Veteran Angler Lowen Earns First Bassmaster Elite Series Victory At Pickwick

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Mar 23, 2021, 23:13 ET

FLORENCE, Ala., March 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Lowen turned in an impressively consistent performance at the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake, but he'll never forget the 8-pound, 5-ounce largemouth that buoyed his Championship Tuesday performance and delivered a winning total of 83-5.

The only competitor to break 20 pounds three of the four days, Lowen placed third on Day 1 with 21-3 and improved to second a day later by adding 23-13. He earned his final-round berth on Day 3 with a limit of 17-10 that put him in a first-place tie with Chad Pipkens.

Bill Lowen, of Brookville, Ind., has won the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake with a four-day total of 83 pounds, 5 ounces.

On Tuesday, Lowen surged across the finish line with a limit of 20-11. Edging second-place Brock Mosley by 2-10, Lowen claimed his first Elite win and earned $102,000, which includes the daily and overall Phoenix Boats Big Bass awards.

Lowen's game-changing kicker bit around 10:30 a.m., when he skipped his black and blue Signature Series 3/8-ounce Lure Parts Online jig with a chunk trailer under a dock near Kogers Island. He initially snagged a piece of submerged cover, but then his line tightened.

"I had to pitch way up in there so the bait could get down in the current and sweep it through," Lowen said. "I felt my jig get into a limb or a piece of brush, and as I hopped the jig over I felt the bite.

"I hesitated because I wanted to be sure, but when I got big pressure, I set the hook and it was game on."

Lowen described that emotional catch: "There were so many feelings going through my head. You could hear me screaming and hollering and that's not me. But that's 14 years of excitement built up for this day. It all came out."

The Tennessee Valley Authority steadily worked the volume through the system. But with Wilson Dam dumping approximately 180,000 cubic feet per second into Pickwick, the rising water and intense current dramatically changed Lowen's game plan.

"My main goal was to start the tournament out on the grass flat by Koger Island. When all this rain and current came through I (was concerned) because I didn't have anything else.

"The first morning of the event I ran down there and saw what was going on, and I said, 'These fish have to slide to the sides — whether it's on the island where I was fishing or the docks on the other side.' Fortunately, when I pulled up and started flipping trees I got a bite, which keyed me in."

That pattern worked for three days, but in the final round, falling water had drained much of Lowen's prime habitat.

"Today, my main area (shallow cover on the outskirts of Kogers) was a foot and a half low," he said. "A lot of the wood I was catching fish on was dry, so I started running some deeper stuff. I switched from the 3/8-ounce jig to a 1/2 and caught a couple key fish."

Earlier in the tournament, Lowen used the 3/8-ounce jig so he could float it through the shallow, current-swept cover without getting hung up. He also used a Strike King Rodent Texas-rigged on a 5/0 Hayabusa flipping hook with a 5/16-ounce Reins tungsten weight for flipping reeds.

"Anytime I'm fishing current and I can keep a flipping rod in my hand, that's my comfort zone," Lowen said. "I grew up on the Ohio River, which looks just like (Pickwick) when it's flooded. I'm used to rising, muddy water; it doesn't affect me or make me get spun out. I just went out and fished the way I'd fish at home."

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., finished second with 80-11. Entering the final day in sixth place, Mosley caught the day's heaviest limit — 22-14. His previous weights were 19-9, 21-8 and 16-12.

Having cut his teeth on Pickwick, Mosley said he knew the famous Horseshoe area of the Wilson Dam tailrace held tremendous potential, but he waited until the final day to fish this area.

"I've been waiting all week for the current to slow down," Mosley said. "I don't like fishing the tailrace when it's 120,000 CFS. I saw that it was going to slow down yesterday, but you usually give them a half day to reposition.

"I went up there this morning and threw a 3/4-ounce spinnerbait with tandem willow-leaf blades. In the first 10 minutes, I hooked up with two good ones."

After leaving the tailrace, Mosley fished a big paddletail swimbait on the bluffs across from McFarland Park. He would rotate his areas once more and pick up a 5-pound fish 15 minutes before check-in.

Cory Johnston of Cavan, Canada, entered Championship Tuesday in third place and ended in that position with 79 pounds. His daily weights were 18-9, 15-3, 25-5 and 19-15.

