Quick Bites: Wal-Mart Open, Day 1

Despite losing a 4-pound bass in today's competition, Kelly Greer of Green Forest, Ark., managed to remain focused long enough to land an 11-pound, 9-ounce stringer ? a reward good enough for a first-place finish in the Co-angler Division. He also captured the day's big-bass award after netting this 4-pound, 4-ounce bass. Greer won a $750 check for his efforts. Photo by Jeff Schroeder. Angler: Kelly Greer.

April 9, 2003 • Jeff Schroeder • Archives

Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Wal-Mart Open
Beaver Lake, Rogers, Ark.
Opening round, Wednesday

Big bass … Congrats to the Snickers Big-Bass Award winners Wednesday. Peter Wenners of Galena, Mo., won it for the pros with a 5-pound, 12-ounce largemouth and collected $1,250 while division leader Kelly Greer of Green Forest, Ark., won it for the co-anglers with a 4-4 largemouth and took home $750.

Rookie revolution … Another rookie has taken center stage on the FLW Tour. While he’s no newcomer to the sport, FLW rookie Russ Moran of Murfreesboro, Tenn., opened the Wal-Mart Open with a five-bass weight of 17 pounds, 8 ounces to lead the Pro Division. Ranked 155th coming into the week, Moran’s previous best FLW Outdoors finish ever in a four-day tourney was 39th place at an EverStart Eastern Division event on Kerr Lake in 2001. In his first three FLW events this season, he has yet to top 133rd place.

Biting wind … While it snowed Tuesday at Beaver Lake and the air temperature never broke 50 degrees Wednesday, 57 pros still managed to catch limits on opening day. The entire field totaled 1,071 pounds, 5 ounces, which is close to the 1,243-3 the pros caught on day one at Beaver in 2001, a spawning-bass tournament. Look for the bass bite to improve even more as the weather warms up toward the end of the week.

Full on … Lonnie Fuller Jr. of Hemphill, Texas, last month’s co-angler winner at Lake Murray, is at it again. Fuller, who unfortunately suffered a stroke since the last FLW event, hasn’t slowed down a bit. The 73-year-old Texas ace placed third at Beaver Lake Wednesday with a five-bass weight of 9 pounds, 12 ounces. All the best, Lonnie, and continued success.

Not his week … Pachuta, Miss., pro Paul Elias raced back to Arkansas last week after bowing out of the BASS tournament on the California Delta early so he could compete at the big-money Wal-Mart Open and stay in points contention on the FLW Tour. Unfortunately, Elias blew his rear motor just after leaving takeoff at Prairie Creek Marina Wednesday morning and he ended up fishing with just his trolling motor all day. He managed to catch four small bass weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces, but opened the tourney in 106th place. “Everything that has happened since I (left California) has been telling me that I shouldn’t have done it,” he said.

Sound bites

“I might be a little ignorant, but I culled three times today.”
– Pro Jim Nolan, who weighed in four bass Wednesday. He miscounted the fish in his livewell and left himself one short.

“My partner told me that we needed to fish slow, which was fine with me because I spent last week at the Final Four on Bourbon Street.”
– Co-angler Ken Golub, who hails from Pittsford, N.Y., and is a Syracuse basketball fan.

Quick links, Day 1:

Photos
Results
Tomorrow’s pairings
Press release
Moran moves atop leaderboard at Wal-Mart Open