Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Pasco's Hogue takes second at Florida BASS event

By the Herald staff

TAVARES, Fla. -- Pasco's Don Hogue finished second Friday at the BASS Federation 2009 Championship in Tavares, Fla.

By placing second in the three-day tournament, Hogue earned a berth in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, set for Lay Lake near Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 19-21.

Hogue finished the event by catching 29 pounds, 1 ounce of bass.

Randy Phillips of Oxford, Mass., won the event with a three-day total of 31-1. Phillips won a Skeeter/Yamaha rig worth $60,000.

Hogue earned $5,000 and easily outdistanced the rest of the Western Division field with his total.

Matt Massey of Lakewood, Colo., was second in the division at 20-7.

For Hogue, a former head baseball coach at Pasco High School, it was the first time he had fished in Florida, and when he competes in February it will be the first time he's fished in Alabama.

"This is surreal," Hogue told Bassmaster.com. "It's something you dream about like you dream of going to the moon. I'm kind of overwhelmed, but I'm sure most of the guys are."

Hogue had the tournament lead after the second day, when he caught 13-11 for a two-day total of 24-9.

"It's a matter of making thousands of casts and hoping for a big bite," he told Bassmaster.com. "You just have to keep that bait wet."