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The Full Story

FLW Tour: Potomac River, MD

Tour Event # 5 of 6

Day 1: Davis Leads FLW Tour Event on Potomac River

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark., crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces to lead day one of the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event presented by Snickers on the Potomac River. Davis now holds a 5-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers from 37 states, Australia and Japan.

“I figured out I could catch some fish on a topwater bait with the cloud cover and a high tide,” said Davis, who won the FLW Tour’s Fort Loudon-Tellico Lakes event at Knoxville, Tenn., March 29-April 1. “It was fast and furious there early, but slowed down after a while.”

Davis said he caught 20 bass throughout the day and had his limit of keepers in the boat by 10 a.m. He culled for the last time at 1 p.m. and said he lost a big fish just before he made his way to weigh-in.

While he caught the majority of his keepers on a topwater frog, he said he also caught other fish deep on soft plastics, but knows his game plan for the second day of competition will change, especially if weather forecasts for sunny skies are accurate.

“What I was doing today will not work tomorrow,” Davis said. “I already know that. I won’t catch a fish using the methods I used today.”

Davis said he plans to fish deep by flipping a worm if the sun shines Friday, but could also reach for a crankbait, something he did not throw during the opening day of the tournament.

“If I can catch 10 or 12 pounds tomorrow, I’ll be fine,” Davis said. “You always feel good with this format with a lead. I can go out tomorrow and have an average day and still make the cut.”

Jack Wade of Knoxville, Tenn., trails Davis in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 20-15.

Rounding out the top five pros are Team Berkley’s Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. (five bass, 19-15); Team Bounty’s Ken Wick of Star, Idaho (five bass, 19-12) and Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark. (five bass, 19-10).

Team BP pro Shinichi Fukae earned the day’s $750 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a 5-inch worm on a shaky-head rig. If that weight holds up Friday as the heaviest of the two-day opening round, Fukae will earn an additional $1,000.

Overall there were 810 bass weighing 2,237 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 195 pros Thursday. The catch included 119 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $125,000 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.

Donald Tross of Williamsburg, Va., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 17-3 followed by Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., in second place with five bass weighing 16-5.

“I started out throwing a buzzbait early this morning since it was overcast,” said Tross, who is a nine-year veteran co-angler on the FLW Tour. “I threw it all day. As long as the cloud cover is there, the fish will eat a buzzbait all day.

“The biggest fish I caught came on the next-to-last cast of the day,” Tross added. “Everywhere we went we caught fish.”

The five keepers Tross weighed were the only keepers he caught. Tross said he plans to throw the buzzbait again Friday unless the sun shines — then he’ll switch to a chatterbait.

Tross took the early lead in the tournament while fishing with Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., who is currently in 32nd place with five bass weighing 15-6.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Frank Divis of Fayetteville, Ark. (five bass, 16-3); Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md. (five bass, 14-9) and Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (five bass, 14-9).

Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga., earned the day’s $500 Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught while swimming a Senko.

Overall there were 514 bass weighing 1,275 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 173 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 38 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. Friday from Smallwood State Park located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury, Md. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Smallwood State Park beginning at 3 p.m. Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday from Anacostia Park located at 1900 Anacostia Drive SE in Washington, D.C. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the DC Armory located at 2001 E. Capitol St. in Washington, D.C., next to RFK Stadium, beginning at 4 p.m. For convenience, visitors are encouraged to take Metro. For details on Metro service to the DC Armory, visit www.wmata.com.

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the DC Armory from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will receive a free FLW Outdoors hat. On Sunday, the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a trip for two to the Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., where they could ultimately win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. The drawing for a free vacation getaway to Hot Springs will be held immediately following Sunday’s 4 p.m. weigh-in. Participants must be present to win.

The full field competes in the two-day opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, 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: Wade Leads FLW Tour Event on Potomac

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – Jack Wade of Knoxville, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces Friday to capture the lead in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1 million event on the Potomac River with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 37-13. He now holds a 1-pound lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 37 states, Australia and Japan.

