Quick Bites: FLW Tour, Lake Okeechobee, Day 1
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Tour Stop #1
Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Fla.
Day 1, Opening Round
Walker’s whale … Plain and simple, David Walker nailed `em today. While the day-one pro leader’s weight of 22 pounds, 14 ounces was impressive by itself, it was his biggest fish that stole the show. It weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds, 10 ounces. The fish not only won the day’s Big Bass award easily, it set an astounding benchmark for Big Bass of the Year that may not be broken all season long – an amazing feat given the fact that this is just the first day of competition. Last year’s FLW big bass of the year winner was an 8-pound 10-ounce fish weighed in by Quentin Stacy of Bassett, Va. … So what was Walker’s secret recipe for success today? Well, the 1999 Angler of the Year said it was his attention to the water temperature. While Lake Okeechobee had been cold and muddy until today, it warmed up by about 10 degrees during the day. The Cannon, Ky., native had faith the fish would adapt and start getting hungrier as the temperature rose. And he was right. While his behemoth bass was his first catch of the day, he had no trouble following it up with a string of 3- and 4-pounders to reach his 22-14 total weight.
Happy birthday to me, and you … Today was pro angler Mark Hardin’s 40th birthday – and it was a happy one indeed. The Canton, Ga., native caught five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces, landing him in fifth place. Even happier was Hardin’s co-angler today, Donald Tross of Newport News, Va. Tross benefited from his pro partner’s location instincts today and landed a whopping total weight of 20 pounds, 14 ounces from the back of Hardin’s boat. It was the second-largest stringer of the day – in either division. Not only that, he nearly caught the co-angler Big Bass award with a 7-pound, 2-ounce monster. Only second-place co-angler Bryan Williams’ 7-pound, 3-ounce big bass beat his. Said the ecstatic Tross, “I’ve just had the best time of my life.”
At home with the Israels … Abbie and Judy Israel put on a virtual family fishing clinic today on their home lake. The husband-and-wife team from Clewiston both landed in the top 20 in the Co-Angler Division, a rarity for the longtime FLW couple. Judy caught two bass for 6 pounds, 11 ounces – including one that vied for big bass at 4-7 – and placed 16th. Her husband Abbie fished one of his best days ever on tour, catching four bass weighing 12-9. He placed a proud third. Kudos to both of them.
It pays to play with the pros … Robert Vogelsang of Jessup, Md., landed in fourth place today after weighing in a good stringer at 17-9 – with only four bass. For him, the first-rate performance was especially sweet because today was his first day fishing in the Pro Division on the FLW Tour. Last year he fished as a co-angler. “It’s a lot more fun and there’s a lot more pressure,” he said. “You’re fishing against the best guys in the world.”
Would you bet against this guy? … Seventh-place co-angler Gary Henry of Conyers, Ga., offered up his biggest fish to weigh for the big bass competition. At the time, he needed his fish to weigh almost 7 1/2 pounds to break Williams’ established big bass mark. Operation Bass host Charlie Evans, who has an uncanny knack for sizing up bass by the naked eye, lightheartedly bet him a dollar that the fish didn’t even weigh 6 1/2 pounds, much less 7 1/2. They weighed the fish and it came out at 6 pounds, 9 ounces, and Evans ponied up the dough. The FLW host should have known better than to make that bet. Henry’s fishing shirt proudly displays only one sponsor logo: “Team Jesus.”
We are a-Mused … Congrats to Tammie Muse of North Little Rock, Ark. The fifth-place co-angler was the only female to crack the top 10 in either division.
Sound Bites:
“Sorry about that, Mrs. Tross.”
– Charlie Evans, to the crowd, ribbing Donald Tross after the co-angler leader said he’d just had the best time of his life.
“Well, I’ll tell you after the third day.”
– A confident co-angler, Charles King, responding to Evans’ query about what he used to catch his fish. King caught only one bass today weighing 1 pound, 8 ounces, landing him in 86th place. It was just two places above the lowest registered weight on the co-angler side.
“I’m catching every one of them in the mouth. It’s the darnedest thing I’ve ever seen.”
– Pro Mike Wurm, when asked how he was catching his fish today.
Quick Links, Day 1:
Headline story
Press release
Results
Photos