Championship Bites: FLW Lake Hamilton, Day 2
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Forrest L. Wood Championship
Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, Ark.
Opening round, Thursday
They are the champions … Prior to today’s weigh-in festivities, Castrol representative Tracy Curtis-King surprised past winners of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship with custom-made leather jackets to commemorate their accomplishment. (Castrol is the traditional presenting sponsor of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship.) On hand to accept were Steve Daniel, 1996 champion; Darrel Robertson, 1999 champion; Dion Hibdon, 2000 champion; John Sappington, 2002 champion; David Dudley, 2003 champion; and Luke Clausen, 2004 champion. Unable to attend were 1997 champion David Fritts and 1998 champion Davy Hite. The 2001 championship was cancelled in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. … The members of this elite group did not know exactly what they would be receiving today, and the handsome coats were presented in equally swanky boxes with leather tags bearing their imprinted name and championship-winning year. “It was a big surprise,” Sappington said. “I really appreciate Castrol and FLW Outdoors and what they’ve done for this sport. Tracy has taken it upon herself to recognize us, and this is something that can never be taken away. I’m going to wear this thing out.”
Cursed … In three seasons on the FLW Tour, Alabama pro Todd Ary has earned a championship berth every year, only to experience time and again the brutal side of the bracket system. In 2003, his first attempt at championship fishing, he blanked both days to finish dead last. In 2004, he was named among the favorites to win, but he was knocked out of his bracket on day two by a tiebreaker, a situation all the more heartbreaking since the tournament was on his home lake. This year, Ary was back for revenge, but the bracket devils won again, sending Ary home by only 1 ounce. Adding insult to injury was Ary’s 8-ounce penalty for weighing in a dead fish. Had that fish been alive, Ary for once would be fishing past the opening round. He weighed in four fish today and claimed he missed opportunities to catch the fifth one. Advancing out of the bracket is local pro Scott Suggs, who was understandably ecstatic as Ary went into today’s competition with a 1-pound, 8-ounce advantage. “I don’t care how it happens; I’m glad to be here,” Suggs said.
Gone but not forgotten… The ounce separating Todd Ary and Scott Suggs was the smallest margin of victory posted today, but the largest gap was the 13 pounds, 4 ounces separating Tracy Adams and Dave Lefebre. No. 44 seed Adams is on some serious fish, hauling in the opening round’s heaviest limit at an eye-popping 23 pounds, 5 ounces. Don’t look down on Lefebre, though – his 10-pound, 1-ounce catch over two days would have advanced him in five other brackets. … Other margins with canyon-like widths were the 12 pounds, 5 ounces separating Dean Rojas and Todd Faircloth, with the No. 11 seed Faircloth bringing in only 3 pounds, 2 ounces over two days – far short of No. 38 seed Rojas’ 15 pounds, 7 ounces.
The lucky ones … At least one angler if not more will advance to the next round while not catching much of anything by virtue of the bracket system, and this year’s clear winner goes to Zell Rowland, who will fish at least one more day despite catching only 5 pounds, 9 ounces over two days. Luckily for Rowland, his bracket-mate Dwayne Horton caught the lowest two-day weight on the pro side with 2 pounds, 7 ounces. Horton’s lone fish on day two weighed 11 ounces and prompted him to say, “That may be the smallest bass I’ve ever weighed in.” As for Rowland, he fully realizes how lucky he is, saying, “I’m the guy catching two or three and making it, and that works for me. With this kind of format, you’re subject to do about anything.” His bracket-mate may have caught the tournament’s lowest pro weight but it’s still enough to pay him back his entry fees for the 2005 season. “I don’t feel bad about it,” Horton said. “Anytime you can just show up for $15,000, I’ll take that any day.”
Bearing the brunt … Just as a lower-weight angler can advance to the semifinal round, a few anglers with good weights will be sent home thanks to the tournament’s unique bracket style. This year’s biggest victim was rookie Bobby Lane, paired up against Arkansas legend Larry Nixon. Lane’s two-day catch of 15 pounds, 5 ounces would have been enough to advance in 19 other brackets, but he took the defeat in stride. To his bracket-mate, he said, “Larry, it was an honor competing against you. You are one of my heroes.” … Besides Lane and the aforementioned Todd Ary with his catch of 13-2, also falling hard were Cody Bird and Alvin Shaw. Bird had the misfortune of being paired with Massachusetts pro Danny Correia, who is on fire this week on Lake Hamilton. Bird’s 12-pound, 7-ounce catch was certainly respectable but nevertheless no match for Correia’s 18-pound, 1-ounce figures. “I figured if I caught two limits I could beat anybody out here,” said Bird, referring to this week’s tough conditions in Hot Springs. Shaw competed head-to-head against Alton Jones and caught 12 pounds, 6 ounces but still lost to Jones by a pound. “I had several opportunities – I missed one today and yesterday – but I’ve had a great year,” Shaw said.
