Bassmaster Classic Results 2015: Winner and Final Leaderboard

When Randy Howell won the 2014 Bassmaster Classic inside his home state of Alabama, Casey Ashley must have been taking notes. 

The South Carolina native, fishing on his home water of Lake Hartwell in Greenville, South Carolina, used a huge haul on Sunday to capture the most coveted title in bass fishing: 

After his five fish weighed in at more than 20 pounds to give him a tournament total of 50 pounds, one ounce, he was understandably emotional while talking about the victory, via the Independent Mail's Mike Ellis:

The Independent Mail's Sefton Ipock caught a glimpse of Ashley's victory lap:

Here's a look at the final leaderboard, courtesy of Bassmaster.com: 

Position	Fisher	Total Fish	Total Weight
1	Casey Ashley	15	50-1
2	Bobby Lane	14	46-15
3	Takahiro Omori	15	44-3
4	Dean Rojas	15	43-13
5	Jacob Powroznik	14	43-1
6	Michael Iaconelli	14	42-6
7	Brett Hite	14	41-11
8	Mike McClelland	14	41-7
9	Justin Lucas	13	40-2
10	Chris Lane	14	38-11

Entering the day outside the top 10, Bobby Lane caught five fish weighing an impressive total of 19 pounds, one ounce to vault into first place before the Super Six hit the scales. He was ecstatic with his position: 

Lane was looking to join brother Chris, who won in 2012, but it wasn't meant to be. After Brett Hite weighed in at just 12 pounds, four ounces, Ashley stepped to the scale. The 31-year-old's bag of five fish cleared a whopping 20 pounds (second-highest daily total of the tournament), sending him into first place and whipping the Greenville crowd into a frenzy. 

Ashley put it simply after jumping to the top of the standings: 

And there was good reason to be a nervous wreck. Still remaining to weigh their fish were previous champions Michael Iaconelli and Takahiro Omori, as well as Dean "The Machine" Rojas, who owns the record for heaviest five-bass limit in B.A.S.S. history and surpassed 21 pounds on Day 1.

But none of them could approach Ashley on a day he seemed destined for history. Iaconelli weighed in at 11 pounds, six ounces. Rojas was at 12 pounds, four ounces, and post-Day 2 leader Omori tallied just 12 pounds, eight ounces. 

Fellow angler Timmy Horton offered his congratulations: 

Ashley's fourth-career B.A.S.S tournament win—and first since 2011—is one he'll never forget. His name is now forever etched in the sport's history books, and he still has a bright future in front of him. 

For now, though, it's time for South Carolina's prodigal son to celebrate.