AUSTIN, Texas (Feb. 15, 2007) – Hometown favorite Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, drew cheers from an appreciative crowd Thursday when he crossed the stage at Highland Lakes Marina with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces to lead day one of the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event presented by Kellogg’s on Lake Travis. Fishing for Team Kellogg’s, Wendlandt now holds a 3-pound, 13-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers from 37 states, Australia, Italy, Japan and Spain.
“It’s a great start,” said Wendlandt, who is the tour’s only two-time Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year winner. “When things go right, things go right. I caught two big fish on my first spot this morning and everything went well from there. After I fished that spot, I just went practicing for the rest of the tournament. I wasn’t expecting to catch fish like I did today. There are a lot of fish in this lake, and I’m looking forward to what the rest of the event holds.
“It’s pretty awesome to be leading in front of a hometown crowd. I have always dreamed of fishing a big tournament with such high payouts here on my home water,” he said.
Wendlandt is fishing a combination of shallow and deep water, throwing an array of soft-plastics and jigs.
Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va., trails Wendlandt in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 13-6.
Rounding out the top five pros are team Banana Boat pro Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich. (five bass, 13-6); Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas (five bass, 13-2) and Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa. (five bass, 12-13).
Green also earned the day’s $750 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Overall there were 771 bass weighing 1,232 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 192 pros Thursday. The catch included 110 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 40 pros after six qualifying events will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.
Clint Bridges of Round Rock, Texas, leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 13-11 followed by Timothy Sisk of Cherryville, N.C., in second place with five bass weighing 11-4.
“These big fish are really rare,” said Bridges, a Lake Travis guide who is fishing in his first FLW Tour event. “I had my limit by noon and culled another limit by check-in. I’m excited about the rest of the event. I have a lot of confidence in this body of water and the baits I am throwing.”
Bridges caught his bass using a Carolina-rig while fishing with Fujifilm pro Sam Sweat of Covington, La., who is currently in 48th place with five bass weighing 8-2.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are John Cantale of Panama City, Fla. (five bass, 9-12); Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark. (five bass, 9-8) and Rob Digh of Denver, N.C. (five bass, 9-6).
Bridges also earned $500 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to an impressive 7-pound, 11-ounce bass. If the bass holds up Friday as the biggest of the two-day opening round, Bridges will earn an additional $1,000.
Overall there were 434 bass weighing 627 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 162 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 29 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week.
Anglers will take off at 7 Friday morning from Highland Lakes Marina. On Saturday and Sunday, they will launch at 7 a.m. from Mansfield Dam. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Highland Lakes Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Austin Convention Center located at 500 E. Cesar Chavez Street in Austin beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Austin Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will also receive a free FLW Outdoors hat from KASE 101 FM. On Sunday, 98.1 KVET FM will give the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone a free rod and reel combo.
The full field competes in the two-day opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In FLW Tour 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.
Coverage of the Lake Travis 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 18 and 25. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, 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 exceeding $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, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.