“I fished hard, and I fished an area that I didn’t fish yesterday,” said Wade, who has two top-10 finishes on the FLW Tour. “The way the tides affect the areas I’m in is really key, and I tried fishing the high tide on a grass bed and it didn’t work.”

Wade returned to a spot where he caught four fish that weighed nearly 17 pounds on the first day of competition, but the fish weren’t there Friday.

“I didn’t have a keeper at 10:30,” Wade said. “I was waiting out on the water for the tides to do something, and finally I went to a secondary area I had and caught a keeper. My fish today came out of areas that I didn’t even touch yesterday.”

Wade said he was flipping a 3/8-ounce jig around wood and soft plastic baits in grass. He also threw a frog in hopes of capitalizing on a topwater bite. However, his keeper fish fell to the jig.

Wade plans to play the tides again Saturday in a spot where he knows quality fish are holding, although he expects to catch a few 2-pounders in the area.

“You never know when that one 2-pounder is going to be the one to get you over that hump,” Wade said. “Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. I’m just going to go out and catch as many fish as I can.”

Fishing for Team Berkley, Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36-13.

Rounding out the top five pros who will continue competition Saturday and Sunday are Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. (10 bass, 36-10); Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla. (10 bass, 35-5); and BP pro Ray Scheide of Russellville, Ark. (10 bass, 35-4).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 33 pounds, 3 ounces and adding to this already power-packed top-10 field are Team Bounty pro Ken Wick of Star, Idaho; Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark.; Team Snickers pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C.; Team Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va.; and Team A&W pro Shad Schenk of Waynetown, Ind.

Baumgardner earned the day’s $750 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass. He also won an extra $1,000 for having the biggest bass of the tournament.

Overall there were 776 bass weighing 2,104 pounds caught by 188 pros Friday. The catch included 108 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $125,000 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.

Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., in second place with 10 bass weighing 28-0.

“I didn’t get as many keeper bites today,” said Murphy, who has amassed eight top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events. “I caught probably 10 or 12 short fish today. I just kept my head down and stuck to the presentation I have confidence in, and it worked out.”

Murphy’s confidence technique is fishing a Senko. While other anglers may be throwing the same bait during the tournament, Murphy said he’s chosen a different color and is weighting it differently than other anglers. Murphy also relied on a shaky-head finesse worm outside of grass edges. Murphy said the Senko and the shaky-head worm each produced two of his four keepers.

While Murphy is no stranger to top-10 finishes, he said he is thrilled to be leading the field going into the final day of competition and is looking forward to a shot at his first FLW Tour win.

“It would be awesome,” Murphy said. “That’s my ultimate goal right now. If I can get that behind me, it would surely be a milestone.”

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are James Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (nine bass, 26-11); David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (10 bass, 26-5) and Mark Levesque of Waterbury, Conn. (nine bass, 25-5).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 24 pounds, 3 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Bob Blosser of Lodi, Wis.; Ken Kiersey of Owasso, Okla.; Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark.; and Mark Spearly of Bellefonte, Penn.

Rob Genter of Tidioute, Penn., earned $500 for the day’s Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught while fishing with pro Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Ga.

Overall there were 454 bass weighing 1,149 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 169 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 26 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday from Anacostia Park located at 1900 Anacostia Drive SE in Washington, D.C. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the DC Armory located at 2001 E. Capitol St. in Washington, D.C., next to RFK Stadium, beginning at 4 p.m. For convenience, visitors are encouraged to take Metro. For details on Metro service to the DC Armory, visit www.wmata.com.

Prior to the weigh-ins, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the DC Armory from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will also receive a free FLW Outdoors hat. On Sunday, the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a trip for two to the Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., where they could ultimately win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. The drawing for a free vacation getaway to Hot Springs will be held immediately following Sunday’s 4 p.m. weigh-in. Participants must be present to win.

