Beaver Lake battle resumes
FLW Tour anglers jockey for top-10 positioning during second day of Wal-Mart Open tournament action
ROGERS, Ark. – As the gray dawn broke over Beaver Lake early Thursday morning, it was apparent that storm clouds dominated the horizon both literally and figuratively.
From a weather standpoint, the 200 pros and as many co-anglers who departed Prairie Creek Marina shortly after 7 a.m. could find themselves in for one heck of a rollercoaster ride this afternoon. According to the National Weather Service, severe storms that may produce “large hail and strong winds” are just around the corner. With the distinct possibility of lightning and predicted 20- to 30-mph winds coming from the south, this won’t be an easy day of fishing to say the least.
Throw in the fact that 380 anglers will be eliminated after today’s competition – the top-10 cut will be announced in both the Pro and Co-angler divisions after this afternoon’s weigh-in – and it becomes clear that the pressure on the field is about as intense as it gets.
But while those facts might rattle the typical weekend warrior, most pros shrugged off the nasty conditions and continued to approach today’s competition as just another day at the office.
“The way I’m fishing right now, I think today’s conditions will actually be better for me than yesterday’s,” FLW Tour pro Chad Grigsby said. “I don’t think the wind is going to affect me too much.”
So what’s the key to unlocking Beaver Lake’s bounty of bass during Thursday’s competition?
“You have to fish really slowly right now. It’s just real slow fishing – kind of boring fishing actually,” Grigsby said. “And even though the water levels are low, there is so much cover in this lake that there are still plenty of good places to fish. Normally, I’d be sight-fishing here, but the fish are in a transition mode right now. They’re getting ready to spawn, but most of the fish aren’t on beds just yet. I’m mostly catching them in about 10 to 12 feet of water as they gradually come up.”
Tournament notes
The Wal-Mart Open, which runs April 5-8, represents the fourth of six regular-season tour stops on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. The rules are fairly straight forward: The full field fishes for two days and faces a top-10 cut on Thursday. On Friday, the remaining 10 co-anglers battle for a tournament title. Meanwhile, the top 10 pros have two days to bring in the most combined weight they can within the parameters of a five-fish limit each day. First place in the Pro Division is awarded after Saturday’s weigh-in.
The total purse for the Wal-Mart Open at Beaver Lake is $1.25 million, with the winning pro netting $200,000 and the first-place co-angler taking home $40,000.
Action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. CDT at the Prairie Creek Marina, located at 1 Prairie Creek Drive in Rogers, Ark. For bass-fishing fans unable to attend the festivities in person, you can catch all the weigh-in action as it unfolds at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:55 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees
Expected high temperature: 72 degrees
Water temperature: 55-57 degrees
Wind: S at 22 mph
Maximum humidity: 64 percent
Day’s outlook: cloudy skies giving way to strong thunderstorms in the afternoon