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There, he flips a jig under a boat dock and immediately catches a 4-pound spotted bass. That bumps his five-fish limit up to about 11 pounds, he guesses. He figures if he can add a couple more 4-pound bass it will put him in the running. Those fish never come. He finally puts a 3-pound spotted bass in the live well and with that is able to cull his smallest fish, a 1½-pounder. The Howell eventually finds his way last fish gives him his final Day One back to the campground and showers tally of five bass weighing 12 pounds, and changes clothes. It is almost 8 14 ounces. p.m. when the Howell family heads to It is not where he wants to be, but it's good enough for 15th place and he's still in the running with two days to go. Howell is exhausted at the weighin, but he's reminded why this is a special day. "Today's my anniversary," he a Japanese steak house in Pell City to celebrate 21 years of marriage. Another day in the life of a professional bass fisherman is about to come to an end. (On Day Two of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open, says. "We've been married 21 years the exhaustion finally caught up with and 18 of those years we've been at Howell. His game plan fell apart and a tournament for our anniversary. he caught just 6 pounds, 2 ounces She is a very understanding wife. She of bass. His two-day weight was not understands that this is the profession enough to make the cut into the we've both chosen. final round. He finished 86th of 164 "People that think they want to do this have no idea what is involved. It is an emotional roller coaster," Howell says. "You have a job where there is no guarantee that you will get a paycheck. It takes having a great wife to make it work." anglers. He did not finish high enough to earn a paycheck.) — Mike Bolton For more photos of this tournament and information about fishing on our lakes, check out Alabama Power's NewsCenter. news.alabamapower.com/ Above: Photo by Billy Brown — Randy Howell and amateur angler Bo Quinnie on Logan Martin Lake. S hor el i ne s | 2013 Vol:2 9