Quick Bites: FLW Kentucky Lake, Day 2

Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Kentucky Lake, Gilbertsville, Ky.
Opening round, Thursday

Like father, like son … Gary Yamamoto just keeps giving to the sport of bass fishing, doesn’t he? Not only did the famed lure designer from Mineola, Texas, make the pro cut, his 30-year-old son, Derek, of Mesa, Ariz., made the co-angler cut. Unfortunately, they won’t be fishing together Friday since Gary qualified in third place and Derek in fifth.

AOY watch: The Dudley-Morehead plot thickens

What is it about FLW Angler of the Year leaders taking a beating towards the end of the season? While he didn’t quite relinquish his points lead, pro Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky. – a heavy local favorite coming into the Kentucky Lake event – gave up a lot of ground to second-ranked David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., this week. Dudley caught limits both days of the opening round and managed a solid 30th-place finish while Morehead caught just three keepers Thursday and slipped from 27th place Wednesday to finish in 55th place Thursday. After both had weighed in on day two, the ultracompetitive Dudley was pacing around like a cat, knowing that every subsequent angler who finished between him and Morehead gave him another point against the standings leader. When all was said and done, Dudley, who came into the event 51 points behind Morehead, had made up 25 points and now sits just 26 points behind the leader heading into the final regular-season tourney at Wheeler Lake.

If this all seems eerily familiar, it is. Last year, Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., held a 28-point lead in the standings heading into the final event at Lake Champlain, a smallmouth lake where he was also a heavy favorite. But Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, snuck in past VanDam, who recorded his worst finish of the year in 44th place, and took the AOY title.

While the burden of being the lake favorite will be lifted for the final tournament, Morehead still can’t let up at all next month. In 2000 at the FLW Tour stop at the Wilson-Wheeler-Pickwick chain of lakes in northern Alabama, Dudley finished in fourth place.

Morehead, while obviously disappointed with his performance on his home waters this week, still took it all in stride – and provided some perspective.

“I’ve had so many local people pulling for me and supporting me,” he said. “I just want to say ‘thanks.’ … The Angler of the Year would be a nice feather in your cap, but I really want to win the Jacobs Cup. A half-million dollars really goes a long way.”

Speaking of money going a long way … While he has returned to the spotlight by leading the opening round at Kentucky Lake, Kevin VanDam has paid dearly for it. While making his run to a fishing location Wednesday, he lost his wallet when it fell out of his pocket and clear out of the boat. And, obviously, he was not happy about it. “It’s a long story, but it should have never fallen out of my pocket,” he said. Still, by making the top-10 cut, he’s guaranteed at least $7,000 in winnings, not to mention the $100,000 top prize if he wins. Does that soften the blow any? “I would have rather had the seven grand and my wallet,” he said. “It’s not so much losing the money that’s the hassle, it’s losing the driver’s license, credit cards and things.”

Going deep … Smiley second-place pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., made his first FLW cut after just a year and change on tour and said, “Anytime you make the top 10 in the FLW, it’s a great day.” Greater still might be the strategy that the powerhouse from the BFL Great Lakes Division is employing this week. While many anglers are targeting shallow largemouth, Monsoor is fishing a predominantly deeper pattern and catching a lot of smallmouth and spotted bass. While he said he caught most of his fish in 6 to 12 feet of water, he hinted that at least one hole in about 20 feet of water on the main lake might be the key to his success. He seemed particularly concerned about having to switch electronics systems when he fished from an FLW sponsor boat in Friday’s televised semifinals, which can only mean that those GPS coordinates he’s been using must be exceptionally important to him.

A lotta Wood … Co-angler Pamela Wood of Bono, Ark., made news two months ago at Lake Murray when she became just the third woman ever to lead an FLW tournament. She’s at it again, claiming Thursday’s $500 co-angler big-bass award for a 6-pound, 6-ounce largemouth. Fellow co-angler Troy Cox of Bono, Ark. – who also happens to be Wood’s brother – said his sister has come back strong this season after taking a year off from fishing to have a baby. “She learned how to spank with that baby, I think,” he said proudly.

Big bass equals big cash … Thursday’s $750 Snicker’s Big Bass Award in the Pro Division went to Robert Beatty of Clermont, Texas, for a nice 7-pound, 2-ounce largemouth. He also cleared another $1,000 from Snickers since his fish was the biggest bass of the opening round.

Quick numbers

80: Estimated number of bass caught off of one single point by pro Chip Harrison Thursday. Harrison’s co-angler partner Jimmy Cox verified it, saying the pro was catching them at will. Said Harrison: “This has been the best two days of fishing in my life.”

100-125: Estimated number of bass caught Thursday by pro Clark Wendlandt, who staged a huge comeback effort with the third biggest stringer of the day, 18 pounds, 8 ounces. He finished in 15th place.

Sound bites

“I finally figured out this lake at about 2 o’clock. I figured I didn’t know anything about it.”
– Pro Donald Eaton, who caught just three keeper bass in the opening round and finished in 159th place.

“I’m going to kick myself all the way back to Illinois.”
– Wednesday’s co-angler leader Bud Goeke, who hails from Pinckneyville, Ill., after he broke off a 3-pound bass because he had locked down his drag and forgot to release it before hooking the fish. He just missed the cut in 11th place.

Quick links, Day 2:

Photos
Results
Tomorrow’s pairings
Press release
VanDam snares first place at Kentucky Lake