Montgomery , Ala. – The season, and the dream of being the second man to win the Bassmaster Classic in the same season is over for Auburn , California 's Skeet Reese. After an amazing season where he won the Bassmaster Classic on Louisiana 's Red River , then finished the Bassmaster Elite Series schedule as the points leader, he saw the Angler of the Year title slip through his grasp on the final day of the postseason. “I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed,” Reese said as his Lucky Craft Express rolled through the south on his way home. “I led the thing for three days, and then couldn't close it out on the final day of the postseason – it sucks, but it is what it is.” Reese opened the postseason by finishing in 2 nd place during the first tournament on Jordan Lake in Wetumpka , Ala. The runner up position allowed him to leapfrog friendly rival Kevin VanDam in the standings and grab a 16 point advantage heading into the final event on the Alabama River out of Montgomery . “I fished offshore at Jordan , especially the first day,” Reese reported. “I caught 90-percent of the fish I weighed on an Aaron Martens Lures Scrounger Head with a soft plastic jerkbait trailer, and the other fish I caught on a Fred's Frog.” Reese used his Wright & McGill Co. Skeet Reese Spinnerbait and Worm rod, and 12-pound-test Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon on his signature Abu Garcia Skeet Reese Revo. “I had to adjust some on the second day, but I found out that the Scrounger is as effective shallow as it is deep,” Reese said. “I caught a few of my fish on the second day around the banks, and some of the deeper docks.” When the second postseason event started, Reese was the only angler to turn upstream, choosing to target the pattern and area he found to be most productive. “I found an area that had the right kind of fish in it to close out the Angler of the Year title, but I had a few missed opportunities and couldn't close it out.” The first day of competition at the Alabama River saw Reese finish tied with Mike Iaconelli for 3 rd place with 10-pounds, 2 ounces. “I caught most of my fish on day one on a Lucky Craft Gunfish topwater,” he said. “I left the day feeling like I had put myself in position, and there were enough fish to carry into the next day.” The Gunfish was paired with 17-pound-test Berkley Trilene Maxx, his Abu Garcia SKT Revo and his Wright & McGill Co. Topwater and Jerkbait rod. He reported missing a few opportunities to upgrade his weight, but lost some, and had some larger strikes miss his Gunfish. Despite the missed opportunities, the Angler of the Year title was his for the taking. He felt that he would have plenty of opportunity to close out the season, but he returned to his water to find that it had changed. “I switched up because they wouldn't eat the Gunfish on day two,” Reese reported. “I caught my two biggest fish on a Zara Spook and a Lucky Craft G-Splash, and the rest came on a black and blue Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw.” All of the lures were thrown on his SKT Revo, the G-Splash and Spook were tied to 30-pound-test Spiderwire Ultracast the G-Splash was thrown on the same rod as the Gunfish and the Spook was on his signature S-Glass cranking rod. His Flipping rig consisted of his eight foot Wright & McGill Co. Flippin' and Pitchin' rod and 25-pound-test Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon.” He also caught a couple of fish on a lipless crankbait. “I will have nightmares about one four pound fish that chased my topwater bait and never connected,” Reese said. “It blew up several times but never connected; that fish would have made the difference between finishing as Angler of the Year and runner up to Kevin (VanDam).” The shock of not accomplishing the goal that was so close is still settling in with Reese, but he said he would start to feel normal again as he reached his northern California home. “It's a long drive, with plenty of time to think, but getting home will be nice, then I can just be with my family and let it all go.” One special occurrence during the Alabama River event was that Reese had the chance to introduce a member of the media to the sport of bass fishing. “Harlan Coben was my observer on day one,” Reese reported. “He had never been around bass fishing, I enjoyed his company, and found out that he has written 18 novels and sold something like 46 million copies, it was great to meet him.” Mr. Coben is a New York Times bestselling author who will be doing a story on fishing for Parade Magazine, which is distributed in most major Sunday newspapers across the country.