A long day on the Ouachita

Matt Herren, rest of Ouachita top 10 hope to make best of Friday's extended fishing time

MONROE, La. – Thank goodness it’s Friday.

For the top 10 competitors at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on the Ouachita River, Friday means a longer fishing day, with the afternoon weigh-in not beginning until 5 p.m. instead of the usual 3 p.m. On the Ouachita River, that extra time is even more valuable since the majority of competitors are making a 100-plus-mile run through the locks to Arkansas to catch their bass.

One competitor making the long run is current leader Matt Herren, who said today is the most critical day of the entire event. “With the long runs we make, we lose an hour and 20 minutes of fishing time,” he said. “The guy that catches them today and leads will be really hard to catch tomorrow.”

Herren estimates that as many as eight out of the final 10 are heading to Arkansas, but says that some of the prime fishing areas there bottomed out yesterday, including the ones found by David Walker and Takahiro Omori, who both fell out of the top 10. The key is finding a stable pool – like Felsenthal, the bass-rich area used by Herren on days one and two.

“It’s a natural, free-falling river,” he said. “They don’t generate any water; it’s just flood control. Felsenthal’s at normal pool.”

Anglers will also be watching the weather, though the forecast calls for another day of warm sunshine after what was left of a cold front left the area yesterday morning. Mickey Bruce, for one, likes the sunshine.

“The only thing I can see as far as weather conditions is it’s probably going to help,” said Bruce, who entered day three in the No. 4 spot. “These fish are in a spawning mood. If they start doing that, it’s going to get tougher. The water temperature in my area is still in the mid-50s, but there’s current that keeps it from getting warmer.”

The spawning state of mind not only makes the bass more reluctant to bite, says Bruce, it also makes them bite funny when they do decide to try an angler’s offering.

“When they do bite, it’s tougher because they don’t hit the lure right,” he said. “I’m committed to what I’m doing one way or the other. The sun will help.”

The top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers start over at zero today, and co-angler competition will conclude at this afternoon’s weigh-in, with the winner taking home $20,000 cash. Currently at the top of the co-angler leaderboard is Roger Hester II of Walnut Cove, N.C.

Pros will continue their competition Saturday with the winner determined by the heaviest two-day weight. The $900,000 event will award $100,000 cash to the pro winner.

Anglers will weigh in their catches today beginning at 5 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 2701 Louisville Ave. in Monroe.

Here at FLWOutdoors.com, weigh-in coverage on FLW Live begins at 5 p.m. Central time.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:23 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 54 degrees

Expected high temperature: 68 degrees

Water temperature: 55 to 60 degrees

Wind: from the northwest at 15 mph

Maximum humidity: 34 percent

Day’s outlook: a mix of clouds and sun in the morning with sun in the afternoon