Ropdrigue earns $15,000 as co-angler winner
MORGAN CITY, La. – Veteran pro Paul Elias of Pachuta, Miss., will lead 10 contenders into the final round of the $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin thanks to his five-bass catch Friday weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces. Elias leads No. 2 seed Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W. Va., by 1 pound, 9 ounces in their quest for the top pro award of $100,000 cash.
Anglers avoided the forecasted rain Friday and fished another round under slightly overcast skies with temperatures in the mid-70s. Spinner baits were the lure of choice for most competitors, and Elias was no exception. He used a 3/8-ounce Mann’s spinner bait to land more than 40 bass from a 200-yard long stretch of grass located at the end of a six-mile long run through extremely shallow water. “If my boat comes off plane at any point, I’m done,” Elias said.
“I’ve figured it out – it’s kind of like golf,” said Elias, who is hunting for his first major tournament win since 1998. “You hit the ball, and then you have to go down there and hit it again. Everything came together today. I don’t know if I had the fish or if the fish had me – these are some of the meanest fish I’ve ever caught in my life!”
Rounding out the top five pros are Chapman (five bass, 15 pounds, 12 ounces); Jimmy Millsaps of Canton, Ga. (five bass, 14 pounds); Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa. (five bass, 12 pounds, 14 ounces); and J.T. Kenney of Frostburg, Md. (five bass, 11 pounds, 8 ounces).
Anglers will likely not avoid inclement weather Saturday, as storms are expected to roll into the area. While weights were cleared after Thursday’s competition, Friday’s weights carry over to Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest two-day catch. The forthcoming thunderstorms could change more than a few strategies for the remaining pros and make gaining ground on the leaders a bit more difficult.
Co-angler competition concluded Friday, and Brad Rodrigue of Pierre Part, La., emerged as champion thanks to his five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces. Rodrigue collected $15,000 for the win plus a $500 Wal-Mart gift card from Castrol and $500 worth of Castrol products.
“I’m just speechless,” said Rodrigue, who caught his bass on a blue and yellow Series Three Bandit crankbait and a watermelon red Brush Hog. “All I wanted to do was get into the tournament and have a chance to fish.” Rodrigue, a local favorite, entered the tournament through the waiting list, and this was his first-ever FLW Tour event.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Rick Turner (five bass, 11 pounds, 4 ounces, $6,000); Dennis Kirby of Lakeland, Tenn. (four bass, 9 pounds, 7 ounces, $4,000); Richard Strother of Tyler, Texas (three bass, 8 pounds, 12 ounces, $3,000); and Sandy Gaudet (two bass, 5 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,500).
Elias earned a $500 Wal-Mart gift card as the winner of the Energizer Keeps on Going Award, which is awarded to the angler who came from the farthest behind to advance to the final round. He finished in 20th place on opening day.
Chapman earned the Shop-Vac High Performance Award, which is given to the angler with the heaviest total catch weight after the first three days of competition, with a three-day catch of 46 pounds, 8 ounces. His prize was a 10-gallon, stainless-steel Shop-Vac.
A total of 67 bass were caught Friday, including nine five-bass limits. One hundred percent were released alive. If the tour maintains a 98 percent live-release rate throughout the season, Energizer will donate $25,000 to the Children’s Miracle Network.
The four-day Atchafalaya Basin tournament presented by Frito Lay began Wednesday with 175 pros and 175 co-anglers competing for two days for one of 10 final-round spots in their respective divisions. It is the second of six regular-season Wal-Mart FLW Tour events that lead to the $1.5 million Jacobs Cup on the James River in Richmond, Va., Sept. 10-13. The road to Richmond, Va., is indeed paved with gold, as the Jacobs Cup champion will collect $500,000, the largest guaranteed cash award in bass-fishing history.
The remaining pro finalists will take off from the Belle River Boat Launch in Belle River at 7 a.m. Saturday followed by the final weigh-in at the Wal-Mart store located on Highway 90 East in Bayou Vista beginning at 3 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend the final takeoff and weigh-in as well as visit the Family Fun Zone, located outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, a free event featuring games, product giveaways and interactive displays, will open at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Coverage of the Atchafalaya Basin tournament will be featured on the “FLW Outdoors” television show, which is broadcast to 55 million subscribers on the Outdoor Life Network. The program features fishing legends Hank Parker and Larry Nixon alongside hosts Charlie Evans, Carlton Wing and Taylor Carr. Parker’s preview of the Atchafalaya Basin tournament will air Saturday at 7 p.m. EST and again Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. Tournament highlights from the Atchafalaya Basin will air Feb. 22 and 23 followed by a tournament recap featuring Nixon March 1 and 2.
The Wal-Mart FLW Tour features a pro/co-angler format in which the pro supplies the boat, fishes from the front deck against other pros and controls boat movement. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. One hundred and seventy-five pros and 175 co-anglers comprise a full field. Anglers who receive weight credit in a tournament earn points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 for third, and so on. Points determine angler standings.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997.