Local Lawson loots Cumberland bronze-backs for co-angler win
Big last-day catch nets Kentucky co-angler $20,000
SOMERSET, Ky. – Sooner or later, he knew they would bite it. For three days in a row, David Lawson of Richmond, Ky., fished his favorite 3/8-ounce brown Stan Sloan jig on his home lake, Lake Cumberland, during the Wal-Mart FLW Series tournament.
On day one it produced a 4-pound, 7-ounce bass. On day two it produced a 
3-pound, 6-ounce bass. And Friday he struck pay dirt, catching four bass for 13 pounds, 2 ounces to amass a three-day total of 20 pounds, 15 ounces, enough to win the FLW Series event and collect $20,000.
“This feels good,” Lawson said. “It helps make up for finishing seventh here on my home lake during the Stren Championship two years ago.”
Today, Lawson fished with Connecticut pro Terry Baksay.
“When he told me where we were going and how he was fishing, my confidence shot up sky-high,” Lawson said. “It’s one of my favorite places on the lake, and I’ve fished there many times.”
The place, located near the dam, featured a vertical bluff with a series of shelves that stick out into 8 to 20 feet of water.
Lawson caught his fish by casting his favorite jig, trimmed with a Zoom Superchunk, to the bluffs and then letting it freefall down onto the shelves.
King runner-up
J.B. King of Byrdstown, Tenn., finished second with a three-day total of 14 pounds, 10 ounces and collected $10,000.
King, who guides on Dale Hollow and fishes Cumberland several times a year, is familiar with Cumberland’s smallmouth habits.
He put that knowledge to good use during the week by making a few suggestions to his pros as to what kinds of places they should fish.
“These smallmouths were spawning on the shallower slopes or shelves with chunk rock,” he said. “Whenever I’d see something in the area that looked right, I’d suggest we fish it, and it worked out good.”
King reported catching his fish on Zoom Finesse Worms and Edge Speed Falls rigged on an 1/8-ounce jighead with 8-pound line.
Fleischmann comeback
Jacques Fleischmann of Valencia, Calif., though, had the comeback story of the tournament.
After failing to catch a keeper bass over the last two days, he went out and sacked 
four bass for 14 pounds, 5 ounces today to go from zero to hero, finishing third, which was worth $9,000.
“It just goes to show you can never give up,” an elated Fleischmann said. “I fished with Terry Bolton today, and he put me on them.”
Fleischmann’s success came on a drop-shot Roboworm in Aaron’s Magic tied to 6-pound-test line.
“I was just fishing the exact same way I fish back home in California,” he said. “During the first two days, I wasn’t really in the right water to use it effectively. But where Terry took me today was perfect for it.”
Koone fourth, Johnson fifth
Kevin Koone of Greenbrier, Ark., the leader after day two, slipped to fourth place with a three-day total of 14 pounds, 1 ounce and collected $8,000.
Craig Johnson of Martinez, Ga., finished fifth with a three-day total of 14 pounds, worth $7,000.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers at Lake Cumberland:
6th: John Wilson of Hazelwood, N.C., 12-15, $6,000
7th: Derek Crawford of LaGrange, Ky., 12-12, $5,000
8th: Bob Bjorklund of Aurora, Co., 12-12, $4,000
9th: Ronald Akin of Valley Station, Ky., 11-15, $3,000
10th: Chris Malone of Ironton, Ohio, 11-8, $2,500