Quick Bites: FLW Tour Lake Norman, Day 1
Wal-Mart FLW Tour National Guard Open
Lake Norman, Concord, N.C.
Opening round, Thursday
Building Bridges … It’s common practice for pros and co-anglers to prefish together for a tournament, but pro Gary Yamamoto and co-angler Pete Bridges have gone the distance, practicing together for six years and racking up a lot of success in the process. As tournament draws are totally random, it was definitely a cool coincidence today when Yamamoto and Bridges were paired together. Well, maybe it wasn’t so cool. “I don’t like him fishing behind me,” Yamamoto said as Bridges listened on with amusement. “He knows all the tricks.” Turns out this isn’t the first time the pair have managed to be randomly paired at a tournament. “Six years ago, we drew out on Okeechobee and did poorly,” Yamamoto said. “We did just fair today. Once, I made the top 10 at Kentucky Lake, and so did he, and we thought we’d fish together. We didn’t, and the person who did fish with me got the top prize.” … As for Bridges, if Yamamoto thinks he knows all the tricks, it’s because he taught them to the co-angler himself. “It’s just a wonderful experience,” Bridges said. “He taught me everything I know. I didn’t know anything about fishing. We go everywhere together.” For some people, though, the fact that they were paired together was almost too much. “Everybody in the whole place thought we were cheating,” Bridges laughed. … Yamamoto may be King of the Senko as founder of the famed Yamamoto Custom Baits company, but Bridges does him one better: He’s the mayor of Tallapoosa, Ga.
Worlds collide … With this week’s tournament right in the thick of NASCAR country, several anglers have had the chance to meet and fish with big-name racing stars. Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt was no exception, as he spent some time on Lake Norman with Kellogg’s NASCAR young gun Kyle Busch earlier this week for a television segment. “We had a great day,” Wendlandt said. “It was fun being out there with him.” … The similarities between professional fishing and professional racing are hard to miss. “I think corporate sponsorship is awfully important for NASCAR, and it’s really important for us,” Wendlandt said. “Also, Kyle and I share Kellogg’s. They put our fishing trip together, and it was an honor to fish with him.” Fun as it was, Wendlandt refrained from describing it as “gr-r-reat!”
Cook-ing segment … Wendlandt and Busch aren’t the only ones having fun this week. North Carolina pro David Cook got to hang out with one of NASCAR’s biggest stars and most avid fishing fans – Ryan Newman. “We did a little TV show on my hometown, showing what Mooresville has to offer,” Cook said. “We went fishing that morning and went to his race shop that afternoon, so we talked fishing in the morning and racing in the afternoon.” … Newman has long been open about his enthusiasm for bass fishing, as he reportedly lives on Lake Norman and is known to catch a few bass out of the infield lake at Homestead Miami Speedway. “He’s a good fisherman and an avid angler,” Cook said. “He’s been fishing for a long time, and he likes to support FLW.” … After Cook and Newman parted ways, Cook got a little taste of what Newman’s life must feel like: He raced a stock car at 160 mph at the Jeff Gordon Racing School. We hope he managed to keep the outboard running a little slower than that today.
Back from the dead … To say numbers were good today on Lake Norman would be an understatement. One hundred and ninety-eight pros and 183 co-anglers caught fish, and 178 five-bass limits were caught on the pro side. All total, 1,516 bass were weighed in today. The numbers are significant because as early as 2002, this lake was referred to as the “Dead Sea” for its pitifully low bass population. That has all changed due in large part to a recent influx of baitfish. “I’ve been fishing here for 22 years, and I won the first tournament I ever fished up here, back around 1991,” said pro Maurice Freeze of Concord. “At that time, 10 or 11 pounds would win a tournament. The last four years, the fish have really increased in size.” The reason why Norman bass are getting plumper and more prevalent is a much stronger population of alewives, blueback herrings and white perch, otherwise known as prime bass munchies. “The lake has gotten a whole lot more fertile,” Freeze said. “Before, it was very hard to catch 14-inch fish. It was the Dead Sea – nobody wanted to come here.” That opinion has certainly changed, as angler after angler sang the lake’s praises on the weigh-in stage. “There are as many fish here as anywhere as far as numbers are concerned,” said pro Tom Mann Jr.
