CLEWISTON, Fla. – Team Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., landed five bass weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces Wednesday to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee. He now holds a 1-pound, 3-ounce lead in the $1 million tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 33 states and Canada. Browne won the Stren Series’ Southeast Division season opener Jan. 6 on Lake Okeechobee.
“I caught them totally different than I did two weeks ago,” said Browne. “I caught them on a weightless Berkley Jerk Shad in grass and a Berkley Power Hawg.”
Browne used a Berkley Frenzy crankbait around rocky banks to capture the win in the Stren Series tournament and used the momentum to capture the first day’s lead in the FLW Series event.
“I just relaxed and fished, and good things happened,” said Browne. “I cranked the big motor twice today – once when I took off and once when I came in. A lot of people fished the same area I did, but I found the edge of the grass produced bigger fish. If I didn’t get a big bite, I knew I would end up with eight or ten pounds.”
Kip Carter of Oxford, Ga., trails Browne in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 19-1.
Rounding out the top five pros are Keith Combs of Temple, Texas (five bass, 16-12); Bob Blosser of Lodi, Wis. (five bass, 16-5) and Jonathan Newton of Rogersville, Ala. (five bass, 16-5).
Bill Day of Frankfort, Ky., earned the day’s $500 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 8-pound, 12-ounce bass.
Overall there were 913 bass weighing 1,782 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 200 pros Wednesday. The catch included 157 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing this week for a top award of $125,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the BP East-National Guard West Fishoff and a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 30 pros from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff, which will be held Jan. 17-19, 2008. The location for the fishoff has not yet been announced. Thirty winners from the fishoff will advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
National Guard team member Pamela Wood of Jonesboro, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division with three bass weighing 15-0 followed by Wayne Pomeroy of Wellington, Fla., in second place with five bass weighing 14-14.
“I caught my fish in lily pads and floating hyacinth on a Stanley Ribbit,” said Wood. “It was some really thick stuff. The real key to it was braided line. I had to have the braid to get the fish to the boat. I had two other bites that would have filled my limit, but one ended up in my pro’s bag and the other is still swimming around.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark. (five bass, 14-11); Matt Krekovich of Granite City, Ill. (five bass, 14-9) and Ty Hester of Russellville, Ala. (five bass, 14-8).
Chuck Rounds of Benton, Ky. earned $300 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 9-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Overall there were 656 bass weighing 1,192 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 181 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 81 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of $25,000. Like the pros, the top 30 co-anglers from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff for a shot at the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina and Resort located at 920 E. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston, Fla. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1005 W. Sugarland Highway in Clewiston, Fla., beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Wal-Mart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the Fujifilm trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The entire field competes for the first three days, and co-angler competition concludes on day three with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.
Coverage of the Lake Okeechobee FLW Series tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing March 4. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to approximately 350 million households in Europe, Africa and Asia, making it the most widely distributed weekly fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.