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 FLW Championship: Lake Hamilton

Hot Springs, AR

Preview | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Preview: FLW Championship: Lake Hamilton

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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. Anglers from 32 states, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Italy and Spain have fished the lucrative Wal-Mart FLW Tour all season for the right to compete in bass fishing's biggest event the $1.5 million Forrest L. Wood Championship presented by Castrol. Now the time has come for the top 48 pros in the world to square off in head-to-head competition July 13-16 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs for a shot at the sport's largest award $500,000 cash.
Anglers who qualified for the tour's 10th anniversary championship following the six qualifying events are seeded according to their Land O Lakes Angler of the Year rankings and No. 1 will compete against No. 48, No. 2 against No. 47, No. 3 against No. 46, etc. This unique format is sure to produce some exciting matches.
Championship contenders will take off from Fish Hatchery Ramp, located at 350 Fish Hatchery Road in Hot Springs at 7 a.m. each day, and daily weigh-ins will be held at 5 p.m. in Summit Arena adjacent to the Hot Springs Convention Center. The championship's boat and outdoor show featuring more than 140 exhibits; fishing seminars by Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, Guido Hibdon, Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends; and free daily giveaways runs 2 to 8 p.m. July 13 and 14, noon to 9 p.m. July 15, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 16. One lucky fan attending the final weigh-in Saturday, July 16 will win a new Ranger Z20 Comanche bass boat powered by Yamaha courtesy of Allen Tillery Chevrolet. Two qualifiers will be drawn for the boat giveaway during each day s 5 p.m. weigh-in, with the final two qualifiers and the eventual winner drawn Saturday, July 16. You must be present to qualify and win. Admission is free, and entry forms will be available at the outdoor show.
Thanks to growing sponsor support and incredible payouts that rival other professional sports like golf, tennis and NASCAR, competitive bass fishing is more popular than ever before. This popularity among the nation's 50 million fishing enthusiasts is expected to produce an economic impact approaching $50 million as thousands of fans, hundreds of sponsor representatives and support personnel, and hundreds of vendors visit the region for this one-of-a-kind event.
The Forrest L. Wood Championship will also produce significant worldwide media coverage. Last year's championship in Birmingham, Ala., produced articles with a total circulation exceeding 45 million copies. In terms of advertising dollars, that kind of exposure would cost more than $1.4 million. Hot Springs can expect similar exposure, which will further elevate the region's reputation as a bass-fishing destination.
The complete championship field and head-to-head pairings are posted at FLWOutdoors.com.
Following the two-day opening round, 24 pros advance to the semifinal round based on their two-day accumulated weight. Head-to-head competition continues in the one-day semifinal round, after which 12 pros advance to the final round. The 12 finalists start from zero and compete for one day to determine the winner of the sport's top award: $500,000. Even the pro who finishes 48th earns $15,000 just for qualifying.
Forty-eight co-anglers, who are paired with the pros and fish from the back deck, will compete for two days, after which the top 24 anglers based on accumulated weight advance to the third and final day of co-angler competition. Weights are cleared for the co-angler final round, and the winner takes home $25,000.

