FLW anglers battle for share of $500,000 total purse at Kentucky Lake tourney
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – As dawn broke on Wednesday morning, 350 anglers representing 34 states, Canada and Japan headed out onto the open waters of Kentucky Lake to kick off the start of the fifth tour stop of the 2003 FLW season. With warm temperatures, relatively clear skies and little wind to speak of, anglers appeared to have been handed nearly perfect fishing conditions for the start of the difficult four-day event.
The tournament marks the first time the FLW Tour has stopped at Kentucky Lake since 1998. In that event, Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., walked away with the tournament title. However, in a strange twist of fate, Morehead’s name is back in the news again at Kentucky Lake in 2003. The Kentucky native – who currently leads all pro anglers in the race for this season’s Angler of the Year title – could take a huge step toward wrapping up the coveted award with a banner performance this week. Morehead is also coming off a first-place finish at the previous FLW tournament at Beaver Lake.
However, Morehead isn’t the only angler with a vested interest in the outcome of the Kentucky Lake tournament. With a first-place cash prize of $100,000 awaiting the winner of the Pro Division and another $15,000 earmarked for the eventual winner of the Co-angler Division, competition on the 185-mile long Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir should be intense.
If a tournament title isn’t motivation enough, the Kentucky Lake event also represents the second-to-last chance for anglers to acquire valuable point totals in the year-end standings. At the conclusion of the regular season in June, only the top 48 pros and co-anglers in the year-end standings race will be invited to participate $1.5 million Jacobs Cup world championship of bass fishing, slated for the James River near Richmond, Va., Sept. 10-13. The winning pro at the Jacobs Cup will earn an unprecedented prize of $500,000 – the largest guaranteed award in the history of professional bass fishing.
FLW action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. at the Kentucky Dam Marina, located at 466 Marina Drive in Gilbertsville, Ky.
Vital statistics:
Sunrise: 5:47 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 60 degrees
Expected high temperature: 75 degrees
Water temperature: 69 degrees
Wind: from the southwest at 3 mph
Relative humidity: 75 percent
Day’s outlook: partly cloudy
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