Fuller earns $15,000 as co-angler winner
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Evinrude pro and FLW Tour veteran Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., caught four bass weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces Friday to establish a 1-pound, 9-ounce lead over his nearest competitor, Bud Pruitt of Spring, Texas, as the pair leads eight other contenders into the final day of competition at the $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop on Lake Murray.
With just over 6 pounds separating the top eight anglers, the tournament’s $100,000 first place award is still in play for nearly the entire field. “It’s definitely wide open at this point,” said Nixon, who caught his bass on a half-ounce Diamond Shad crankbait and a half-ounce copper Rat-L-Trap while targeting clay banks next to deep water cuts. “Anyone can win this one.”
If not for the proverbial “one that got away,” Nixon could have easily weighed in a limit topping the 25-pound mark. “I had five bites in the first hour, and I lost a giant that got me into some grass,” said Nixon, estimating that the fish weighed close to 8 pounds. “After that I had nothing all day.”
Nixon is a two-time FLW Tour champion and one of the sport’s all-time leading money winners. On Wednesday he landed five bass weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces to place 45th. He then added five bass weighing 20 pounds, 15 ounces Thursday to enter the finals as the No. 8 seed with an opening round total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 7 ounces. While he says he is confident in the technique he has used thus far, Nixon hinted that he might change is approach for the final day.
“There is a lot going on, and I’m prepared to fish another way. I can’t sling those crankbaits for another eight hours. I’m wore out,” he said. “I have eliminated a lot of water that I don’t want to see again.”
Entering the finals as the No. 3 seed with an opening round catch of 10 bass weighing 40 pounds, 5 ounces, Pruitt caught five bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces Friday to secure second place heading into the final day of competition.
Rounding out the top five pros are Chris Elliott of Gloucester, N.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 1 ounce); Stanley Mitchell of Fitzgerald, Ga. (five bass, 15 pounds, 15 ounces); and Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., (five bass, 14 pounds, 13 ounces).
Lonnie Fuller Jr., 73, of Hemphill, Texas, turned in a dominating catch of four bass weighing 16 pounds Friday to win the Co-angler Division and pocket $15,000 cash plus a $500 Wal-Mart gift card from Castrol and $500 worth of Castrol products. He caught his bass using a half-ounce, red Rat-L-Trap while fishing with pro John Crews of Jetersville, Va.
“This is an unbelievable body of water,” said Fuller, who has been fishing tournaments since 1964 and has earned five EverStart Series top 10 finishes before moving up to the FLW Tour this season. “We catch great fish on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend in Texas. If those lakes are in the top five in the country, so is this one.”
Fuller entered the final round of co-angler competition as the No. 5 seed after catching nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces in the opening round.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Greg Gulledge of Monticello, Ark. (five bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $6,000); T.R. Fuller of Auburn, Ala. (five bass, 9 pounds, $4,000); Chris Rand of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (two bass, 7 pounds, 3 ounces, $3,000); and Pamela Wood of Bono, Ark. (three bass, 7 pounds, 1 ounce, $2,500).
Wood, who is one of two female anglers to qualify for the finals, entered Friday’s competition as the No. 1 co-angler after catching five bass weighing 27 pounds, 1 ounce in the opening round. The other angler, FLW Tour newcomer Laura Aldridge of Berkley, Mich., caught one bass weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces to earn ninth place and $1,600. Aldridge entered the finals as the No. 8 seed with an opening round total of seven bass weighing 22 pounds, 12 ounces.
Seventy-two bass weighing 194 pounds, 5 ounces were caught Friday and 98 percent were released alive. If the FLW Tour maintains a 98 percent live-release rate throughout the season, Energizer will donate $25,000 to the Children’s Miracle Network.
Mitchell earned a $500 Wal-Mart gift card as the winner of the Energizer Keeps on Going Award, which is awarded to the angler who came from the farthest behind to advance to the final round. He finished in 126th place on opening day with five bass weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces then bounced back on day two with five bass weighing 28 pounds, 1 ounce – the third heaviest stringer in FLW Tour history.
Robertson earned the Shop-Vac High Performance Award, which is given to the angler with the heaviest total catch after the first two days of competition. His haul of 10 bass weighing 49 pounds, 8 ounces earned him a 10-gallon, stainless-steel Shop-Vac and a new FLW Tour record for heaviest opening round catch.
This four-day tournament presented by Snickers marks the midpoint of the $5.76 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour. With three tournaments down following this event, 350 anglers representing 35 states, Canada and Japan will have three additional FLW Tour events in which to earn points toward qualifying for the historic $1.5 million Jacobs Cup world championship of bass fishing on the James River in Richmond, Va., Sept. 10-13. Every point is critical, as only the top 48 pros and 48 co-anglers advance to the Jacobs Cup, where the winning pro earns $500,000 – the largest guaranteed cash award in the sport’s history.
The remaining pro finalists will take off from Lighthouse Marina in Chapin at 7 a.m. Saturday followed by the final weigh-in at the Wal-Mart store located at 360 Harbison Blvd. at 3 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend the final takeoff and weigh-in as well as visit the Family Fun Zone, which is located outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, a free event featuring games, product giveaways and interactive displays, opens at 11 a.m.
Coverage of the Lake Murray tournament will be featured on the “FLW Outdoors” television show, which is broadcast to 55 million Outdoor Life Network subscribers. The program features fishing legends Hank Parker and Larry Nixon alongside hosts Charlie Evans, Carlton Wing and Taylor Carr. Parker’s preview of the event airs Saturday at 7 p.m. and again Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. Tournament highlights air March 22 and 23 followed by a tournament recap featuring Nixon March 29 and 30. “FLW Outdoors” airs every Saturday at 7 p.m. and every Sunday at 1 p.m. EST on OLN through July 5. Special Jacobs Cup episodes will air in September.
The 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. After two days the field is cut to the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers who advance to day one of the final round Friday based on their two-day accumulated weight. 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 weight. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 for third, and so on. These 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 is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.