Quick Bites: FLW Tour, Pascagoula River, Day 2
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Tour Stop #2
Pascagoula River, D’Iberville, Miss.
Day 2, Opening Round
Johnny on the right spot … Alabama pro Johnny McCombs was the talk of the tourney today. He reeled in a 7-pound, 14-ounce largemouth that not only won Big Bass, it obliterated everyone else’s big fish. Marty Stone of Linden, N.C., looked to be in good position to take the $750 Big Bass award today when he weighed in a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass. But when McCombs brought his monster onstage, Stone’s fish fell to a distant second in the competition. It was quite a surprise to see such a huge fish weighed in since most of the anglers had trouble even finding 1- and 2-pounders. Not only did he win Big Bass, McCombs clawed his way out of a middling 41st place yesterday into a strong third place today, making him a good bet for the Energizer “Keeps on Going” award for biggest comeback should he advance into the final round on Saturday. He said he did nothing special to hook the beast. “I went back to the same area I fished yesterday and just got lucky,” he said. “I caught it on a jig at about 11 o’clock.” He did admit, however, “That’s the biggest fish I’ve ever seen here.”
Stone to go the distance … Fifth-place qualifier Stone started the day not knowing if he was going to catch any fish at all. “But I learned a little something about this place today and I found some fish,” he said. However, tomorrow’s takeoff, which has been moved about 20 miles west of the Pascagoula River to the Biloxi River, might prove to be his biggest obstacle. “I don’t know if I can get (to the spot) from the Biloxi River (on time). But I’m going to burn up all my gas trying.”
It’s a gamble, but the Mississippi Gulf Coast was made for high-rollers … Speaking of burning gas, pro leader Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., will likely give his Citgo credit card a workout tomorrow, as well. His productive spot, which has yielded him 20 pounds, 1 ounce of fish over the last two days, is over a hundred-mile run one-way from takeoff. Not only that, Biffle admitted the water is running out of his location and he could become stranded even if he does get there. However, he remains undaunted and highly confident in his spot. “I can win it if I can get to my spot,” he said. If he does, it would be the three-time FLW Tour runner-up’s long-awaited first victory.
Look out for these two … Ava, Mo., powerhouse pro Rick Clunn said he was surprised that his opening-round weight of 11 pounds, 10 ounces was enough for him to place ninth and move into the semifinals. But don’t be surprised if this guy makes yet another strong run at the title – and not just because he won two events last year and placed second in another. Tomorrow his co-angler partner is Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark., a pairing that Clunn is more than happy with. He explained, “Both of the tournaments I have won, I have fished with him (in the semifinal round).”
An ounce of heartbreak … Every tournament, a few anglers whose weights hover right around the cutoff point suffer big heartbreak at the end of the day if they don’t make the cut. So it was for crowd-favorite pro Takahiro Omori of Japan. He was barely edged out of 10th place by Greg Carpenter of Royal, Ark., by the narrowest of margins late in the weigh-in. Omori sat in 10th place with a two-day total of 11 pounds, 4 ounces until Carpenter eventually weighed in at 11-5.
Catch one fish, win some dough … Here’s an indication of the tougher fishing conditions that faced competitors in the opening round: The Pro Division cutoff weight was 11 pounds, 5 ounces; the Co-Angler Division cutoff weight was 4-15. On the other hand, lower weights were able to capture some cash. On the pro side, 4 pounds, 8 ounces was good enough to finish in the money while, on the co-angler side, a mere 1-7 finished in the money.
Little hangs on … While she didn’t weigh-in any fish today, co-angler Beverly Little of Greensboro, N.C, is keeping the women’s movement alive on the FLW Tour by advancing to the Co-Angler Division finals tomorrow – and is the only female angler to do so in this tournament. She placed fifth for the opening round and is scheduled to fish with Stone tomorrow.
Can Arnold repeat? … Another notable name in the co-angler finals is Andrew Arnold of Princeton, Ky., who placed fourth in the opening round. Arnold won last month’s FLW tournament at Lake Okeechobee, Fla. If he should prevail tomorrow, he would be the first-ever angler – pro or co-angler – to win back-to-back titles on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
Quick Number
30: Number of minutes that Tommy Biffle said it took to catch his three keepers weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces this morning. He also said the same thing yesterday about his five-fish stringer weighing 11-2.
Sound Bites
“I tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever made that many casts to get one bite.”
– Pro Steve Daniel, who caught one fish weighing 1 pound, 2 ounces today.
“I went a long way for one little skinny fish, but at the end of the year all those little ones are going to add up.”
– Pro Mike Iaconelli, optimistically echoing Daniels’ sentiment. Iaconelli caught one bass weighing 1 pound, 3 ounces today.
“Some days you get the chicken. Some days you get the feathers.”
– Operation Bass’ Charlie Evans, to pro angler David Walker, who placed sixth at last month’s FLW event at Lake Okeechobee. Walker finished this week’s tournament in 115th place.
“Dynamite.”
– Pro Chip Harrison, joking about how he made his tough catches today. His two fish weighed a total of 1 pound, 12 ounces.
Quick Links: Day 2