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Area angler misses the boat Photo from AP David Fritts, of Lexington, N.C., hooks a largemouth bass during the final day of competition in the Ranger M1 Millennium bass tournament at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Fla. Fritts took second place in the Pro Division and earned $115,000 on a total catch weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces. Prineville fisherman closes a few ounces short in televised tilt By MARK FREEMAN Just one good bite from one good central Florida bass kept Paul Schmidt of Prineville from joining part of sport-angling history. Schmidt, a 33-year-old hobby bass angler, was nudged out of competing in last Sunday's finals of the Ranger Millennium M1 bass tournament -- the first-ever live, nationally televised fishing tournament from the lakes of central Florida. Darrell Robertson, of Jay, Okla., holds up one of his winning efforts during the event's weigh-in on the final day. But Schmidt did end up with a $3,000 check, a chance to meet some of bass fishing's top anglers and a personal footnote to this new genre of live TV sport. "It was definitely a great experience to be part of the whole thing," Schmidt says. "It was a chance to fish with some of the big names in bass fishing, and be a little part of history." The biggest piece of the Millennium M1 tournament went to Darrell Robertson of Oklahoma, whose $600,000 first-place price was the richest ever in bass-fishing history. The tournament's total purse was $1 million. Robertson was also featured on Fox TV, which broadcast Sunday's fourth and final round of fishing live from Cypress Gardens, Fla. That final round would have included Schmidt if he had caught one more bass in Saturday's third round. Schmidt, a Bureau of Land Management wildlife biologist who fishes in the West Coast tournament circuit, ended up in 24th place Saturday in the Co-Angler Division, one of two divisions in the tournament. Places were determined by the total weight of up to five bass caught each day by participants, who fished anywhere in a series of lakes around central Florida north of Orlando. The top 10 finishers in the lesser Co-Angler Division (for those who are not operating the bass boats) and the Pro Division (for those who operated the boats) fished during the live, 90-minute broadcast. The broadcast was seen in Medford on KTVU, Channel 26, and cable Channel 13. Schmidt won the right to enter the tournament during qualifying rounds, and paid $2,500 for one of 200 Co-Angler entrants in the four-day tournament. Schmidt survived the first two cuts, but missed the crucial third cut by less than two pounds. Jerry Tice, of Chipley, Fla., took the Co-Angler Division on Sunday and won $150,000 in prize money. Schmidt had thought winning the division would catapult his pro-bass aspirations and allow him to fish full-time for cash. But in the end, he just broke even for spending five days in Florida and rubbing elbows with some of bass fishing's Southern elite. `I thought I'd do better, but I did all right," Schmidt says. "I about broke even, so it meant I got to go on a free Florida vacation." That's more than the other two Oregonians among the 400 bass anglers who began the tournament Nov. 4. Greg Hatleberg of Eugene, who was entered in the Pro Division, lasted two days in the tournament and ended up tied for 141st. He took home a $1,000 check. Jay Jackson of Lebanon, who joined Schmidt in the Co-Angler Division, dropped out after the first day. He caught just one bass weighing 1 pound, 5 ounces, and took home a $500 check. Two of the sport's biggest names, Denny Brauer and David Walker, failed to make Friday's initial Pro Division cut. Brauer and Walker were the first anglers to make the Wheaties cereal box. (Staff writer Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. Call him at 776-4470, or e-mail him at [email protected] ) Outdoor Journal main page Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA