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 FLW Tour: Lake Norman, NC

FLW Tour Event # 3 of 6

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Day 1: Kindy Leads FLW Tour Open on Lake Norman

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jeremiah Kindy of Benton, Ark., drew cheers from an appreciative crowd Thursday when he crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces to lead day one of the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour National Guard Open presented by the National Guard on Lake Norman. Fishing for team Land O’Lakes, Kindy now holds a slim 3-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers from 37 states, Australia, Italy and Japan.

“I didn’t really have a good practice,” said Kindy, who has one career win, 17 top-10 finishes and more than $190,000 in winnings with FLW Outdoors. “So this morning, I just went fishing. I was looking for wind-blown docks and would fish every one of them in sight. I think the fish were up there in 2 to 4 feet of water spawning and guarding fry. I would make one or two casts into the areas that usually hold fish, and if I didn’t get a bite, I would move on to the next dock. I caught a lot of fish knowing that there should be a ton of fish up shallow this time of year.”

Kindy was throwing a combination of jigs and trick worms.

BP pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., trails Kindy in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 15-3.

Rounding out the top five pros are Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (five bass, 14-10); Mark Hardin of Jasper, Ga. (five bass, 14-7) and Bounty pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn. (five bass, 14-7).

Chris Malone of Ironton, Ohio, also earned the day’s $1,000 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass. If that weight holds up Friday as the biggest of the two-day opening round, the Malone will earn an additional $1,000.

Overall there were 958 bass weighing 2,013 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 198 pros Thursday. The catch included 178 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $200,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 40 pros after six qualifying events will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.

Robert Horick of St. Petersburg, Fla., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 12-3 followed by Gain co-angler Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., in second place with five bass weighing 11-5.

“Today was a good day,” said Horick, who has racked up two career top-10 finishes and $18,145 in earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I threw a swimbait all day. We fished a little of everything, mainly keying in on creek channels with submerged brush. I could throw my weedless swimbait right up in the tops of the brush and slowly pull it out. As soon as it would come out of brush, it would usually get hit. I was really confident in this bait. I practiced with it all week. I think as long as my pro keeps me around fish, I can catch them. ”

Horick caught his bass on a swimbait while fishing with Fujifilm pro Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla., who is currently in 22nd place with five bass weighing 13-6.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Donnie Hannah of New Lexington, Ohio (five bass, 11-3); Chevy co-angler Sondra Rankin of Benton, Ky. (five bass, 11-2) and Sammy Orr of Maryville, Tenn. (five bass, 10-10).

Tied for the days Snickers Big Bass Award are Terry Chapman of Stanley, N.C., and Mark Weaver of Lexington, N.C., who both caught a 3-pound, 4-ounce bass that earned them $250 each.

Overall there were 558 bass weighing 989 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 183 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 46 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $40,000 this week.

Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from the Blythe Landing located at 15901 N.C. Hwy. 73 in Huntersville, N.C. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the Blythe Landing beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center located at 4751 Highway 49 North in Concord, N.C., beginning at 4 p.m.
 

Day 2: Cherry Leads National Guard Open on Lake Norman

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Pro Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds Friday to capture the lead in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1.5 million National Guard Open on Lake Norman with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 26-13. He now holds a slim 9-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 37 states, Australia, Italy and Japan.

“This is awesome,” said Cherry, who has already qualified to fish the 2007 BFL All-American and is fishing in his first FLW Tour event. “It’s great that I am leading, especially in a National Guard event. My dad served in the Guard for 25 years, and it’s really special and would be great honor if I won.”

Cherry was throwing a jig around isolated docks and brush to catch quality five-bass limits in the opening round on his home waters.

“I’ve lived on this lake all my life, and I know of about 150 places to catch fish here. I didn’t fish any of my spots today, though,” Cherry said. “I mainly focused on community holes to catch a solid limit and make the cut. The lake is going to have a ton of pleasure boat traffic tomorrow, and being a local here I can adapt to that. This being a clear water lake, the waves will muddy up some water on the shore. When that happens, the fish school up in the more stained areas, and it is a little easier to locate them.”

