COLUMBIA, S.C. – Opening-round leader Tim Carroll of Owasso, Okla., wowed the crowd with a 9-pounder and hometown favorite Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., drew thunderous applause, but neither man could fend off Brennan Bosley of Benton, Ark., who finished atop the leaderboard Friday with a healthy limit of 3- and 4-pound bass weighing 20 pounds, 15 ounces. If he retains his lead Saturday, Bosley will pocket $200,000 in the $1.25 million Chevy Open on Lake Murray.
Here’s the rub. Carroll only caught two fish, and he weighed in 14 pounds, 11 ounces to advance as the No. 3 seed. He also caught several 9-pounders in practice. His pattern could be slipping while Bosley’s is improving, but only time will tell. Gagliardi isn’t likely to go down without a fight, either, as he has posted solid numbers all week, including five bass weighing 19 pounds Friday, to retain the No. 2 spot. Each of the top-three contenders has brought more than 26 pounds to the scale at least once this week.
“There are so many fish out there in the 6- to 8-pound range that someone could zero today and still win this thing,” said Bosley, a fourth-year pro who fishes for Team Wet Ones. “I would not be surprised at all to see a limit over 40 pounds come in. I just hope it’s me.”
Bosley is cranking a Bomber Deep Flat A on 10-pound-test fluorocarbon while Gagliardi and Carroll are using jigs to catch bass in deep water. Gagliardi is also drop-shotting a 4-inch finesse worm.
“Every bite I get is a reaction bite,” Bosley said. “The bait runs about 7 feet deep, bumps the top of a rock in 8 or 9 feet, and I get a strike.”
In an interesting twist, Gagliardi won the tour’s 2004 stop on Kentucky Lake after trailing Bosley on opening day of the final round. Terry Segraves of Kissimmee, Fla., who is currently in ninth place, also finished in the top 10 on Kentucky Lake in 2004.
Bosley’s journey into the final round got off to a shaky start Wednesday when he caught just four bass weighing 11-5 and finished the day 74th. He jumped into fifth place Thursday, however, with five bass weighing 26-5 that pushed his opening-round total to nine bass weighing 37-10. Bosley also earned the Energizer Keeps on Going Award of $500 for coming from the furthest behind to make the top-10 cut.
Rounding out the top five pros are David Wolak of Warrior, Pa. (five bass, 12-12) and Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz. (four bass, 10-2).
Charles Ward of Greer, S.C., captured the co-angler title and $40,000 Friday with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 6 ounces that he caught behind Bosley. He caught the bass on a 1/4-ounce J & M Custom Lures Spot Getter rigged with a Zoom green pumpkin finesse worm on 10-pound-test fluorocarbon line.
“Today I was the best water I’ve seen all week,” said Ward, who has earned three FLW Tour top-10s since 2002. “It was deep and conducive for a co-angler to fish. I grew up in Columbia and have fished Lake Murray for years. At one point we fished in an area where I caught my first bass ever over 6 pounds.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Sondra Rankin of Paducah, Ky. (three bass, 8-6, $20,000); Mark Cummings of Pembroke, Ky. (two bass, 5-13, $10,000); Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C. (one bass, 5-4, $9,000); and Mike Devere of Berea, Ky. (two bass, 4-13, $8,000).
Overall, 55 bass weighing 154 pounds, including five five-bass limits, were caught Friday by the 10 pro and 10 co-angler finalists.
The 10 remaining pros competing in the Chevy Open hosted by the Capital City/Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board will take off at 7 Saturday morning from Jake’s Landing. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2401 Augusta Road in Columbia beginning at 4 p.m.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at noon, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.
Coverage of the Chevy Open will be broadcast to 78 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television programs airing March 12 and March 19. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sundays at 11 a.m. Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 300 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.