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FLW Tour: Beaver Lake, AR

Tour Event # 3 of 6

Preview: FLW Tour to Visit Beaver Lake

ROGERS, Ark. - The $7.6 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour will stop in Rogers, Ark., April 5-8 for its fourth regular-season event, the $1.25 million Wal-Mart Open powered by Tyson on Beaver Lake. Hosted by the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, the tournament features 400 anglers from 37 states, Japan, Canada and Australia, with 200 of the world's best bass pros fishing for a top award of $200,000 cash. Two hundred co-anglers will compete for a top award of $40,000 cash.
Beaver Lake, an annual stop on the FLW Tour for the Wal-Mart Open, may fish a little different this year as compared to past years. The lake is experiencing record-low water levels, and bass are concentrated on limited cover and structure.
"If conditions stay the same as they are right now - warmer than average - there could be a lot of sight fish caught," Snickers pro John Sappington said. "But if it cools off, fish will be staging outside pockets, and anglers will be throwing jigs, crankbaits and jerkbaits. But it will depend on the weather.
"I think weights are going to be better than we've ever seen on Beaver. With the low water, there just isn't as much cover and fish will be easier to catch."
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Prairie Creek Marina. Wednesday and Thursday's weigh-ins will also be held at Prairie Creek Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m. Immediately following Friday's weigh-in, fans are invited to a free concert in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Details on the artist performing will be released soon.
The community is also invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The total purse for the Wal-Mart Open is $1.25 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. In addition to this purse, Tyson will release three tagged "Power Bass" worth $4,000 each into Beaver Lake. Any pro or co-angler competing in the tournament is eligible to catch these "Power Bass" and claim the cash award.
As part of the tournament festivities, FLW Tour anglers will be greeting fans at five Northwest Arkansas Wal-Mart stores April 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. Wal-Mart pro George Cochran will be speaking at the store located at 2110 West Walnut St. in Rogers. Kellogg's angler Kim Bain will be speaking at the Wal-Mart located at 3919 North Mall Ave. in Fayetteville. Fishing fans visiting the Wal-Mart located at 2004 South Pleasant in Springdale will have the opportunity to meet Castrol pro Darrell Robertson. Kellogg's pro Sam Newby will be speaking at the Wal-Mart store located at 406 South Walton Blvd. in Bentonville. And the Wal-Mart store located at 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd. in Rogers will play host to Fujifilm pro Wesley Strader.
Kent Rylee Chevrolet, located at 2100 South 8th Street in Rogers, will host Chevy Pro Night featuring Larry Nixon, Dion Hibdon, Kim Stricker, David Fritts and Luke Clausen on April 5. The anglers will be signing autographs, posing for photos and answering questions from 6 to 8 p.m.
This is the most lucrative FLW Tour season to date with a $7.6 million purse, including four $900,000 events and two $1.25 million open events during the regular season. Each event leads up to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship and Outdoor Show presented by Castrol, which will be held Aug. 2-5 on Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Ala. The prestigious championship hosted by Birmingham, Pell City and St. Clair County features 48 pros, 48 co-anglers and bass fishing's largest guaranteed cash award - a $500,000 first-place prize for the winning pro. Held in conjunction with the tournament is a world-class outdoor show featuring more than 140 exhibits.
Coverage of the Wal-Mart Open will be broadcast to 78 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 7 and May 14 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Kentucky Lake in Benton, Ky., will host the fifth tour stop, presented by Pedigree, May 10-13 followed by a stop presented by Kellogg's on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y., June 21-24.