Fishing for Team BP, Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26-4.

Rounding out the top five pros who will continue competition Saturday and Sunday are Gain pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio (10 bass, 26-2); Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. (10 bass, 26-1); and Pedigree pro of Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (10 bass, 25-6).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 24 pounds, 13 ounces and adding to this already power-packed top-10 field are pros Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., fishing for team Folgers; Tylenol pro Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif.; Yamaha pro Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas; Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif.; and Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark.

Bolivar also earned the day’s $1,000 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass. Thursday’s Snickers Big Bass Award winner, Chris Malone of Ironton, Ohio, earned the tournament’s overall big bass award of $1,000 with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass.

Overall there were 874 bass weighing 1,667 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 195 pros Friday. The catch included 143 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $200,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 40 pros after three $1 million qualifiers and three $1.5 million opens will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.

Wal-Mart angler Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces, followed by Toby Stanphill of High Point, N.C., in second place with 10 bass weighing 18-5.

“It was definitely a fun day,” said Jancasz, who won the 2005 FLW Tour Championship in the Co-angler Division and has amassed $115,460 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for my partner today, Scott Suggs. We got off to a little bit of a slow start this morning, and I finally finished out my limit in the last 30 minutes. I have been fishing really clean lately. I think I have only caught three short fish in the last two days. It feels great to be back in the top-10.”

Jancasz was throwing an array of tubes and finesse gear around docks and stumps in 3 to 15 feet of water.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Gain co-angler Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn. (nine bass, 17-14); Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga. (10 bass, 17-14) and Dannie Hannah of New Lexington, Ohio (eight bass, 17-8).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 16 pounds, 12 ounces in the Co-angler Division were Alessandro Debbi of Italy; Dino Caporuscio of Coto De Caza, Calif.; Mark Rouse of La Porte, Texas; Nathan Webber of Kernersville, N.C., and Jeff Taylor of Olmstead, Ky.

“It means a lot for me to make the top-10. It is like a dream come true,” said Debbi, who has traveled to the United States from Italy to compete on the FLW Tour the last three seasons. “When you make the top-10 you are the best of the best, and I am truly happy about that. It’s amazing. It is not easy to get over here. It takes about two weeks of planning and packing really light to make the eight hour flight. I can only bring so much stuff, and I have to pack what I am confident in. I hope to be fishing over here a lot more, but I will have to see what my boss says and allows me to do.”

This is Debbi’s first top-10 appearance on the FLW Tour.

Hannah earned $500 for the day’s Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught while fishing with BFGoodrich Tires pro Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas.

Overall there were 489 bass weighing 884 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 177 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 31 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $40,000 this week.

Anglers will take off at 7 Saturday and Sunday morning from Blythe Landing followed by 4 p.m. weigh-ins at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center located at 4751 Highway 49 North in Concord, N.C.

Day 3: Nixon Leads FLW Tour Open on Lake Norman

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Team Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to capture the lead in a top-10 field that includes some of the greatest anglers in the world. Nixon now holds a slight 1-pound, 5-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Folgers pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., heading into the final day of competition in the FLW Tour’s $1.5 million National Guard Open on Lake Norman. If he holds on for the win, Nixon will pocket $200,000.

“It’s going to be a shoot-out tomorrow,” said Nixon, who has been fishing the FLW Tour for 10 years and has amassed more than $700,000 in tour earnings. “I am around the fish that could definitely win this. I have lost a few key fish everyday, and that has held my weight down. I’m not going back to the spots I fished today. I have a few more places that I found in practice that seem to be holding quality fish. I just have to slow down, be patient and catch them.”

Nixon was keying on cuts in gravel banks and laydowns, throwing an array of Texas-rigged soft plastics and finesse gear.

