Rose knows best
Suave pro drags jigs for day-one FLW Series lead at Pickwick
FLORENCE, Ala. – One of the favored bass-catching strategies pros used to employ during major bass tournaments at Pickwick Lake was to run as far as possible away from the lake, either by locking up into Wilson and Wheeler or running far down the Tombigbee Waterway.
Not so anymore. Many pros noted that fishing on Pickwick has returned to a “decent” level, and that showed at the day-one weigh-in of the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division event today.
Consider that after day one, 50th place is 9 pounds even. The last time the Wal-Mart FLW Tour visited Pickwick in March 2006, 50th place was 10 pounds, 3 ounces after two days.
Clearly, fishing on Pickwick is now much better. Another testament to that notion is that Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., is leading the event with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces.
Rose’s weight is not so much the story as Rose himself, who has always favored Wheeler over Pickwick.
“Yeah, normally I like Wheeler better, especially in the spring, but the fishing on Pickwick seems to be really good right now,” Rose said. “After what I found in practice, I figured there was no need in sacrificing all that fishing time to get to Wheeler.”
Rose fished the mid- to lower lake area of Pickwick around Yellow Creek to catch eight keeper largemouth bass.
“I’m fishing a Strike King football jig in 14 to 16 feet of water,” Rose said. “I’ve got four really good spots that feature deep bars and points. One of those areas produced my two biggest fish today.”
Bolton second
Yamaha pro Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., weighed in five bass for 16 pounds, 7 
ounces to start the event in second place.
Bolton is a deep-water guru on Tennessee Valley Authority lakes, which was evident today.
“Yeah, I’m fishing deep and I’m fishing lures that have skirts – I’ll put it that way,” Bolton said with a chuckle. “Timing is everything here, because the fish are just running around out there chasing bait. They might push the shad up to surface one minute and then chase the shad back down to the bottom in 25 feet the next minute.”
Instead of catching fish when they surface, Bolton said he is catching his fish when they go back down to the bottom.
“I sat with one school that was feeding on top,” he explained. “Then they finally chased the shad back down to the bottom, and I had a flurry of action on my skirted lure. And that seems to be the only time I can catch them is when they go down to the bottom like that.”
Hibdon third
Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., brought in five bass for 16 pounds even to start the tournament in third place.
After getting his behind spanked by his legendary father, Guido, at Lake Champlain last month, Dion decided to heed his father’s advice.
Guido dominated the Lake Champlain FLW Series event by fishing docks with a jig – a technique that the Hibdons essentially trademarked – so that’s exactly what Dion did today.
“I struggled around for a couple days in practice trying to catch those smallmouths without much success,” Hibdon said. “On the last day of practice, I finally pulled over to a row of docks to do what dad and I do best and caught a couple nice largemouths. Once again, I was trying to make this a lot harder than it needs to be.
“So today I just camped on a row of docks, hitting every nook and cranny with a little ol’ jig, and by 1:30 I had a decent limit.”
Mann fourth
Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Ga., captured five bass weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces 
for a fourth-place start.
Mann is another pro who loves fishing deep water.
“I’m fishing a green Yamamoto cut-tail worm on a 5/16-ounce Spot Remover jighead in about 20 feet of water,” Mann said. “A lot of those deep places I’m fishing have rock and wood along the bottom. And that’s really it, just getting that Spot Remover down there in the cover until one thumps it.”
Morgenthaler fifth
Rounding out the top five after day one is Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., with a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces.
Morgenthaler was the only top-five pro to mention grass as a primary component of his pattern.
“I’m catching them from grass in about 8 feet of water,” Morgenthaler said. “And I’m not really milking any one area. I’ve got 15 to 20 spots, and I make one pass through each one and then move on.”
Big bass
Kyle Mabrey of McCalla, Ala., caught the Snickers Big Bass in the Pro Division on day one, weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros in the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern event on Lake Pickwick after day one:
6th: Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., five bass, 14-12
7th: Kyle Mabrey of McCalla, Ala., five bass, 14-8
8th: Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 14-0
8th: Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., five bass, 14-0
10th: Jamey Clovis of Morgantown, W.Va., five bass, 13-13
Gildernew leads co-anglers
Imagine going to an FLW Series tournament, drawing out legendary pro Larry Nixon, having a fantastic time catching bass all day and then coming to find out you are leading the tournament in the Co-angler Division.
That’s exactly what happened to Edward Gildernew of Zelienople, Pa., today. He checked in four bass weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces to start the tournament in first place.
“It was like a dream come true,” Gildernew said. “Larry is a great guy to fish with – what an exciting day.”
Gildernew fished his own homemade jigs behind Nixon all day.
“I pour my own 1/2-ounce jigs and make my own living rubbing skirts to go on them,” he said. “It’s a dark-colored jig with a Zoom trailer. Making my own jigs gives me a lot of confidence; if I’m in the right kind of water, I’ll throw it again tomorrow.”
Rest of the best
Chris Cox of Bethel Springs, Tenn., fished with Bounty pro Jacob Powroznik today to
sack up three bass weighing 11 pounds, 2 ounces for second place.
Gilbert Herald of Pittsburg, Texas, is in third place with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces.
Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark., holds down the fourth-place position with four bass weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces.
Thomas Helton of Charleston, Tenn., and Michael McCoy of Mentor, Ohio, are tied for fifth place, each with 7 pounds, 14 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division event on Lake Pickwick after day one:
7th: Marty Scroggins of Trion, Ga., five bass, 7-6
8th: Robert Russell of Smyrna, Tenn., five bass, 7-5
9th: James Richardson, Sr., of Harrison, Ohio, five bass, 7-4
10th: Robert Tanksley of Crossville, Tenn., five bass, 6-13
Big bass
Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark., caught the Snickers Big Bass in the Co-Angler Division on day one, a smallmouth weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces.
Day two of the FLW Series Eastern event on Lake Pickwick begins Thursday morning at 7 at McFarland Park located on James M. Spain Drive in Florence.