Quick Bites: Forrest Wood Open, Day 4
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Forrest Wood Open
Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Pro finals, Saturday
Couldn’t leave Lake Champlain without breaking one last record, could they? … It doesn’t get any closer than this, folks. Sam Newby defeated Dean Rojas by 1 ounce to win the 2002 Forrest Wood Open. In the finals, Newby had 16 pounds, 1 ounce while Rojas had 16-0. Unofficially, it is the closest finish ever in an FLW tournament. Prior to Saturday, the tightest finish on record happened in 1998 at Lake Wheeler when Randy Howell beat Rick Clunn (a finalist this week, as well) by 2 ounces. Earlier this week, Rojas said he was gunning hard to claim his first FLW victory. So just how frustrating is it to lose by 1 measly ounce? “That’s okay,” Rojas said graciously. “You know, I fished a perfect tournament. I didn’t miss a fish all week. I just didn’t get the right kind of bites I needed. Sixteen pounds is as good as I could do.”
All in a year’s work … Newby took his first FLW victory on the tail end of just his first full year of competing on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Newby, who finished the regular season ranked fifth, has collected a cool $234,750 in winnings thus far in 2002, his FLW rookie season.
One more for the cycle? … Third-place finisher Jim Moynagh seems to own the Forrest Wood Open. He won it 1997, finished second in 1998 and now has a third-place trophy to add to his mantle. So does that mean he’s gunning for fourth place at next year’s Forrest Wood Open so he can say he hit for the cycle? “If going for the cycle means I have to place fourth, I’ll pass on it and go for first,” he said. Moynagh said he had trouble enticing the smallmouth to bite his bait really well Saturday, and that explained his 14-pound stringer, which he figured would not be enough for victory. “If I just could have come up with a better lure for those smallies … But (third place) doesn’t hurt, by any means. I expect to do well on this kind of water.”
That’s gotta hurt … Scott Martin lost three big bass in Saturday’s finals, and that was the difference between his fourth-place, 13-pound, 14-ounce weight and a possible second FLW victory for the son of fishing legend Roland Martin. Martin, like many finalists who were sight-fishing for bedding bass, had trouble with the grumpier weather conditions that moved into the area for the finals. “It has really hurt the sight-fishing the last couple of days with the clouds and the wind,” said Martin, who caught between six and eight keeper fish Saturday. “I really just tried to catch what would help me.”
Contingency round-up … Congrats to fifth-place Todd Auten, who won the Conseco Step-Up award for best FLW career performance. Lake Champlain also happened to be Auten’s first FLW tournament. … Sixth-place Tommy Biffle won the Energizer Keeps-on-Going award for bouncing back from the farthest position in the opening round to make the finals. In the tightly contested opening round, Biffle placed 103rd on day one. … Rojas won the Shop-Vac High Peformance award for amassing the greatest amount of weight during the first three days with a total of 50 pounds, 8 ounces – the most weight posted by a High-Performance winner all year.
Quick numbers
105,000: Amount, in dollars, that 1 ounce of bass was worth to Sam Newby Saturday. Newby collected $210,000 for his 16-pound, 1-ounce victory while Dean Rojas took home half that, $105,000, for his 16-0 second-place finish.
9: Out of 10 pros who caught a five-bass limit in the finals Saturday. Only Rick Clunn, who caught four bass, couldn’t fill out his stringer. Pros caught a total of 49 keepers, another telling sign that Lake Champlain is one of the best bass fisheries in the country.
Sound bites
“I can’t wait to call my nieces and nephews and tell them to run out to Wal-Mart and buy a box of Corn Flakes.”
– Jay Yelas, who will be featured on Kellogg’s cereal boxes for winning 2002 Angler of the Year.
“When I beat Dean, I pretty well knew that I had it won.”
– Sam Newby, winner by 1 ounce.
Quick links, Day 4: