 211 Joe Conway            Colo.           0