Reese Widens Lead, Thrift Rockets Up
(Editors: Please note that the BassFan.com World Rankings are not a subjective poll, "power index" or "power rankings." The BassFan World Rankings are statistical (objective) World Rankings of professional bass anglers. Like all World Rankings in all sports, the BassFan.com World Rankings also use performance data over multiple years as that is the only way to gauge consistency. And because of the non-standard nature of pro bass tournaments, the BassFan World Rankings methodology is at least as complex as world-rankings methodologies used in other sports. If you have any questions about this, or need photo support, please email editorial@bassfan.com.)
Reese Widens His Lead, Thrift Rockets Up
Following are the BassFan World Rankings as updated after the recent Norman FLW Tour. Notable movement:
The battle for the No. 1 spot continues. Skeet Reese not only retains his lead in this edition, but expands it. Reese, a BASS pro, didn't fish Norman, while 2nd-ranked Brent Ehrler finished an unremarkable 34th. Reese led Ehrler by a little less than 2 points in the previous edition, but extends his lead this week to 9 1/2 points. Over the past 2 calendar years, Reese has won the Bassmaster Classic and logged five Bassmaster Elite Series Top 10s (two of which were 2nds).
Kevin VanDam, who dominated the Rankings for the better part of the last decade, remains ranked 3rd. BASS's western swing continues to hurt him. The good news for VanDam is that in the next edition of the Rankings he'll drop two very poor finishes from April 2008 - a 45th at Falcon and a 56th at Amistad.
Mike Iaconelli likewise exhibits no movement, although he creeps quite close to VanDam - about 1 point away.
Norman winner Bryan Thrift rockets up 13 spots to 5th - the highest he's ever been ranked. Thrift has been a rising force in the sport, and his Norman win went a long way toward solidifying his career. An interesting Thrift stat: Of the three Forrest Wood Cups the fourth-year pro has fished, he made the Top-10 cut twice (and finished 15th in the other).
After a 37th at Norman, Clark Wendlandt drops three spots to 8th.
Thrift's drive into the Top 10 forces Tommy Biffle, Todd Faircloth, Shaw Grigsby and Gary Klein down one spot each.
After a 6th at Norman, Andy Morgan - often ranked inside the Top 10 - improves five spots to 15th.
Greg Pugh finished 12th at Norman, and a number of other strong finishes the past 2 years help him improve 15 spots in this edition to 23rd.
The next event that will affect the BassFan World Rankings is the Smith Mountain Bassmaster Elite Series in mid-April.
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BassFan.com World Rankings - Top 100
See bassfan.com/rankings.asp?archive=c for the full list
All fields below separated by 5 spaces
Place Angler City State Boat/Motor Points
1 Skeet Reese Auburn CA Champion/Mercury 208.178
2 Brent Ehrler Redlands CA Ranger/Yamaha 199.630
3 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo MI Nitro/Mercury 196.394
4 Michael Iaconelli Voorhees NJ Bass Cat/Yamaha 195.376
5 Bryan Thrift Shelby NC Ranger/Yamaha 185.036
6 Greg Hackney Gonzales LA Phoenix/Mercury 184.387
7 Alton Jones Waco TX Skeeter/Yamaha 180.738
8 Clark Wendlandt Cedar Park TX Ranger/Yamaha 180.043
9 Tommy Biffle Wagoner OK Ranger/Mercury 178.283
10 Todd Faircloth Jasper TX Skeeter/Yamaha 177.761
11 Shaw E. Grigsby, Jr. Gainesville FL Triton/Mercury 173.461
12 Byron Velvick Del Rio TX Triton/Mercury 172.987
13 Gary Klein Weatherford TX Triton/Mercury 172.268
14 Kelly Jordon Mineola TX Skeeter/Yamaha 172.250
15 Andy Morgan Dayton TN Bass Cat/Evinrude 171.850
16 Aaron Martens Leeds AL Triton/Mercury 171.818
17 Randy Howell Springville AL Triton/Mercury 170.610
18 Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City AZ Skeeter/Yamaha 169.356
19 Jeff Kriet Ardmore OK Triton/Mercury 166.488
20 Ron Shuffield Bismarck AR Ranger/Yamaha 166.208
21 Kevin Wirth Crestwood KY Triton/Mercury 165.624
22 Mike McClelland Bella Vista AR Champion/Mercury 164.713
