Quick Bites: Forrest Wood Open, Day 3
A nail-biting finish emerges, the pressure gets turned up on Baumgardner and Walker owes his wife some money
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Semifinal round, Friday
Too close to call … Over the years, there have been plenty of close finishes on the FLW tournament trail. However, this week’s Lake Champlain tournament is looking like it could wind up being the most hotly contested event in the history of the FLW Tour. By the time Friday’s weigh-in had concluded in the Pro Division, eight out of the 10 semifinalists were separated by less than 2 pounds. Nine anglers were separated by 3 pounds. And all 10 semifinalists were less than 5 pounds apart. Although the razor thin margin between all competitors could be explained by the bountiful reserves of fish on Lake Champlain – to be sure, five-fish limits were as plentiful this week as Britney Spears videos are on MTV – much of the credit has to go to the anglers themselves. How good are this week’s finalists? Combined, the 10 pros have won nearly $2.6 million dollars and have netted 102 top-10 finishes at FLW Outdoors related events – not to mention representation by one former and one defending FLW Angler of the Year. In short, stay tuned. Because if you’re a true bass-fishing enthusiast, you won’t want to miss Saturday’s weigh-in. Note: FLWOutdoors.com will be offering live updates from Lake Champlain during Saturday’s finals. Click here for more details.
Oh no, not again …. While Friday’s weigh-in was extraordinarily exciting for fans, it was a little too close for comfort for FLW pro Dan Morehead. Although he finished the day in second place by a mere 1 ounce, a seemingly great position heading into Saturday’s finals, Morehead sounded none too pleased. “I’ll tell you what, this 1-ounce stuff is starting to get old.” While it seemed like a perplexing statement at the time, Morehead quickly filled in the blanks. “At the last FLW tournament (in May) on Kentucky Lake, my trolling motor broke down, I lost 2 1/2 hours of fishing and missed the cut by 1 ounce,” he said. “Then, in an EverStart tournament on the Red River last April, I finished tied for the lead but lost the tiebreaker. So, right now, 1 ounce is a big deal for me.” Who says tournament fishing isn’t a game of ounces?
Third place or bust … While there is tremendous pressure on all of the top-10 pros competing at this week’s FLW event on Lake Champlain, it’s a good bet that nobody has more at stake than Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C. Why is that you ask? As it stands right now, all 10 semifinalists have safely qualified for the $1.5 million FLW Championship this August – with the lone exception of Baumgardner. And as luck would have it, Baumgardner needs to finish in third place or higher to get an automatic invite to the championship, which goes out to the top 48 anglers in the year-end standings.
A great woman behind every great angler …FLW Tour veteran David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., found himself in third place after today’s competition and in great shape to make a run at the tournament title. However, the way he tells it, had it not been for his wife, he never would have made the top-10 cut in the first place. “The night before (Thursday’s competition) I was debating whether or not to make a long run to my best spot. But I was worried about whether or not the wind would be too strong to even get there. I had basically decided to play it safe, go to another spot, catch a smaller limit, finish the tournament in the top 50 and get a $10,000 (the minimum prize money allotted for a finish of 50th place or higher). I really didn’t have any pressure on me because I had already qualified for the championship. But I decided to talk it over with my wife. I said, `Look, if I try to go to my good spot and I don’t get there, we’re going to lose out on $10,000. That’s a lot of money.’ But she said, `You’re on some good fish. And how many times do you get to fish for $200,000 in your life?’ Once she said that, I changed my mind and decided to gamble. She really gave me the confidence I needed to try it. Luckily for us, it paid off.’ And if it hadn’t have worked out? “I probably would not have been happy.”
Knapp shows knack for the dramatic … Co-angler Jason Knapp had always wanted to make it as a professional bass angler. And after years of paying his dues, it finally paid off in today’s co-angler finals. With a stellar 14-pound, 9-ounce catch in Friday’s finals, Knapp won his first FLW co-angler title. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 10 years old,” said Knapp, overcome with joy after his victory. “This isn’t just fishing. It’s a way of life for some people. I started out fishing the BFLs when I was 16 years old and worked my way up to the FLW Tour. I’ve worked really hard for this. I couldn’t be more excited.” And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Knapp, who has befriended many of the Japanese anglers on the trail this year, even affording them a place to live under his own roof from time to time, clearly defines what sportsmanship is all about.
Quick numbers:
40,000: Total prize money won by 22-year-old co-angler Jason Knapp in today’s finals.
8,486-11: Total weight in pounds and ounces of fish caught by the pros and co-anglers during the first three days of competition on Lake Champlain.
3,553: Total number of fish caught by the pros and co-anglers during the first three days of competition.
102: Total number of top-10 finishes at FLW Outdoors events by the top-10 pros in Friday’s semifinals.
4: Number of top-10 finishes by co-angler Greg Gulledge of Monticello, Ark., in the six FLW tournaments of the 2004 season.
3: Tournament finish that must be achieved by Lake Champlain pro finalist Chris Baumgardner to qualify for this year’s FLW Championship.
2.59: Number in millions of dollars of prize money won at FLW Outdoors events by the top-10 pros in today’s semifinals.
2: Number of ounces separating the top-three pros heading into tomorrow’s finals.
1-11: Total weight in pounds and ounces separating the top eight pros heading into the finals.
Sound bites:
“I’m going to fish.”
– FLW co-angler Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., when asked what he was going to do with the $40,000 in prize money he’d just received for winning his first FLW Tour title.
“It was a dream week for me. I got to fish with Randy Blaukat and Larry Nixon. I think I’m going to have to take a day off of work on Monday just to let it all sink in.”
– FLW Tour co-angler Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va.
“I think I knew that.”
– FLW Tour pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., when informed by FLW tournament host Charlie Evans that he needed to finish in third place or higher to qualify for the 2004 FLW Championship.
“I’ll tell you what. Jason Knapp is the best non-professional angler I’ve ever seen.”
– FLW Tour pro and current top-10 finalist Jason Kilpatrick of Satsuma, Ala., paying a huge compliment to his partner in today’s semifinals.
“I’m covering a lot of water and working hard. I’m not really doing anything special.”
– FLW Tour pro Randy Blaukat of Lamar, Mo., on his “secret” technique behind his first-place finish in today’s competition.
“I only get one chance each year to catch smallmouth and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
– FLW Tour pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., on the excitement of hooking and catching smallmouth bass – a much feistier breed of bass than largemouth – at Lake Champlain each season.
“There were only 10 of us on the lake today. It looked like a ghost town.”
– FLW Tour pro Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., on the difference between fishing with 200 boats at the start of the competition and 10 boats over the final two days of competition.
“It’s going to make for a good show.”
– FLW Tour pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., already anticipating the excitement of Saturday’s FLW final weigh-in on Lake Champlain.
FLW action continues at tomorrow’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. at Mooney Bay Marina, located at 15 Mooney Bay, Plattsburgh, N.Y.