Georgia native leads pack heading into final round of FLW competition
Arnold captures FLW co-angler championship, $15,000 first prize
CLEWISTON, Fla. – Although a recent poll sponsored by www.flwtour.com showed that most fishing enthusiasts believed Mark Hardin of Canton, Ga., was the pro least likely to make it to the final round of FLW competition, the Georgia native had other ideas. With a stellar semifinal round, Hardin dismissed the amateur oddsmakers and used a massive 24-pound, 15-ounce catch to vault atop the leaderboard heading into Saturday’s championship round.
“It feels great,” said Hardin. “I have been catching quality fish all tournament, so I had a lot of confidence going in. Today, I caught four fish early in the morning and that really took the pressure off. I had a good feeling all day that I was going to make the finals.”
However, catching a 9-pound, 3-ounce fish right around noon didn’t hurt either.
“That was pretty exciting,” he said. “I knew then that I had a good chance I was going to be fishing tomorrow.”
Hardin said that the excitement of the FLW Tour proved just the spark he needed to demonstrate that he is indeed a top-notch angler.
“The FLW Tour puts on an exciting show,” said Hardin. “It really pumps you up being in the center of it. It’s difficult not to get up for something like that.”
While the top five anglers who survived the final cut will start from scratch tomorrow, Hardin said he is confident that he can win the tournament if the conditions are right.
“I’m fairly confident about getting the bites,” he said. “It’s just a question of whether or not I can get the fish in the boat. I’m going to do the same thing tomorrow that I did today. There’s quality fish out there. And if I can land them, I should be in great shape.”
Confidence high heading into finals
David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., who finished in second place heading into tomorrow’s final round of competition, said he was equally confident about his chances of becoming champion.
“A lot of these fisherman are around fish, but they don’t really know how to catch them. And I do,” said Fritts, who recorded a catch of 20 pounds, 14 ounces. “It feels so good to be catching fish again. And if the wind doesn’t blow too hard out of the south tomorrow, it may be a perfect time for me to win this tournament.”
Kelley Williamson of Purdy, Mo., was in third place at the end of competition on Friday after bringing in a catch of 20 pounds, 3 ounces.
“It seems like I got a keeper about every mile and a half,” he said of today’s action. “If I can catch five bites, I have a good shot tomorrow.”
Day-two leader Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., also survived the top-five cut with the help of a 18-pound, 4-ounce catch – an amount good enough for fourth place heading into Saturday’s final. While pleased to make it to the championship round, VanDam said it wasn’t easy.
“I’m making hundreds of casts a day. And it’s tiring,” he said. “But you’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity you have out there because these guys are so good.”
VanDam said tomorrow’s conditions should figure heavily in the final outcome.
“There are plenty of big fish out there,” he said. “But the bottom line is that everyone has found good areas to fish. And the only question is who is going to get the big bites tomorrow.”
Kim Stricker of Howell, Mich., used a 16-pound, 3-ounce catch to claim the fifth and final spot in the finals – barely edging out 1999 Kellogg’s Angler of the Year, David Walker.
Rounding out the top 10 were Walker (sixth place) of Cannon, Ky., who won a check for $12,000; Paul Elias (seventh place) of Pachuta, Miss., who won $10,000; Mike Wurm (eighth) of Hot Springs, Ark., who won $9,000; George Cochran (ninth) of Hot Springs, Ark., who won $8,000; and Charlie Hartley (tenth) of Grove City, Ohio, who won $7,000.
Takeoff for the FLW pro finals will commence Saturday morning at 7 a.m. at Roland Martin’s Marina. Championship weigh-in is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1005 West Sugarland Highway in Clewiston. The winner will receive a check for $100,000.
Andrew Arnold brings home Co-Angler Division trophy
Andrew Arnold of Princeton, Ky., wasn’t sure if his catch of 5 pounds, 3 ounces would be enough to win the FLW Co-Angler Division at Lake Okeechobee. He need not have worried. Although he didn’t land the big fish he was hoping for, no one else did either.
“If the situation was right, I knew that I had a chance to win,” said Arnold, who took home a hefty $15,000 check. “This is my first FLW victory and naturally, I’m very excited. Hopefully I can continue to do this for the rest of the year.”
Michael Brown of Chatsworth, Ga., finished in second place with a catch of 4 pounds, 2 ounces. Despite finishing as the runner-up, Brown said he would have nothing but great memories.
“I had a great day and a great week of fishing,” said Brown, who won $6,000 for his efforts. “I got to fish nine days in a row (counting pre-fishing) and came home with a big check. What else can you ask for?”
Doug Caldwell of Kane, Pa., finished in third place with a catch of 4 pounds, 1 ounce. Caldwell took home a check for $4,000.
Day-two leader Arlyn “Art” Johnson of Enon, Ohio, took fourth place with a catch of 3 pounds, 4 ounces.
“I tried to keep up the suspense as long as I could, but I knew I didn’t have enough to win,” said Johnson, who earned $3,000 for his finish. “I never made the top 10 before, so I’m very happy. This has just been a fantastic week.”
Although Gary Henry of Conyers, Ga., finished in fifth place with a catch of 2 pounds, 13 ounces, he said he would have a number of great memories as well.
“This was just fantastic,” he said. “I had a great time and some great partners.”
Abbie Israel (sixth place) of Clewiston, Fla.; Bryan Williams (seventh) of Mahomet, Ill.; Donald Tross (eighth) of Newport News, Va.; Tammie Muse (ninth) of North Little Rock, Ark.; and Wanda Rucker (tenth) of Cocoa, Fla., rounded out the top-10 finalists.
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