Quick Bites: FLW Lake Okeechobee, Day 3

Kimbrough eeks out co-angler title, Scheide pulls ahead in Pro Division, the wind wreaks havoc and Nixon, Bowen and Lillegard stumble

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Fla.

Semifinals, Friday

Baits are a little too good … Co-angler Derek Yamamoto of Mesa, Ariz., is the proud owner of Kinami baits – one of the most successful baits employed on Lake Okeechobee all week. So, when Yamamoto stood onstage during the finals with only one man to beat, co-angler Robert Kimbrough of Vero Beach, Fla., Yamamoto couldn’t have been happier. His baits were all the rage, and he was poised to take home the co-angler title and $15,000, assuming his catch of 6 pounds, 8 ounces held up. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, Kimbrough managed to produce a 7-pound, 1-ounce catch to eek out the title by a mere 9 ounces. And guess what baits Kimbrough used? “I caught all of my fish all week on Kinami baits,” said Kimbrough, amused at the irony of the situation. “Derek has the best baits in the world.” Although he didn’t get the results he’d hoped for, Yamamoto was far from disappointed. “It’s just fun to be onstage,” he said. “I did all right, and I was happy to see that a lot of the guys were using my baits. It was a lot of fun. That’s all I can say.” For his efforts, Yamamoto earned a check for $6,000 and some great recognition for his company.

Keirsey lets one get away … Although Ken Keirsey of Owasso, Okla., had a respectable third-place finish, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been. “I had a 6-pounder fall off a Rat `L Trap right by the boat. It was a tough day. The wind really hurt us.” However, Keirsey – the 2003 FLW Tour Co-angler Champion – still managed a $4,000 payday as well as his third consecutive trip to the finals on the FLW Tour.

Wind aides Scheide … Although the wind disrupted pattern after pattern for both pros and co-anglers alike, it clearly wasn’t a problem for pro Ray Scheide of Russellville, Ark., who used a 14-pound, 8-ounce catch to grab the overall lead heading into tomorrow’s finals. “That wind, I don’t know where it came from,” he said. “It really bothered me at first and it was battering me all day. I only wound up with eight bites total. But (after seeing the weights of his competitors) it looks like it kind of worked out in my favor. Now I hope the wind blows tomorrow.” According to Scheide, he is fishing an area only a few hundred yards long. “I have a small area I’ve got all to myself,” he said. “And I’m going back there tomorrow. I’m going to keep the trolling motor in the water all day.”

McCall’s magic continues … Despite suffering through the difficult loss of his mother’s passing this week, Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas, continues to ride on the back of angels. After turning in the biggest sack of his career on day one of the tournament – a whopping 27-pound, 3-ounce stringer – McCall followed that up by completing the opening round of tournament action with the third-largest two-day stringer (46 pounds, 6 ounces) in FLW Tour history. So what did he do for an encore in today’s competitiion? He simply landed a 6-pound largemouth on the very last cast of the day. “I was really kind of getting down on myself earlier in the day,” said McCall. “But to catch a fish that size on the last cast was definitely something special.” McCall, who wasn’t sure if he should go home immediately after learning of his mom’s passing, admitted that it has been a roller-coaster week emotionally. “I talked to my dad as soon as I found out about my mom,” said McCall. “He told me that he thought I should stay and keep fishing. I thought a lot about what Brett Favre went through with his dad, and that kind of helped me out. But it’s been tough.”

Gone with the wind … Without a doubt, the wind played a huge factor in today’s outcome for many anglers. When all was said and done, no angler broke the 15-pound barrier. However, FLW Tour pros Larry Nixon, Billy Bowen and Rick Lillegard seemed to be hit the hardest. During today’s weigh-in, those three anglers only managed to turn in a combined catch of 3 pounds, 9 ounces. By contrast, Nixon had a 28-pound, 6-ounce stringer on the first day.

Quick numbers:

80-6: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of fish caught by the pros Friday.

9: Number of ounces separating first and second place in the co-angler finals.

8: Average weight, in pounds, caught by each pro.

3-9: Combined catch, in pounds and ounces, by FLW Tour pros Larry Nixon, Billy Bowen Jr. and Rick Lillegard in the semifinals.

3: Number of fish lost by FLW Tour pro Dave Lefebre today after not missing a fish all week.

3: Number of consecutive cuts made by co-angler Ken Keirsey of Owasso, Okla.

2: The number of limits caught by co-anglers in today’s finals.

Sound bites:

“My mom was my biggest fan, and I knew that she would want me to stay.”

– FLW Tour pro Chris McCall on why he decided to continue competing at the Lake Okeechobee event despite the passing of his mother.

“I should have abandoned my plan last night. And if I had to do it all over again, I would have gone somewhere else.”

– FLW Tour pro Larry Nixon lamenting his strategy in today’s competition.

“I’m glad nobody is running away with this tournament because I really thought it was going to be over for me.”

– FLW Tour pro Dave Lefebre breathing a sigh of relief after realizing that nearly every semifinalist was adversely affected by the wind and that he still had a shot at the title.

“I like coming from behind. These guys are going to have their hands full because I’m coming after them tomorrow.”

– FLW Tour pro Billy Bowen, Jr. expressing optimism after only landing a one-fish catch weighing 1 pound, 1 ounce in today’s competition.

“We’re going to have 10.”

– 2003 FLW Tour Champion David Dudley declaring onstage the number of children he plans to have before his family gets too large. Apparently there was no word on whether his wife was briefed of his intentions beforehand.

“I had a lot of weird stuff happen to me last year. I could have written a book on what happened to me during the first four months of last season.”

– FLW Tour pro Dean Rojas explaining why he believes he’ll have a lot more success on the FLW Tour in 2004.

“The wind really messed me up today. But I got to fish with my hero, Larry Nixon, and I wouldn’t have traded that for anything.”

– FLW co-angler Alex Ormand maintaining a healthy perspective on the ups and downs of the professional bass-fishing tour.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. EST at Roland Martin’s Marina, located at 920 E. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston, Fla.