Day 1: $500,000 Battle Begins at FLW Championship

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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala., the No. 4 seed in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Forrest L. Wood Championship presented by Castrol on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, brought in the heaviest catch on day one in the quest to win the largest award in professional bass fishing - $500,000. Herren's catch, a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces, was anchored by two solid bass - a 4-pounder and a 5-pounder he caught from deep-water brush piles.
Temperatures in the 90s and heavy humidity greeted anglers Wednesday. With very tough fishing conditions during practice, many anglers were less than confident heading into the tournament. As evidenced by the day-one weights, the bass did not make it easier for the pros. Most of the pros brought relatively small catches to the scales, although a few anglers broke the 12-pound mark.
"I got fortunate. I had a strong pattern during practice," Herren said. "I've been getting two or three good bites each day."
Herren said the key to hooking up with a hefty Lake Hamilton bass is just a matter of being in the right place with the right lure at the right time. In this case, the right time proved to be during the searing heat of midday, as Herren reported catching most of his bass between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Herren is facing No. 45 seed Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., who caught a respectable limit of five bass weighing 8 pounds. With another day left before the first cut in the bracket, however, Monsoor cannot be counted out of the competition.
"There's lots of pressure," Herren said. "I have some water that I haven't fished yet, so I'll just have to go out tomorrow and do my best."
The brush-pile bite was the predominant pattern among the pros during the first day of competition, although a few anglers reported catching some schooling, early morning bass on topwater lures.
The four-day tournament will conclude Saturday with the winning pro walking away $500,000 richer. The top 48 anglers from the six-event 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Tour advanced to the championship, the most lucrative bass tournament in the history of the sport. Anglers were seeded according to their year-end ranking, with the No. 1 pro fishing head-to-head against the No. 48 seed, the No. 2 seed fishing against the No. 47 seed, and so on.
Six pros in the event are from Arkansas, but only two carried their brackets on day one. Most notably was Chevy Larry Nixon of Bee Branch - the No. 24 seed - who caught a five-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, giving him close to a 4-pound lead over rookie sensation, No. 25 seed Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. Nixon said he had been on an early morning, shallow-water bite during practice, but that patterned waned, as the morning's takeoff wasn't until well after daybreak.
"I've caught some shallow and some deep," Nixon said. "I caught five keepers total and one small fish." The heavy haze that hung in the air on the first day hurt his fishing, but Nixon added that some cloud cover could help the bass bite.
No. 1 seed and 2005 Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., brought in four bass weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces, giving him a comfortable lead over his competitor, No. 48 seed and Kellogg's pro Sam Newby of Pocola, Okla. Newby caught one keeper weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces.
Upsetting No. 2 pro Toshinari Namiki of Hachioji-City, Japan, was No. 47 seed Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio. Namiki, who's had a fantastic season with four top-10 finishes, brought one bass weighing 2 pounds, 1 ounce to the scale, while Vatalaro weighed in 5 pounds, 1 ounce.
Vatalaro also caught his fish from deep-water brush piles, and he caught numerous bass during the course of the day few were keepers. Vatalaro targeted shallow-water bass with topwater lures early in the day, but that bite didn't pan out. Eventually, he moved out to deeper water and turned to fishing with spinning tackle - his favorite method of fishing.
Slipping under the radar was a shoot-out between two Western pros - No. 31 seed John Murray of Phoenix, Ariz., and No. 18 seed Ken Wick of Star, Idaho. Wick landed a respectable catch weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces, but Murray boated a limit weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces - one of only three catches to break the 10-pound mark during day one.
"I'm probably doing stuff that no one else is doing," Murray said. "The daytime bite can be really tough in Arizona, so I adapted some of the things I use out there to this lake. I flipped some shallow docks, but for the most part, I fished a drop-shot with a 5 1/2-inch curly-tail worm."
On the co-angler side, Russell Burroughs of Jacksonville, Ala., topped the field with a day-one catch of three bass weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces. Co-anglers had a particularly tough competition on the first day, as only the top 32 anglers caught enough bass to break the 1-pound mark. The 48 co-anglers compete against thee entire field, with the top 24 advancing after day two. Co-angler competition concludes Friday with the winner taking home $25,000 cash.
In conjunction with the championship is a world-class outdoor show at the Hot Springs Convention Center and Summit Arena featuring more than 140 exhibits and free daily giveaways, including 500 hats and T-shirts, 500 tackle kits, 500 tackle boxes and 1,500 rods and reels courtesy of KATV in Little Rock. The outdoor show also features daily fishing seminars by Hank Parker, Chevy pro Jimmy Houston, Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Guido Hibdon, Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends.
Admission is absolutely free and show hours run 2 to 8 p.m. July 14, noon to 9 p.m. July 15, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 16. One lucky fan attending the final weigh-in Saturday will win a new Ranger Z-20 Comanche bass boat powered by Yamaha courtesy of Allen Tillery Chevrolet. Qualifiers for the boat giveaway will be drawn daily, and you must be present to qualify and win.
Championship contenders will take off from Fish Hatchery Ramp, located at 350 Fish Hatchery Road in Hot Springs at 7 a.m. each day, and daily weigh-ins will be held at 5 p.m. in Summit Arena adjacent to the Hot Springs Convention Center.
 

