Unyielding Tharp earns $100k prize

Randall Tharp held on to his lead from Saturday and won the Bassmaster Elite on Sunday at Bull Shoals/Norfork.

Tharp, of Port St. Joe, Fla., brought in five bass from Norfork Lake that weighed 16 pounds, 2 ounces to stay ahead of a top 12 that was separated by only four pounds entering Sunday. He finished with a final total of 61-10, more than two pounds better than that of second-place finisher Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif. (59-8).

Chris Zaldain (58-12), Matt Herren (58-10) and Bill Lowen (58-5) rounded out the top five.

"When I got here, I wanted to find one pattern that would work on both lakes," Tharp said. "Both of these lakes are Ozark Lakes, and they're very, very similar. That's the game plan I wanted to have. It just took me three days of practice to figure it out."

Tharp, who earned $100,000 Sunday, used a 4x4 jig and caught five bass, weighing 16-4 Saturday on Bull Shoals Lake to move into first place. On the first day of the tournament, Tharp caught 15-8 on Norfork Lake to put himself in fifth place. However, Tharp struggled Friday on Bull Shoals, catching 13 feet, 12 ounces.

Making an adjustment during Saturday's trip to Bull Shoals was the key for Tharp to win the event, he said.

"I used a 1/2-ounce and a 5/8-ounce version of the jig this week, but the majority of the fish I weighed in came on the bigger one," Tharp said. "I had one fish in the boat Saturday, and I just kept thinking they wanted something quicker. That's why I went to the bigger jig."

It was the first time Tharp has won on the Bassmaster Elite Series. He was a three-time winner on the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens circuit. Tharp's career earnings with BASS is now at $492,457.

Sunday's victory put Tharp into first place in the Angler of the Year standings. It's a turnaround from last year, when Tharp earned checks in only two of the eight regular-season events on the Elite tour and failed to qualify for the Angler of the Year championship or the Bassmaster Classic.

"Before last year, two bad tournaments in a row was the longest bad stretch I'd ever had," Tharp said. "For some reason, I just couldn't put two good days together.

"Maybe I got all of my bad days out of the way, because I have yet to have one this year."

Rounding out the top 12 was Jacob Powroznik (56-10), Stephen Kennedy (55-9), Adrian Avena (53-9), Mike McClelland of Bella Vista (53-1), Brian Snowden (52-7), Brandon Palaniuk (51-13), Koby Kreiger (51-5).

Sports on 04/25/2016

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