Wooley Extends Lead On Day Three Of Walmart FLW Tour On Lake Chickamauga Presented By Igloo Coolers

DAYTON, Tenn. – Pro Michael Wooley of Collierville, Tennessee, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday, weighing 23 pounds, 7 ounces, to retain his lead after day three of the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Igloo Coolers. The tournament now heads into the fourth and final day of competition and the field is cut to the final 10 in the four-day event, hosted by the Rhea Economic and Tourism Council, that featured 146 of the best bass-fishing anglers in the world casting for the top cash award of up to $125,000.

 

Wooley’s three-day cumulative weight of 72-14 extended his lead to 6 pounds, 2 ounces over second-place angler Livingston Lures pro Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Arkansas, who has a three-day weight of 15 bass totaling 66-12

 

“Today went great for me,” said Wooley, who has one previous career victory in FLW competition – a Walmart BFL series win on Lake Pickwick in 2013. “I pulled into my main area where I have been catching them all week and had my first keeper in the livewell within 10 minutes. I had a solid 17-pound limit by 8 a.m., then by 8:30 I had all of my weight that I caught today. I left there by 10 a.m. to try to conserve it for one more day.”

 

Wooley spent the rest of the day scouting his other schools that he has located as contingency plans. He estimated that he caught around 10 more keepers throughout the day, but none that could match the size from his prime location.

 

“My other areas do not have the quality that my main spot does,” Wooley said. “Tomorrow I’m going to spend as much time as possible there. I feel pretty confident that it can hold up another day.”

 

Wooley said that he again found success today using a jig and a shaky-head rig with a big worm. He said that he tried to find a reaction bite by throwing big spoons, swimbaits, crankbaits and hair jigs, but never had any luck.

 

“If I have to go to my backup areas as an emergency, I will,” Wooley said. “I’ve found some schools, but I haven’t seen anything over 3 pound there. I am pretty much 100-percent all-in on my main spot.”

 

Wooley described his main area as a bar in the middle of a creek that has mussel beds and gizzard shad feeding there in the morning. He said that the fish were sitting in only 12- or 13-feet of water. He’s shared the area with 6^th-place angler Larry Nixon all week.

 

“It’s an awesome feeling to be leading the tournament heading in to the final day,” Wooley went on to say. “I’ve got some legends of the sport in the top-10 with me. I’m going to try not to worry about what everyone else is doing and go out and try to catch the biggest five bass that I can tomorrow. If it happens, it happens. I’m pretty confident that I can catch them.”

 

The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Lake Chickamauga are:

              

               1^st:          Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 72-14 

               2^nd:         Livingston Lures pro Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark., 15 bass, 66-12

               3^rd:          Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 62-6

               4^th:          Walmart pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 62-2

               5^th:          Bill McDonald, Greenwood, Ind., 15 bass, 59-15

               6^th:          Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 15 bass, 59-14

               7^th:          Darrell Davis, Dover, Fla., 15 bass, 59-5

               8^th:          Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 14 bass, 58-4

               9^th:          Richard Peek, Centre, Ala., 15 bass, 57-5

               10^th:        Terry Bolton, Paducah, Ky., 15 bass, 56-4

 

Finishing in 11th through 20th are:

 

               11^th:        Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 15 bass, 55-11, $11,634

               12^th:        John Cox, Debary, Fla., 15 bass, 54-1, $11,634

               13^th:        Charlie Ingram, Centerville, Tenn., 15 bass, 53-14, $11,634

               14^th:        Rayovac pro Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 15 bass, 53-7, $11,634

               15^th:        Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 53-6, $11,634

               16^th:        Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 52-10, $11,634

               17^th:        Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 51-4, $11,634

               18^th:        Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 14 bass, 50-12, $11,634

               19^th:        James Biggs, Euless, Texas, 14 bass, 48-1, $11,634

               20^th:        Brad Knight, Lancing, Tenn., 10 bass, 37-6, $11,634

 

A complete list of results can be found at FLWFishing.com. 

 

Overall there were 92 bass weighing 332 pounds, 13 ounces caught by pros Saturday. Sixteen of the final 20 pros weighed in five-bass limits.

 

Paul LaFleur of Benton, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and $25,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Cody Frazier of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, who finished in second place with eight bass weighing 29 pounds, 7 ounces worth $7,291.

 

In addition to casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division, anglers are also competing for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. The 2015 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 20-23 on Lake Ouachita and is hosted by Visit Hot Springs. The Forrest Wood Cup Champion could win as much as $500,000 – professional bass-fishing’s richest prize.

 

Anglers will take off for the fourth and final day of competition from the Dayton Boat Dock located at 175 Lakeshore Street in Dayton at 6:30 a.m. EDT Sunday. Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart, located at 3034 Rhea County Highway, in Dayton beginning at 4 p.m.

 

Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart in Dayton prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes a Ranger boat simulator, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.

 

Coverage of the Lake Chickamauga tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) October 26 from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. EDT when Season 20 of “FLW” returns this fall. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

 

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

 

FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

 

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