Seed Name City, State Lbs. Ozs.
1 GREG HACKNEY GONZALES, LA 4 7
48 SAM NEWBY POCOLA, OK 1 11

25 BOBBY LANE LAKELAND, FL 5 10
24 LARRY NIXON BEE BRANCH, AR 9 0

47 VIC VATALARO KENT, OH 5 1
2 TOSHINARI NAMIKI HACHIOJI-CITY, JAPAN 2 1

26 CHAD GRIGSBY COLON, MI 6 12
23 JEREMIAH KINDY BENTON, AR 6 2

3 ANTHONY GAGLIARDI PROSPERITY, SC 7 14
46 DAN MOREHEAD PADUCAH, KY 3 13

27 ZELL ROWLAND MONTGOMERY, TX 1 8
22 DWAYNE HORTON KNOXVILLE, TN 1 12

4 MATT W HERREN TRUSSVILLE, AL 12 15
45 TOM MONSOOR LA CROSSE, WI 8 0

28 ALVIN SHAW STATE ROAD, NC 8 0
21 ALTON JONES WACO, TX 6 13

44 TRACY ADAMS WILKESBORO, NC 12 12
5 DAVE LEFEBRE ERIE, PA 4 8

20 ART BERRY HEMET, CA 6 2
29 WESLEY STRADER SPRING CITY, TN 6 15

6 KOBY KREIGER OKEECHOBEE, FL 4 15
43 LENDELL MARTIN JR NACOGDOCHES, TX 3 2

30 KELLY JORDON MINEOLA, TX 5 4
19 ROBERT KARBAS JR WAKE FOREST, NC 4 3

7 GARY Y YAMAMOTO MINEOLA, TX 4 4
42 ANDY MORGAN DAYTON, TN 8 9

31 JOHN MURRAY PHOENIX, AZ 12 10
18 KEN WICK STAR, ID 7 11

8 J T KENNEY FROSTBURG, MD 5 3
41 MICHAEL BENNETT ROSEVILLE, CA 3 8

17 MIKE HAWKES SABINAL, TX 5 11
32 MARK ROSE MARION, AR 5 2

40 RANDY BLAUKAT LAMAR, MO 1 12
9 BRENT CHAPMAN LAKE QUIVIRA, KS 7 0

33 SANDY MELVIN BOCA GRANDE, FL 3 6
16 GEORGE E COCHRAN HOT SPRINGS, AR 3 7

39 MICKEY BRUCE BUFORD, GA 5 0
10 GREG PUGH CULLMAN, AL 2 13

15 TAKAHIRO OMORI EMORY, TX 7 1
34 ROB KILBY HOT SPRINGS, AR 2 4

38 DEAN ROJAS GRAND SALINE, TX 6 9
11 TODD FAIRCLOTH JASPER, TX 1 6

14 CODY BIRD GRANBURY, TX 5 1
35 DANNY CORREIA MARLBOROUGH, MA 9 1

37 TODD ARY MOODY, AL 6 11
12 SCOTT SUGGS BRYANT, AR 5 3

13 CHIP HARRISON BREMEN, IN 5 2
36 STEVE KENNEDY AUBURN, AL 3 12
 

Day 2: 24 Advance at the FLW Championship

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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., the No. 44 seed in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Forrest L. Wood Championship presented by Castrol on Lake Hamilton, brought in the heaviest two-day catch during the first round of competition. Adams' catch, anchored by Wednesday's 12-pound, 12-ounce limit, weighed a total of 23 pounds, 5 ounces. Friday's semifinal round will determine which 12 pros advance to fish Saturday for the sport's richest first-place award - $500,000.
"I'm just flipping a jig around docks and seawalls," Adams said of his fishing pattern. "I've been staying shallow and covering lots of water. The bite was quite a bit slower today than it was yesterday."
Adams upset No. 5 seed Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., and he will advance to face No. 29 seed Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., in Friday's semifinal round.
Adams acknowledged that he'll have his work cut out for him while fishing against Strader but said he still has a game plan for Friday. "I was only catching about 7 pounds in practice," Adams said. "So I think I can catch a few more."
Anglers again dealt with steamy temperatures and humidity Thursday, although some cloud cover and rain moved in later in the day. Catches were small Wednesday, and anglers also struggled to catch quality fish Thursday.
Other notable finishes included the shoot-out between Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., and rookie pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. Nixon, the No. 24 seed, hauled in a two-day total weight of 17 pounds, 8 ounces. Lane, the No. 25 seed, held his own by catching 15 pounds, 5 ounces, but was cut from the competition.
While Nixon chose to keep the exact make of his bass-catching lures to himself, he did disclose that he was fishing fast and covering a lot of shallow water with soft-plastic lures and several hard baits.
Nixon will go on to face No. 1 seed and Land O' Lakes Angler of the Year Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La.
"Competing for a half-million dollars while fishing against my hero in the sport is just awesome," Hackney said.