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 full field competes Thursday and Friday for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared Saturday, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from Saturday and Sunday.

Day 3: Baumgardner Leads FLW Tour on Potomac River

WASHINGTON – Team Snickers pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to capture the lead in a top-10 field that includes some of the greatest anglers in the world. Baumgardner now holds a 1-pound edge over his closest competitor, Team Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., heading into the final day of competition in the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on the Potomac River. If he holds on for the win, Baumgardner will pocket $125,000.

“It’s getting tougher every day,” said Baumgardner, who has amassed more than $295,000 in career earnings in FLW Outdoors events. “One place I had is completely gone. I’m down to one spot, more or less.”

Baumgardner said the tides are beginning to play a major role in the tournament as they shift later every day. He said anglers are running out of time to catch quality fish as the tournament day progresses.

Baumgardner concentrated on a milfoil flat south of Smallwood State Park and is using 1/2- and 3/8-ounce chatterbaits to land the majority of his bass. He said he alternated between chartreuse/white, black and blue and brown/green pumpkin baits, with no particular preference to any color.

“It’s just a matter of getting in there and getting the right bites,” Baumgardner said. “I know I’m in the right place, and I know it has the right size of fish, but it’s getting tougher. I just have to have confidence and stay with it if I’m not getting the bites.”

Dudley, who surpassed Denny Brauer with this top-10 finish to claim the fourth spot on the all-time leading money winner’s list with more than $2.3 million, caught five fish weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces to advance to the final day of competition as the No. 2 seed.

Dudley concentrated on a stretch of water that ranged four to five miles on either side of Smallwood State Park on both sides of the river. Dudley said he mixed his techniques all three days of competition and would continue to do the same on the final day. He added he would need at least 17 pounds at weigh-in to pull off the victory, but wouldn’t make any predictions.

“Do I feel good about tomorrow?” Dudley asked rhetorically. “Yes. I caught a lot of fish today. But you’ll never hear me say, ‘I’m going to win or I’m going to go out and catch a big bag.’ You know how people do. But not me. Negatory, Big Cat. I’m never going to say that. Never. You don’t even know if you’re going to breathe 30 seconds from now.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros are Team Berkley pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. (five bass, 12-15); Team Bounty pro Ken Wick of Star, Idaho (five bass, 12-13); Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark. (five bass, 11-15); Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. (five bass, 11-9); Jack Wade of Knoxville, Tenn. (five bass, 10-14); Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla. (five bass, 10-4); Team A&W pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. (five bass, 8-13) and Team BP pro Ray Scheide of Russellville, Ark. (five bass, 7-12).

Overall there were 50 bass weighing 118 pounds, 13 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included 10 five-bass limits.

Bob Blosser of Lodi, Wis., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces followed by Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark., in second place with five bass weighing 10-7 worth $10,000.

Blosser opened the tournament in 19th place Thursday with five bass weighing 12-15 while fishing with pro George Jeane Jr. of Evans, La. On Friday he jumped into seventh place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 12-2 while fishing with Jason Reyes of Humble, Texas. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Williams.

“I just had a feeling this morning that this was going to be my day,” said Blosser, who notched his second FLW Tour top-10 finish and first victory. “The first spot we pulled up to, on about my third cast, I caught a 2 ½-pounder and I thought, ‘Cool.’”

Blosser’s winning pattern consisted of a 3/8-ounce custom swimming jig made by a friend in La Crosse, Wis., and a slow retrieve. Blosser used a black and blue jig in practice and switched to a white color to try to coax more bites.

“The white was a little better bite, so I switched to chartreuse and they just started eating it,” Blosser said. “So I called up my friend and he next-day aired me a bunch of them.”

Blosser rigged the jig with a chartreuse trailer and reeled the jig slowly across the top of grass. When the jig touched the grass, Blosser snapped the tip lightly to jump the jig off the grass.

