A&W roots up win, Wet Ones grabs second straight at Pickwick
A&W picks up valuable Division I points; Wet Ones boosts lead over Division II
In the topsy-turvy world of competitive fishing, it’s not uncommon for leaders to be here today and gone tomorrow. But Team A&W experienced an utter reversal of fortune between the second and third tour stops of the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Tour season, placing last among Division I sponsor teams at Lake Murray in February and then surprising all competitors with a handy event win at Pickwick Lake only a few weeks later. Team Wet Ones, on the other hand, continued its cleanup of Division II, scoring its second event win in a row the first week of March on Pickwick.
A&W earned valuable and much-needed points at Pickwick, which helped them climb up a place from the bottom rung of the overall Division I standings. The win was even more ceremonious due to the fact that the Pickwick event was coincidentally presented by none other than A&W.
Wet Ones continued to add ground between itself and the runner-up in the Division II standings, increasing its overall lead by 15 points to create a 27-point buffer.
Sponsor teams are divided into two divisions: Division I, comprising teams of three or more professional anglers, and Division II, comprising teams of fewer than three pros. Competition among sponsor teams competing on the FLW Tour is unofficial, though scores are based on the actual, official finishes earned by pros on sponsored teams.
Keep tabs on your favorite teams’ progress when they compete again April 5-8 during the fourth event of the season for the FLW Tour’s annual Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake. If you’re not in Arkansas to see the bass-fishing action unfold in person, you can keep an eye on the anglers via FLWOutdoors.com’s cutting-edge live weigh-in application, FLW Live, which will be in operation during the weigh-ins all four days of the tournament. Look for sponsor-team results from Beaver Lake in the days following the event. Results from Pickwick Lake, as well as an explanation of team scoring, are detailed below:
Division I
In an extremely close competition among sponsor teams, Team A&W fought hard for first place on Pickwick, earning just over four points more than runner-up Team Tyson. Consistency was the key for A&W in the win, with all of the team’s anglers placing in the top half of the Pro Division field – consisting of 200 of the world’s best anglers – and two of them cracking the top 40. A&W earned 140.50 points for the win.
Tyson was also out to redeem its disappointing finish at Murray – eighth – with its strong runner-up finish at Pickwick, an attack led by the incredible second-place finish of Tyson pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn.
In Division I standings news, Team Castrol climbed another slot on the seasonal leaderboard to second, coming within 50 points of Team Chevy (405.40 points total), which has had a stranglehold on the overall standings since the season began. But with half the season yet to go, Castrol (355.80) certainly has a shot at overtaking the top position as does almost any team in the division. Right behind Castrol in third place in the standings is Team Kellogg’s (354.00) and Team Berkley (350.25) in fourth.
Division II
Team Wet Ones continued its command over Division II with an amazing 194-point win at Pickwick Lake. Wet Ones pro Brennan Bosley of Benton, Ark., picked up his second consecutive top-10 finish on the FLW Tour – his third overall on tour – with a seventh-place finish at Pickwick. Bosley now sits in fourth place in the points race for the Land O’Lake Angler of the Year award as well.
Team Weed Eater was able to climb a slot to third in the overall standings with an impressive 187-point, runner-up finish among Division II sponsor teams at Pickwick, thanks to the strong fishing of Russellville, Ark., pro Ray Scheide who placed 14th. Though Team Tylenol Rapid Release couldn’t quite keep up Wet Ones’ pace, it managed to hang onto second place in the overall standings with a fourth-place Pickwick finish, led by the notable angling of pro Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif., who placed 22nd.
Explanation of team scoring
Points in the 2006 sponsor-team race will be earned during the FLW Tour’s six qualifying events and monitored throughout the season. Standings are based on the average number of points earned by a team’s anglers as assigned in the FLW Tour’s Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year competition.
Sponsor teams competed in the most recent FLW Tour tournament at Pickwick Lake near Florence, Ala., and results from that event have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. A&W – 140.50
2. Tyson – 136.33
3. Kellogg’s – 136.20
4. Castrol – 129.40
5. Berkley – 122.25
6. Chevy – 116.40
7. National Guard – 115.00
8. Land O’Lakes – 102.00
9. Fujifilm – 90.00
10. Snickers – 89.75
11. BFGoodrich Tires – 89.00
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Wet Ones – 194.00
2. Weed Eater – 187.00
3. Hamburger Helper – 186.00
4. Tylenol Rapid Release – 179.00
5. Suave for Men – 153.00
6. Banana Boat – 151.00
7. Pepcid – 146.00
8. Ozark Trail – 138.00
9. Lawry’s – 117.00
10. Imodium Advanced – 109.00
11. Tylenol Severe Allergy – 106.00
12. Pedigree – 61.00
13. Wal-Mart – 32.00
Overall standings
Current overall standings for sponsor teams competing on the 2006 FLW Tour have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Chevy – 405.40
2. Castrol – 355.80
3. Kellogg’s – 354.00
4. Berkley – 350.25
5. National Guard – 317.50
6. Tyson – 316.33
7. BFGoodrich Tires – 311.67
8. Snickers – 286.00
9. Fujifilm – 268.80
10. A&W – 237.25
11. Land O’Lakes – 207.67
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Wet Ones – 515.00
2. Tylenol Rapid Release – 488.00
3. Weed Eater – 484.00
4. Pepcid – 443.00
5. Hamburger Helper – 439.00
6. Suave for Men – 410.00
7. Tylenol Severe Allergy – 379.00
8. Ozark Trail – 367.50
9. Banana Boat – 340.00
10. Wal-Mart – 305.00
11. Imodium Advanced – 303.00
12. Lawry’s – 286.00
13. Pedigree – 283.00
Pros on sponsor teams were on fire at Pickwick, offering up great performances left and right. Other notable finishes among pros on sponsor teams at Pickwick Lake, who placed in the top 25 and have yet to be mentioned, include the following: Team Berkley pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., who nailed down a top-shelf fourth-place finish; Team Ozark Trail pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., who earned an incredible sixth-place finish; Team Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., who angled his way to an excellent eighth-place finish; Team National Guard pro Ramie Colson Jr. of Cadiz, Ky., who earned a stellar 11th-place finish; Team Hamburger Helper pro David Cooke of Mooresville, N.C., who landed an outstanding 15th-place finish; Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., who pulled in a choice 16th-place finish; Team Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., who brought back a top-notch 17th-place finish; and Chevy pro Kim Stricker of Howell, Mich., who earned a respectable 23rd-place finish.