JASPER, Ala. – Team Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces Friday to capture the lead in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1 million event on Lewis Smith Lake with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 27-6. He now holds a slim 10-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 37 states, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Australia and Japan.
“I was real fortunate today,” said Browne, who has won more than $319,000 in FLW Outdoors events. “I pulled into where I caught them yesterday flipping bushes and trees, and they came up schooling on me. I caught them all on a Rebel Pop-R and a Lucky Craft Sammy. I was done at 9:15. If they do it again the next two days, it’s over.”
Browne caught his limit Thursday flipping bushes with a tube, and had his five fish by 11 a.m. Browne said he believes the schooling fish he found Friday are in a staging spot on their way to spawn, and the fish are gorging themselves in the mouth of a creek.
“If I get five bites a day flipping, even if they’re not the schooling fish, they’ll be five good ones,” Browne said. “But it’s going to be tough to get five bites each day.”
Scott Canterbury of Odenville, Ala., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26-12.
“This is my second tournament fishing the FLW Tour,” Canterbury said. “I started this year fishing at Lake Toho and didn’t have a good finish and thought I’d come up here and turn it around. It’s working out so far.”
A relative newcomer to Lewis Smith Lake, Canterbury said he’s trying to cover as much water as possible and has yet to fish the same spot twice during the first two days of competition. Canterbury said he is relying on a mixture of reaction strikes and sight fishing to fill his limit.
“I’m catching all of my fish in less than 10 feet of water,” Canterbury said. “I’m staying as close to the bank as I can and never taking my foot off of the trolling motor.”
Rounding out the top five pros who will continue competition Saturday and Sunday are Team Snickers pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (nine bass, 26-5); Team Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (10 bass, 25-10); and Brandon Coulter of Knoxville, Tenn. (10 bass, 25-5).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 22 pounds, 7 ounces and adding to this already power-packed top-10 field are Team Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif.; Danny Pierce of Greenbrier, Ark.; Team Prilosec pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla.; Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla.; and Team Chevy pro Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash.
Team Folgers pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., earned the day’s $750 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass. He also won an extra $1,000 for having the biggest bass of the tournament.
Overall there were 462 bass weighing 984 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 172 pros Friday. The catch included 30 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, which offers $7.3 million in cash and prizes, FLW Outdoors® presents anyone with the opportunity to land the catch of a lifetime. Players in the lucrative new fantasy sports league can become virtual pros by signing up for Player’s Advantage, which provides exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every 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 receive a complimentary $15 Wal-Mart gift card.
Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce, followed by Larry Hostetler of Floyds Knobs, Ind., in second place with seven bass weighing 17-4.
“We went a lot shallower, and I caught three good ones on the jig,” said Divis, who has won more than $178,000 in FLW Outdoors events, most of it as a co-angler. “I had to change things up around 12 o’clock. Things just weren’t right. The front was moving in and the wind was blowing.
“I picked up a five-inch Senko and wacky-wormed it in 30 feet of water, and all heck broke loose,” Divis said. “These fish have been suspended all week. I’m going to catch them tomorrow whether they go shallow or deep. If I can catch them like I did today, I’m going to win it.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Lynn Oswalt of Jasper, Ala. (seven bass, 15-4); Paul Mueller of Southbury, Conn. (seven bass, 15-3) and Masahiro Yanase of Nagoya, Japan (six bass, 14-12).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 10 pounds, 13 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Greg Edwards of Jasper, Ala.; Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark.; Chad Hillis of McMinnville, Tenn.; William Grantham of Mobile, Ala.; and Teddy Roberts of Faubush, Ky.
David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., earned $500 for the day’s Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound bass he caught while fishing with Team Coppertone pro Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn.
Overall there were 193 bass weighing 404 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 105 co-anglers Friday. The catch included five five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday from Lewis Smith Dam located at 640 Powerhouse Rd. in Jasper. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex located at 2100 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N. in Birmingham, Ala., beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex from noon to 6 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. Children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will also receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last, and one lucky member of the audience will win a new Ranger boat during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in on Sunday. Admission is free and you must be present to win.
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 Lewis Smith Lake tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing May 11 and 18. “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 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.