LEXINGTON, S.C. – Koby Kreiger of Osceola, Ind., will lead the five remaining professional anglers into Saturday’s final round of the $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour bass event on Lake Murray with a day-three catch of five bass weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces.
For Kreiger, fishing from the Poulan/Weed Eater boat, it is the second final-five appearance of his career. He and the other pro anglers will be vying for a $100,000 cash award in the final round.
“I have a pocket with about eight pretty big fish in it that I can go to tomorrow,” Kreiger said. “They were paired up today, so they were difficult to catch. It feels good to be leading today, but I would rather be leading tomorrow.”
Kreiger caught his heavy limit early by catching bass in the shallows, pitching a jig. His biggest fish came with 35 minutes left in the day.
Each contestant who advances to the final two rounds in an FLW Tour event fishes from a specially designed Ranger Comanche fishing machine with distinctive NASCAR-type styling. Adorned with corporate logos, each boat is powered by a highly efficient RAM Ficht-injected 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
Qualifying for Saturday’s shootout in second through fifth place are: John Sappington of Wyandotte, Okla., with five bass weighing 20-15; Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas, with five bass weighing 19-11; Gary Klein of Weatherford, Texas, with five bass weighing 18-7; and Mickey Bruce of Buford, Ga., with five bass weighing 17-7.
Pat Fisher of Stone Mountain, Ga., won the Co-Angler Division Friday and collected $15,000 plus a year’s supply of CITGO gasoline for a four-bass catch weighing 9-5.
Mary Parnell of Casselberry, Fla., the only women to make the top 10 cut, finished in eighth place and collected $1,800.
Competition resumes at 6:30 a.m. Saturday at Lighthouse Marina located at 1925 Johnson’s Marina Road in Chapin, S.C. The final weigh-in, which will be broadcast live to Wal-Mart Stores nationwide and taped for ESPN, begins at 3:30 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 5556 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington. The weigh-in will air as part of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour series on ESPN at 1 p.m. EST on May 6.