CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Pro Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds Friday to capture the lead in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1.5 million National Guard Open on Lake Norman with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 26-13. He now holds a slim 9-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 37 states, Australia, Italy and Japan.
“This is awesome,” said Cherry, who has already qualified to fish the 2007 BFL All-American and is fishing in his first FLW Tour event. “It’s great that I am leading, especially in a National Guard event. My dad served in the Guard for 25 years, and it’s really special and would be great honor if I won.”
Cherry was throwing a jig around isolated docks and brush to catch quality five-bass limits in the opening round on his home waters.
“I’ve lived on this lake all my life, and I know of about 150 places to catch fish here. I didn’t fish any of my spots today, though,” Cherry said. “I mainly focused on community holes to catch a solid limit and make the cut. The lake is going to have a ton of pleasure boat traffic tomorrow, and being a local here I can adapt to that. This being a clear water lake, the waves will muddy up some water on the shore. When that happens, the fish school up in the more stained areas, and it is a little easier to locate them.”
Fishing for Team BP, Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26-4.
Rounding out the top five pros who will continue competition Saturday and Sunday are Gain pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio (10 bass, 26-2); Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. (10 bass, 26-1); and Pedigree pro of Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (10 bass, 25-6).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 24 pounds, 13 ounces and adding to this already power-packed top-10 field are pros Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., fishing for team Folgers; Tylenol pro Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif.; Yamaha pro Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas; Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif.; and Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark.
Bolivar also earned the day’s $1,000 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass. Thursday’s Snickers Big Bass Award winner, Chris Malone of Ironton, Ohio, earned the tournament’s overall big bass award of $1,000 with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Overall there were 874 bass weighing 1,667 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 195 pros Friday. The catch included 143 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of $200,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 40 pros after three $1 million qualifiers and three $1.5 million opens will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.
Wal-Mart angler Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces, followed by Toby Stanphill of High Point, N.C., in second place with 10 bass weighing 18-5.
“It was definitely a fun day,” said Jancasz, who won the 2005 FLW Tour Championship in the Co-angler Division and has amassed $115,460 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for my partner today, Scott Suggs. We got off to a little bit of a slow start this morning, and I finally finished out my limit in the last 30 minutes. I have been fishing really clean lately. I think I have only caught three short fish in the last two days. It feels great to be back in the top-10.”
Jancasz was throwing an array of tubes and finesse gear around docks and stumps in 3 to 15 feet of water.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Gain co-angler Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn. (nine bass, 17-14); Pete Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga. (10 bass, 17-14) and Dannie Hannah of New Lexington, Ohio (eight bass, 17-8).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 16 pounds, 12 ounces in the Co-angler Division were Alessandro Debbi of Italy; Dino Caporuscio of Coto De Caza, Calif.; Mark Rouse of La Porte, Texas; Nathan Webber of Kernersville, N.C., and Jeff Taylor of Olmstead, Ky.
“It means a lot for me to make the top-10. It is like a dream come true,” said Debbi, who has traveled to the United States from Italy to compete on the FLW Tour the last three seasons. “When you make the top-10 you are the best of the best, and I am truly happy about that. It’s amazing. It is not easy to get over here. It takes about two weeks of planning and packing really light to make the eight hour flight. I can only bring so much stuff, and I have to pack what I am confident in. I hope to be fishing over here a lot more, but I will have to see what my boss says and allows me to do.”
This is Debbi’s first top-10 appearance on the FLW Tour.
Hannah earned $500 for the day’s Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught while fishing with BFGoodrich Tires pro Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas.
Overall there were 489 bass weighing 884 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 177 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 31 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $40,000 this week.
Anglers will take off at 7 Saturday and Sunday morning from Blythe Landing followed by 4 p.m. weigh-ins at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center located at 4751 Highway 49 North in Concord, N.C.
Prior to the weigh-ins, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will also receive a free FLW Outdoors hat. On Sunday, the first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a trip for two to the Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, where they could ultimately win a $53,000 Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. The drawing for a free vacation getaway to Hot Springs will be held immediately following Sunday’s 4 p.m. weigh-in. Participants must be present to win.
Sunday’s festivities will also include the FOX Charlotte Big Bass Challenge tournament featuring area residents fishing with FLW Tour pros to benefit Lake Norman conservation efforts. The winner of the FOX Charlotte Big Bass Challenge will receive $500 and have $5,000 donated in his or her name to the FishAmerica Foundation. Takeoff for the Big Bass Challenge is at 9 a.m. at Blythe Landing with the weigh-in taking place on the main stage at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center at 3 p.m.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes Thursday and Friday for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared Saturday, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from Saturday and Sunday.
Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on June 3 and June 10 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.