Quick Bites: FLW Memphis

Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Mississippi River, Memphis, Tenn.
May 17-20

If you think this can looks beat up, you should see the boater’s spine … Extremely low water conditions on the Mississippi River forced many of the anglers competing at FLW Memphis to run downstream – way downstream – to reach their fish. Throughout the tournament the pro leader for days one and two, Randy Blaukat of Joplin, Mo., drove his boat 180 miles one way to get to his spots. Pro Roland Martin of Clewiston, Fla., explained the long-distance excursions, “We don’t like to do it, but we have to go where the fish are. There are probably 10,000 fish within 10 miles of (Memphis), but you can’t get to them.” The long runs, coupled with rough water on the mighty Mississippi, made for a bumpy, exhausting ride for the anglers – and their boats. More than one story came back to weigh-in where motors and/or boats had just given up and anglers became stranded on the river. Perhaps the most gratifying display of sportsmanship came from second-place finisher Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo. On the first day he picked up fellow pro Larry Frasier of Madisonville, Ky., and brought him back to weigh-in on time. On day two, Clunn retrieved Blaukat from a stalled boat and brought him in. “He’s a taxi service out there,” Blaukat said gratefully. Ironically, Blaukat and Frasier were the only two anglers to beat Clunn in the first round of competition. Pictured is a battered can of food pulled from an angler’s boat after a rough day on the water.
For more on the adverse conditions at FLW Memphis, click here.

Tuned in to Tunica … When pro winner Gary Klein of Weatherford, Texas, won last year’s FLW event in Memphis, he caught his large, winning bass among the trees and brush that line the banks of Tunica Lake, an oxbow lake about 60 miles south of Memphis. This year, Klein won again by fishing Tunica, but this time the structure on the bank was sitting about 20 feet above the water line due to the low river. That didn’t discourage Klein, who swears by the lake’s productivity. He caught his fish focusing mainly on just two banks throughout the tourney. “Maybe they’re going to start calling me Mr. Tunica,” he said. “I consider this one of the world’s finest fisheries. I know the kind of fish that live in Tunica and I know how to catch them.”

There’s no place like home … There’s nothing like fishing a world-class bass tournament on your home waters. Just ask co-angler Michael Roberts of Tunica, Miss., and pro William Fletcher of Memphis, Tenn. Both crowd favorites, Roberts led the co-angler field on days one and two, and eventually finished in seventh place, taking home $2,000. Fletcher cracked the top 10, finished in eighth place, and collected $9,000.

Like father, like son … Two members of the Williams family were a pair to be reckoned with on tour in Memphis. Pros Keith and Jerry Williams, a father-son duo from Conway, Ark., finished in eighth and ninth place, respectively, on the first day of competition. Keith weighed in 18 pounds, 10 ounces of fish while his dad, Jerry, fell in just behind him in the field with 18 pounds, 3 ounces. Dad, in fact, placed 11th for the tourney and just missed the second-round, top-10 cut. Keith finished in 32nd.

There’s something about the soda … After blanking on day one, co-angler Charlie Cawthon of Rome, Ga., rocketed into second place on day two with an impressive 17-pound, 7-ounce stringer – the largest co-angler five-fish total of the tourney. Why the turnaround? Cawthon’s day-two pro partner, Rick Marsh, offered a sugarcoated explanation. “Well, I gave him a Coca-Cola to drink at 8 o’clock, by 9 o’clock he had about 18 pounds,” Marsh said.

Thanks for the line … A special thank you goes out to the folks at Mud Island Park in downtown Memphis, particularly director Jae Nale and Anthony, for helping out the Operation Bass communications department during the tournament. If Ms. Nale hadn’t allowed us to intrude her office and commandeer her phones during the first two days, the world might never have known what was happening at the thrilling FLW Memphis tourney.

Quick numbers:

3: Number of FLW tournaments in which Klein has competed this year.

3: Number of FLW top-five finishes by Klein this year, including the win in Memphis.

1,200: Number of miles fourth-place pro finisher Davy Hite of Prosperity, S.C., estimated he drove his boat during the tournament.

Sound bites:

“Man, it’d be awesome to be standing up there with those guys.”
– Overheard in the crowd on day two during the presentation onstage of the top 10 pros and co-anglers to make it into the second round.

“If you don’t like fishing out here, you’re dead.”
– Sixth-place pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., describing the productive Mississippi River bass fisheries. He landed no less than 16 pounds, 8 ounces of fish on any given day during the tournament – and he just missed the final round.

“He’s got two dynamite dandies in there.”
– An effusive Charlie Evans, Operation Bass vice president, describing co-angler and big bass winner from Griffin, Ga., Stoney Stone’s pair of large fish on day one.

“To stand up here and shake Rick Clunn’s hand for finishing second is unbelievable.”
– Pro winner Klein describing the tight competition with his friend Clunn, who is one of the most successful tournament fishermen ever.

“It feels pretty good, but my wife went to the mall today.”
– Co-angler winner Craig Clayton of Rogers, Ark., on winning $15,000.