Martin maintains FLW Tour lead on Potomac River

Maryland’s Reese paces co-anglers, top-20 cut announced
Image for Martin maintains FLW Tour lead on Potomac River
National Guard pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., maintained his overall lead in the Pro Division at the FLW Tour Potomac River event with a two-day catch of 37 pounds, 11 ounces. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Scott Martin.
May 18, 2012 • MLF • Archives

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The world’s best bass pros continued to be successful Friday at the Walmart FLW Tour Major on the Potomac River presented by the National Guard as anglers from all across the United States, Canada, Spain and Japan continued their four-day battle for a top cash award of up to $125,000. FLW anglers continued to use a variety of baits and techniques throughout the day with much of the same results as the first day of competition.

Bright skies and not much of a breeze greeted anglers on the second day of competition. National Guard pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., remains in the lead after Day 2 after weighing a five-bass limit for 15 pounds, 1 ounce. Martin’s two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 11 ounces gives him a 2-pound, 9-ounce lead heading into the third day of the tournament.

“Today just boiled down to I didn’t get a couple of those bigger bites,” said Martin, who is the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion. “I didn’t run around a lot today. Yesterday I ran both tanks of gas out of my boat. I caught fish in most of the places I went, but today I felt like, `You know what? I’m going to buckle down in a couple of areas, milk them for what they’re worth and make the cut.’

“I felt like I could still get a 17- or 18-pound bag,” Martin added. “I just didn’t get the bigger bites today. I had a couple of big fish caught around me, and my partner caught a big fish, so there’s still some nice ones in there. I feel good about it. I survived basically with a 15-pound bag and fortunately I had a big lead.”

Martin said the main area he was fishing Friday saw more boat traffic than on the first day of competition, but is optimistic the area will be productive Saturday after the field cuts to the top 20 and fishing pressure decreases.

Martin said he employed a Bruiser Bait, finesse worm, creature bait, crankbait and Chatterbait to catch his bass by “mixing it up.” He said the faster-moving baits weren’t as effective because of the lack of wind and indicated he was targeting both grass and wood in his approach.

Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., is in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35-2.

Rounding out the top 20 pros who will fish Saturday on the Potomac River:

3rd: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 10 bass, 34-8

4th: EverStart pro Ron Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., 10 bass, 34-5

5th: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 34-3

6th: M&Ms pro Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 10 bass, 34-1

7th: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 10 bass, 33-11

8th: Clifford Pirch, Payson, Ariz., 10 bass, 33-0

9th: Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 32-10

10th: Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., 10 bass, 32-9

11th: Hawaiian Punch pro Jim Dillard, West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 32-9

12th: Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treat pro Jim Tutt, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 32-9

13th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 10 bass, 32-8

14th: Michael Williamson, Fort Smith, Ark., 10 bass, 32-2

15th: Bill Day, Frankfort, Ky., 10 bass, 31-15

16th: Wade Hendricks, Thompsons Station, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-9

17th: Gary Yamamoto, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 31-8

18th: Tim Johnson, Dallas, Ga., 10 bass, 31-8

19th: Marty Stone, Fayetteville, N.C., 10 bass, 31-6

20th: National Guard pro Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-4

Final results for the remaining field can be found on FLWOutdoors.com.

Pro angler Roland Martin and co-angler Justin Thompson’s day two weight was disqualified after Thompson inadvertently put one of his fish in with Martin’s catch and their individual catches could not be verified.

Lucas won the day’s big bass award with a fish weighing 6-5 on the pro side to win $500.

Overall there were 705 bass weighing 1,949 pounds, 7 ounces caught by pros Friday. The catch included 135 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 2012 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six Walmart FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify.

Marvin Reese of Gwynn Oak, Md., leads the co-angler division with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Ronnie Baker of Providence Forge, Va., in second place with 10 bass weighing 32-10.

Rounding out the top 20 co-anglers:

3rd: Greg Knick, Ansonia, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-9

4th: Chris Dillow, Waynesboro, Va., 10 bass, 30-13

5th: Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., 10 bass, 30-7

6th: Darrell Stevens, Roseland, Va., 10 bass, 29-8

7th: Leo Reiter, Greenup, Ill., 10 bass, 28-13

8th: Ralph Mulleins, Cumberland, Va., 10 bass, 27-15

9th: David Lauer, Loxahatchee, Fla., 10 bass, 27-11

10th: Philip Jarabeck, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 26-12

11th: Nicholas Toman, Washington, D.C., 10 bass, 26-10

12th: Rob Hicks, Lula, Ga., 10 bass, 26-10

13th: Les Swann III, Lake Placid, Fla., 10 bass, 26-5

14th: J.R. Wright, Truckee, Calif., 10 bass, 26-5

15th: Kevin Spooner, Vero Beach, Fla., 10 bass, 26-3

16th: Hoyt Tidwell, West Point, Tenn., nine bass, 26-1

17th: Rich Dalbey, Greenville, Texas, 10 bass, 25-11

18th: Chad Billiot, Raceland, La., nine bass, 25-10

19th: Tim Guard, Waynetown, Ind., 10 bass, 25-8

20th: Jerry Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-6

Final results for the remaining field can be found on FLWOutdoors.com.

Reese won the day’s big bass award with a fish weighing 5-8 in the co-angler division to win $250.

Overall there were 486 bass weighing 1,209 pounds, 10 ounces caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 59 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six Walmart FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify.

Takeoff is at National Harbor Marina located at 168 National Harbor Plaza in National Harbor at 6:30 a.m. each morning. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at National Harbor Marina beginning at 4 p.m.

Fans will be treated to the FLW Expo at National Harbor Marina on Saturday and Sunday from noon-4 p.m. prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public. On Sunday one lucky fishing fan will win a $500 Walmart gift card. The gift card giveaway is free to enter but the winner must be present at the conclusion of Sunday’s final weigh-in to win.

Coverage of the Potomac River tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when “FLW” airs June 24 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET. “FLW” is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

About FLW

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing unparalleled fishing resources and entertainment to our sponsors, fans and host communities. FLW is offering anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2012 over the course of 191 tournaments across five tournament circuits, each providing an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water,” through a variety of platforms including tournaments, outdoor expos and the world’s richest fantasy sports game – FLW Fantasy Fishing. For more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.