Morehead wins 2003 Angler of the Year
FLORENCE, Ala. – Pro Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., caught a two-day total of 10 bass that weighed 38 pounds, 1 ounce to lead the 10 pros who advanced to Friday’s competition at the $1 million Forrest Wood Open on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake. The tournament, presented by Kellogg’s, is the sixth and final regular-season Wal-Mart FLW Tour event and will award the winning pro $200,000 cash. The winning co-angler will claim $40,000 cash.
After a subpar performance on Wheeler Lake that allowed a handful of anglers to threaten his points lead, Evinrude pro Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., nevertheless held on to win the 2003 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year award by finishing in 68th place, 21 spots ahead of his nearest challenger, Castrol pro David Dudley of Manteo, N.C. Morehead ended the season with 1,048 points, trailed by Dudley with 1,001 and Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas, with 999. Morehead enjoyed a career year on the FLW Tour in 2003, capped off with a $200,000 win at the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake in April. That victory was one of three top-10 finishes he earned this season, and he finished outside the top 25 only twice. Morehead’s previous best finish on the FLW Tour was a 19th-place ranking in 1999. As the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year, Morehead will grace the cover of special-edition boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and will receive a $25,000 cash bonus plus an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat.
The original field of 175 pros and 175 co-anglers was narrowed to 10 in both divisions following Thursday’s competition. Biffle’s five-bass catch Thursday weighing 19 pounds, 4 ounces put him on top of the leaderboard by a 6-pound, 11-ounce margin, but weights are cleared for Friday and Saturday’s competition, and the remaining anglers will compete for a two-day weight.
Biffle led day one fishing a pattern he said he wasn’t accustomed to, and he utilized the same pattern Thursday to catch a stringer even heavier than the one he brought in Wednesday. He said his sweet spot had enough fish in it to make it through the tournament, but if the current slows down, he may be looking for other options.
“My day started out pretty good; I had a limit by 9:30 a.m.,” said Biffle, who won an FLW Tour event on the Pascagoula River in 2001. “I had to keep fishing to keep people off my fish. Current is the key, but there will be other ways to catch them later.”
Biffle began the tournament ranked seventh in the points standings, but if he wins the Wheeler Lake event, his point total will amount to only 996, good enough for fourth but not quite enough to challenge Morehead. Should he finish the season ranked fourth, Biffle will match his previous best FLW Tour finish. He finished fourth in 2000.
Rounding out the top five pros are Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals (10 bass, 31 pounds, 6 ounces); Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo. (10 bass, 30 pounds, 8 ounces); Chad Cook of Summerville, S.C. (10 bass, 29 pounds, 6 ounces); and Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va. (10 bass, 28 pounds, 12 ounces).
Brantley Peoples of Raleigh, N.C., topped the list of co-anglers Thursday with a two-day catch of nine bass that weighed 26 pounds, 12 ounces. He caught four bass Thursday that weighed 11 pounds, 15 ounces primarily in the grassy areas of Wheeler Lake.
“I was fortunate enough to get another good partner (Kim Stricker) who was fishing grass,” said Peoples, who is competing in his fifth season on the FLW Tour. “The fish are biting in the grass early in the morning. I caught three of my bass there, and then we came down the lake and fished in clear water. That was totally different water, and there aren’t big fish there, but I caught one more in that area. I have never been in the lead this far in the game. This is exciting, and it feels good.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Alex Ormand of Bessemer City, N.C. (10 bass, 25 pounds, 5 ounces); Simon Morrow of Alexander City (10 bass, 24 pounds, 2 ounces); Lonnie Fuller Jr. of Hemphill, Texas (10 bass, 23 pounds, 12 ounces); and Mike McAdoo of Murfreesboro, Tenn. (eight bass, 22 pounds, 9 ounces).
Alvin Shaw of State Road, N.C., claimed the Snickers Big Bass Award in the Pro Division Thursday with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass that earned him $1,250. Brad Robinson of Hagerstown, Ind., earned $750 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass Award winner thanks to a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass. Joel Richardson of Kernersville, N.C., took $1,250 as Wednesday’s Pro Division Snickers Big Bass Award winner with a 6-pound, 9-ounce largemouth, and Eric Ambort of Mabelvale, Ark., caught a 6-pound largemouth Wednesday to earn $750 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass Award winner.
A total of 1,336 bass were caught Thursday, including 188 five-bass limits.
Wheeler Lake is one of three $1 million-plus tournaments on the 2003 Wal-Mart FLW Tour and is the last stop on the road to Richmond, Va., site of the historic $1.5 million FLW Tour world championship of bass fishing and outdoor show that will be held Sept. 10-13 on the James River. The winner of the championship will earn an unprecedented $500,000 cash, the largest guaranteed award in the history of competitive bass fishing. The top 48 pros and 48 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the championship, which will also feature a free country music concert, more than 150,000 square feet of exhibits and the FLW Outdoors Celebrity Challenge to benefit prostate cancer research at City of Hope in southern California. In 2003, the road to Richmond, Va., is paved with gold.
Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville will host Friday and Saturday’s takeoff at 7 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., respectively. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 3100 Hough Road in Florence 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 Wheeler Lake 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 Wheeler Lake tournament will air Saturday at 6 p.m. and again Sunday at noon CST. Tournament highlights from Wheeler Lake will air June 28 and 29 followed by a tournament recap featuring Nixon July 5 and 6.
Anglers from 34 states, Canada , Japan and Mexico are competing in the tournament. 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. 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.