The four-day tournament will conclude Saturday with the winning pro walking away $500,000 richer. The top 48 anglers from the six-event 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Tour advanced to the championship - the most lucrative bass tournament in the history of the sport. Anglers were seeded according to their year-end ranking, with the No. 1 pro fishing head-to-head against the No. 48 seed, the No. 2 seed fishing against the No. 47 seed, and so on.
No. 12 seed, and one of six pros from Arkansas who were fishing the event, was Scott Suggs of Bryant. Suggs out-fished his opponent, No. 37 seed Todd Ary of Moody, Ala., by 1 ounce to advance to the semifinal round. Suggs caught a two-day total weight of 13 pounds, 3 ounces, while Ary landed 13 pounds, 2 ounces.
"I feel so good, it's unbelievable," Suggs said. "I've been fishing for suspended fish with a crankbait along ditch and channel swings. Following schools of shad has been the key."
Suggs will go on to face No. 13 seed Chip Harrison of Bremen, Ind. "Chip and I are fishing pretty close together," Suggs said. "I watched him catch a limit this morning. Who knows what will happen now."
Another Arkansas native and local favorite, No. 16 seed George Cochran of Hot Springs, beat No. 33 seed Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla. Cochran caught a round-one total weighing 10 pounds, 1 ounce to easily overcome Melvin's catch of 4 pounds, 3 ounces.
"I'm a little disappointed," Melvin said of the defeat. "But George's picture is in the book beside professional angler, and this is a difficult lake."
Cochran has been fishing a shallow-water pattern during most of the event. "That's my strong point," Cochran said of shallow-water fishing. "I've been covering lots of water, so I'll stick what I'm comfortable with."
No. 31 seed John Murray of Phoenix, Ariz., brought in one of the largest catches during Wednesday's competition, with a 12-pound, 10-ounce limit. While he only brought two bass to the scale on Thursday weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces, it was enough to displace No. 33 seed Ken Wick of Star, Idaho, and make it to the semifinal round.
"Today was a tough day," Murray said. "I started out practicing because I thought I had a solid lead, but the conditions are changing every day. I actually got stuck on the deep water today, and it hurt me.
"I hit brush piles, and at least eliminated lots of water. I'll be fishing a shallow pattern tomorrow."
On the co-angler side, Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C., led the field with a two-day catch of six bass weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces. "My pattern is no big secret," Arey said. "I'm finesse fishing deep brush with a 4-inch worm rigged on a jighead." The co-anglers compete against an entire field of 48 other co-anglers during the first round of competition, and the field was cut down to the top 24 co-anglers for Friday's final co-angler round.
In conjunction with the championship is a world-class outdoor show at the Hot Springs Convention Center and Summit Arena featuring more than 140 exhibits and free daily giveaways, including 500 hats and T-shirts, 500 tackle kits, 500 tackle boxes and 1,500 rods and reels courtesy of KATV in Little Rock. The outdoor show also features daily fishing seminars by Hank Parker, Chevy pro Jimmy Houston, Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Guido Hibdon, Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends.
Admission is absolutely free and show hours run 2 to 8 p.m. July 14, noon to 9 p.m. July 15, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 16. One lucky fan attending the final weigh-in Saturday will win a new Ranger Z-20 Comanche bass boat powered by Yamaha courtesy of Allen Tillery Chevrolet. Qualifiers for the boat giveaway will be drawn daily, and you must be present to qualify and win.
Championship contenders will take off from Fish Hatchery Ramp, located at 350 Fish Hatchery Road in Hot Springs at 7 a.m. each day, and daily weigh-ins will be held at 5 p.m. in Summit Arena adjacent to the Hot Springs Convention Center.
 

