From the Associated Press:
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Mark Menendez won the Bassmasters Elite Series event on Lake Dardanelle, holding off a Sunday charge by four-time angler of the year Kevin VanDam.
Menendez, from Paducah, Ky., simplified his approach by using an aluminum boat-rig with minimal trappings to accumulate 55 pounds, 7 ounces. It was the first time since Roland Martin in 1994 that an angler won a top-level BASS event in an aluminum rig.
“This is the purest form of fishing, absolutely old school,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s just a method of transportation and you have to catch the fish to win.”
Menendez earned $100,000 for his third win of the season. VanDam trailed by more than 5 pounds heading into the final day and simply ran out of time trying to catch up, finishing with 53 pounds, 4 ounces. Chris Lane of Winter Haven, Fla. was third at 48-1.
