For Tyler, Texas, native Jay Yelas, the 12th time was the charm.

Yelas became only the second person to lead the CITGO BASS Masters Classic, held at Lay Lake, wire-to-wire. Yelas accepted the championship trophy from last year’s winner, Kevin Van Dam, in front of a capacity crowd at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center Sunday.

&uot;This is the most fun I’ve had in a tournament in a long time,&uot; Yelas said of the Lay Lake event. &uot;I caught some big fish on the lake and just had a blast.&uot;

Yelas had a three-day total of 14 bass weighing in at 45 pounds, 13 ounces to take home the $203,000 top prize. Yelas’ nearest competitor was California’s Aaron Martens with 15 fish weighing in at 39 pounds, 9 ounces.

Tim Horton of Muscle Shoals was the only Alabama fisherman to make the 25-angler cut. Horton, with 15 fish for a weight of 24 pounds, 7 ounces, won $8,000 for his 18th-place finish. Horton missed 17th place by just two ounces.

For more images from the Classic at Lay Lake, see page B-4