Day 1: Thomas Leads FLW Open on Beaver Lake

ROGERS, Ark., - Under looming storm clouds and intermittent rain Wednesday, a majority of the 200 pros fishing the $1.25 million Wal-Mart Open powered by Tyson headed straight for wind-swept main-lake points in search of five heavy-weight bass that would take them a step closer to the tournament's top award of $200,000. The man leading that charge at the end of the day was Team Pedigree pro Jeffrey Thomas of Broadway, N.C., who caught a limit weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces.
The impressive opening-day catch came from a variety of cover and structure, with no single pattern dominating Thomas' day.
"I'm not just here for points, I'm here to win," said Thomas, an FLW Outdoors tournament veteran who has earned 11 top-10 finishes since 1995. "I covered a lot of water fishing anything that looked like it would hold a fish. I used crankbaits. I flipped. I threw a spinner bait. Whatever bait the cover or structure dictated, I used."
Fishing for the newly formed Team Gain, Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., used a technique that has dominated past Wal-Mart Opens - sight fishing - to finish second with a limit weighing 15-13. Sight fishing wasn't supposed to be a factor in this year's tournament because foul weather was keeping fish deep and off the beds, but Kreiger, a renowned sight fisherman, made the technique work despite the conditions.
"I had a great day," Kreiger said. "I was up shallow in clear water fishing for cruising bass. I saw every fish I caught."
Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas, finished third with five bass weighing 15-11.
Team Gain pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., brought in a limit of largemouths weighing 15-9 for a solid fourth-place showing.
"I got lucky," said Powers, who finished second at the 2004 Wal-Mart Open. "Whenever you catch five largemouth bass over 15 inches in a single day on Beaver Lake, it's luck."
Luck or not, Power's limit helped him earn the "Tyson Powerboat of the Day" award along with his partner, co-angler Ben Pitts of Pea Ridge, Ark. The award goes to the pro and co-angler who weigh the heaviest combined catch. Both men received $500 thanks to a combined catch of 10 bass weighing 24-4.
Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., rounded out the top five pros with five bass weighing 14-8.
Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan., landed the day's Snickers Big Bass award and $750 in the Pro Division with a 5-pound, 9-ounce largemouth.
Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., and Chad Parks of Memphis share the Co-angler Division lead with five bass limits weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Paul Addi of Las Vegas (five bass, 9-15); Todd Lowe of Greensboro, Ga. (four bass, 9-5) and Richard Strother of Tyler, Texas (five bass, 9-4).
In another tie on the Co-angler Division, Addi and Johnny Taylor of Kodak, Tenn., split the day's Snickers Big Bass award. Each of the men weighed in a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass and collected $166.67.
Overall, 1,263 bass weighing 1,985 pounds, 10 ounces were caught Wednesday, including 153 five-bass limits.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. each morning from the Prairie Creek Marina. Thursday's weigh-in will also be held at Prairie Creek Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd. in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m. Following Friday's weigh-in, fans are invited to a free concert powered by Tyson featuring country singing sensation Mark Wills.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
Pros are competing for $200,000 cash and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in Birmingham, Ala., for a shot at $500,000 cash - the sport's biggest award. Two hundred co-anglers are competing for a top award of $40,000 cash and a trip to the championship. Overall, 37 states, Japan and Canada are represented.
Anglers compete in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Day 2: Powers Takes Lead in FLW Open

ROGERS, Ark., - An opening round total of 10 bass weighing 31-pounds, 4-ounces propelled Team Gain pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., to the top of the leaderboard Thursday in the $1.25 million Wal-Mart Open powered by Tyson.
Powers now leads 10 pros into the final round of competition on Beaver Lake, an annual stop for the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and the permanent home of the Wal-Mart Open for the past nine years.
"When you can relax and just go fishing, good things happen," said Powers, who caught five bass weighing 15-9 Wednesday and five bass weighing 15-11 Thursday. "So that's what I did."
Powers' second day catch, anchored by a 6-pound, 8-ounce largemouth, was enough to overcome the 1-pound, 1-ounce lead of Pedigree pro Jeffrey Thomas of Broadway, N.C., who dropped to second Thursday with a two day total of 10 bass weighing 29-10.
A tour veteran with 30 FLW Outdoors top-10 finishes to his credit since 1995, Powers is fishing a technique he pioneered several years ago. He is catching his bass on Bomber Long A that he crawls along the surface over 60 to 70 feet of water to catch schooling bass. In 2004, Powers finished second on Beaver Lake, a mark he would like to overcome this year.
Thomas continued his power-fishing ways to add 13 pounds to his opening day total of 16-10. "My goal was to make the top 10 and go from there," he said.
Rounding out the top five pros are former Bassmaster Classic champion Takahiro Omori of Emory Texas (10 bass, 27-9); former FLW Tour and Ranger M1 champion Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (10 bass, 24-4); and FLW Tour veteran Mike Wurm of Hot Springs, Ark. (10 bass, 23-8).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 21 pounds, 15 ounces are pros Toby Hartsell of Livingston, Texas; Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas; Mark Rose of Marion, Ark.; Clifford Pirch of Pason, Ariz.; and Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla.
Pro Clay Dyer, 27, of Hamilton, Ala., was born without lower limbs, no arm on his left side and only a partial arm on his right, but that did not stop him from living his dream this week by competing alongside the world's top pro anglers. Dyer, who has fished competitively since the age of 15, caught six bass weighing 8-7 to finish in 159th place. He placed ahead of such well-know pros as FLW Tour winner Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas, and Elite Series winner Ishama Monroe of Hughson, Calif.
Pirch earned the Energizer Keeps on Going Award of $500 for coming from behind to make the cut after finishing 105th on opening day with five bass weighing 6-11.
Powers landed the day's Snickers Big Bass award and $750 in the Pro Division plus the overall Snickers Big Bass award of $1,000 for the opening round with his 6-8 bass Thursday.
Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $40,000 with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 18-9. He caught five bass weighing 6-10 to finish 19th Wednesday while fishing with Mike Ellenstein of Newburgh, Ind., then added five bass weighing 11-15 to his total Thursday while fishing with Tyson pro Alfred Williams of Jackson, Miss.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Strother of Tyler, Texas (nine bass, 15-13); Chad Parks of Memphis (seven bass, 15-8); Todd Lowe of Greensboro, Ga. (eight bass, 15-0) and Paul Addi of Las Vegas (nine bass, 14-13).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 12 pounds, 14 ounces in the Co-angler Division were Jess Carballo of Danbury, Conn.; Pamela Wood of Bono, Ark.; Greg Fleming of Holly Lake Ranch, Texas; Matthew Parker of Whitesburg, Ga.; and Janet Parker of Little Elm, Texas.
Parks earned the day's Snickers Big Bass award of $375 in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound bass.
Fujifilm pro Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., caught a limit weighing 11-12 that helped him earn the "Tyson Powerboat of the Day" award along with his partner, co-angler Rob Newell of Tallahassee, Fla., who caught a limit weighing 10-4. The award goes to the pro and co-angler who weigh the heaviest combined catch. Both men received $500 thanks to a combined catch of 10 bass weighing 22 pounds.
Overall, 1,118 bass weighing 1,722 pounds, 15 ounces were caught Thursday, including 119 five-bass limits.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. each morning from the Prairie Creek Marina. Friday and Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd. in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m. Following Friday's weigh-in, fans are invited to a free concert powered by Tyson featuring country singing sensation Mark Wills.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
Pros are competing for $200,000 cash and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in Birmingham, Ala., for a shot at $500,000 cash - the sport's biggest award. Two hundred co-anglers are competing for a top award of $40,000 cash and a trip to the championship. Overall, 37 states, Japan and Canada are represented.
Anglers compete in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.
Coverage of the Wal-Mart Open hosted by the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau will be broadcast to 78 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 7 and May 14 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

