SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER, La. – Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot going into the semifinal round of the $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on the Red River Thursday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 13 ounces.
Morehead caught five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce on opening day of the tournament presented by ALPO Pet Foods to place third. He then landed five more bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces Thursday to claim the top qualifying spot among 10 semifinalists in the Pro Division. At stake in the tournament, which is the fifth of seven stops on the $4.45 million 2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour, are top awards of $100,000 in the Pro Division and $15,000 in the Co-Angler Division.
To claim the big money payout Morehead will have to produce two more quality stringers as weights are cleared for the one-day semifinal round, and only the top five pros advance to Saturday’s finale.
“In this circuit, the whole key is to make the top 10,” Morehead said. “As far as I’m concerned, the pressure is off.”
Morehead, like most competitors, fished flooded timber and backwater sloughs that are accessible due to higher than average water levels. His baits of choice for the shallow water included spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and flipping jigs.
Chevy Pro Staff angler Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich. (10 bass, 28-12); Land O’Lakes Team angler Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark. (10 bass, 28-12); Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn. (10 bass, 28-9); and Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va. (10 bass, 28-4) rounded out the top five anglers in the Pro Division.
Big bass honors and $750 in the 175-person Pro Division went to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s all-time leading money winner, Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., for a 5-pound, 7-ounce largemouth. VanDam, however, earned $1,000 from Pepsi for catching the biggest bass of the opening round-a 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth that he caught on opening day.
Steve Bowman of Little Rock, Ark., took the No. 1 qualifying spot in the 175-person Co-Angler Division with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces followed by W.D. (Hoot) Gibson of Bryant, Ark. (10 bass, 15-15), and Billy Joyce of Fayetteville, Ga. (eight bass, 15-12).
Bowman landed five bass on opening day to finish in 17th then caught five bass weighing 10 pounds, 1 ounce Thursday to take the lead. He and nine other co-anglers will start from zero Friday and fish for one day to determine the winner.
David Cochran of Hot Springs, Ark., claimed the co-angler big bass award of $500 with a 6-pound largemouth.
Overall, 923 bass were caught Thursday including 86 limits.
Competition resumes at 8 a.m. Friday at Clark’s Red River Marina in Elm Grove followed by a 5 p.m. weigh-in at the Shreveport Wal-Mart on Westport Road. Saturday’s final takeoff from the marina starts at 6:30 a.m. followed by a 3:30 p.m. weigh-in at Wal-Mart.
A Family Fun Zone featuring fishing seminars, free product samples, interactive displays and children’s games will open in the Wal-Mart parking lot starting at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. As part of the festivities at Wal-Mart, ALPO and the Humane Society of Northwest Louisiana will be hosting talks on responsible pet care and canine adoptions. Each family that adopts a pet will take home a three-month supply ($75 value) of ALPOÒ dog food to help meet their new companion’s nutritional needs.