Quick Bites: FLW Tour, Lake Norman, Day 2

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Lake Norman, Charlotte, N.C.

Second round, Friday

Now, that’s a reach … When Odenville, Ala., pro Art Ferguson III spotted a big bass tending her nest on the opposite side of a dock, the situation presented an imperfect, yet imperative casting angle complicated by a lack of firepower. “I had to use light line because of the really clear water. Twelve-pound was the heaviest I had on, but under normal circumstances, I would be using 20-pound-test to try and get a fish over a dock.” Nevertheless, Ferguson pestered the fish until she bit, held his rod tip high to keep the fish from running under the dock and held his breath while his co-angler used every inch of a 6-foot telescoping net to reach over the structure and scoop up a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth that won the Snickers Big Bass award.

Timing is everything … Sean Hoernke of Magnolia, Texas, sight-fished his way into the Pro Division lead with a limit weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces for a two-day total of 27 pounds, 11 ounces. Having fished a local event in the Lone Star State the previous weekend, Hoernke arrived in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday and had only two days of practice time. However, he said the timing of his arrival actually worked in his favor: “A lot of the fish came up last Saturday to spawn, and a lot of the guys marked tons of fish (during practice). But those (diminished) as the week came along, whereas I only started sight-fishing the last day of practice, so I found a lot of my fish just a few days ago. They’re still up on the shorelines, and that’s helped me a bunch.”

Surman goes big … Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla., said Lake Norman’s tremendous bass population can become intoxication, but tournament success depends more on quality than quantity: “This is just a phenomenal lake. If you wanted to catch 100 fish, you could catch 100 fish. I’m using a bigger bait to try and figure out how to catch some bigger fish. This is known as a finesse lake, and I’m finesse fishing to a point, but I’m stepping it up with a little bigger bait.” Fishing a 6 1/2-inch Gambler Sweebo worm rigged on a Gambler Giggy Head, Surman said he’s playing the numbers game: “If you get two big bites a day, you’re really going to do well. One big bite, and you’re just going to be in the hunt like everybody else; but two big bites a day is what you need.”

Down, but not out … Co-angler Wayne Pomeroy of Wellington, Fla., suffered a frightening spill the night before day two when he slipped off his chair while prepping tackle. He said: “I went to sit back on a chair, and the chair went left, I went right. I fell off and busted my head open. There was a big puddle of blood, and my wife was freaking out so bad that I thought I was going to have to drive myself to the hospital.” Despite an emergency-room visit that left three staples in his scalp, Pomeroy showed up for the day-two checkout and endured a day of discomfort. “I wasn’t feeling well all day, but I (was paired with) Melinda Mize Hooper, and there was no way I was going to let her down.” Pomeroy finished 42nd with 14-9.

Already a champion … Making the co-angler top-10 cut in second place,Shane Lehew of Charlotte, N.C., already knows what it takes to win the whole enchilada. In 2007, Lehew won The Bass Federation Junior World Championship. “I think that (winning the championship) was a great experience that will help me in my career. I’d like to turn pro someday, so this was a good start.

Quick numbers:

2: Number of birthdays celebrated by tournament competitors on day two. Pro Woo Daves of Spring Cove, Va., turned 62, while co-angler Deirdre Davison of Tega Cay, S.C., turned one year older than she was on this day in 2007 (C’mon, you don’t ask a lady her age).

86: Number of spots pro Bud Pruitt advanced to reach the top-10 cut. He placed 96th on day one and rocketed into 10th on day two with the heaviest stringer of the day – 15-15.

0: Number of spectators who could keep their eyes off 11-month-old Abbie Defoe, even as her dad Ott Defoe weighed a 4-pound, 12-ounce largemouth that briefly held the Snickers Big Bass lead.

4: Price, in dollars, of a fine barbecue pork sandwich from Armins Catering, which kept one FLWOutdoors reporter running during the three-hour weigh-ins (Armins set up outside the weigh-in tent).

2: Number of shoe colors worn by Tyrone Phillips. With a yellow Croc on his right foot and an orange Croc on his left, the fashion-forward co-angler from Little Rock, Ark., matched well with the red and yellow of his Land O’Lakes sponsor jersey.

182: Number pro limits.

60: Number of co-angler limits.

Sound bites:

“Either I was off or the fish were off – I’m gonna blame the fish.” – Legendary pro Jimmy Houston, on finishing in 200th place.

“I’m catching mostly postspawn fish, but if there’s a prespawn fish in (my spot), he’s more than welcome to bite as well.” – Jim Moynagh, on his open-minded approach to Lake Norman’s bass (Share the love, brother).

“Freaky-awesome-great!” – Davison, responding to the news that she had made the co-angler top-10 cut.

“I hope he catches them, but I sure don’t want to wash his boat. That’s just no fun.” – Dion Hibdon, describing his conflicted feelings about how his father, Guido, would fare in the tournament. Each time both Hibdons compete in the same event, the one with the lowest score washes the other’s boat.

“I will be back.” – Mike McDonald, the FLW pro sidelined with pancreatic cancer, stated that he intends to return to competition once he completes about six months of chemotherapy.

Day three of FLW Tour action on Lake Norman continues at Saturday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. EDT at Blythe Landing Marina, located at 15901 NC Highway 73, Huntersville, NC.