Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Forrest L. Wood Championship
Logan Martin Lake, Birmingham, Ala.
Opening round, Wednesday
Pain in the butt … Heading into this week’s championship event, Alabama pro Matt Herren of nearby Trussville was heavily favored due to his in-depth local knowledge of the Coosa River system. But after day one, Herren trails his bracket foe Toshinari Namiki by more than 4 pounds, a situation that doesn’t sit well with him – literally. “I broke my tailbone,” Herren said. “I slipped in the garage Saturday afternoon – a freak accident. I hadn’t been on the water since. Every time I hit a boat wake, it hurts.” In the time that elapsed between the fateful slip and the first day of competition, the water in his area rose about 5 inches, enough to eradicate the pattern Herren had going during practice. “I’ll make it up tomorrow,” he said. “The practice time I missed really hurt me.”
Pain in the ear … It was ailments all around on the pro side today, with Tim Klinger joining Herren in the under-the-weather category. Klinger’s problem, an ear infection, didn’t stop him from taking a slight edge over his competition, Steve Kennedy. “I can’t hear very well,” Klinger said. “I’ve been sick about a week now.” Luckily for Klinger, bass are a quiet bunch, and among all the skills needed to survive intense bracket-style competition, hearing is probably one of the least of them. “I’m going to go out and catch a limit tomorrow,” Klinger promised. “I’m going to put the pressure on.” Let’s just hope he doesn’t mean more pressure on the eardrum.
All tied up … A fun part of bracket analysis is determining just how much edge one angler has over his competition after one full day of fishing. A couple of brackets today proved its anglers to be quite literally evenly matched – there were two ties today, although one of them ended up with an 8-ounce separation due to a dead-fish penalty. Still tied, though, are No. 15 seed Shinichi Fukae and No. 34 seed Alton Jones, though penalties were involved for both of them as well. Nevertheless, both ended day one with 11 pounds, 10 ounces, setting the stage for an interesting showdown on day two. Fukae is well-known as an intense competitor, but it was Jones who had the swagger today. “I don’t know any Japanese, but I’ve been practicing one word,” he said. “Sayonara.”
B
ig leads, small leads … With one more day to fish before the first round of eliminations, some anglers are ahead in their brackets by several pounds while others lead by mere ounces. No. 1 seed Anthony Gagliardi has by far the largest lead, with a 13-pound, 5-ounce difference between his day-one weight and that of Ishama Monroe, who brought in 2-7 on day one. Other than that, the biggest lead belongs to Rob Kilby, perhaps getting his sweet revenge for choking on his home lake at last year’s championship. Kilby’s day-one catch of 10 pounds, 9 ounces bested Glenn Browne’s 3-3 catch by 7 pounds, 6 ounces. … Not resting as easy tonight are Dean Rojas and Kim Stricker. Both lead their brackets by only 8 ounces, with Rojas competing against his good friend Terry Bolton and Stricker going head-to-head against Jim Moynagh. Moynagh and Stricker are the other pair that actually tied, with Moynagh’s 8-ounce penalty accounting for their difference in weight. … Also cutting it close are Klinger and Kennedy, separated by only 10 ounces, with Klinger taking the day-one edge. “I broke a big one off,” Kennedy said. “That’s fishing.”
Feeling hot, hot, hot … Unless you’ve been hiding beneath the cool shade of a rock lately, you know it’s hot outside, as the media has been reporting heat waves across most of the eastern half of the United States. That area includes Alabama, but it’s always hot down here in August. While the rest of us retreated to our air-conditioned homes and offices, the championship contenders were left to sweat it out on Logan Martin without even the benefit of a little shade. “I don’t know how many bottles of water we drank – and never went to the restroom,” said No. 33 seed Ramie Colson Jr., currently leading his bracket by more than 5 pounds over Brent Chapman. “We just sweat it all out. If there hadn’t been a little breeze, I don’t think we could have stood it.” Colson’s only defenses were the bottled water and the wide-brimmed hat he wore to try and keep the sun off his face. “There’s not really anything you can do,” he said. “I thought about the heat all day, but thinking about it and doing something about it are two different things. If I thought I was going to have a heat stroke, I’d dive in the lake.”
No slouches … While perhaps the biggest storyline of the day is how Angler of the Year Anthony Gagliardi leads the field in total weight, one would be remiss not to notice that his Co-angler of the Year counterpart, Andy Montgomery, is no slouch either on the co-angler side, which is not bracketed. Montgomery is currently in fifth place and less than 2 pounds behind the leader with a day-one limit weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces. Neither angler has apparently used his solid regular season as an excuse to sit back and let it ride, with Gagliardi saying, “Everybody’s talking about what a great year I’ve had. I’ve had to remind myself that it’s not over yet.” … Both Gagliardi and Montgomery hail from South Carolina.
Bracket watch update … A look at a few of the more interesting bracket matchups and how the competitors fared: In the Larry Nixon vs. George Cochran bracket, it’s Cochran by an even 2 pounds after day one. The two make an interesting pair given that they are not only two of the most accomplished anglers in the history of bass fishing, but they’re also third cousins by marriage and roommates during practice. “That’s not much against Larry Nixon, 2 pounds,” said Cochran, who is the defending FLW Tour champion. “We stayed together seven days to practice, and he beat me five out of seven days, so I got lucky today.” … Several years ago, Dion Hibdon won the Bassmaster Classic on this very lake, and that title plus his extensive experience made him a near shoo-in over the relatively untested Michael Bennett. But Bennett showed the value of youth today, edging Hibdon by more than a pound. “He’s been fishing longer than I’ve been alive,” Bennett quipped. … In the battle of the Castrol pros, David Dudley currently leads Darrel Robertson by just under 3 pounds. Not only are the two Castrol/Ranger/Yamaha pros, but both are former FLW Tour Championship winners with a lucrative Ranger M1 victory on their resumes as well. “I’m going to catch him tomorrow,” Robertson predicted. “He can come back tomorrow,” Dudley agreed.
Quick numbers:
11: Number of bracket matchups led by the higher seed.
12: Number of bracket matchups led by the lower seed.
1: Number of bracket matchups currently tied.
2-7: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the lowest catch brought in by a pro. The two-bass catch was weighed in by Monroe.
4: Number of Team Chevy pros competing in the championship.
6: Ounces separating co-angler leader Chad Parks from No. 2 Mark Phillips.
Sound bites:
“These fish need some anger-management counseling.” – No. 12 co-angler Matt Scheipeter, regarding the feisty Coosa River bass.
“Sushi.” – Weighmaster Charlie Evans, describing Japanese angler Fukae’s smallest bass.
“I’ve got gray hairs older than that guy right there.” – Veteran Hibdon, discussing the young age of his bracket-mate Bennett.
“That almost would be too much, but I think I could live with it.” – Gagliardi, on the prospect of taking an angler-of-the-year title and a championship title in the same season.
“I’ve got a 6-ounce chip on my shoulder.” – No. 5 seed Scott Martin, who lost the championship on Logan Martin two years ago to Luke Clausen by only 6 ounces. Martin currently leads Art Berry by 3 pounds, 14 ounces.
“That’s what they make shovels for.” – No. 45 seed Wesley Strader, who is in a hole after ending day one more than 6 pounds behind Ray Scheide.
“Last time I advanced because I was lucky. I want to advance because I caught them.” – Fierce competitor Clark Wendlandt, who leads his bracket by 2 pounds, 5 ounces.
Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. Central at Pell City Lakeside Park, located at 2801 Stemley Bridge Road in Pell City.