Top 10 take aim for semifinal Friday
Co-anglers clash for title today
SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER, La. – It should be smooth sailing today for the top 10 pros and co-anglers competing on day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour on the Red River. Smooth sailing, that is, as long as they can avoid the very real possibility of boat wrecks, torrential downpours and deadly water moccasins. That’s not to mention the prospect of having to catch a whole mess of bass under heavy pressure and the ceaselessly watchful eye of the television camera.
Nope, no worries at all.
It’s not like this FLW competition isn’t hard enough. If an angler lets just one smaller fish fall off, it could theoretically cost him thousands of dollars.
But the Red River has presented some new challenges this week, namely the forest of submerged timber hidden beneath an absolutely muddy, opaque water surface. One rogue branch – and there are many, many rogue branches – and the boat’s lower unit is history.
But if that happens and they try to swim for it, that’s when the snakes get them. The water here is infested with them. Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., enjoyed the fruits of one particularly productive area on a Red River backwater to gain the lead yesterday. It’s great for fishing, but don’t ask him to go swimming there.
“You wouldn’t want to go in there,” he told his camera boat driver this morning. “I mean, there’s anacondas in there.”
Still, if any top 10 pro semifinalists were up to the daunting task today, it would be this list of veritable all-stars. Down the line first through 10th place, here are their FLW rap sheets:
Morehead – 1 win, 3 top-fives, 4 top-10s
Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich. – 2 top-fives (in just six FLWs fished), leads 2001 pro standings
Jerry Williams, Conway, Ark. – 3 top-fives, 4 top-10s
Craig Powers, Rockwood, Tenn. – 3 top-fives, 4 top-10s
Bill Chapman, Salt Rock, W. Va. – No FLW top-10s, but won an EverStart, recorded an FLW Big Bass and a top-10 at the All-American
Gary Klein, Weatherford, Texas – 2 wins, 7 top-fives, 8 top-10s
Bernie Schultz, Gainesville, Fla. – 3 top-fives, 4 top-10s
Joel Baker, Talala, Okla. – rookie, first top-10
Keith Green, Arkadelphia, Ark. – 1 FLW top-five, but has been a BFL/Red Man phenom with 11 top-10s, 2 wins and a runner-up at the All-American
Dwayne Horton, Knoxville, Tenn. – 1 win, 3 top-fives, 4 top-10s
Poisonous snakes have nothing on these killer bass fishermen.
On the co-angler side, look out for W.D. “Hoot” Gibson of Bryant, Ark., who’s gunning for his second FLW win in a row; Tommy Szwankowski of Hope, Ark., who placed second here at the FLW Championship last year; and Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark., who’s a perennial top-10er due for a win. And don’t ignore Steve Bowman of Little Rock, Ark., who’s been able to catch big ones all week.
Today is the Co-Angler Division finals, with the winner taking home $15,000. The Pro Division is fishing to make the top-five cut into tomorrow’s final round, where the winner will take home $100,000.
Today’s weigh-in is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 6235 Westport Road in Shreveport. The Wal-Mart FLW Tour Family Fun Zone will be open in the Wal-Mart parking lot from 3 to 5 p.m.
Vital statistics
Sunrise: 6:15 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 73 degrees
Expected high temperature: 85 degrees
Water temperature: 79 degrees
Wind: From the south at 7 mph
Relative humidity: 91 percent
Day’s outlook: Partly cloudy
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