Blosser culled his last fish of the day at 12:30 p.m. and then realized he had released his next-to-smallest fish, not his smallest fish. Despite the mistake, Blosser held on to a 3-pound, 9-ounce lead for the win.

“I’ve been doing this for six years now, and I fish the FLW Series as a pro,” Blosser said. “This is probably going to be my last go at the co-angling. I want to fish pro in either the Series or the Tour. I’m not getting any younger.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Ken Keirsey of Owasso, Okla. (five bass, 9-12, $9,000); Marc Levesque of Waterbury, Conn. (five bass, 9-3, $8,000); James Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (three bass, 7-6, $7,000); David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (two bass, 3-7, $6,000); Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa (two bass, 2-15, $5,000); Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md. (two bass, 2-13, $4,000); Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss. (no bass, $3,000) and Mark Spearly of Bellefonte, Pa. (no bass, $2,000).

Overall there were 29 bass weighing 59 pounds, 4 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included four five-bass limits.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 Sunday morning from Anacostia Park located at 1900 Anacostia Drive SE in Washington, D.C., followed by a 4 p.m. weigh-in at the DC Armory located at 2001 E. Capitol St. in Washington, D.C., next to RFK Stadium. For convenience, visitors are encouraged to take Metro. For details on Metro service to the DC Armory, visit www.wmata.com

Prior to the final day weigh-in, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the DC Armory from noon to 4 p.m. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a trip for two to the Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, where they could ultimately win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. The drawing for a free vacation getaway to Hot Springs will be held immediately following Sunday’s 4 p.m. weigh-in. Participants must be present to win.

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 full field competes Thursday and Friday for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared Saturday, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from Saturday and Sunday.

Day 4: Baumgardner Wins FLW Tour Event on Potomac River

WASHINGTON – Team Snickers pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 5 ounces to win $125,000 in the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on the Potomac River. Baumgardner topped his closest rival, David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., by more than 6 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.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Baumgardner, who boosted his career FLW Outdoors earnings to more than $423,000 with the victory. “I’ve been wanting to win one of these forever. You think you have it in you to win one, and you’re pretty sure, but you don’t really know until you win one.

“There’s 200 great fishermen out there,” Baumgardner added. “There’s nothing like winning.”

Baumgardner fished an area three to four miles south of Mattawoman Creek near Smallwood State Park and concentrated on a large flat that consisted of milfoil mats. He targeted bass with the lure he’d thrown in previous days of competition — a Rad Lures Chatterbait. Baumgardner employed two colors of Chatterbait — a black and blue and a brown color he calls “Andy” after fellow Tour pro Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., who tied the bait’s skirt for him. He used a green-pumpkin trailer on the Chatterbaits.

“It took me 45 minutes to catch my first one,” Baumgardner said. “Then it took me a half hour and then I caught three in about five minutes. That was by 9 a.m. Then I’d go an hour without a bite, then catch two or three. They came in flurries, and I ended up catching 10 or 11 keepers.”

Baumgardner said he remained calm the last two days of competition, despite being so close to his first FLW Tour victory.

“I get nervous the first two days,” Baumgardner said. “That’s when you can really bomb really bad. Once you make the top 10, all you’re trying to do then is win.”

Baumgardner opened the tournament Thursday in 32nd place with five bass weighing 15-6. He jumped to seventh place Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 18 pounds, 10 ounces to advance into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds. On Saturday, weights were cleared, and Baumgardner caught five bass weighing 16-7 to advance to the final day of competition in first place. Baumgardner added another five bass weighing 16-14 to his final-round total Sunday.

Dudley caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 26-9 to claim second place and $50,000.

“I was pretty confident coming into today,” Dudley said. “I think I made a few not-so-wise decisions as far as the times I chose to move from area to area.”

Dudley said he caught a lot of keepers Sunday, but couldn’t get the quality of fish needed to secure the win. Dudley’s bait of choice was a green-pumpkin green flake Zoom Baby Brush Hog, but he managed to catch some fish on a variety of other baits. He targeted grass and wood mid-river near Smallwood State Park.

