(May. 27, 2004 - PRATTVILLE, AL.)
BASSMASTER ELITE 50 CHAMPION
Pros fishing in the Elite 50 series will be competing for Bassmaster Elite 50 points throughout the four showdown-style events. Anglers are awarded points based on their finishes in each of the four events. The tournament winner receives 300 points. The scoring decreases in 5-point increments to fifth place, 4-point increments through 10th place, 3-point increments through 15th place and 2-point increments to 50th place.
2004 BASSMASTER ELITE 50 POINTS
| Pl | Name | St | Pts |
| 1 Kevin VanDam | Mich. | 563 |
| 2 Stacey D King | Mo. | 556 |
| 3 Zell Rowland | Texas | 548 |
| 4 Gary Klein | Texas | 536 |
| 5 Brent Chapman | Kan. | 529 |
| 6 Kenyon Hill | Okla. | 508 |
| 7 Mark Davis | Ark. | 507 |
| 8 Randy Howell | Ala. | 505 |
| 9 Jay Yelas | Texas | 502 |
| 10 Todd Auten | S.C. | 496 |
| 10 Alton Jones | Texas | 496 |
| 12 Greg Hackney | La. | 492 |
| 13 Dustin Wilks | N.C. | 487 |
| 14 Kelly Jordon | Texas | 480 |
| 15 Dean Rojas | Texas | 473 |
| 16 Gerald Swindle | Ala. | 467 |
| 17 Brian Snowden | Mo. | 465 |
| 18 Randy Blaukat | Mo. | 464 |
| 19 Peter E Thliveros | Fla. | 458 |
| 20 John Murray | Ariz. | 457 |
| 21 Tom Biffle | Okla. | 456 |
| 22 Ben Matsubu | Texas | 455 |
| 23 O T Fears III | Okla. | 452 |
| 24 Michael Iaconelli | N.J. | 451 |
| 25 David Fritts | N.C. | 450 |
| 26 David Wharton | Texas | 448 |
| 27 Todd Faircloth | Texas | 446 |
| 27 Denny Brauer | Mo. | 446 |
| 29 George Cochran | Ark. | 444 |
| 29 Bud Pruitt | Texas | 444 |
| 31 Larry Nixon | Ark. | 442 |
| 32 Davy Hite | S.C. | 441 |
| 33 Tim Horton | Ala. | 440 |
| 34 Roland Martin | Fla. | 434 |
| 34 Edwin Evers | Okla. | 434 |
| 36 Skeet Reese | Calif. | 430 |
| 37 Mark Menendez | Ky. | 428 |
| 38 Jim Bitter | Fla. | 424 |
| 39 Rick Clunn | Mo. | 420 |
| 40 Ron Shuffield | Ark. | 418 |
| 41 Jack A Gadlage | Ky. | 414 |
| 42 Chad Brauer | Mo. | 412 |
| 43 Bernie Schultz | Fla. | 406 |
| 43 Brett Hite | Ariz. | 406 |
| 45 Paul L Elias | Miss. | 402 |
| 46 Kevin Wirth | Ky. | 398 |
| 47 Robert Lee | Calif. | 376 |
| 48 Ishama Monroe | Calif. | 374 |
| 48 Mike Wurm | Ark. | 374 |
| 50 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr* | Fla. | 251 |
*Withdrawn from competition for medical reasons
PUROLATOR BIG BASS
New for 2004, Purolator, the official oil filter and air filter of BASS, is instituting an incentive to the angler who catches the heaviest fish each day. Pros catching the largest fish will receive a $1,000 bonus in all four of the Bassmaster Elite 50 events. An additional $1,000 will be awarded to the angler who catches the largest fish of each tournament.
BUSCH SHOOTOUT
Another new program for 2004 is the $200,000 Busch Shootout contingency program. Qualifying Tour pros will receive a $1,000 bonus for the largest sack brought in per tournament day.
The top 10 "Busch Heavyweights" from the Tour and Elite 50 events will be joined by anglers with the top weights from the 2004 Classic, the 2004 Federation Championship and the 2003 Open Championship to compete in the
single-day Busch Shootout tournament, Sept. 18, on a mystery lake. The winner will receive $100,000, with everyone else taking home a $5,000 check.
Now, with only two events left, only eight opportunities remain for anglers to qualify for the Busch Shootout from the Elite 50 series. Arizona‚s John Murray was the first to qualify for the Busch Shootout tournament by having the heaviest sack at the 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Open Championship on Toledo Bend Reservoir last December. Murray's Day 3 catch of 21 pounds qualified him for the tournament.
The Busch Shootout field will also include Iowa's Thad Takes, who had the heaviest weight of the CITGO BASS Federation Championship with 14 pounds and 12 ounces on the final day, as well as Texans Kelly Jordon and Mark Rogers, who are in the top two slots and can‚t get bumped out.
Murray, Takes, Jordan and Rogers will be joined by eight additional Heavyweights, and the angler with the heaviest catch at the CITGO Bassmaster Classic to fish for the $100,000 grand prize on the mystery lake in Sept.
Currently, the top 10 Busch Heavyweights are:
| Kelly Jordon | Texas | 32-2 | Santee Cooper Lakes |
| Mark Rogers | Texas | 31-3 | Lake Eufaula |
| George Cochran | Arkansas | 29-15 | Lake Guntersville |
| Stacey King | Missouri | 28-2 | Lake Guntersville |
| David Wharton | Texas | 26-7 | Harris Chain of Lakes |
| Kevin VanDam | Michigan | 26-3 | Lake Guntersville |
| Jason Quinn | South Carolina | 24-14 | Harris Chain of Lakes |
| Bink Desaro | Idaho | 24-5 | Lake Eufaula |
| Denny Brauer | Missouri | 23-12 | Lake Eufaula |
| Ben Matsubu | Texas | 23-10 | Lake Eufaula |
CLASSIC WATCH
The top 10 anglers in point standings from the Bassmaster Elite 50 series will earn a berth in the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer. Forty-one anglers have already qualified for the 2004 Classic, Five through the CITGO BASS Federation Championship, 12 through the CITGO Bassmaster Open divisions and another 25 through the Tour. Those 41 include:
| BASS Federation | Southern Division | Russ Lane |
| BASS Federation | Central Division | William Pippen |
| BASS Federation | Northern Division | Thad Takes |
| BASS Federation | Western Division | Jeff Boyer |
| BASS Federation | Eastern Division | George Acord |
CITGO Bassmaster Open
Southern Division
- Tim Horton
- David Walker
- Denny Brauer
Central Division
- Edwin Evers
- Tim Carroll
- Steve Sennikoff
Northern Division
- Art Ferguson III
- Kevin Wirth
- Chuck Economou
Western Division
- Bink Desaro
- John Murray
- Skeet Reese
CITGO Bassmaster Tour presented by Busch Beer
- Gerald Swindle
- Greg Hackney
- Michael Iaconelli
- Kelly Jordon
- Aaron Martens
- Scott Suggs
- Bernie Schultz
- Takahiro Omori
- Brent Chapman
- Chad Brauer
- Davy Hite
- Chris Baumgardner
- Marty Stone
- Mark Davis
- Brett Hite
- Alton Jones
- Gary Klein
- Jim Bitter
- Dean Rojas
- Lee Bailey
- Peter Thliveros
- Harold Allen
- Kevin VanDam
- Mark Kile
- Stacey King