Seed Place Name City, State Total_lbs Total_oz Winnings
1 GREG HACKNEY GONZALES, LA 11 8
48 36 SAM NEWBY POCOLA, OK 8 3 15000.00

24 LARRY NIXON BEE BRANCH, AR 17 8
25 25 BOBBY LANE LAKELAND, FL 15 5 15000.00

2 TOSHINARI NAMIKI HACHIOJI- CITY, TO 7 12
47 41 VIC VATALARO KENT, OH 5 14 15000.00

26 CHAD GRIGSBY COLON, MI 8 14
23 38 JEREMIAH KINDY BENTON, AR 7 5 15000.00

3 ANTHONY GAGLIARDI PROSPERITY, SC 11 7
46 40 DAN MOREHEAD PADUCAH, KY 5 15 15000.00

27 ZELL ROWLAND MONTGOMERY, TX 5 9
22 48 DWAYNE HORTON KNOXVILLE, TN 2 7 15000.00

4 MATT W HERREN TRUSSVILLE, AL 16 8
45 29 TOM MONSOOR LA CROSSE, WI 10 10 15000.00

21 ALTON JONES WACO, TX 13 6
28 28 ALVIN SHAW STATE ROAD, NC 12 6 15000.00

44 TRACY ADAMS WILKESBORO, NC 23 5
5 32 DAVE LEFEBRE ERIE, PA 10 1 15000.00

29 WESLEY STRADER SPRING CITY, TN 15 3
20 31 ART BERRY HEMET, CA 10 1 15000.00

43 LENDELL MARTIN JR NACOGDOCHES, TX 10 0
6 35 KOBY KREIGER OKEECHOBEE, FL 8 8 15000.00

19 ROBERT KARBAS JR WAKE FOREST, NC 9 7
30 42 KELLY JORDON MINEOLA, TX 5 4 15000.00

42 ANDY MORGAN DAYTON, TN 14 13
7 37 GARY Y YAMAMOTO MINEOLA, TX 7 8 15000.00

31 JOHN MURRAY PHOENIX, AZ 14 5
18 33 KEN WICK STAR, ID 9 11 15000.00

8 J T KENNEY FROSTBURG, MD 13 14
41 44 MICHAEL BENNETT ROSEVILLE, CA 5 3 15000.00

17 MIKE HAWKES SABINAL, TX 13 13
32 30 MARK ROSE MARION, AR 10 8 15000.00

9 BRENT CHAPMAN LAKE QUIVIRA, KS 12 4
40 43 RANDY BLAUKAT LAMAR, MO 5 4 15000.00

16 GEORGE E COCHRAN HOT SPRINGS, AR 10 1
33 46 SANDY MELVIN BOCA GRANDE, FL 4 3 15000.00

39 MICKEY BRUCE BUFORD, GA 12 1
10 39 GREG PUGH CULLMAN, AL 6 7 15000.00

15 TAKAHIRO OMORI EMORY, TX 12 3
34 45 ROB KILBY HOT SPRINGS, AR 4 14 15000.00

38 DEAN ROJAS GRAND SALINE, TX 15 7
11 47 TODD FAIRCLOTH JASPER, TX 3 2 15000.00

35 DANNY CORREIA MARLBOROUGH, MA 18 1
14 27 CODY BIRD GRANBURY, TX 12 7 15000.00

12 SCOTT SUGGS BRYANT, AR 13 3
37 26 TODD ARY MOODY, AL 13 2 15000.00

13 CHIP HARRISON BREMEN, IN 10 11
36 34 STEVE KENNEDY AUBURN, AL 8 15 15000.00

Day 3: Twelve Advance to Final Round

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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - J.T. Kenney, a 7UP pro from Frostburg, Md., caught a semifinal-round total of five bass weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces to displace No. 44 seed Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif., and advance to the final round of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Forrest L. Wood Championship presented by Castrol on Lake Hamilton. Friday's semifinal round determined which 12 pros would earn a berth to fish in Saturday's final round for the sport's most lucrative first-place award - $500,000.
"I caught a limit early under the (Hwy. 270) bridge," Kenney said, "but none of them were big. I've caught a limit there every day, and I'll go to the same spot first thing tomorrow. Hopefully I'll catch a limit early then I'll go run a buzzbait the rest of the day. That's what I caught my two best fish on today."
With hot, muggy weather, pressured, clear-water bass and a torrential downpour during the last hours of Friday's competition, anglers struggled to bring keeper bass to the scale all week.
The event began with six Arkansas pros vying for one of the 12 spots in the final round. Now, only two Arkansas pros remain -Larry Nixon of Bee Branch and George Cochran of Hot Springs. Both pros are veterans in the world of tournament bass fishing, and the competition between the two pros, who are also friends of many years, should be intense.
Cochran caught five bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces to beat No. 9 seed Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan.