“My timing of my moves was not right,” Dudley said. “I still caught fish, but when I made my move, I was 30 minutes off. I was close, but no cigar.

“As far as my fishing mechanics, I did OK,” Dudley added. “I have no regrets there.”

With his second-place finish, Dudley surpassed Denny Brauer to claim the fourth spot on the all-time leading money winner’s list with a career winnings total of $2,370,410.

“I hate to lose,” Dudley said. “I don’t know what else to say. If I don’t win, in my opinion, I’ve lost. I hate to lose.

“Ninety percent of (my success) is due to what FLW Outdoors has done to grow this sport to a level that I thought would take years and years to get to, but they did it in 10 years or less,” Dudley added. “I just get chill bumps thinking about it. But I won’t be satisfied until I’m No. 1.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros were Team Berkley pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. (10 bass, 24-12, $40,000); Team Bounty pro Ken Wick of Star, Idaho (10 bass, 24-3, $30,000); Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. (10 bass, 23-10, $20,000); Jack Wade of Knoxville, Tenn. (10 bass, 22-14, $19,000); Team A&W pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. (10 bass, 21-7, $18,000); Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark. (10 bass, 21-2, $17,000); Team BP pro Ray Scheide of Russellville, Ark. (10 bass, 20-7, $16,000) and Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla. (nine bass, 14-5, $15,000).

Overall there were 49 bass weighing 113 pounds, 13 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included nine five-bass limits.

On Saturday, Bob Blosser of Lodi, Wis., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 with a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces followed by Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark., in second place with five bass weighing 10-7 worth $10,000.

Blosser opened the tournament in 19th place Thursday with five bass weighing 12-15 while fishing with pro George Jeane Jr. of Evans, La. On Friday he jumped into seventh place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 12-2 while fishing with Jason Reyes of Humble, Texas. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Williams.

“I just had a feeling this morning that this was going to be my day,” said Blosser, who notched his second FLW Tour top-10 finish and first victory. “The first spot we pulled up to, on about my third cast, I caught a 2 ½-pounder and I thought, ‘Cool.’”

Blosser’s winning pattern consisted of a 3/8-ounce custom swimming jig made by a friend in La Crosse, Wis., and a slow retrieve. Blosser used a black and blue jig in practice and switched to a white color to try to coax more bites.

“The white was a little better bite, so I switched to chartreuse and they just started eating it,” Blosser said. “So I called up my friend and he next-day aired me a bunch of them.”

Blosser rigged the jig with a chartreuse trailer and reeled the jig slowly across the top of grass. When the jig touched the grass, Blosser snapped the tip lightly to jump the jig off the grass.

Blosser culled his last fish of the day at 12:30 p.m. and then realized he had released his next-to-smallest fish, not his smallest fish. Despite the mistake, Blosser held on to a 3-pound, 9-ounce lead for the win.

“I’ve been doing this for six years now, and I fish the FLW Series as a pro,” Blosser said. “This is probably going to be my last go at the co-angling. I want to fish pro in either the Series or the Tour. I’m not getting any younger.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were Ken Keirsey of Owasso, Okla. (five bass, 9-12, $9,000); Marc Levesque of Waterbury, Conn. (five bass, 9-3, $8,000); James Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (three bass, 7-6, $7,000); David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (two bass, 3-7, $6,000); Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa (two bass, 2-15, $5,000); Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md. (two bass, 2-13, $4,000); Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss. (no bass, $3,000) and Mark Spearly of Bellefonte, Pa. (no bass, $2,000).

Overall there were 29 bass weighing 59 pounds, 4 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included four five-bass limits.

Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on July 29 and Aug. 5 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program 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.

The next $ 1.5 million FLW Tour stop, the Chevy Open, will be held on the Detroit River in Detroit, Mich., July 12-15.

Articles and images from FLW

Compiled by Brandon Shook

President/Publisher: Brandon Shook.