Horton holds on to TBF National Championship lead
Lake Wylie hands Horton 31-9 over two days for a 2-pound, 6-ounce lead
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Six boaters and six co-anglers realized a dream today on Lake Wylie – not only will they compete in tomorrow’s final round of The Bass Federation National Championship presented by the National Guard, but they also earned entry into the 2007 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League All-American.
Six national divisions are represented in the top six finalists, and in the weight contest, day-one leader Jamie Horton of the Southern Division continued his reign with a two-day total weight of 31 pounds, 9 ounces, leading the Central Division’s Greg Cooper by 2 pounds, 6 ounces.
The divisional representation makes this event unique in that the top six boaters and top six co-anglers who advanced to Saturday’s final round did not necessarily catch the six heaviest weights. Rather, they caught the heaviest two-day total weight of the five to seven competitors in their respective division. Therefore each of the six national divisions are represented on the final day.
Sweetening the pot is the promise that whichever boater ends the final round at the top of the heap, weight-wise, will also earn a ticket to the 2007 $2 million Forrest Wood Cup, competitive bass fishing’s premier event, and also paid entry into either the 2008 Wal-Mart FLW Tour or Wal-Mart FLW Series as part of the “Living the Dream” package. If the winning boater is a registered Ranger owner, he could win $1 million cash should he take the Forrest Wood Cup crown this August.
Currently Horton is king of the hill in the total weight competition, and his day-one limit of 15-13 was almost exactly matched today, as he brought in another five weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces. The Centerville, Ala., boater hoped to replace yesterday’s clouds with sunshine and got exactly what he wished. Ironically, though, the sight-fishing pattern he employed beneath yesterday’s clouds was abandoned in today’s sunshine, but obviously neither his weight nor his standing suffered.
“I just went fishing,” Horton said. “This morning I had a pattern in my head, and I never had to go sight-fishing. I caught them this morning pretty good.”
Indeed, an early bite seemed to be important to Horton as well as a number of other finalists. What makes Horton a particularly fierce opponent is that he can apparently catch loads of bass in myriad weather conditions using different styles of fishing.
“Yesterday I thought that I needed a topwater bite, and today I went swimming jigs,” he said. “I caught a limit of 3-pounders and had them pretty early. I know where 13 pounds can be found on beds if I strike out in the morning. But if I catch them early, I should be (in pretty good shape).”
On stage, Horton also reported covering a great deal of water to catch his bass. Practicing, perhaps?
“I try to cover a lot of water,” he said. “I about ran the batteries down on my boat. It feels good. I know some more areas like that, and it’s just going to be close.”
Cooper second but worried about his chances
Representing the Central Division, Greg Cooper of Monroe City, Mo., landed in second on the top-six weight list with 29 pounds, 3 ounces of bass over two days. His day-one catch of 15 pounds, 3 ounces was followed up today with a limit of five weighing 14 pounds.
Cooper’s day-two catch was anchored by a 3-pound, 9-ounce kicker, and he said it took him most of the day to catch his bass. He thanked his co-angler partners, though, saying he benefited greatly from their experience.
“Today was a little bit rougher,” Cooper said. “I was looking for sunshine, and it actually hurt me. I’ve got to think about what to do tomorrow.”
Nevertheless, Cooper’s “rough” day was only rough in comparison to his day-one total, because today, only one boater – Horton – caught more than Cooper’s 14 pounds. However, he did only catch six keepers over the course of the day.
“I’m 2 or 3 pounds behind, and (Horton’s) going to have to make a couple of mistakes,” Cooper said. “It’s going to come down to who has the least mistakes. It’s going to take a big fish to make it, and I don’t know if I’ve got it.”
On the upside, Cooper is thrilled about his automatic berth into the $1 million All-American.
“It’s a fantastic way to get there,” he said.
Andrews retains Eastern lead
Advancing from the Eastern Division is Dave Andrews of Bolton, Mass., with a two-day total catch of 28 pounds, 12 ounces, coming in third in the total-weight contest among the six finalists. He caught 14-14 yesterday and followed that up today with five weighing 13-14.
“The bait’s still working,” Andrews said, referring to a statement he made yesterday regarding his use of a bait that no one else is using. “I had to change with the conditions. I figured they’d change positions, so I moved to fishing docks and wound up having a similar day.”
