Fukae’s stars begin to align

BP pro hunting down third FLW Outdoors win at Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division event

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – If there is such a thing as fishing karma, Shin Fukae of Mineola, Texas, is neck deep in it right now.

On Thursday the BP pro weighed in 16 pounds, 3 ounces to take the Wal-Mart FLW Series lead with a two-day total of 35 pounds, 2 ounces.

But first, there’s a strange twist to the way Fukae’s week is unfolding.

After a poor practice round this week, Fukae drew National Guard co-angler Pam Wood as a partner on day one of competition. Fukae figured this was a good omen, since he fished with Wood on the first day of the Wal-Mart Open on the FLW Tour last year, which he won.

Sure enough, Fukae bagged 18 pounds, 15 ounces while fishing with her yesterday and referred to Wood as a “lucky lady,” wishing he could fish with her again today.

Amazingly, Fukae got one better: He drew co-angler Robert Horick, who is also the same co-angler he had on day two at the Wal-Mart Open last year as well.

Apparently Horick played the role of “lucky boy” today, as Fukae sacked 16 pounds, 3 ounces for the lead.

“I think all of this is a very good sign,” Fukae said with a grin.

Fukae caught 11 keepers fishing shallow, throwing a swimming Senko and regular Senko to flooded grass and wood.

Fisher second

After weighing in 19 pounds, 14 ounces yesterday, Al Fisher of nearby Hackett, Ark., held on to his second-place position today with a limit weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces.

“I tried to run up the river this morning to a couple of my so-called `quick limit places,’ but they burned me pretty bad, and I ended up wasting a lot of time up there,” Fisher recounted. “So I came back down to this end where I caught them yesterday and just barely squeezed out a limit before check-in.”

Fisher is fishing what he calls “shallow, but offshore” places on the lower end. He again used a crankbait to finish out his limit today.

“It’s getting pretty muddy in there, but I still caught a few,” he added. “The fish are still there – it’s not like that mud moves them – there is still a bunch of fish there, but getting them to bite is a whole different story. And just like yesterday, the sun being out helps that bite tremendously.”

Nixon on a roll

Fresh off an FLW Tour win at Lake Norman, Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., weighed in the tournament’s heaviest stringer for 21 pounds, 9 ounces to vault him into third place.

Watch out because Nixon’s win just might ignite the kind of season that makes professional fishing fun to follow. Indeed, he’s got Big Mo’ on his side right now.

“I’ve been catching my fish early and then struggling in the afternoons,” Nixon said. “That changed today, as I think I figured out how to catch them in the afternoons. I caught three of my better fish late today.”

Nixon described his fish as being “pretty much offshore.”

“I’m not fishing the weedlines themselves,” he revealed. “I’m fishing what’s out from those weedlines that’s not visible. And as for what I discovered this afternoon, I don’t really know where to do it, but I think that might be good thing – not really knowing exactly where to go. That’s when I fish my best: when I know what to look for, but I don’t really know exactly where that is.”

Dangerous words coming from a veteran pro on a roll who just happens to be fishing in his home state.

Walker fourth

BP pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., “grinded” his way up the leaderboard today, adding 14 pounds, 15 ounces to his 16 pounds, 15 ounces from yesterday for a two-day total of 31 pounds, 14 ounces for fourth place.

“I’m just getting in there and grinding it out in that shallow grass with other boats,” Walker said. “I’ve got a deck full of rods, and I’m pitching, casting and fishing some topwater. I’ll have a little flurry on one bait, then go an hour without a bite, switch to something else and have another flurry.

“There’s little rhyme or reason to it. Shallow grass fishing is like playing the lottery. The only thing I’ve found is that places where the milfoil and the bank grass meet have been a little more consistent, but I’ve caught a few good ones that were on nothing as well.

“The strangest part is that I’m catching them out of new mud (where muddy water has moved in). When I pulled in there yesterday and saw the mud, I thought the place was toast. But much to my dismay, they were still biting. I’ll say one thing: That’s the first time I’ve ever caught fish in fresh, muddy water like that.”

Lawson fifth

David Lawson of Richmond, Ky., moved into the fifth-place position today with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces for a two-day total of 31 pounds, 12 ounces.

Big bass

Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., caught the Pro Division Snickers Big Bass on day two. It weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the FLW Series Eastern on Lake Dardanelle:

6th: Charlie King of Shreveport, La., two-day total of 31-4

7th: Marty Sisk of Evansville, Ind., 31-0

8th: Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark., 30-13

9th: Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., 30-2

10th: Tim Johnson of Dallas, Ga., 29-13

Bjorklund leads co-anglers

Bob Bjorklund of Centennial, Colo., leads the Co-angler Division of the FLW Series event on Lake Dardanelle with 26 pounds, 15 ounces.

Bjorkland followed up his 12-pound, 10-ounce catch yesterday with 14 pounds, 5 ounces today.

“I fished with Joe Thomas, and we both had an outstanding day,” Bjorkland said. “He caught a big string, and I did too.”

While Thomas caught his bass on a topwater, Bjorkland fished a “supersized shaky head.”

“I didn’t have a spinning rod, so I put a big worm on a heavy shaky head and fished it on 14-pound line, and it worked great,” he added.

Chapman second

Terry Chapman of Stanley, N.C., is now in second place with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 12 ounces.

“Same thing as yesterday,” Chapman remarked. “I caught most of them on a ChatterBait and one on a jig.”

Fishing all in the family for third-, fourth-place co-anglers

Spencer Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark., the son of well-known pro Ron Shuffield, proved that he learned a thing or two from his dad over the years by sacking 15 pounds, 12 ounces today for a two-day total of 25 pounds, 15 ounces, which put him in third place.

Bud Strader of Rockwood, Tenn., the father of well-known pro Wesley Strader, proved that he has learned a thing or two from his son over the years by holding down the fourth-place position with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rest of the best

Mike Jones of Lebanon, Mo., is in fifth place with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the FLW Series Eastern on Lake Dardanelle:

6th: Ed Shannon of Milford, Ohio, two-day total of 24-0

7th: Ben Hand of Memphis, Tenn., 22-15

8th: Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind., 20-10

9th: Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., 20-8

10th: Jerry Weisinger of Wyandotte, Okla., 19-2

Day three of the Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern event begins Friday at 6:30 a.m. Central time at Lake Dardanelle State Park.