Female angler leads Co-Angler Division
D’IBERVILLE, Miss. – Chris Daniels of Clayton, N.C., made the most of a shortened day on the Pascagoula River by landing five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces to lead the $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour professional bass fishing event presented by Pepsi and Frito-Lay. Beverly Little of Greensboro, N.C., leads the Co-Angler Division, making her the first women in FLW Tour history to do so.
After a one and one-half hour fog delay that left many of the 350-angler field weighing their options, Daniels sped upriver nearly 80 miles to a small oxbow in search of his five-bass limit. To access the area, which he found during practice Tuesday, Daniels had to wind his way through 12-to 14-inch deep water for nearly one half mile.
“If I only had one hour to fish, I was going to make the run,” said Daniels, who used a combination spinnerbait/jig. “I had to put all my eggs in that basket and make the run.”
Many contestants have noted that the lower ends of the Pascagoula, Biloxi and Tchoutacabouffa rivers on which the tournament is being contested are void of the productive vegetation that they fished during last year’s FLW Tour stop. This change may be due to an unusually cold winter or encroachment of saltwater. Regardless of the reason, fishing was tough as only 19 limits were brought to the scales. A warming trend, however, could improve fishing through the remainder of the four-day event.
The heaviest bass in the 175-angler Pro Division was a 4-pound, 11-ounce largemouth caught by Dick Bowman of Thornville, Ohio. Bowman received $750 for the big bass, and, if the weight holds up Thursday, he will win an additional $1,000 from Pepsi. Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark., earned big bass honor and $500 in the 175-person Co-Angler Division with a 4-pound, 4-ounce largemouth.
Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla. (five bass, 11-2); Jim Carnell of Muskogee, Okla. (five bass, 10-9); Dale Teaney of Williamsburg, Ohio (five bass, 10-9); and Chuck Economou of Redington Beach, Fla. (five bass, 10-6) rounded out the top five Pro Division anglers.
The heaviest opening-day weight in the Co-Angler Division belonged to Little, who caught four bass weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces. This catch gave Little a 7-ounce advantage over Andrew Arnold of Princeton, Ky., who managed four bass weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces. Co-Angler Rodney Chmolack of Phenix City, Ala., landed in third place with two bass weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces.
Little’s first place ranking in the opening round demonstrates the growing influence of women in professional fishing. Her highest finish to date is an 11th place showing on Lake Toho in Florida three years ago. Her impressive showing on the Pascagoula, however, virtually assures her a spot in the final round of 10 co-anglers.
Anglers in both divisions must place in the top 10 Thursday to advance to the semifinal round of competition Friday. Weights from opening day count toward making the first cut, but weights are cleared for the semifinal round as anglers fish for the heaviest one-day weight. Only the top five pros will advance to the final round Saturday for a shot at $100,000. Co-angler competition ends Friday with the winner collecting $15,000.
Competition continues at 6:30 a.m. Thursday at Indian Point Marina located off I-10 in Gautier, Miss., followed by a 3 p.m. weigh-in at the same location. Friday’s takeoff starts at 8 a.m. from the D’Iberville City Marina and the weigh-in begins at 5 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 3615 Sangani Blvd. in D’Iberville. Saturday’s takeoff from the D’Iberville City Marina starts at 6:30 a.m. followed by the final weigh-in at Wal-Mart at 3 p.m.
A Family Fun Zone featuring fishing seminars, free product samples, interactive displays and children’s games will open in the Wal-Mart parking lot starting at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.