Suggs, who is fishing in his second FLW Tour top-10, caught five fish weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.

“The bite seemed to be a little bit down today,” said Suggs, who has been throwing finesse gear around docks and stumps all week. “With the tremendous catches in the opening round it has made it harder to find five keepers. My kicker all week has come down to finding a few large schools of bigger spotted bass and then going back to them everyday and picking up a few. I’m trying not to even think about the leaderboard and just go fishing.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros are Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif. (five bass, 11-0); Gain pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio (five bass, 10-13); Tylenol pro Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif. (five bass, 10-2); BP pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn. (five bass, 9-13); Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (five bass, 9-4); Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. (five bass, 8-5); Yamaha pro Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas (four bass, 7-1) and Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C. (four bass, 6-12).

“I was blessed yesterday,” said Cherry, who led the tournament Friday. “Instead of catching them today, I put on a bloopers video. I just couldn’t connect. It seemed like they were biting it with their mouths closed. It just feels wonderful to make the cut and even be competing against this caliber of fishermen.”

Overall there were 48 bass weighing 96 pounds, 15 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.

Wal-Mart angler Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., won the Co-angler Division and $40,000 Saturday with a five bass limit weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Alessandro Debbi of Italy, in second place with four bass weighing 6-6 worth $10,000.

Jancasz opened the tournament in 13th place Thursday with five bass weighing 9-12 while fishing with pro Chad Cook of Summerville, S.C. On Friday he jumped into first place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 10-3 while fishing with Suggs. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Cherry.

“It was a tough week,” said Jancasz, who is a former Wal-Mart FLW Tour Champion on the co-angler side. “I never caught a single fish until late in the day, everyday. I did fish clean and only had maybe three or four short fish this entire tournament. I usually struggle on the second or third days, but this time I figured it out and everything went great. Hank Cherry was a great partner, and he gave me all the opportunity I needed to catch these fish. I really needed this win to boost my confidence and help me mentally.”

Jancasz was throwing finesse gear around stumps and docks to catch his fish all week.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Toby Stanphill of High Point, N.C. (four bass, 5-9, $9,000); Nathan Webber of Kernersville, N.C. (two bass, 4-1, $8,000); Gain angler Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn. (two bass, 3-11, $7,000); Dino Caporuscio of Coto De Caza, Calif. (two bass, 3-11, $6,000); Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga. (two bass, 3-00, $5,000); Donnie Hannah of New Lexington, Ohio (one bass, 2-15, $4,000); Jeff Taylor of Olmstead, Ky. (one bass, 1-8, $3,000) and Mark Rouse of La Porte, Texas (zero bass, $2,000).

Overall there were 23 bass weighing 39 pounds, 6 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limit.

Anglers will take off at 7 Sunday morning from Blythe Landing followed by a 4 p.m. weigh-in at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center located at 4751 Highway 49 North in Concord, N.C.

 

Day 4: Nixon Wins FLW Open on Lake Norman

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Team Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds to win $150,000 in the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour National Guard Open on Lake Norman. Nixon topped his closest rival, Yamaha pro Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, by more than three pounds to earn the win and 200 points toward qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., where the winner will earn as much as $1 million – the biggest award in bass fishing – Aug. 5.

“When you get older, all the wins just get sweeter,” said Nixon, who earned his third FLW Tour victory Sunday. “It’s been a while since the last time I was in the final round and this is just great. You never get too old for a bass tournament, and every now and then an old fox will outsmart some of these younger guys on tour.

“The fish were really spooky this week. I had to stay way off the bank and make long casts over cover and other debris to even get to where the fish were. I lost a number of fish earlier in the week that I thought would have cost me, but thankfully it didn’t. I fished really clean today and didn’t loose a single fish, everything just seemed to click. I guess when it’s your time, it’s your time.

“I hardly fished docks all week. I think that’s why my areas were mostly overlooked by the rest of the field that was just keying in on docks. Most of my fish came off of sunny banks with pieces of isolated cover. Once I figured out what the fish were wanting, I had my limit by noon. I threw only finesse gear all week with really light line.

