Arnie Coons Saves the Best for Last!
By: Tim Ables/ ESPNOutdoors.com

Scottsboro, Alabama - Arnie Coons of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. leads the event after Day One with this 7.59-pound bass. The angler from Roanake Rapids, NC, waited until the final hour of fishing Saturday to weigh in the biggest bass one the first day of the McDonald's Big Bass Splash on Lake Guntersville. Coon's 7.59-pound lunker topped the field and gives him the early edge on winning the first prize of a Triton Boat powered by a Mercury Outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance electronics. This year, anglers have the opportunity to win a share of more than $100,000 in guaranteed cash and prizes. Five places will be paid every hour to the five heaviest single bass weighed in that hour. In second place with his 7.41-pounder was James Hastings of Scottsboro, AL Lee Oliver of Albertville, AL, weighed in a 7.28-pound bass and stands third while David Heatherly of Huntsville, AL, and Richard Leigeber of Cullman, AL, are fourth and fifth, respectively, with 7.10 and 6.52 fish. There were 225 fish weighed Saturday with a total weight of 905.38 pounds.  The Big Bass Splash® on Lake Guntersville, Alabama is hosted by the Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and benefits the Ronald McDonald Houses® and Select McDonald’s® Charities.