VanDam clinches angler-of-the-year title
DETROIT – Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., caught five smallmouth bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces Thursday on Lake St. Clair to lead the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1 million Forrest Wood Open with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 13 ounces.
During semifinal-round action Friday, Nixon will be up against nine of the world’s best professional bass anglers in a final bid to make the all-important five-man final round Saturday for a shot at $200,000 first place cash-one of the richest awards in competitive bass fishing. Weights are cleared for the final two rounds of the four-day tournament.
“As much as I struggled today, I’m not real sure about (Friday),” said Nixon, who caught just seven bass Thursday using a tubebait. “I don’t have anything rock solid to count on.”
Pat Fisher of Stone Mountain, Ga. (10 bass, 32-13); Terry Baksay of Monroe, Conn. (10 bass, 31-15); Koby Kreiger of Osceola, Ind. (10 bass, 31-8); and Steve Daniel of Clewiston, Fla. (10 bass, 31-7) rounded out the top five anglers in the Pro Division. Nixon qualified ahead of Fisher based on having the heaviest stringer on either of the first two days of competition.
While he didn’t qualify for the semifinal round, local favorite and Chevy Pro Staff angler Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., clinched the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title with a 28th place showing of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 10 ounces.
VanDam’s closest competitor coming into the final qualifying tournament of the $4.45 million 2001 season was perennial Angler of the Year contender Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo. Clunn needed to place 75 places ahead of VanDam to grab the title, but he ended the tournament in 87th place with nine bass weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces.
As Angler of the Year, VanDam is recognized as the best, most consistent professional bass angler in the world. His picture will be featured on special collectors edition Kellogg’sÒ cereal boxes, and he will receive a $25,000 bonus plus a Mercury- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 518 VX bass boat for his accomplishment.
“This is pretty exciting for me since Kellogg’s is based in Battle Creek, which is not far from my home,” VanDam said. “I really didn’t worry about it through the year, but last tournament I realized I had a shot. And finishing up close to home, I wanted to do well.”
James Shockey of Wellington, Fla., took the opening-round lead in the Co-Angler Division Thursday with a five-bass catch weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces that boosted his two-day total to nine bass weighing 27 pounds, 10 ounces. John Jacobs of Birmingham, Ala. (10 bass, 26-10) and Tommy Gaffney of Little Switzerland, N.C. (10 bass, 26-8) trailed in second and third places respectively.
The winning co-angler at the Forrest Wood Open will receive $40,000, and the Eagle Co-Angler of the Year will receive a Ranger R91 boat powered by Mercury or Yamaha along with priority entry into the Pro Division of the 2002 Wal-Mart FLW Tour. The Co-Angler of the Year title will be determined Friday.
Big bass and $1,250 in the Pro Division went to Chris Daniels of Clayton, N.C., for a 4-pound, 8-ounce smallmouth while big bass honors and $750 in the Co-Angler Division went to Jacobs for a 4-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth. Rick Parnell of Casselberry, Fla., won the Pepsi Big Bass award of $1,000 for the heaviest bass during round one, a 5-pound, 7-ounce smallmouth that he landed on opening day.
Competition at the Forrest Wood Open presented by Kellogg’s continues at 7:30 a.m. Friday at Metro Beach Metropark in Mt. Clemens, Mich., followed by a 5 p.m. weigh-in at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter on Van Dyke Ave. in Warren, Mich. Saturday’s final takeoff starts at 6 a.m. followed by a 3:30 p.m. weigh-in at Wal-Mart.