Day 3: Fukae Grabs Lead in FLW Open

ROGERS, Ark. - Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas, grabbed a 1-pound, 7-ounce lead over Team Bounty pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., Friday in the $1.25 million Wal-Mart Open powered by Tyson on Beaver Lake thanks to a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces. If he retains his lead Saturday, Fukae will pocket $200,000 and notch his second tour win of the season.
"I don't feel any pressure at all," said Fukae, who won $100,000 at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour season opener on Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Fla. "If the fish bite, I'll catch them. If they don't, that's fishing."
Fukae, the tour's 2004 Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year, used a 3/32-ounce Shaky Head jig rigged with a Yamamoto green pumpkin worm. He fished the popular finesse bait around standing timber in the upper reaches of Beaver Lake.
Powers is nipping at Fukae's heels with a five-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 12 ounces to advance as the No. 2 seed. His pattern of crawling a Bomber Long "A" through timber in 70 feet of water may appear to be slipping, but Powers believes it will hold.
"You can't fish a topwater bait in three-foot waves and catch fish," said Powers, who placed second in the 2004 Wal-Mart Open. "All I need is for the wind to quit blowing a tad. If it calms down, I can win."
Third place pro Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., is happy with his limit of 9 pounds, 9 ounces, but he doesn't think he has enough fish left to claim the $200,000 winner's check tomorrow.
"I'm tickled to death to make the top-10 cut," said Rose, who is in his eighth year competing against the world's best bass anglers. "I've been keying in on smallmouths, but I'm not getting the bites I want. I'm only good for about 10 pounds a day and hopefully that will get me a top-five finish."
Rounding out the top five pros are Team Pedigree pro Jeffrey Thomas of Broadway, N.C. (three bass, 5-7) and Mike Wurm of Hot Springs, Ark., (three bass, 5-5).
Richard Strother, 62, of Tyler, Texas, captured the co-angler title and $40,000 Friday with three bass weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces. He caught two of his fish on a Spot Remover jig and a Zoom finesse worm, but it was his third fish that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard.
"My angler [Thomas] was fishing a big mud flat with very little cover," said Strother, who fishes the Texas Tournament Trail as a pro. "I was throwing a Rat-L-Trap and got hung up on a bush. I pulled on it really hard three times because I never ask my pro to go get a bait. Anyway, the bait popped loose, and that's when my big bass hit."
A retired telephone company employee, Strother said that a good portion of his $40,000 will go to pay his tithe and the rest will go in the bank. He plans to fish the rest of the FLW Tour and is looking forward to the Kentucky Lake tournament presented by Pedigree May 10-13.
Despite catching the only limit in the Co-angler Division, Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va., finished second with five bass weighing 5 pounds, 2 ounces.
Tyson co-angler Pamela Wood of Bono, Ark., finished in third place with two bass weighing 4 pounds, 2 ounces, making her the highest placing female angler in the tournament.
"This is just confirmation that I'm doing what I should be doing," Wood said. "I just hope that I encourage more women to get involved with the sport. There are no barriers."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chad Parks of Memphis (one bass, 3-3) and Paul Addi of Las Vegas (two bass, 2-9).
Overall, 50 bass weighing 85 pounds, 5 ounces, including four five-bass limits, were caught Friday by the 10 pro and 10 co-angler finalists.
Fukae earned the "Tyson Powerboat of the Day" award along with his partner Wood. The award goes to the pro and co-angler who weigh the heaviest combined catch. Both anglers received $500 thanks to a combined catch of 10 bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. Saturday from Prairie Creek Marina and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd. in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at noon, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
Pros are competing for $200,000 cash and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in Birmingham, Ala., for a shot at $500,000 cash - the sport's biggest award. Overall, 37 states, Japan and Canada are represented.
Anglers compete in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.
Coverage of the Wal-Mart Open hosted by the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau will be broadcast to 78 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 7 and May 14 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

