MORGAN CITY, La. – In a pretournament interview, Wal-Mart FLW Tour pro Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., picked the Atchafalaya Basin as his destination of choice on the 2003 tour, and accordingly, Lefebre will lead the remaining 10 pros into the semifinal round of the $500,000 Atchafalaya Basin event thanks to his two-day opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch was enough to move him past Team Fujifilm angler and second-place pro Wes Thomas of Hanover, Ind., by 11 ounces.
The original field of 175 pros and 175 co-anglers was cut to 10 in both divisions following Thursday’s competition, and the remaining competitors will likely face cooler temperatures and possibly heavy rain Friday after two days of warm, dry weather. This could spell change for many of the finalists who thus far have successfully targeted bass that have been on the move thanks to rising water temperatures that hovered in the low 50s Thursday. Armed with flipping jigs, small spinner baits and crankbaits, most of the contenders are targeting cypress trees and other shallow-water cover that dots the sprawling Louisiana basin.
Lefebre caught his limit in a bass-rich area located only 10 minutes from the takeoff point at the Belle River Boat Launch in Belle River. He caught his bass on a 3/16-ounce Telson jig in June bug and green pumpkin colors in 4 to 6 feet of water.
“This place is bass heaven,” said Lefebre, a rookie on the FLW Tour who earned his berth in the lucrative circuit through the EverStart Series. “I love flipping, and I love muddy water. The water I’m fishing came up a foot and a half since (Wednesday), and the bass are starting to move up into the grass, so you have to finesse them a little more. I got around 60 bites (Thursday) and caught probably 20 keepers, mostly off the weed edges.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Thomas (10 bass, 30 pounds, 13 ounces); Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W. Va. (10 bass, 30 pounds, 12 ounces); Gary Klein of Weatherford, Texas (10 bass, 29 pounds, 8 ounces); and Andre Moore of Scottsdale, Ariz. (10 bass, 29 pounds, 3 ounces).
The Atchafalaya Basin event, presented by Frito Lay, is the second of six regular-season Wal-Mart FLW Tour events that lead to the James River in Richmond, Va., Sept. 10-13 for the $1.5 million Jacobs Cup world championship of bass fishing. The top 48 pros and 48 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Jacobs Cup, where the winning pro will receive $500,000, the largest guaranteed cash award in the history of professional bass fishing. With a total of $5.76 million on the line this season, the road to Richmond, Va., is paved with gold.
Dennis Kirby of Lakeland, Tenn., leads the 10 co-anglers who advanced to Friday’s competition thanks to his two-day total of seven bass weighing 19 pounds.
“My partner and I fished through stretches of the bayou, and my partner was throwing a Senko and was getting bites,” said Kirby, who caught his bass on a black and blue Strike King flipping tube. “I was throwing a jig, and I felt like with a tube I’d get bites but smaller fish. Well, the first fish I caught on the jig was my big bass.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Strother of Tyler, Texas (seven bass, 17 pounds, 12 ounces); Sandy Gaudet of Belle Rose, La. (five bass, 14 pounds, 9 ounces); David Brunaugh of Carbondale, Ill. (five bass, 14 pounds, 7 ounces); and Brad Rodrigue of Pierre Part, La. (five bass, 13 pounds, 8 ounces).
Chip Harrison of Bremen, Ind., earned $750 as the winner of Thursday’s Snickers Big-Bass Award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass. Jim Short of Ocean Pines, Md., earned $500 as the co-angler winner of the Snickers Big-Bass Award with a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass. Harrison also earned $1,000 from Snickers for catching the heaviest bass in either division over the first two days. Snickers will also award $5,000 at the end of the year to the angler who catches the heaviest bass during the regular season. To date, that honor belongs to Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., who caught a 9-pound, 15-ounce bass during the FLW Tour stop on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee last month.
Seven hundred and forty-one bass were caught Thursday, including 55 five-bass limits. One hundred percent were released alive.
Anglers will take off from the Belle River Boat Launch at 8 a.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 973 Highway 90 E. in Bayou Vista, beginning at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
The community is encouraged to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as the Family Fun Zone, located outside the weigh-in tent at the Wal-Mart parking lot. With games, interactive displays and product giveaways, the Family Fun Zone offers enjoyment for fishing fans of all ages. The Family Fun Zone opens Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m.
Coverage of the Atchafalaya Basin tournament will be featured on the “FLW Outdoors” television show, which is broadcast to 55 million subscribers on the Outdoor Life Network. The program features fishing legends Hank Parker and Larry Nixon alongside hosts Charlie Evans, Carlton Wing and Taylor Carr. Parker’s preview of the Atchafalaya Basin tournament will air Saturday at 7 p.m. EST and again Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. Tournament highlights from the Atchafalaya Basin will air Feb. 22 and 23 followed by a tournament recap featuring Nixon March 1 and 2.
Anglers from 35 states, Canada and Japan are competing in the tournament for a top pro award of $100,000 cash and a top co-angler award of $15,000 cash. Weights are cleared for Friday’s competition, and co-anglers compete for one day to determine the winner. Pros continue competition Saturday, with final positions determined by Friday and Saturday’s combined catch weight.
The Wal-Mart FLW Tour features a pro/co-angler format in which the pro supplies the boat, fishes from the front deck against other pros and controls boat movement. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. One hundred and seventy-five pros and 175 co-anglers comprise a full field. Anglers who receive weight credit in a tournament earn points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 for third, and so on. Points determine angler standings.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com.
FLW Outdoors and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour are named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.