“I was really impressed with Lake Norman. I used to fish this lake a lot back in the late 80s and early 90s, and it has totally changed. Back then, 9 pounds would be an impressive stringer and now guys are brining in 15- and 16-pound sacks. The lake fishes really big and is full of bass, that’s what I like.”

Nixon opened the tournament Thursday in 32nd place with five bass weighing 12-6. He then jumped into 10th place Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces to barley squeak into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24-13. On Saturday weights were cleared, and Nixon caught five bass weighing 12-9 to advance to the final day of competition in first place. Nixon added another five bass weighing 14-7 to his final-round total Sunday.

Yelas caught a final-round total of nine bass weighing 23-7 to claim second place and $75,000.

“I am tickled to death with second place,” said Yelas, who was keying in on spawning bass by throwing a 6-inch swimbait targeting big fish. “I went from eighth place this morning to second after it was all said and done, that’s pretty impressive. I just happened to get the right bites. I went out with the mindset to catch big fish and it worked. I’m really happy for Larry, he really deserves this win. He caught fish consistently all week.”

Yelas’ final day catch of five bass weighing 16-6 was the heaviest catch of the entire tournament.

Rounding out the top 10 pros are Gain pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio (10 bass, 23-00, $50,000); Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C. (nine bass, 22-7, $40,000); Folgers pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark. (10 bass, 20-4, $30,000); BP pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn. (10 bass, 20-00, $29,000); Duracell pro and new Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points leader Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif. (10 bass, 19-14, $28,000); Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (10 bass, 19-6, $27,000); Tylenol pro Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif. (10 bass, 17-8, $26,000) and Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. (six bass, 9-8, $25,000).

Overall there were 46 bass weighing 105 pounds, 7 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included nine five-bass limits.

Sunday’s festivities also included the FOX Charlotte Big Bass Challenge tournament featuring Charlotte area residents fishing with FLW Tour pros. The team of Folgers pro Rich Lowitzki and Toby Garmon won the Big Bass Challenge with a two-bass catch weighing 3-8. In honor of the team’s win, FOX Charlotte donated $5,000 to the FishAmerica Foundation to benefit Lake Norman conservation projects. Garmon also received $500 for winning the tournament.

On Saturday, Wal-Mart angler Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., won the Co-angler Division and $40,000 with a five-bass limit weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Alessandro Debbi of Italy, in second place with four bass weighing 6-6 worth $10,000.

Jancasz opened the tournament in 13th place Thursday with five bass weighing 9-12 while fishing with pro Chad Cook of Summerville, S.C. On Friday he jumped into first place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 10-3 while fishing with Suggs. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Cherry.

“It was a tough week,” said Jancasz, who is a former Wal-Mart FLW Tour Champion on the co-angler side. “I never caught a single fish until late in the day, everyday. I did fish clean and only had maybe three or four short fish this entire tournament. I usually struggle on the second or third days, but this time I figured it out and everything went great. Hank Cherry was a great partner, and he gave me all the opportunity I needed to catch these fish. I really needed this win to boost my confidence and help me mentally.”

Jancasz was throwing finesse gear around stumps and docks to catch his fish all week.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were Toby Stanphill of High Point, N.C. (four bass, 5-9, $9,000); Nathan Webber of Kernersville, N.C. (two bass, 4-1, $8,000); Gain angler Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn. (two bass, 3-11, $7,000); Dino Caporuscio of Coto De Caza, Calif. (two bass, 3-11, $6,000); Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga. (two bass, 3-00, $5,000); Donnie Hannah of New Lexington, Ohio (one bass, 2-15, $4,000); Jeff Taylor of Olmstead, Ky. (one bass, 1-8, $3,000) and Mark Rouse of La Porte, Texas (zero bass, $2,000).

 

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Compiled by Brandon Shook