23 Greg Pugh Cullman AL Ranger/Evinrude 161.758
24 Dave Lefebre Union City PA Ranger/Yamaha 161.599
25 Luke Clausen Spokane WA Ranger/Yamaha 160.100
26 James Niggemeyer Van TX Bass Cat/Mercury 159.430
27 Steve Kennedy Auburn AL Ranger/Yamaha 159.376
28 Matthew Herren Trussville AL Skeeter/Yamaha 159.367
29 Cliff Pace Petal MS Skeeter/Yamaha 159.109
30 Brent Chapman Lake Quivira KS Triton/Mercury 159.034
31 Takahiro Omori Emory TX Ranger/Yamaha 158.315
32 Mark Menendez Paducah KY Skeeter/Yamaha 158.100
33 Bobby Lane Lakeland FL Skeeter/Yamaha 157.800
34 Gerald Swindle Warrior AL Triton/Mercury 157.784
35 Denny Brauer Camdenton MO Ranger/Evinrude 157.453
36 Mark Rose Marion AR Ranger/Yamaha 157.046
37 Scott R. Martin Clewiston FL Ranger/Evinrude 156.083
38 Kevin Short Mayflower AR Bass Cat/Mercury 155.066
39 Anthony Gagliardi Prosperity SC Ranger/Evinrude 154.559
40 Jacob Powroznik Prince George VA Ranger/Yamaha 153.987
41 Stephen Browning Hot Springs AR Triton/Mercury 153.981
42 Casey Ashley Donalds SC Triton/Mercury 152.713
43 Boyd Duckett Demopolis AL Triton/Mercury 152.512
44 Dave Wolak Wake Forest NC Ranger/Yamaha 152.200
45 Terry Butcher Talala OK Bass Cat/Mercury 151.732
46 Bill Lowen Cincinnati OH Skeeter/Yamaha 150.920
47 Kotaro Kiriyama Moody AL Bass Cat/Yamaha 150.479
48 Scott Suggs Alexander AR Ranger/Yamaha 146.765
49 Brian Snowden Reeds Springs MO NItros/Mercury 146.662
50 Andy Montgomery Blacksburg SC Ranger/Evinrude 146.170
51 Russ Lane Prattville AL Bass Cat/Yamaha 145.233
52 Jami Fralick Martin SD Nitro/Mercury 145.215
53 Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount NC Skeeter/Yamaha 144.416
54 Shinichi Fukae Osaka JP Ranger/Yamaha 144.316
55 Jason Christie Park Hill OK Ranger/Mercury 142.969
56 Mark Tucker Kirkwood MO Bass Cat/Mercury 142.894
57 Jay Yelas Corvallis OR Ranger/Yamaha 142.434
58 Jason Quinn Clover SC Nitro/Mercury 142.274
59 John Crews, Jr. Salem VA Bass Cat/Mercury 141.316
60 Terry Scroggins San Mateo FL Triton/Mercury 141.093
61 Greg Vinson Wetumpka AL Skeeter/Yamaha 140.934
62 Bradley Hallman Norman OK Skeeter/Yamaha 140.642
63 Scott Canterbury Odenville AL Ranger/Yamaha 140.286
64 Wesley Strader Spring City TN Ranger/Yamaha 139.832
65 Koby Kreiger Okeechobee FL Ranger/Evinrude 139.797
66 Edwin Evers Talala OK Nitro/Mercury 139.603
67 John Murray Phoenix AZ Ranger/Mercury 139.450
68 Michael Bennett Lincoln CA Ranger/Yamaha 139.200
69 Mark Davis Mt. Ida AR Skeeter/Yamaha 138.855
70 Larry Nixon Bee Branch AR Stratos/Evinrude 138.683
71 Matthew Sphar Pavilion NY Bass Cat/Mercury 138.606
72 Nate Wellman Jenison MI Ranger/Yamaha 138.517
73 Shad Schenck Waynetown IN Ranger/Yamaha 138.483
74 Mark Hardin Jasper GA Ranger/Yamaha 138.029
75 Tracy Adams Wilkesboro NC Ranger/Evinrude 137.995
76 Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande CA Skeeter/Yamaha 137.079
77 Rick Clunn Ava MO Nitro/Mercury 136.683
78 Vic Vatalaro Kent OH Ranger/Yamaha 136.421
79 Keith Combs Del Rio TX Ranger/Evinrude 135.999
80 Ish Monroe Hughson CA Ranger/Yamaha 135.773
81 Craig Dowling Many LA Legend/Mercury 135.729
82 Gabriel Bolivar Oceanside CA Ranger/Evinrude 135.591
83 David Walker Sevierville TN Ranger/Evinrude 134.781
84 Tim Horton Muscle Shoals AL Nitro/ProCraft/Mercury 134.560
85 Chris Baumgardner Gastonia NC Ranger/Yamaha 134.422
86 Pat Golden High Point NC Ranger/Yamaha 134.155
87 Keith Williams Conway AR Ranger/Yamaha 134.142
88 John Devere Berea KY Ranger/Yamaha 133.994
89 Tom Mann, Jr. Buford GA Ranger/Evinrude 133.484
90 Derek Remitz Grant AL Triton/Mercury 133.302
91 Bernie Schultz Gainesville FL Ranger/Mercury 133.186
92 Ott DeFoe Knoxville TN Ranger/Yamaha 133.136
93 Jason Williamson Aiken SC Nitro/Mercury 132.238
94 Todd Auten Gastonia NC Ranger/Mercury 132.213
95 Matt Reed Madisonville TX Nitro/Mercury 131.681
96 Fred Roumbanis Bixby OK Triton/Mercury 131.618
97 Sean Hoernke Magnolia TX Skeeter/Yamaha 131.316
98 Alvin Shaw State Road NC Ranger/Evinrude 131.306
99 Jim Tutt Longview TX Ranger/Evinrude 131.126
100 Marty Stone Linden NC Bass Cat/Mercury 130.964
