ROGERS, Ark. – Walmart FLW Tour pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind., caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces Friday to capture the lead on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour on Beaver Lake presented by Straight Talk. His two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 7 ounces gives him a 2-pound, 1-ounce lead heading into the third day of the tournament. There were 158 pros and 158 co-anglers from across the United States, Canada and Mexico that started the tournament. The top 20 will fish day three and the top 10 will compete for the title on day four.
“I think every tournament you fish you definitely learn something when you fish against this caliber of fishermen,” said Schenck, who began fishing FLW Outdoors events in Bass Fishing League competition and worked his way to the premier field of the FLW Tour. “I’m keying on some things that were important that I learned in the past fishing the lake. It’s always the little things that really separate people when you’re fishing. Those couple of little things could be the difference.
“It doesn’t really matter if I’m first or fifth,” said Schenck. “I still have to catch them again tomorrow and again on Sunday. It’s a cumulative weight. You basically have to go out and do your job again tomorrow. With that being said, it’s a tough tournament.”
Schenck said he keyed in on two areas Friday that didn’t see much, if any, boat traffic on the second day of competition. Schenck said he was fishing slowly and not moving the boat much during the course of the day.
“I’m fishing very, very thorough,” said Schenck. “As long as I can fish those areas by myself I’ll be fine.”
Day one leader Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., is in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26-6.
“Yesterday I caught seven or eight keeper largemouth, and today I only caught two,” said Lefebre. “With the front coming, generally the fish like to feed before a front and they’re waiting until the last second. It was pretty obvious they didn’t bite as good today.”
Lefebre said he caught a limit fairly quickly in the morning and knew he wouldn’t have to catch much to make the cut.
“That was my goal – not to screw that up,” Lefebre said. “You never know what’s going to happen. I’m not disappointed.”
Rounding out the top 20 pros that will fish another day on Beaver Lake are:
3rd: Roy Hawk, Salt Lake City, Utah, 10 bass, 23-12
4th: Stacey King, Reeds Spring, Mo., 10 bass, 23-5
5th: EverStart pro Ron Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., eight bass, 22-12
6th: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 22-2
7th: Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 21-10
8th: National Guard pro Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., nine bass, 21-7
9th: Pickens Plan pro Randy Blaukat, Joplin, Mo., 10 bass, 21-2
10th: Shane Long, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 20-15
11th: AMP Energy pro Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark., six bass, 20-13
12th: Walmart pro George Cochran, Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 20-8
13th: Nick Larson, Ball Ground, Ga., seven bass, 20-4
14th: Sean Hoernke, The Woodlands, Texas, nine bass, 20-2
15th: National Guard pro Mark Rose, Marion, Ark., nine bass, 20-2
16th: Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., eight bass, 20-1
17th: Castrol pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 19-15
18th: Todd Auten, Lake Wylie, S.C., six bass, 19-14
19th: Bo Cross, Knoxville, Tenn., nine bass, 19-14
20th: Brad Roberts, Nancy, Ky., 10 bass, 19-12
Scotch Blue Painter’s Tape pro Ray Scheide of Dover, Ark., Tom Spangler of Corryton, Tenn., and Larson tied for the Snickers® Big Bass weight of 6-3 on the pro side and each won $166.67.
Overall there were 412 bass weighing 903 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 137 pros Friday. The catch included 41 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. This year’s Cup will be in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 11-14 on Lake Ouachita where pros are competing for a top prize of $600,000 – the sport’s biggest award. Pro anglers are also vying for the prestigious 2011 Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year presented by Kellogg’s that will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors with the winner receiving $100,000 for their accomplishment.
Keeton Blaylock of Benton, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces, followed by Brandon Hunter of Benton, Ky., in second place with seven bass weighing 17-10.
Rounding out the top 20 co-anglers are:
3rd: Mark Horton, Nicholasville, Ky., seven bass, 16-3
4th: Philip Jarabeck, Lynchburg, Va., four bass, 15-2
5th: Jeffrey Cummins, Marion, Ohio, five bass, 13-8
6th: Mark Shelton, Fayetteville, Ark., six bass, 12-11
7th: Brock Bertrand, Fayetteville, Ark., five bass, 12-7
8th: Moo Bae, West Friendship, Md., four bass, 10-15
9th: Tony Nation, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 10-13
10th: Van Foster Jr., Dalton, Ga., seven bass, 10-7
11th: Ronnie Lawson, Hollister, Mo., four bass, 10-4
12th: Stephen Williams, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 10-3
13th: Donald Myrick, Verbena, Ala., four bass, 10-2
14th: Brian Wilson, Somerset, Ky., three bass, 9-15
15th: Jim Campbell, Maryville, Tenn., six bass, 9-4
16th: James Dixon, Southfield, Mich., six bass, 9-3
17th: Steven Meador, Bella Vista, Ark., three bass, 8-8
18th: Joseph Ellis Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 7-10
19th: Glen Williams, Cullman, Ala., four bass, 7-10
20th: Patrick Roy, Syracuse, N.Y., two bass, 7-10
Rick Harkness of St. Marys, W.V., and Jarabeck tied the Snickers® Big Bass weight of 5-7 in the co-angler division to each win $125.
Overall there were 150 bass weighing 302 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 116 co-anglers Friday. The catch included one five-bass limit.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup. The Walmart FLW Tour Co-angler of the Year presented by Kellogg’s will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors and the winner will receive a new Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
Anglers will take off from Prairie Creek Park located at 9300 N. Park Rd. in Rogers at 7 each morning. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at the John Q. Hammons Center located at 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy. in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at John Q. Hammons Center on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. prior to the weigh-ins. The Expo provides the opportunity for fans to interact with professional anglers, ride Ranger boat simulators, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. The first 300 kids 14 and under to the Expo on Sunday will receive a free rod & reel courtesy of 105.7. Plus, one lucky fan will win a Can-Am ATV compliments of KNWA-TV following Sunday’s final weigh-in. You must be present to win. All activities are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Beaver Lake tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors” will air April 10 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper and Laura Schara, is broadcast to more than 500 million households worldwide.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW Outdoors on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors .
About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge. For more information about FLW Outdoors and FLW Fantasy Fishing, browse FLWOutdoors.com or visit FantasyFishing.com.