Leader of the Pack
Mark Pack grabs overall lead in $1 million Wal-Mart Open
ROGERS, Ark. – Executing an improvised sight-fishing strategy to near perfection, Mark Pack of Mineola, Texas, used a 13-pound, 9-ounce stringer to pull away from one of the most tightly grouped leaderboards in recent memory. Although Pack’s five-fish stringer gave him some breathing room at the top, the next 11 anglers in the standings were separated by less than one pound by the end of Wednesday’s competition.
Despite the tight finish, Pack said he was relieved to be in the driver’s seat – literally and figuratively – heading into Thursday’s competition.
“It feels great, it really does,” said Pack, who has never had a top-10 finish on the FLW Tour. “I have a good idea where I’m taking my boat on Thursday. I know I can catch some fish. I just have to put it all together tomorrow.”
While many tournament anglers have used the sight-fishing technique – the art of visually targeting spawning bass in shallow water – Pack was able to modify the strategy to vault atop the leaderboard.
“What I’m keying on is sight-fishing on the deeper beds, which is what most people are ignoring,” said Pack, who has 15 years experience as a fishing guide in Texas. “I’m not really fishing in clear water. Actually, you can barely see the fish I’m catching.”
Although Pack said sight-fishing is not his favorite technique, he believes it will prove to be the winning strategy.
“Quite frankly, I’d rather be catching fish on deep structure,” said Pack. “But if you’re not sight-fishing this time of the year, you’re probably going to get beat.”
Although Pack is in first place for now, he knows that no lead is safe with so many anglers bunched together at the top.
“I’m going to try and catch about 8 to 10 pounds of fish tomorrow and then back off some,” said Pack. “I want to try and save some fish for the final two rounds of competition. But then again, I want to make sure that I qualify for the top 10 tomorrow. I’m going to have to be very careful.”
Rounding out the top four places in the Pro Division after the first day of competition were Cody Bird (second) of Granbury, Texas, with a catch of 12 pounds, 1 ounce; Randy Howell (third) of Trussville, Ala., with a catch of 11 pounds, 14 ounces; and Koby Kreiger (fourth) of Osceola, Ind., with a catch of 11 pounds, 13 ounces. Paul Elias of Pachuta, Miss., Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., and Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas, were all tied for fifth place with identical catches of 11 pounds, 11 ounces.
Howell also won a check for $1,250 for winning the Big Bass award in the Pro Division after landing a fish weighing 3 pounds, 12 ounces.
Hudson grabs lead in Co-Angler Division
The 2000 FLW Co-Angler of the Year appears to have finally regained his form. Despite a slow start in the first three tournaments of the 2001 FLW season, David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., used an 8-pound, 4-ounce catch to take over the leaderboard in the Co-Angler Division heading into Thursday’s competition.
However, there are plenty of other anglers who could easily challenge for the Beaver Lake title. Finishing just 6 ounces behind Hudson was Al Little of Greensboro, N.C. In third place was David Gee of Plymouth, Ind., with a catch of 7 pounds, 10 ounces. Kendall Martin of Tremont, Ill., used a catch of 7 pounds, 7 ounces to grab the fourth spot in the standings while Vandy Cameron of Rogers, Ark., rounded out the top-five standings with a catch of 7 pounds, 5 ounces.
Brantley Peoples of Raleigh, N.C., won $750 for catching the largest fish – a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass – in the Co-Angler Division. Peoples is currently tied for sixth place overall.
Tomorrow’s competition resumes at 6:30 a.m. at Prairie Creek Park in Rogers, Ark.
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