Razorback rebound … The Arkansas contingent evened the score today, sending three of its home-state anglers onto the next round. After yesterday’s competition, the only Arkansans leading their brackets were Larry Nixon and George Cochran, who at the time was only leading by an ounce. Cochran rebounded in a big way on day two, bringing in 6 pounds, 10 ounces to boost his total weight to 10-1, easily defeating bracket-mate Sandy Melvin. And with Scott Suggs’ narrow victory over Todd Ary, it looks like the home-field advantage talk could be cranking up again. “All week long I’ve been hearing Scott’s the man to beat here, so I’ve got some work to do,” said Chip Harrison, who will compete head-to-head against Suggs on day three. Going home, though, are locals Rob Kilby and Jeremiah Kindy as well as Mark Rose of Marion. But as Cochran so eloquently put it, “There are no losers here.”
Drinking problem … After day one, No. 43 seed Lendell Martin Jr. found himself 1 pound, 13 ounces behind No. 6 seed Koby Kreiger in his bracket match-up. Later that night, during dinner with Hank Parker, Martin was asked why he didn’t catch them. “I said I was hot,” Martin said. “I told him I drank a gallon and a half of water. Hank said, `No wonder you didn’t catch any. Stay out of the water.’ So I only drank a gallon today.” The cutback seemed to help, as Martin improved his catch today and defeated Kreiger by a pound and a half to advance to the semifinal round.
Quick numbers:
8: Number of former winners of the FLW Tour Championship.
24: Number of pros and co-anglers who advanced to tomorrow’s competition.
3-5: Weight, in pounds and ounces, that it took to make the top 24 on the co-angler side.
8-11: Weight, in pounds and ounces, caught by co-angler leader Matt Arey over two days.
1: Number of five-bass limits caught on the co-angler side on day two. That limit was caught by Rick Parnell.
0: Number of bass Parnell caught on day one.
6: Opening-round finish of Parnell despite blanking on day one.
16: Fewer fish brought in by the pros on day two, proving that the second day was even tougher than the first.
17: Age of the tournament’s youngest competitor, co-angler Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark.
Sound bites:
“Yes, I am a little bit over 17.” – Seasoned co-angler Judy Israel, who declined to reveal her true age but admitted she’s got a few years on young co-angler Stetson Blaylock.
“She got up at 5 a.m. to make me a sandwich.” – No. 3 co-angler Kim Bain, bragging on her mother, who flew all the way from Australia to support her daughter.
“I didn’t catch any yesterday because I didn’t listen to my wife.” – Co-angler Rick Parnell, whose wife Mary, who also fishes the FLW Tour, gave him the tip that resulted in his five-bass catch today.
“A couple got carsick on the way in.” – 2005 Co-angler of the Year Tee Watkins, trying to explain a pair of dead fish.
“I must’ve dropped it in the parking lot.” – Pro Kelly Jordon, upon being asked by weighmaster Charlie Evans where his fish bag was. Jordon blanked on day two.
“I pulled the big one out first because I thought everybody would go, ‘Oooohhhh.'” – Pro Dave Lefebre, who brought out the big guns to try to convince the crowd he could defeat Tracy Adams, who had – and kept – a considerable lead.
“I dug that hole and then I ran into it today.” – Former Angler of the Year Dan Morehead, who lost ground to bracket-mate Anthony Gagliardi yesterday and failed to rebound on day two.
“A lot of guys think they don’t like this format, but if you fish it enough, it’ll even itself out.” – Pro Chad Grigsby , who advanced to the semifinal round for the first time.
“It’s not bad to be beat by Greg Hackney. There’s a lot of people who’ve been beat by him.” – No. 48 seed Sam Newby on losing to the 2005 Angler of the Year and No. 1 seed.
“I’ve got a tape of him fishing that I watched when I was much shorter than I am now.” – Greg Hackney on the prospect of fishing against the fabled Larry Nixon on day three.
“He don’t have to blow me no flowers. I know what he’s looking for here – to beat me.” – Larry Nixon, in response.
Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. CST at the Fish Hatchery Ramp, located at 350 Fish Hatchery Road in Hot Springs.