A crowd favorite, Cochran has displayed a definite home-field advantage on Lake Hamilton. Having been home for only two weeks since January due to his busy tournament schedule, Cochran made it clear that fishing fewer, bigger-money events would be his agenda for 2006, and winning the championship would be a great start to a more relaxed pace. "I'm fishing exclusively the FLW Tour next year," Cochran said.
"I feel good. The field is narrowed down to 12, and I'm real familiar with the lake. I'm hoping for more rain and storms tonight." Cochran has been concentrating on a shallow-water pattern all week, and he said the heavy rains during Friday's competition could help cool the shallows. "I'm just covering lots of water," Cochran said. "I caught five small keepers early today where I thought I could catch them, then left. The larger fish are toward the dam and the hatchery."
Another crowd favorite, Chevy pro and No. 24 seed Larry Nixon caught three bass weighing 4 pounds, 3 ounces to displace Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La.
"It feels good," Nixon said of his advancement to the final round. "Fortunately, Greg didn't have a good day. I'm glad it's over and I squeaked in. I know some places I can go back to Saturday where fished missed my lures today," Nixon said. Several large bass struck at Nixon's offerings on Friday, but he said they never touched the hooks. Like Cochran, Nixon is hoping for more cloud cover on Saturday, as he believes this will cause the bass to commit to striking.
No. 38 seed Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas, boated a nice catch of four bass weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce - the second heaviest catch of the semifinal round.
"Things went pretty well today," Rojas said. "I just didn't get enough bites for a limit. But I'm in the right area on the right quality fish. I caught my fish on my (Bronze-Eyed) frog."
Friday's action saw the conclusion of the co-angler competition after the co-angler field cut down from 48 to 24 on Thursday. Trevor Janscasz of White Pigeon, Mich., walked away with a check for $25,000, thanks to his tournament-winning catch of three bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces. "I feel great. I've never been tingling so hard in my life!" Janscasz said, shortly after exiting the stage with his prize check.
"I was catching my bass with a 5-inch cut-tail worm, rigged on a 1/8-ounce ballhead jig," Jascasz said. "I caught my first couple fish from weeds, but my largest bass came from a creek channel."
Also notable in the Co-angler Division was Kim Bain of Brisbane, Australia, who caught one bass in the final round to slip to 12th place. Bain was the highest-qualifying female angler to ever fish the championship, and she sat in the top 10 at the end of day two.
"I'm really proud of myself," Bain said. "I've been consistent throughout the year, and I've learned so much. It's really great being here, but I knew the fishing would be tough. But, we all love to fish, and that's why we're here."
In conjunction with the championship is a world-class outdoor show at the Hot Springs Convention Center and Summit Arena featuring more than 140 exhibits and free daily giveaways, including 500 hats and T-shirts, 500 tackle kits, 500 tackle boxes and 1,500 rods and reels courtesy of KATV in Little Rock. The outdoor show also features daily fishing seminars by Hank Parker, Chevy pro Jimmy Houston, Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Guido Hibdon, Forrest L. Wood and other bass-fishing legends.
Admission is absolutely free and show hours run from noon to 9 p.m. July 15, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 16. One lucky fan attending the final weigh-in Saturday will win a new Ranger Z-20 Comanche bass boat powered by Yamaha courtesy of Allen Tillery Chevrolet. Qualifiers for the boat giveaway will be drawn daily, and you must be present to qualify and win.
 

