Mueller advances to Bassmaster Classic
Naugatuck’s Paul Mueller won the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship on Saturday by coming through with the biggest single-day catch of the three-day tournament on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La.
Mueller went into the final day of the tournament in third place, trailing leader Coby Carden by 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and trailing second-place angler Jeff Lugar by 4 ounces.
Mueller easily passed them both to win the national championship with a sensational day of fishing on Saturday as he caught his limit of five fish totaling 14 pounds, 9 ounces.
“I have a strong faith, and today was a blessing for me,” Mueller said. “Today was a big deal. I came from far behind and didn’t think I had a chance to win, but when I started catching those bigger fish I thought I might come close. It just worked out.
“Being behind by 4 pounds, 14 ounces was a lot, because weights were very tight out on here with most guys being separated by ounces, not pounds. But I caught two really good ones and three others that were solid, too.”
Meanwhile, Carden caught only two fish Saturday with a total weight of 2 pounds, 5 ounces. And while Lugar caught five fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces, it wasn’t nearly enough to stay head of Mueller.
Mueller, a 30-year-old who grew up in Southbury and went to Pomperaug High, won the title by a whopping 7 pounds, 6 ounces, or 22.4 percent more total weight than the runner-up.
In only his third season of professional fishing, Mueller advances to bass fishing’s most prestigious event, the Bassmaster Classic, as a result of the national championship win.
“To win the national championship is like gravy on the steak,” Mueller said. “The main thing was I just wanted to get back to the Bassmaster Classic, and this win qualifies me to go back to the biggest tournament in bass fishing. I’m super excited to make it two years in a row.”
Six berths into the Bassmaster Classic, which will be held Feb. 20-22 at Lake Hartwell in Greenville, S.C., were at stake at B.A.S.S. Nation National Championships, with the winner of each region advancing. Mueller had to beat the eight other anglers in the eastern division to qualify, and instead he beat all 58 of the anglers against whom he was competing.
Last year, Mueller finished eighth overall at the national championship but advanced to the Bassmaster Classic for the first time by being the first eastern division finisher in the national championship field. He went on to finish second in his very first Bassmaster Classic, missing out on the elite title by only a pound.
