DEL RIO, Texas – Clayton Meyer of San Diego, Calif., the No. 13 seed from the National Guard Western Division, out-fished his opponent, Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., the No. 18 seed from the BP Eastern Division, during the Wal-Mart FLW Series® East-West Fish-Off on Lake Amistad this week, but both anglers will advance to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup thanks to Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark.
Because Bohannan had already qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup through the 2007 Stren Series Championship and Rose had the heaviest overall weight among anglers losing their head-to-head matchups, both Rose and Bohannan will advance to the Cup along with Meyer and the 27 other pros who won their head-to-head matchups. These anglers will be among 77 pros hoping to hook $1 million – the sport’s biggest award – Aug. 14-17 in Columbia, S.C.
Meyer caught five bass weighing 30 pounds, 1 ounce on the final day of competition Saturday to boost his three-day total to 15 bass weighing 76-11. Nearly half his weight Saturday came in the form of a 12-pound kicker. Rose, meanwhile, caught five bass weighing 19-4 Saturday for a total catch of 15 bass weighing 58-02.
“The funny thing is that I almost didn’t come to the tournament,” said Meyer, who has amassed more than $172,000 in career winnings with FLW Outdoors. “I was really sick on the way down here, and I didn’t feel like making the trip. I’m sure glad I did.”
Meyer threw a football-head jig all week.
“I also, found a great spot that was 3 miles east of the marina,” he said. “It was a point that stuck out of a cove, and I never saw another boat in that area. I caught all of my fish on that point.”
In another much-anticipated match-up, National Guard pro and No. 14 Eastern Division seed Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., defeated his teammate National Guard pro and No. 17 Western Division seed Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz. In the final day of competition, Martin brought in five bass weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces over Pirch’s five bass weighing 9-08. Martin’s three-day catch of 54-2 (15 bass) surpassed Pirch’s three-day catch of 37-4 (15 bass).
“I got really good bites this week,” Martin said. “This is a great fishery, and this was great tournament. It was a bitter-sweet ending though. It was difficult to be in the same bracket as my teammate, but I am also excited to be going to the Forrest Wood Cup in August. I came in second in 2004, so I am looking to try and take the win this year.”
Chevy pro and No. 2 Eastern Division seed David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., eliminated Pringles Mini pro and No. 29 Western Division seed Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif., to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup. Fritts, who won the Cup in 1997 and has amassed $817,000 in FLW Outdoors winnings, qualified again with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 40-13 to Bolivar’s 15 bass weighing 37-13.
In the end, Eastern Division pros took bragging rights in this East vs. West showdown, defeating the Western Division pros 16-14.
On Saturday, there were 287 bass weighing 880 pounds, 2 ounces caught by the 60 pros. The catch included 56 five-bass limits.
On the co-angler side, Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., won the Co-angler Division and $5,000 cash with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49 pounds, 1 ounce. Blaylock sealed the deal with a slim 2-pound lead over his closest competitor, Bob Bjorklund of Centennial, Colo., who caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 47-01.
“It feels really good to be qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup,” said Blaylock, who won an FLW Series BP Eastern Division event on Pickwick Lake as a co-angler in 2007. “I am fishing the FLW Tour this year as a co-angler and already being qualified for the Cup takes a lot of pressure off. This will be my fourth year to make the Cup. I can’t wait to fish Lake Murray.”
Stetson caught his bass throwing an array of jigs and soft-plastics.
“I had great partners everyday,” Blaylock said “That was the key to me winning this tournament. I had pros that could find fish. It worked out well in the end.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Terrence Rath of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. (15 bass, 46-03); Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif. (15 bass, 44-11) and Darrell Hagood of Wilton, Calif. (15 bass, 43-07).
Overall there were 283 bass weighing 708 pounds, 13 ounces caught by the 60 co-anglers Saturday. The catch included 53 five-bass limits.
The winners of the head-to-head match-ups in the Pro Division will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup along with the top 30 co-anglers based on accumulated weight during the three-day Fish-Off. For a complete list of advancing anglers, visit www.flwoutdoors.com.
Coverage of the FLW Series Fish-Off will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing March 16. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
FLW Fantasy Fishing invites virtual anglers to compete
Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate.