Shaw shuffles to the lead
Sunshine brings flipping bite to life on day two of Wal-Mart Open
ROGERS, Ark. – After an hour and a half fog delay this morning, anglers fishing the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake were greeted with high, bright, cloudless skies for the remainder of day two.
The loss of fishing time plus the inverted conditions from yesterday’s rain and all day cloud cover shook the field up even more than it had been with the high, muddy water.
Whether it was the fog delay, the sunshine, the fishing pressure or a combination of all, the weights fell off substantially on day two. All total, there about half as many 10-pound plus limits weighed in today as compared to yesterday.
From the looks of the leader board, flipping became more of a player today with the intense sunshine.
Leading the event is Kellogg’s pro Alvin Shaw of State Road, N.C., who revealed that keeping a jig in his hand was the key to his day-two catch of 13 pounds, 6 ounces, which gives him a two-day total of 26 pounds, 2 ounces.
Shaw has committed himself to a jig over the last two days and he’s fishing it in different ways.
“I’m not keying on anything specific,” Shaw said. “Sometimes I’m pitching it, sometimes I’m flipping it in there real soft and letting it go to the bottom, sometimes I’m firing it way back into the thick stuff and swimming it out. I am staying with the same jig – an old style Rattle Back with a Zoom green pumpkin trailer on 20-pound test Gamma fluorocarbon – but I’m fishing however I need to get a bite.”
Shaw noted he had a better day today than yesterday in terms of number of keepers.
“Basically, this lake fishes just like Buggs Island back home,” he added. “I’m just pretending I’m on Buggs and going fishing.”
Newby second
Berkley pro Sam Newby of Pocola, Okla., moved to second place today thanks to 
his day-two catch of 12 pounds, 1 ounce for a total of 25 pounds, 8 ounces.
Newby, too, is flipping, though he was hesitant to say exactly what lure he’s using.
Instead, he noted that with today’s calm, sunny conditions his fish are very skittish.
“It’s all about the presentation,” Newby said. “I have to ease the bait in there softly with no splash because the fish are so shallow.”
To give an idea of how shallow he is fishing, Newby said one of his bigger fish nosed down on his bait today after a silent pitch and he actually saw the fish’s tail come up out of the water as it went down to pounce on the bait.
“I’ve got one place that’s a real honey hole,” he added. “It doesn’t work until late in the afternoon, though. I culled everything I had in there yesterday afternoon. I started in that spot this morning and didn’t catch much. But when I returned this afternoon, I caught two four pounders.”
Pack third
Day one leader Mark Pack of Mineola, Texas, slipped to third today with a 10-pound, 3-ounce catch which gave him a two-day total of 25 pounds, even.
“I fished hard for about four hours this morning, but once I got to 10 pounds I figured I had enough to make it and I laid off a little,” Pack said. “During the day, I probably went through about 15 keepers.”
Pack is dialed into a shad spawn pattern on shallow rock flats.
“These are the same exact places I fished the last time the water was high here,” he said. “The shad wad up on these rock flats and the bass are right in there with them.”
Pack, who owns Lake Fork Trophy Tackle, is using a jig backed with one of his new Hyper-Tail worms.
“It’s a paddle-tail type worm that has ribs for a lot more vibration,” he explained. “I’m putting it on the back of a jig and swimming it over the flat rock. I’m also using a crankbait occasionally as well.”
Arey fourth
Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C., moved to fourth place today with 12 pounds, 13 ounces 
for a two-day total of 24 pounds, 14 ounces.
Like fellow North Carolinians Alvin Shaw and Joel Richardson, Arey says Beaver reminds him of a flooded Buggs Island right now.
His primary pattern revolves around bait wads, but he said it’s not necessarily a shad spawn.
“Bait is a big key to my best places,” he confirmed. “There are some shad in there, but they’re not spawning. Also, there is some other type of small minnows mixed in there with the shad. I have no clue what they are – they look like small glass minnows – maybe they’re some kind of alewives, I don’t know. But those balls of bait are definitely a key.”
Mabrey fifth
Kyle Mabrey of McCalla, Ala., rounds out the top five with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 2 ounces.
Big bass
Bill Day of Frankfort, Ky., caught the big bass in the Pro Division on day two weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top-10 pros in the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake who have made the cut to advance to the final round:
6th: Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., two-day total of 23-4
7th: Mike Hawkes of Sabinal, Texas, two-day total of 22-12
8th: Richard Strother of Tyler, Texas, two-day total of 22-10
9th: Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark., two-day total of 22-8
10th: George Cochran of Hot Springs, Ark., two-day total of 22-4
Taliaferro leads co-anglers
Local angler Jared Taliaferro of Rogers, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division of the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake with a two-day total of 18 pounds, 11 ounces.
Taliaferro continued to swim a 3/8-ounce Arkie jig with a Rage-Tail trailer to take the lead today while fishing with pro Kevin Long.
“The whole key has been to get to the bank and fish shallow,” said Taliaferro. “Once my pros get me around flooded bank grass and bushes, I’m swimming that jig, trying to contact it with anything – that’s what triggers the bites.”
Berkley Co-angler Stetson Blaylock has tracked down yet another FLW top 10 with a second place showing of 16 pounds, 14 ounces.
Blaylock has fished with pros Tommy Martin and Rob Kilby over the last two days.
Both pros had Blaylock in the muddy water and he adapted by fishing a Chatterbait and flipping a tube.
“I’m mixing and matching as I see fit,” Blaylock said. “When I’m way back in the thick 
stuff I flip the tube and when I’m out where it’s not as cluttered, I go with the Chatterbait.
Incidentally, Blaylock will be fishing with Berkley teammate Sam Newby tomorrow – he hopes it’s and omen for a win.
Bryan Talmadge of Pell City, Ala., the co-angler winner of the first FLW Tour event of 2008 on Lake Toho, will be looking for his second win of the season tomorrow with another top-10 qualification.
Talmadge boated 11 pounds, 5 ounces today to qualify third with a two-day total of 16 pounds, 3 ounces.
Danny Faught of Rogers, Ark., is in fourth place with a two-day total of
15 pounds, 6 ounces.
Chad Pipkens of Holt, Mich., is in fifth place with a two-day total of 15 pounds, 6 ounces.
Big bass
Brian Chenowith of Russellville, Ark., caught the big bass in the Co-angler Division on day two weighing 5 pounds, 2 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers in the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake who will fish the final round:
6th: Burl Smith of Prairie Grove, Ark., two-day total of 15-0
7th: Bill Jarvis of Carthage, Miss., two-day total of 14-13
8th: Gregory Auzenne of Panama City, Fla., two-day total of 14-9
9th: Steven Meador of Bella Vista, Ark., two-day total of 13-11
10th: David Lauer of South Bend, Ind., two-day total of 13-1
Day three of the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake will begin Saturday at 6:30 a.m. from Prairie Creek Marina located at 1 Prairie Creek Marina Drive in Rogers, Ark.