Quick Bites: FLW Kentucky Lake, Day 3
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Kentucky Lake, Gilbertsville, Ky.
Friday, pro finals day one, co-angler finals
Will it just keep going and going? … Not only did the top anglers in both divisions fish from the same boat today, No. 6, it just happened to be this tournament’s lead sponsor boat, Energizer. … More than just drawing the lucky boat, pro leader Steve Kennedy and co-angler winner Ryan Chandler capitalized on a single, extremely auspicious fishing hole Friday. All 37 pounds, 6 ounces of their tournament-leading fish (Kennedy had a sizeable 23-1 and Chandler won with 14-5) came off of one spot, a spot that Kennedy has mined all week. “I’ve been fishing it for three days straight,” Kennedy said. “I didn’t go there until 9:30 this morning, but I think I’ll start there tomorrow. It seems like the big bites have been coming at 9:30 every day. I think they’re just coming in there off of the bushes and onto the main lake.” Chandler, who caught seven keepers Friday, said, “It’s not hard to catch fish when you go fishing with a guy who’s catching them left and right.”
Switchin’ bait … Pro Tom Monsoor captured third place mainly by using a Carolina rig, which seemed to be the predominant technique Friday. He felt he could have had more weight than his 13 pounds, 15 ounces, however, if he had switched baits. “In the back of my mind, I kept thinking I should throw a crankbait,” he said. “But when you’ve got a guy in the back of your boat, you just can’t afford to miss a fish. I’ll probably try it tomorrow to get at some of those bigger fish.”
Rookie roundup … While this final-round pro field is sprinkled with the usual smattering of been-there-done-that pro veterans like Davy Hite, Gary Yamamoto, Mike Surman and Kevin VanDam, a number of pro finalists are making their first trip to the rodeo this week, including five of the top six, after Friday’s action. Kennedy, Monsoor, Carolina-rig wizard Terry Segraves (fourth place), Todd Ary (fifth) and Jeffrey Thomas (sixth) are all fishing in their first FLW top 10.
The one that got away … Co-angler runner-up Rodney Chmolack lost his winning fish Friday, a hog that weighed at least 7 pounds. After battling it for about two minutes, he got it to the boat, twice, where it came off at the last second. “It was well over 7 pounds,” said Chlomack’s pro partner, Terry Baksay. “It was a giant fish.” The lost bass cost Chlomack, who finished second by 5 ounces, $9,000.
Did you know? … Pro Mike Surman, in ninth place after Friday, won the first-ever FLW tournament, which was held at Lake Okeechobee in 1996.
Quick numbers
5: Number of FLW Outdoors tournaments that pro leader Steve Kennedy has already won, all of them Wal-Mart BFLs. He also has three runner-up finishes, one of them on the EverStart Series, plus another high finish, third place, on the EverStart. In 2002, he finished third at the All-American. In all, he has 15 FLW Outdoors top-10 finishes. However, after almost two seasons on the FLW Tour, his highest finish prior to this event has been 16th place.
91,678: Amount, in dollars, of Kennedy’s FLW Outdoors career earnings.
1: Number of FLW Outdoors tournaments that second-place pro Davy Hite has already won, which was the 1998 FLW Championship. He has a total of three top-10 finishes, all of them FLW tournaments.
339,550: Amount, in dollars, of Hite’s FLW Outdoors career earnings.
Sound bites
“That’s probably the smallest limit that has been weighed in here all week.”
– Pro Kevin VanDam, whose five-bass limit weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces. He placed 10th Friday.
“If you like to fish, don’t get into the fishing business.”
– Co-angler Derek Yamamoto, son of pro Gary Yamamoto, on how hard it is to find time to go fishing when you’re deeply involved behind the scenes of the sport. Derek works for Kinami baits, an FLW associate sponsor known for its Senko products.
Quick links, Day 3:
Photos
Results
Press release
Two-horse race
Chandler crowned co-angler champion on Kentucky Lake