Day 4: Fukae Wins FLW Open on Beaver Lake

ROGERS, Ark. - Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas, earned the Wal-Mart FLW Tour's coveted Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year title as a rookie in 2004, and today he joined legendary anglers David Fritts and Rick Clunn as only the third angler in history to win two FLW Tour events in a single season. His historic win in the Wal-Mart Open powered by Tyson came courtesy of a two-day, final-round catch of 10 bass weighing 21 pounds.
"I'm going to go for win number three on Kentucky Lake," said Fukae, who was visibly moved and a bit stunned by his historic accomplishment. "I like Lake Champlain, too. So maybe I can add another."
Fukae, who originally hails from Osaka, Japan, entered the final day of competition with a scant 1-pound, 7-ounce lead thanks to a solid finesse pattern. He caught five bass weighing 10-10 on opening day and five bass weighing 12 pounds Thursday to advance to the final round as the No. 8 seed. He then caught five bass weighing 9-9 Friday to claim his spot atop the leaderboard. His catch Saturday of five bass weighing 9-13 secured the win. Fukae caught his bass using a Shaky Head jig and a Yamamoto finesse worm combo. He separated himself from other finesse anglers by using an ultra-light 3/32-ounce jig head for a super slow presentation. He targeted fish around timber in 10 feet of water.
In January, Fukae won the FLW Tour season opener on Lake Okeechobee and pocketed $100,000. The last time an angler won two FLW Tour events in a single season was in 2000 when Clunn won the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake and the Forrest Wood Open on Pickwick Lake. Fritts still holds the single season record with three wins in 1997, one on Lake Ferguson, one on Kentucky Lake and one on Lake Eufaula.
Fukae earned three top-10s in 2004 then suffered a sophomore season slump, finishing no higher than 19th in 2005.
Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., climbed from third into second place Saturday, earning $100,000 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 18-2. He caught five bass weighing 9-9 Friday then added five bass weighing 8-9 Saturday using a watermelon and green pumpkin finesse worm.
"This feels great," said Rose, who was making his fifth top-10 appearance in FLW Tour competition. "I hope the momentum carries over to Kentucky Lake."
Bounty pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., finished third and collected $50,000 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 17-3.
Rounding out the top five pros were Pedigree pro Jeffrey Thomas of Broadway, N.C. (six bass, 14-15, $40,000) and Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (eight bass, 12-3, $30,000).
Richard Strother, 62, of Tyler, Texas, captured the co-angler title and $40,000 Friday with three bass weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces. He caught two of his fish on a Spot Remover jig and a Zoom finesse worm, but it was his third fish that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard. He caught the bass on a Rat-L-Trap after it ripped free of a snag.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va. (five bass, 5-2, $20,000); Team Tyson angler Pamela Wood of Bono, Ark. (two bass, 4-2, $10,000); Chad Parks of Memphis (one bass, 3-3, $9,000) and Paul Addi of Las Vegas (one bass, 2-9, $8,000).
Overall, 46 bass weighing 77 pounds, 9 ounces, including eight five-bass limits, were caught Saturday by the 10 pro finalists.
The next FLW Tour stop will be a $900,000 tournament presented by Pedigree on Kentucky Lake in Benton, Ky., May 10-13. The final regular-season stop, a $900,000 tournament presented by Kellogg's, runs June 21-24 on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Each tournament takes the world's best anglers a step closer to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship and Outdoor Show presented by Castrol, which will be held Aug. 2-5 on Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Ala. The prestigious championship hosted by Birmingham, Pell City and St. Clair County features 48 pros, 48 co-anglers and bass fishing's largest guaranteed cash award - a $500,000 first-place prize for the winning pro. Held in conjunction with the tournament is a world-class outdoor show featuring more than 140 exhibits.
Coverage of the Wal-Mart Open hosted by the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau will be broadcast to 78 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on May 7 and May 14 as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.

Articles and photos from FLW

Compiled by Brandon Shook

President/Publisher: Brandon Shook.