Life in the fast lane

FLW Tour rookie Bobby Lane vaults atop pro leaderboard while Jim Short snags first place in Co-angler Division

CLEWISTON, Fla. – While Lake Okeechobee is renowned throughout the country for producing an overabundance of healthy stringers, the second largest freshwater lake in the lower 48 states had many of the nation’s top FLW pros scratching and clawing for fish all day. To be sure, on opening day of the 2005 FLW Tour season, the “Big O” fished more like the “Big Letdown.”

However, the lower-than-expected stringer weights were also not entirely surprising. Combine the impact of an EverStart tournament a few weeks ago, which added to the overall fishing pressure, with the devastation left by the previous hurricane season, which wreaked havoc on clean-water areas and destroyed key vegetation, and you have all of the makings of one tough tournament.

But amazingly enough, when all was said and done, it took the cunning of FLW Tour rookie Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., to solve the Lake Okeechobee puzzle. Producing a brilliant catch of 23 pounds, 8 ounces under some very adverse conditions, Lane had many veterans wondering what could have been.

“It feels pretty good, seeing how it’s my first FLW tournament,” Lane said of his first-place finish. “I culled 10 fish today. I have tons of confidence in my area. And I’m expecting a bite every cast. It’s just an excellent feeling.”

Lane said that Okeechobee has been great to him in the past and that he has a lot of confidence fishing whenever he returns to the Big O.

“I finished in fifth place at the EverStart tournament here a few weeks ago, and I made a top-10 cut last year in the exact same area,” Lane said.

Specifically, Lane said he is targeting grass mats with a Gambler cricket. Then, when the day warms up, he shifts gears, targeting bass with Senkos and worms.

“I’m just flipping around a three-acre area,” Lane said. “I’m just trying to do a little bit of everything.”

Although Lane said his confidence is high, he knows he still has a lot of work ahead.

“The lake is pretty beaten up, and there are only four clean spots (to fish) on the whole lake,” said Lane, who acknowledged that he is sharing the congested two-mile “Monkey Box” area of the lake with a host of other anglers. “I figure I’m going to need anywhere from 28 to 32 pounds to make the cut. Although some guys didn’t catch them today, they can still catch them tomorrow. On this lake, things change quickly.”

Green grabs second place

By his own account, Jerry Green of Justiceburg, Texas, had a dismal rookie year on the FLW Tour in 2004. So, heading into the 2005 season, Green made a promise to himself to improve his technique and fish a little bit smarter. However, if today’s tournament results are any indication, his new strategy is already paying off. Recording a catch of 22 pounds, 12 ounces, Green solidified his hold on second place and posed a very real threat to make the first top-10 FLW cut of his career.

“It’s come at a good time,” Green said of today’s performance. “I fished all year last year and it didn’t do much good at all. But this year I made some changes in practice. Instead of running around all over the lake, I wanted to key on just a few locations. So far, it’s working out. It feels wonderful to be where I’m at.”

Although Green wouldn’t divulge his primary bait of choice, he said he believes he’s figured something out that most anglers haven’t.

“There were probably about 20 boats around me, but I was doing something a little bit different than the rest of the guys,” Green said. “I didn’t have many bites today, and I was fortunate to get the bites that I got. But if I can do this again tomorrow, I’ll definitely be excited.”

Green knows that the task won’t be easy.

“I’m going to go out there tomorrow and try to ensure that I make the cut,” said Green, who hopes to land at least 15 pounds in Thursday’s competition to move on to Friday’s semifinals. “But you never know with this lake. It could warm up and everyone could catch 20 pounds. That’s why I’m not going to hold back.”

Top five pros looking strong

FLW Tour pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., used an overall catch of 19 pounds, 13 ounces to grab third place and position himself for a legitimate run at the title.

Meahwhile, Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan., finished the day in fourth place with an impressive catch of 19 pounds, 12 ounces.

“I’m tickled to death to have had the day I had today,” Chapman said. “It was just an awesome day. But I could have had well over 20 pounds if I was able to cull two of my smaller fish. Overall, I had some good bites today, and hopefully I’ll have some more tomorrow.”

But like many anglers, Chapman is concerned about the congestion in the Monkey Box area – one of his primary fishing locations.

“There were boats everywhere,” Chapman said. “There were probably 75 to 100 boats around me. But I think if I can get one big bite tomorrow, I’ll be right up there.”

Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas, rounded out the top five finishers in the Pro Division with a catch of 17 pounds, 9 ounces.

Short comes up big

Jim Short of Ocean Pines, Md., used a 12-pound, 14-ounce catch to grab the top spot in the Co-angler Division heading into Thursday’s competition. However, Short said that he won’t get too far ahead of himself as the tournament is only one day old.

“That’s why it takes two days to make the cut. Tomorrow is the big day,” Short said. “But the best part of it is that I don’t have to catch as many fish as everyone else. So it’s definitely nice to be in first place.”

Short said that, although he had some confidence on Lake Okeechobee, his day didn’t start out as planned.

“My boater had me down five fish to zip early on and that was tough,” Short said. “But I proceeded to catch the next five fish. Suddenly my pro was the one trying to catch up.”

But with Thursday’s cut looming large, Short said he is now completely focused on tomorrow’s events.

“I gotta catch some fish tomorrow, and if I do that, I think I’ll be OK,” Short said. “The key is making the cut. If you get to Friday, it’ll feel like a country-club tournament out there, because I’ll only be fishing against nine other guys. But you have to get there first.”

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five co-angler finishers are the following:

• Roy Altman Jr. (2nd) of Augusta, Ga. – 10 pounds, 12 ounces.

• Tim Peek (3rd) of Sharpsburg, Ga. – 10 pounds.

• Tyrone Phillips (4th) of Little Rock, Ark. – 9 pounds, 11 ounces.

• Frank Meyer (5th) of Marianna, Fla. – 9 pounds, 10 ounces.

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