Seed Name City, State Caught Day 3 lbs Day 3 oz Winnings
3 ANTHONY GAGLIARDI PROSPERITY, SC 2 1 9
27 ZELL ROWLAND MONTGOMERY, TX 0 0 0 16000.00

8 J T KENNEY FROSTBURG, MD 5 8 11
17 MIKE HAWKES SABINAL, TX 5 4 10 17000.00

13 CHIP HARRISON BREMEN, IN 5 5 8
12 SCOTT SUGGS BRYANT, AR 2 2 3 16000.00

15 TAKAHIRO OMORI EMORY, TX 5 7 2
39 MICKEY BRUCE BUFORD, GA 5 5 6 17000.00

16 GEORGE E COCHRAN HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 5 15
9 BRENT CHAPMAN LAKE QUIVIRA, KS 4 4 12 17000.00

19 ROBERT KARBAS JR WAKE FOREST, NC 0 0 0
43 LENDELL MARTIN JR NACOGDOCHES, TX 0 0 0 16000.00

21 ALTON JONES WACO, TX 5 7 4
4 MATT W HERREN TRUSSVILLE, AL 1 1 3 16000.00

24 LARRY NIXON BEE BRANCH, AR 3 4 3
1 GREG HACKNEY GONZALES, LA 1 0 12 16000.00

26 CHAD GRIGSBY COLON, MI 5 7 6
2 TOSHINARI NAMIKI HACHIOJI- CITY, TO 5 4 10 17000.00

29 WESLEY STRADER SPRING CITY, TN 5 7 0
44 TRACY ADAMS WILKESBORO, NC 3 4 2 17000.00

31 JOHN MURRAY PHOENIX, AZ 4 4 10
42 ANDY MORGAN DAYTON, TN 1 1 4 16000.00

38 DEAN ROJAS GRAND SALINE, TX 4 8 1
35 DANNY CORREIA MARLBOROUGH, MA 4 3 11 17000.00

Day 4: Cochran Wins in His Own Backyard

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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Standing before an arena filled to capacity with cheering, hometown bass-fishing fans, George Cochran of Hot Springs brought in a winning catch of five bass weighing 10 pounds, 3 ounces to pocket $500,000 in the Forrest L. Wood Championship presented by Castrol on Lake Hamilton. The half-million dollar check is the largest first-place award in professional bass fishing.

Cochran entered the event as the No. 16 seed and displaced No. 33 seed Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla., at the end of the first round. During Friday’s semifinal round, Cochran was paired against No. 9 seed Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan. There, he again brought in a limit of bass to defeat Chapman and advance to the final round where he ultimately claimed the half-million dollar prize.

“When you get to be my age, it seems like the most important victories are at the end,” Cochran laughed. “I don’t think I’ll have to worry about money for a while.

“But money is just a tool. I love to fish, and I love competing against my friends.”

Cochran pointed out that in a tournament of this caliber, anglers need to have an “ace in the hole.”

“There are very few times that everything goes just like you plan,” Cochran said, “but I had a bank where I knew I could catch some fish. I didn’t touch it at all during practice or during the tournament until today. But I went in there this morning, missed one on the first cast and landed a keeper on the second cast. I had my limit in the boat by 9 o’clock. That bank was my ‘ace in the hole.’”

Cochran, well-known for being a master of shallow-water angling, threw topwater lures, including Baby Chug Bugs and buzzbaits, and a 5-inch trick worm. He concentrated on fish around boat docks in particular, where heavy, line-shredding cables made fishing with heavy, 15-pound monofilament a must.

