Anglers rebound from opening-day fog
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Thursday’s warm temperatures and overcast skies gave many anglers fishing Lake Ouachita’s $550,000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour event presented by Alpo a much needed boost after a four-hour fog delay left a record number of the nation’s top pros in the cold Wednesday.
The improved conditions allowed pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., to jump from second place into the lead with a two-day, opening-round total of eight bass weighing 27 pounds, 2 ounces. Powers caught four bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces on opening day when a record 78 of 175 pros failed to produce a single fish for weigh-in. The addition of Thursday’s four-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces makes him the No. 1 seed entering Friday’s semifinal round featuring the top-20 pros.
Powers caught his bass Thursday using a crankbait and jig. As fishing conditions continue to improve and weights are cleared for the final two rounds, he’ll have to step up his performance even further to fend off his rivals as they strive to win $110,000 cash.
“I’ve had a bad year so far, so it feels great to be back,” said Powers, who won the tour’s Red River event in Shreveport, La., last season. “I just hope I can keep it going (Friday).”
Opening day leader Greg Hackney of Oak Ridge, La., claimed the No. 2 spot Thursday with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 27 pounds, 1 ounce, and Team Conseco pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind., retained his third place ranking with nine bass weighing 24 pounds, 2 ounces. Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., climbed from 11th place into fourth with a total of eight bass weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces, and Kellogg’s pro Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, jumped from 35th place into fifth with seven bass weighing 18 pounds, 9 ounces.
Thursday’s biggest comeback belongs to Team Castrol pro David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., who earlier this month won the largest award in freshwater fishing history – $700,000 – in the Ranger M1 on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Dudley zeroed on opening day, but clinched 10th place with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces – the day’s heaviest catch. Chris Daniels of Clayton, N.C., and Kenneth Strickland of Oak Ridge, N.C., also qualified for the semifinal round after coming up empty on opening day. Daniels qualified in 11th with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 6 ounces, and Strickland qualified in 19th with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces.
Eight pros weighed in five-bass limits Thursday and all but 39 pros weighed in at least one bass. A total of 409 bass were weighed in Thursday compared to 226 Wednesday. No limits were caught in the co-angler division.
Co-angler Armil Morgan of Mineral Springs, Ark., claimed the No. 1 spot heading into the final day of co-angler competition Friday with a two-day total of four bass weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces. Japan native Kentaro Amagai recovered from an opening round zero to qualify second with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces, and Bobby Hendricks of Bullard, Texas, slipped from second to third with a total of four bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces.
The real co-angler drama played out for the 20th and final qualifying position as Arch Cornett of Huntsville, Ala., and Greg Lineberry of Galax, Va., squared off in the first one-hour fish-off tie breaker in Wal-Mart FLW Tour history. Both anglers had opening-round catches weighing exactly 5 pounds, 10 ounces. Neither angler caught a fish, however, during the allotted fish-off time and fading daylight forced a coin toss to decide who would advance. Cornett called heads and the coin landed on tails, giving Lineberry a berth in the final round for a shot at $15,000 cash.
Steve Willocks of Boonville, N.C., earned co-angler big bass honors and $500 Thursday with a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass. Pro Mark Meyer of Hanceville, Ala., earned big bass honors and $750 Thursday with a 7-pound, 12-ounce largemouth. Pro Jim Nolan of Bull Shoals, Ark., claimed the $1,000 snickers big bass award for the opening round’s heaviest bass with an 8-pound, 9-ounce largemouth that also ranks as the heaviest opening-round bass this season. Coincidently, Nolan holds the all-time Wal-Mart FLW Tour record for largest bass – an 11-pound, 14-ounce largemouth he caught during the 1996 Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop on the Santee Cooper Lakes in South Carolina. Snickers will award another $5,000 to the angler who caught the heaviest opening-round bass of any 2002 FLW Tour event.
Competition continues at 7:45 a.m. Friday at Mountain Harbor Resort off Highway 270 East near Mt. Ida, Ark. Friday’s weigh-in begins at 5 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Albert Pike Blvd. in Hot Springs. Saturday’s final takeoff from Mountain Harbor starts at 6:15 a.m. followed by a 2 p.m. weigh-in at Wal-Mart.
A Family Fun Zone in the Wal-Mart parking lot opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. The Fun Zone allows fishing fans a chance to meet the nation’s top anglers, collect autographs and receive expert fishing advice. There are also children’s games to entertain the family. Admission to the Fun Zone and weigh-ins is free. Only anglers who do not qualify for the semifinal and final rounds will be available in the Fun Zone. Weigh-ins and a portion of the Fun Zone are housed inside a heated or air conditioned tent in case of inclement weather.