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Angler Reels in Big Catch Worth $500,000: Grandparents Live in Columbia; Parents Graduated From Schools in Brown County

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 06:00 CST

By Scott Waltman, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Feb. 28--Fishing for fun has made Luke Clausen a millionaire.

The 27-year-old angler has ties to Brown County. And with a first-place finish over the weekend in the Bassmaster Classic world championship in Florida, he's now used his angling skills to net more than $1 million in winnings in his short career. In three days of fishing at the Bassmaster Classic, he hauled in 56 pounds, 2 ounces of bass to win the BASS Tour's biggest event and the record $500,000 that went with the title.

In 2004, Luke also won $500,000 when he took first place in the championship event of the FLW Tour in Alabama. FLW and BASS are rival bass fishing tours. He's never seen such success in lesser tournaments.

"It still seems a little surreal right now, like I'm dreaming this," Luke said in a Knight Ridder story. "It will sink in soon."

The weekend competition was at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. Luke said he did most of his competition fishing on the south side of Lake Kissimmee. It took nearly an hour to get to his lucky spot and an hour to get back to the tournament's base. Anglers were allowed to practice on the lakes Feb. 14-16. After Feb. 14, they weren't allowed to fish with or discuss fishing on the lakes with anybody who had knowledge of them except other competitors.

Luke's father Cal Clausen is a 1972 graduate of Roncalli High School. His mother Debbie Clausen is a 1972 graduate of Frederick High School. They now live in Spokane, Wash., and winter in Arizona. Clausen's grandparents, Melvin and Janice Larson, live in Columbia.

Luke Clausen lives in Spokane Valley, Wash. He has never lived in South Dakota, but has visited and been walleye fishing and pheasant hunting, Janice said. He was born in Montana and grew up in Washington.

Janice said she watched the competition live on ESPN and ESPN 2. I "stayed home from church (Sunday) to watch it. That's pretty bad," she said with a chuckle.

A cameraman on Luke's boat Sunday fell into the lake, soaking a camera Janice heard was valued at $80,000.

"It didn't affect me, though," Luke told Knight Ridder, referring to the mishap. "I yanked him out of the water, got him back on the boat and went right on fishing."

Two years ago, Janice and Cal traveled to Wisconsin to watch Luke fish in a bass tournament. But, Janice said, he didn't fare very well. This weekend was much more enjoyable. She said she regularly visits Luke, but hasn't been in touch with him since the victory.

The total weight of his fish was a Bassmaster Classic record, eclipsing the old mark of 55 pounds, 10 ounces. Rick Morris of Lanexa, Va., finished a distant second with 51 pounds of bass.

On Sunday alone, Clausen caught 11 pounds, 13 ounces of fish. During the day, he fought heavy rain and 20-mph wind to out-fish the 51-angler field. He also won the competition's Big Bass Award, hauling in a 5-pound, 13-ounce largemouth.

Debbie said if it weren't for her son, she wouldn't pay much attention to fishing. She said Luke got hooked on bass fishing after having some success in tournaments when he was in high school.

Luke purchased a house a couple of years ago, but has since sold it because he's always fishing in tournaments and isn't home much, his mother said. She described him as "frugal."

Next up for Luke is a FLW Tour event this coming weekend in the Southeast.

Janice said she heard from Luke's sister, Lisa Clausen, that Luke had won the BASS tournament even before results were finalized on television. Janice said Lisa asked her, "Can you believe he's 27 years old, he hasn't worked a day in his life and he's a millionaire?"

Not bad for a job that, for most folks, is a fun pastime.

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Copyright (c) 2006, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

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Source: American News (Aberdeen, S.D.)

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