The bite was best early in the day before bass could get a good look at anglers’ lures. Working the topwater lures at a quick pace was the key to getting strikes, according to Cochran, who fished within site of his lakeside home during the entire event.

Cochran, a veteran of tournament fishing on the FLW Tour, as well as the Bassmaster Tour, had more than $1.24 million worth of winnings to his credit prior to this event, including two Bassmaster Classic wins in 1987 and 1996. Now, his career earnings come to a total of $1,742,509 – an increase of more than 40 percent.

Cochran has qualified for the Forrest L. Wood Championship five times, but this was the first time he’s ever won the event. Following this year’s Bassmaster Classic, Cochran said he’ll be exclusively fishing the FLW Tour in 2006.

The top 48 anglers from the six-event 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Tour advanced to the championship. Anglers were seeded according to their year-end ranking, with the No. 1 pro fishing head-to-head against the No. 48 seed, the No. 2 seed fishing against the No. 47 seed, and so on. The twelve anglers who advanced to the final round fished for the heaviest weight of the day.

Rounding out the top five pros were Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich. (five bass, 6 pounds, 7 ounces, $50,000); John Murray of Phoenix, Ariz., (five bass, 5 pounds, 4 ounces, $40,000); Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas (five bass, 5 pounds, 4 ounces, $35,000); and Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. (five bass, 5 pounds, $30,000). Murray and Rojas had identical final-round totals, but Murray took third place because he was the higher seed entering the event.

Friday’s action saw the conclusion of the co-angler competition after the co-angler field cut down from 48 to 24 on Thursday. Trevor Janscasz of White Pigeon, Mich., walked away with a check for $25,000, thanks to his tournament-winning catch of three bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

Allen Tillery Chevrolet held a drawing to award a bass boat to one lucky fan. Army National Guard Sgt. Daniel Geremy Newman, 28, of Hot Springs won the new Ranger Z-20 Comanche worth $47,500. The boat is powered by Yamaha, EverStart Batteries, Garmin electronics and a Minn Kota trolling motor.

Day-four notes:

Forrest L. Wood Championship winner George Cochran of Hot Springs, Ark., entered the event with $1,242,509 in pro bass-fishing earnings accumulated through his 26-year career – one of the most successful careers in the sport. With the $500,000 payday he collected Saturday in Hot Springs, Cochran boosted his career earnings by 40.2 percent to $1,742,509.

BFGoodrich Tires pro Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich., finished the championship in second place. The top-10 finish was Grigsby’s third of the year, and he ended the 2005 FLW Tour season with earnings of $102,000.

Once again, the fishing on Lake Hamilton was very tough. Only the top five pros caught 5 pounds or more.

The 12 pro finalists at the Forrest L. Wood Championship have career earnings totaling $9,290,185 and have 101 Forrest L. Wood Championship and Bassmaster Classic appearances, including five wins.

Cochran’s final-round bass were worth $3,067.48 per ounce – more than seven times the current value of gold at $420 per ounce.

Place Name City, State Caught Pounds Ounces Winnings
1 GEORGE E COCHRAN HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 10 3 500000.00
2 CHAD GRIGSBY COLON, MI 5 6 7 50000.00
3 JOHN MURRAY PHOENIX, AZ 5 5 4 40000.00
4 DEAN ROJAS GRAND SALINE, TX 5 5 4 35000.00
5 ANTHONY GAGLIARDI PROSPERITY, SC 5 5 0 30000.00
6 ALTON JONES WACO, TX 5 4 14 24000.00
7 J T KENNEY FROSTBURG, MD 5 4 13 23000.00
8 WESLEY STRADER SPRING CITY, TN 4 4 12 22000.00
9 ROBERT KARBAS JR WAKE FOREST, NC 3 4 3 21000.00
10 TAKAHIRO OMORI EMORY, TX 4 3 2 20000.00
11 LARRY NIXON BEE BRANCH, AR 3 3 2 19000.00
12 CHIP HARRISON BREMEN, IN 2 2 1 18000.00
 

Articles, standings, and photos from FLW Outdoors

Compiled by Brandon Shook