Quick Bites: Forrest Wood Open, Day 1
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Forrest Wood Open
Wheeler Lake, Florence, Ala.
Opening round, Wednesday
AOY race: Another photo finish?
If it was decided Wednesday, Dan Morehead would still win the 2003 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title, but the pro from Paducah, Ky., lost some serious ground in the points race by notching a 106th-place performance with 8 pounds, 14 ounces on opening day at Wheeler. Like Kevin VanDam last year, Morehead has left the door open in the final tournament, and a number of his closest pursuers now have a legitimate shot to take the title.
Morehead’s biggest threat Thursday – when this thing will likely be decided – is probably Clark Wendlandt, who was third in the standings 55 points behind Morehead at the start of the tournament. Wendlandt also put up a middling weight today, 9-7, but he made up 11 points on the leader by placing 95th. That means he would have to move up 44 more places on Morehead Thursday to win it. Remember, Morehead has left a lot of room in front of him to do just that.
David Dudley, second in the standings and 26 points behind Morehead before the event, actually lost 25 points on the leader by placing 129th Wednesday with a weight of 7-14. He now needs to make up 51 spots on Morehead Thursday to have a chance.
The biggest story, though, was leader Tommy Biffle, who is seventh in the standings. Down by 119 points to Morehead coming into the week, he made up 106 of those Wednesday. He now has just 15 more to make up to take AOY. However, he has to hope that Morehead slips even further in the results from this week since, already in first place, Biffle can place no higher than he already has.
What’s interesting, though, are the other top standings contenders who are also back in the AOY race due to Morehead’s 106th place on opening day:
– Tim Carroll (fourth in standings, 105 points behind Morehead) placed 24th Wednesday and made up 82 points. Needs 23 more points Thursday.
– Andy Morgan (fifth, 107 behind) placed 34th and made up 72. Needs 35 more.
– Cody Bird (sixth, 109 behind) placed 71st and made up 35. Needs 74 more.
Of course, these numbers are all relative to what Morehead does Thursday. The key here is the weights. They’re all bunched up. Dudley lost 25 spots to Morehead even though he caught just a pound less than the points leader. Expect more of the same Thursday. Just a half pound of bass either way will push all of these guys around the leaderboard a lot tomorrow.
“I figured I would need around 10 pounds a day to hold onto Angler of the Year,” Morehead said. “I probably caught three or four limits today, but I just didn’t get good bites. If I go out and catch 10 or 11 pounds tomorrow, I should be in good shape.”
Dudley, who had the most to gain by Morehead’s slip, initially said he “hit the choke button” himself, but then recanted. “I put myself in an area for the opportunity to happen (he means bass-friendly Decatur Flats), but I just didn’t capitalize on it,” he said. Pointing to how tight the weights were, he added, “If any one of us busts 13 pounds tomorrow, I’d say you can almost write the check.”
Practice makes almost perfect
One pro who is surprisingly not in the AOY race is Aaron Martens, but that didn’t stop him from posting his usual Alabama numbers Wednesday. He’s in a familiar position, second place (he finished second at the FLW here last year), after weighing in his limit worth 18-11.
“I love Alabama,” he said. “I caught three of them on a drop-shot, but the big ones came on something else. I might tell you tomorrow.”
Normally a top standings contender, Martens said this year’s heavy tournament schedule has really affected his performance in these events.
“A lot of these tournaments I’ve only had a few days of practice,” he said. “Here I had five days. With just three days, you’re rushed. With five or six days, you’re not.”
Martens, who has dismissed any possibility of making the FLW Championship, might want to take another look at the standings. He’s in 60th place and, given his strong start here and the tight leaderboard, the idea of him moving up 12 places to qualify isn’t totally inconceivable.
Co-angler contenders
The Co-angler of the Year race is heating up, too. Forty points behind the leader, Greg Lineberry moved up 33 spots on Quint Bourgeois when he placed seventh Wednesday and Bourgeois placed 40th. … Lonnie Fuller isn’t slowing down a bit. After winning the Co-angler Division at Lake Murray and finishing 10th at Beaver Lake, Fuller fished himself into position to make his third cut of the year Wednesday by placing 10th.
Quick numbers
174: Out of 175, number of pros who weighed in at least one bass Wednesday.
142: Number of pros who weighed in five-bass limits. In other words, they’re catching them well at Wheeler.
Sound bite
“Oh yeah, I caught a limit several times today.”
– Pro Bob Plemmons, who miscounted his bass and repeatedly culled out to four fish all day. He placed 42nd with 12 pounds, 3 ounces.
Quick links, Day 1:
Photos
Results
Tomorrow’s pairings
Press release
‘Biffle grabs lead on Wheeler Lake’