After focusing on main-river current breaks the previous days, Johnston realized his opportunities were dwindling in the falling water. Transitioning to docks with 8 to 10 feet of water at the ends proved to be strategic adjustment.

Johnston caught his fish on a 7/16-ounce black/blue Punisher jig with a matching chunk trailer.

Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., leads the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 264 points. Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., is in second with 246, followed by Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, with 245, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., with 242 and Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., with 239.

New leads the Rookie of the Year standings with 239 points.

Lowen took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Hank Cherry of Lincolnton, N.C., earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Lowen earned $2,500 for being the highest-placing entrant while Palaniuk claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

The tournament was hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism.

Finish	Name	Hometown	Total lbs-oz	Earnings
1	Bill Lowen	Brookville, IN	83-05	$102,000
2	Brock Mosley	Collinsville, MS	80-11	$35,000
3	Cory Johnston	Cavan, Ontario, CANADA	79-0	$31,000
4	Steve Kennedy	Auburn, AL	77-04	$25,000
5	Hank Cherry Jr	Lincolnton, NC	73-11	$21,000
6	Tyler Rivet	Raceland, LA	73-09	$19,000
7	Brandon Palaniuk	Rathdrum, ID	73-03	$18,000
8	Bryan Schmitt	Deale, MD	72-01	$17,000
9	Chad Pipkens	Dewitt, MI	68-14	$16,000
10	Buddy Gross	Chickamauga, GA	64-11	$15,000
11	Koby Kreiger	Alva, FL	56-05	$10,000
12	Patrick Walters	Summerville, SC	56-00	$10,000
13	Kyle Welcher	Opelika, AL	54-07	$10,000
14	Brandon Lester	Fayetteville, TN	54-03	$10,000
15	Caleb Sumrall	New Iberia, LA	53-09	$10,000
16	Wes Logan	Springville, AL	52-14	$10,000
17	Ray Hanselman Jr	Del Rio, Texas	52-08	$10,000
18	David Mullins	Mt Carmel, TN	52-03	$10,000
19	Bryan New	Belmont, NC	51-10	$10,000
20	Greg DiPalma	Millville, NJ	50-13	$10,000
21	Scott Martin	Clewiston, FL	50-08	$10,000
22	Matt Herren	Ashville, AL	50-06	$10,000
23	Joshua Stracner	Vandiver, AL	50-05	$10,000
24	Chris Johnston	Otonabee, Ontario CANADA	50-03	$10,000
25	Seth Feider	New Market, MN	49-12	$10,000
26	Brad Whatley	Bivins, TX	49-07	$10,000
27	Marc Frazier	Newnan, GA	48-07	$10,000
28	Lee Livesay	Longview, TX	48-06	$10,000
29	Drew Cook	Cairo, GA	47-15	$10,000
30	Brandon Card	Salisbury, NC	47-03	$10,000
31	Chris Zaldain	Fort Worth, TX	46-11	$10,000
32	Jason Christie	Park Hill, OK	46-02	$10,000
33	Shane LeHew	Catawba, NC	45-15	$10,000
34	John Crews Jr	Salem, VA	45-09	$10,000
35	Hunter Shryock	Ooltewah, TN	44-09	$10,000
36	Skylar Hamilton	Dandridge, TN	43-01	$10,000
37	Frank Talley	Temple, TX	43-01	$10,000
38	Cliff Prince	Palatka, FL	43-01	$10,000
39	Pat Schlapper	Eleva, WI	42-14	$10,000
40	Stetson Blaylock	Benton, AR	42-00	$10,000
41	Kyle Monti	Okeechobee, FL	41-11	$10,000
42	Todd Auten	Lake Wylie, SC	41-10	$10,000
43	Luke Palmer	Coalgate, OK	41-03	$10,000
44	Ed Loughran III	Richmond, VA	40-14	$10,000
45	Clifford Pirch	Payson, AZ	40-04	$10,000
46	Randy Sullivan	Breckenridge, TX	39-05	$10,000
47	Drew Benton	Blakely, GA	39-03	$10,000
48	Robbie Latuso	Gonzales, LA	38-12	$10,000
49	KJ Queen	Catawba, NC	26-05	$10,000
50	Paul Mueller	Naugatuck, CT	25-04	$10,000

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Bass Pro Shops, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Marathon, Rapala

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partner: AFTCO

Media Contact: Emily Harley, B.A.S.S. Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, [email protected]

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