Andrews had a particularly abundant day one, bringing in almost 20 keepers, much to his surprise. While day two wasn’t quite as prolific, he was still pleasantly surprised by what he managed to catch.
“It’s more than I thought I could do,” he said. “It’s all about getting the big bites. Tomorrow I’m going to run the same loop and hope the big ones bite. I’m comfortable with what I’m doing.”
Two boaters upset day-one leaders to advance
The top six divisional finishers from day one remained the same on day two in the Boater Division with two exceptions – the Western and Northern divisions. In the Northern Division, Derek Cummings of Eaton Rapids, Mich., upset day-one leader Doug Blank by only 12 ounces to live to fish another day. His two-day weight totaled 26 pounds, 8 ounces, fourth among the six finalists.
In the Western Division, Aaron Echternkamp of Moses Lake, Wash., ultimately ousted day-one leader Dan Jordan by 1 pound, 6 ounces with a two-day total weight of 26 pounds. Echternkamp’s day-one weight of 12 pounds, 2 ounces was bested today with a limit weighing 13-14 to put his total weight fifth among the six finalists.
“Lake Wylie has been fishing good,” Echternkamp said. “I’m on a total afternoon deal. I didn’t have a fish in the livewell until 10:30. As the weather gets better, things are getting better for me.”
In terms of the weather, tomorrow’s forecasts are calling for another sunny day, with temperatures a bit warmer than they were today. However, good weather or not, Echternkamp admitted his late-coming bite wears on his nerves.
“It’s tough trying to keep my cool,” he said. “I got my fish fairly early today – by 1 o’clock – so I ran around and found a few things. But it’s going to be hard to catch a guy with 31 pounds.”
Echternkamp sits 5 pounds, 9 ounces behind the leader Horton.
Keisel keeps Mid-Atlantic position
Rounding out the top six divisional representatives who will compete tomorrow is David Keisel of Virginia Beach, Va. Keisel beat his fellow Mid-Atlantic Division contenders with a two-day total weight of 24 pounds, 3 ounces, good enough for a 2-pound, 2-ounce margin of victory.
Co-angler Andrews advances from tight Mid-Atlantic competition
With the heaviest co-angler weight over the past two days, the Mid-Atlantic Division’s David Andrews of Fairfax, Va., bested his closest Mid-Atlantic competition by a scant 4 ounces in what was definitely the most competitive co-angler division.
Andrews’ two-day, 24-pound, 6-ounce catch was indeed the heaviest among all 36 co-anglers, but the second-heaviest weight belonged to a man who did not advance. Shawn Richard of Hatfield, Pa., caught 24 pounds, 2 ounces but succumbed to Andrews in Mid-Atlantic competition.
Andrews caught 13-10 on day one to lead all co-anglers in total weight and followed that up today with a five-bass limit weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces. With Richard eliminated, Andrews leads the six co-angler finalists by just 1 pound, 10 ounces.
Wells, Black within striking distance in top three
The man closest to Andrews is the Northern Division co-angler Kevin Wells of South Shore, Ky., with a two-day total weight of 22 pounds, 12 ounces. He caught exactly the same weight – 11 pounds, 6 ounces – on both days of competition.
Behind Wells in third is co-angler Wayne Black of San Mateo, Fla., representing the Southern Division. Black’s day-one catch of 12 pounds, 4 ounces was followed up today with a four-bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 10 ounces for a two-day total of 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top six co-anglers who will compete tomorrow for a national title and entry into the Forrest Wood Cup:
Gerald Wright, Pasco, Wash., Western Division, 20-12
James Mitchell, Independence, Mo., Central Division, 18-15
Ronald Herbert Jr., East Livermore, Maine, Eastern Division, 18-15
Competition resumes tomorrow with a 7 a.m. takeoff from Copperhead Island Park, located at 15222 York Road in Charlotte. The final weigh-in commences at 4 p.m. at the Charlotte Merchandise Mart, Liberty Hall, located at 2500 E. Independence Blvd. in Charlotte. Surrounding the weigh-ins is the National Guard Expo, which opens at noon Saturday. The National Guard Expo features games, prizes, free product samples and displays for fishing fans of all ages to enjoy. Admission is absolutely free.
As part of the festivities, children 14 and under accompanied by an adult who attend the National Guard Expo and weigh-in Saturday will also receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last.