Fukae for real
Shin leads at Beaver Lake, continues ‘rookie’ run
ROGERS, Ark. – For someone who doesn’t speak the language, Shinichi Fukae sure knows a lot about how to catch American bass. The pro from Osaka, Japan, leads the Pro Division after day one of competition at the FLW Tour’s Wal-Mart Open with a five-bass weight of 16 pounds, 7 ounces, proving once again that competitive fishing knows no boundaries.
They said it was going to be a tougher tournament this year at Beaver Lake than in the past, and it was Wednesday – sort of. Anglers brought in mixed bags of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, and a lot of them were shorter fish. Still, 80 pros did manage to catch a limit, which means the fishing might not be as bad as all that.
Leading the limit charge was Fukae, who is making a strong push for Angler of the Year in just his first season on the FLW Tour. A former angler of the year in Japan, the pro simply known as “Shin” has stormed onto the FLW scene this year, already with two top-20 finishes in the first three events and currently sitting seventh in points. Since most of the top pros in the standings fell flat at Beaver Lake on day one – Glenn Browne, Dave Lefebre and Alvin Shaw all placed worse than 100th, and leader Dean Rojas zeroed – Fukae has positioned himself nicely to take over the points lead after this week. Only Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., fifth in points, kept pace with Fukae by placing 10th Wednesday.
“It was very, very perfect,” Fukae said, through an interpreter, about his first day of competition at Beaver. “I caught fish all day long.”
In fact, the leader caught 11 keeper bass Wednesday, including a kicker largemouth he hooked around 3:30 in the afternoon that weighed 5 pounds even. While reluctant to reveal his pattern so early in the tournament, Fukae did say that he caught most of his fish on a small jig in 10 to 15 feet of water.
Part of his success can probably be attributed to the fact that Fukae has been practicing at Beaver Lake for about two weeks. Many other top anglers came to the lake straight from other tournaments last week and didn’t get in nearly as much pre-fishing time. However, the Japanese pro said that he has never fished a multi-species waterway like Beaver Lake, which contains three species of tournament bass.
He also said that American lakes are generally harder to fish than Japanese waters due to their larger size. But, judging by his torrid record on tour so far, something about that contention seems a little lost in translation.
Walker squeaks into second
One of those pros who came into the event with very little practice was David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn. However, with a little bit of luck and some fast learning, he claimed second place with a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces.
“I cannot believe the day I’ve had,” said Walker, the 1999 FLW Angler of the Year. “It looks like I caught them good, but everything I caught is in that bag,” meaning the only fish he caught were the five bass that he weighed in.
He fished using mostly a Tennessee flat-side crankbait and basically focused his efforts Wednesday on covering a lot of water and locating fish. He said the fish that he found were in a little deeper water off of shallow bays, but he’s not sure he’ll be able to return to the same spots tomorrow because the bass bite is such a touch-and-go situation right now.
“This time of year, they’re going to change day to day, hour to hour,” Walker said. “I felt like I was Rick Clunn all day today. It felt like the fish were looking for me, instead of the other way around.”
Robertson third
Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., took third place in the Pro Division with a five-bass weight of 14 pounds, 13 ounces. He, too, caught just five keepers, but his stringer consisted mainly of largemouths, which made the difference.
“I found one place where I could catch some,” said Robertson, who has a fairly solid track record at Beaver Lake. “Most of these blacks (largemouth bass) are coming fairly shallow.”
Powers fourth
Pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., placed fifth with a limit weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces. A self-professed “junk-fisherman,” Powers played to his strengths and used a variety of baits and patterns Wednesday.
“I caught one here and one there,” he said. “The way my year has been going, to catch that sack right there makes me the happiest man in Arkansas.”
Chapman, Scheide fifth
Brent Chapman of Shawnee, Kansas, and Ray Scheide of Russellville, Ark., tied for fifth place in the Pro Division, each with a five-bass weight of 13 pounds, 13 ounces. Scheide won the first FLW tournament in 2004 at Lake Okeechobee.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 in the Pro Division are Tim Klinger of Boulder City, Nev., with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces (7th place); Jason Kilpatrick of Satsuma, Ala., with five bass weighing 12-13 (8th); Marty Fourkiller of Sylva, N.C., with five bass weighing 12-7 (9th); and Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., with five bass weighing 12-2.
Tony Couch of Buckhead, Ga., caught a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass Wednesday to earn Snickers Big Bass honors in the Pro Division. He earned $750 for his big bass.
Reitz leads co-anglers
Clayton Reitz of Morton, Ill., claimed the top spot in the Co-angler Division on opening day at Beaver Lake with a five-bass weight of 11 pounds, 6 ounces. He edged out Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., who placed second with five bass weighing 11-3.
“I just basically dragged a worm around,” said Reitz, who fished with pro Andy Morgan Wednesday. “They wanted it really slow. I made one cast for every three that my partner made. We were on fish all day.”
Co-angler Keith Pace of Monticello, Ark., placed third with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 3 ounces.
Lonnie Fuller Jr. of Hemphill, Texas, placed fourth for the co-anglers with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces.
Mike Jones of Lebanon, Mo., placed fifth in the CO-angler Division with a five-bass weight of 9 pounds, 1 ounce.
Rounding out the top 11 in the Co-angler Division are Donald Cox of Rochester, Ind., with five bass weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces (6th place); Ralph Myhlhousen of Grove, Okla., with five bass weighing 7-9 (7th); Mike Hawks of Woodlawn, Va., with three bass weighing 7-7 (8th); Todd Lowe of Greensboro, Ga., with three bass weighing 7-7 (8th); Mike Boyles of Ozark, Mo., with four bass weighing 7-5 (10th); and Todd Lee of Grove, Okla., with three bass weighing 7-5 (10th).
Thomas Higdon of Owensboro, Ky., claimed the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division Wednesday thanks to a 5-pound, 3-bass that earned him $500.
The opening round of Wal-Mart Open competition at Beaver Lake continues with its second half Thursday as anglers take off from Prairie Creek Marina in Gallatin at 7 a.m. CST. The full fields will be cut down to the top 10 anglers apiece following tomorrow’s action.