Well wishes … The traveling road show that is the FLW Tour often creates a family-like atmosphere among competitors, staff and sponsors. One of the most well-known FLW Tour characters is National Guard Sgt. First Class Frank O’Laughlin, currently absent from the festivities as he is recovering from a hard-fought battle with lung cancer. His absence is clearly felt, as evidenced by the number of National Guard team anglers who wished him well from the weigh-in stage. “I really miss Frank,” said pro Derek Jones. “If he’s listening, I’m thinking about him and I can’t wait to see him.” … The feeling is obviously mutual. National Guard anglers Ramie Colson Jr. and Pam Wood both reported receiving good-luck phone calls from O’Laughlin this morning. Get well soon, Sarge!
Who you calling amateur? … FLW Tour co-anglers are known for being mighty handy with a net, but Wood made it look downright easy today. Fishing with pro Tom Monsoor, Wood was in the process of removing her sweatshirt when she caught a flying bass in the net with one arm in the sweatshirt and one out. “He was reeling in that fish, and it jumped, and he thought I missed it,” Wood said. “Tom’s crazy; it really wasn’t that spectacular.” We beg to differ, as netting airborne fish is hard to do with two hands, much less one.
Cattin’ around … Just as anglers have been impressed with the fishery this week, they’ve been equally impressed with the locals. There are docks galore to fish on Lake Norman, and according to the “dock talk,” most of the owners have been quick to greet the competitors fishing their docks and wish them well. One of them possessed an especially zealous bent, as he thought he had caught a tournament fisherman cheating. Turns out, not so much. “I was prefishing yesterday morning by this guy’s dock, and he said, `Are you in that bass tournament?'” said pro Wes Thomas. “He asked, `Are you allowed to tie fish to jugs and get them later? Because there’s a jug with a 3-pound bass hooked to it.'” The man went on to ask Thomas how FLW kept anglers from cheating like that, but Thomas said he knew instantly it couldn’t have been an FLW Tour competitor who pulled such a stunt. He did, however, decide to check out the situation. “I chased the jug down, and turns out, it was a 3-pound catfish on there,” he said. Catfish, bass, what’s the diff? “He was afraid somebody was trying to go outside the rules. When I showed him it was a catfish, he felt a lot better about the whole deal.” What a wonderful ending. Not only was nobody cheating, but the dock owner just found supper!
Quick numbers:
100: Number of pros and co-anglers who will earn a check this week.
5-8: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the day’s heaviest bass, caught by pro Chris Malone.
81: Current standing of Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points leader Dave Lefebre.
100: Current standing of Lefebre’s nearest competition, Darrel Robertson.
3: Lead, in ounces, that current pro leader Jeremiah Kindy has over No. 2 Jim Moynagh.
2: Dozens of rods pro Andy Morgan thinks he had on his boat.
Sound bites:
“I think I caught one on everything I had tied on.” – Morgan, who ultimately caught five worth 12-11 that put him in 27th place.
“With that helicopter this morning, I had chills and tears running down my face.” – National Guard pro Scott Martin, on the Apache helicopter that flew over takeoff this morning.
“I caught one of them in the mouth on the left side and the others on the right side.” – Wacky pro Jimmy Houston on how he caught his day-one bass.
“So one Democrat and four Republicans?” – Weighmaster Evans, in response.
“I had five very conservative bass.” – Houston, probably not looking forward to tonight’s Democratic debate.
“No one’s caught 27 pounds, I can promise you that.” – Weighmaster Keith Lebowitz in response to Moynagh’s audible gasp at seeing 27 pounds register on the scales. The hefty weight was due to Lebowitz’s hand still pressing down on the scale.
“I’m not even thinking about that. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” – Lefebre, as he put his hands over his ears, on his Angler of the Year points lead.
Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. Eastern time at Blythe Landing, located at 15901 NC Highway 73 in Huntersville.