Quick Bites: FLW Tour Lake Murray, Day 1
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Lake Murray, Columbia, S.C.
Opening round, Wednesday
Marlborough man … Though Tim Carroll may have the lead with a day-one limit weighing more than 28 pounds, there was an angler who caught just two fish today that stirred up the crowd as much as Carroll did. That angler is Danny Correia of Marlborough, Mass., and he currently sits in 15th place with a 17-pound, 1-ounce catch that is the product of only two fish. One of those megabass weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces, which took over the record for the heaviest fish caught so far this season. That mark had been set by both Clifford Pirch and Jake Deeds, who each caught a 9-pound, 2-ounce bass last month on Lake Okeechobee. … Making Correia’s catch all the more impressive is that the two behemoths represented the only two bites he got all day. He is one of a few anglers who caught only one or two fish today but still registered respectable weights. Co-angler John Manis caught three fish today that weighed 14 pounds, 1 ounce, and one of those three was puny. “I was afraid if I put him in there, the other two might eat him,” Manis joked of his smaller fish. The other two each weighed in excess of 6 pounds and put him in the No. 5 position on the co-angler side. Nick Gainey got only three bites today and caught two of them, but one of them weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces. He ended day one in 76th on the pro side.
Head start … Alligator purses and shoes are back in fashion these days, but for the National Guard fishing team, there is a certain alligator accessory that is far from desirable. The team, which includes anglers such as Derek Jones, Melinda Mize, Ramie Colson Jr. and Jonathan Newton, awards a real, stuffed Okeechobee gator head to whichever member of the team finishes the lowest at any given FLW Tour event. The current holder of the head is Jones, who’s jonesing to get rid of it but didn’t help himself out much by finishing 189th on day one. “It’s in the truck right now,” Jones said of the memento. “They wanted me to put it on the boat, but I think it’s bad luck.” Jones, you might want to rethink that luck thing, since it’s looking like you’re going to leave Murray with the gator head still in your truck.
Work of Art … Judging by the sheer number of fish caught today on Lake Murray, it was obvious these South Carolina bass are hungry. In fact, these fish are so ravenous that they’ll even try to catch bait out of a lesser fish’s mouth. California pro Art Berry, who ended day one in 20th place, told a story on stage today about such a fish. It seems Berry had on a 2- or 3-pounder and was already in the process of netting it when a fish he estimated to weigh 9 or 10 pounds tried to eat a crankbait – out of the mouth of the 2-pounder. Alas, Berry couldn’t trade out the 2-pounder for the 9-pounder, but he did say he’d never seen anything like it.
Make way for Thrift… Who is Bryan Thrift? That’s what many fishing fans may be asking now that he has found himself on top of yet another leaderboard in 2006. The soft-spoken co-angler first made waves this year by winning the pro title at the Stren Series Lake Okeechobee event. He then took sixth place as a co-angler at the FLW Tour event on the Big O, and he currently leads the co-angler contingency on Lake Murray with a 19-pound, 7-ounce limit, a weight that would have put him in eighth place on the pro side. When TV host Charlie Evans tried to ask Thrift about his incredible run, Thrift shyly explained that he felt fortunate. Evans interrupted, “I know you’re blessed, but you’re good.” Said Thrift, “I’m OK.”
Keep your eyes open … Typically, saying your prayers is not considered to be a dangerous activity. After all, your eyes don’t have to be shut and your head doesn’t have to be bowed for prayers to count. But today, David Lauer was saying a prayer as he raced around Lake Murray and suddenly hit a shoal, creating a frightening incident that could have left him and his co-angler injured. “I was actually praying, but I should have been watching,” Lauer said. Luckily no one was hurt, and Lauer credited the solid craftsmanship of his Ranger boat with the good luck – though the prayers probably didn’t hurt.
Quick numbers:
45-12: Combined weight of the bass brought in by No. 2 pro Anthony Gagliardi and No. 2 co-angler Judy Israel, who fished together on day one.
8: Weight, in pounds, of Israel’s biggest bass, which took co-angler big-bass honors.
2,907: Weight, in pounds, of the 1,274 bass brought in today by pros and co-anglers.
1: Number of fishing holes used by pro leader Tim Carroll on day one.
5: Number of fishing holes Carroll claims he has.
4: Rank of Carroll’s 28-pound, 1-ounce stringer on the FLW Tour’s list of all-time single-day catches. He tied Stanley Mitchell, who caught his 28-1 on day two at Lake Murray in 2003.
49-8: Heaviest opening-round weight in FLW Tour history, caught by Darrel Robertson on day two at Lake Murray in 2003, the same day as Mitchell’s catch.
Sound bites:
“I shouldn’t even have to follow him up here.” – Co-angler Walter Hairston Jr., who had to follow Carroll’s 28-pound, 1-ounce weight on stage with his own 5-pound, 14-ounce catch.
“My in-laws live here, so I don’t fish here much.” – South Carolina co-angler Charles Ward, speaking tongue-in-cheek (we think).
“It’s been pretty bad. I’ve been catching fish (in practice) that weigh as much as my limit today, but, go Steelers.” – Pennsylvania pro Dave Lefebre, using his home team’s Super Bowl win as comfort for his 86th-place day-one performance on Lake Murray.
“I have no money. Just trophy.” – Okeechobee winner Shinichi Fukae, after TV host Keith Lebowitz asked him if his wife Miyuki kept his $100,000 earnings to herself.
“I should have bought a fishing license. I bought a hoping license.” – Co-angler Joe Foley, who ended day one in 159th.
“It’s good to be home.” – Gagliardi, who lives only about a half-hour drive from the tournament host city of Columbia, S.C.
Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. EST at Jakes Landing, located at 220 Jakes Landing Road in Lexington, S.C.