$409,450 KMART BASSMASTER Florida Top 150.

KISSIMMEE, Fla.--(BW SportsWire)--Jan. 14, 1999--

World's Top B.A.S.S. Pros Cast for 10 KMART BASSMASTER Spots On Lake Tohopekaliga -0-

 1.  Ron Shuffield          Bismarck          AR  10/0     23-02.
 2.  Randy Blaukat          Joplin            MO   9/0     22-01.
 3.  Craig Daniel           Cullman           AL  10/0     21-14.
 4.  Danny Kirk             Bartow            GA  10/0     20-06.
 5.  Randy Howell           Trussville        AL  10/0     19-15.
 6.  Alton Jones            Waco              TX   8/0     19-13.
 7.  Terry Segraves         Kissimmee         FL   8/0     19-08.
 8.  Shaw E Grigsby, Jr     Gainesville       FL  10/0     19-05.
 9.  Peter E. Thliveros     Jacksonville      FL  10/0     18-11.
10.  Rick Clunn             Glorieta          NM  10/0     18-06.

     Florida has been good to Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. It was
here in 1987 that a BASSMASTER Top 100 win gave him the confidence to
turn pro. Since then, he's claimed five BASSMASTER Tournament Trail
titles, and qualified to compete 10 times in the world championship of
bass fishing, the BASS Masters Classic. He is one of the top-ranked
pros in the world.
     Today under conditions that would have had many anglers stomping
their fishing hat and giving up, Shuffield plucked five bass from the
Kissimmee Chain of Lakes for 13 pounds, 15 ounces to move from 10th
place to first. Combined with his first-day catch weighing 9-3, it
gave him a 10-bass, 23-pound, 2-ounce two-day total and the lead in
the $409,450 KMART BASSMASTER Top 150 tournament. The bass were
returned to the fishery. If he wins, Shuffield stands to pocket
$100,000 in cash and awards.
     Shuffield, 42, lost full use of his trolling motor after a cable
snapped around 8:30 this morning. He spent the day running out into
the wind, locking the trolling motor into one position and then
drifting with the wind back across his fish. With the trolling motor
locked into place, he said he could "hit it" every so often to help
maintain his position. "The fish didn't bite but between 9:30 and
10:00," he said, "then they shut down. I culled a 2 and 1/2 pounder
and had eight keepers all day."
     The anglers fish Thursday for 10 spots in the final round.
Saturday the top 10 pros carry their scores into a final round where
they fish with observers or members of the press.
     WEIGH-INS: The daily 2:30 p.m. weigh-ins at Kissimmee Lake Front
Park are free.
     This ninth of 19 qualifying tournaments for the BASS Masters
Classic world championship to be held in New Orleans the last weekend
in July with weigh-ins in the Louisiana Super Dome.
     BASSMASTER Magazine (600,000 subscribers) and B.A.S.S. TIMES
(75,000 subscribers) will cover the event in the March issues. The
event is being taped for THE BASSMASTERS TV series, which airs
weekends on TNN.
     NATIONAL SPONSORS: KMART, Ranger Boats, RangerTrail Trailers,
Mercury Outboards, Chevrolet Trucks, ACDelco Voyager Batteries,
Humminbird/Zercom, JERZEES American ActiveWear, Wrangler Rugged Wear,
Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Plano Tackle Systems, and MotorGuide
Trolling Motors, Pennzoil. REGIONAL SPONSOR: St. Cloud Convention &
Visitors Bureau.