Final weigh-in from Smith Lake to air May 18 - Major League Fishing

Final weigh-in from Smith Lake to air May 18

Second Wal-Mart FLW Tour qualifier concludes with crowning of pro champion
Image for Final weigh-in from Smith Lake to air May 18
Most of the top-10 pros in the Lewis Smith Lake FLW Tour event targeted largemouths during the week. Michael Bennett, however, won the tournament with chunky spotted bass like this one. Photo by Rob Newell. Angler: Michael Bennett.
May 12, 2008 • MLF • Archives

MINNEAPOLIS – Tune in Sunday, May 18, to “FLW Outdoors” on FSN for the conclusion of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala. Watch as FSN takes viewers through the final weigh-in and awards the winning pro angler $125,000. The one-hour show is the second of a two-part series covering the second tournament of the $9.5 million FLW Tour season.

After three days of competition on Smith Lake, yet another Western pro appeared well on his way to making a killing in the bass-fishing rich state of Alabama. In 2004, Chevy pro Luke Clausen won $500,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup on Logan Martin Lake. Two years later it was National Guard pro Watch out for Duracell pro Michael Bennett; he's been quietly catching spotted bass all week.Brent Ehrler’s turn. Fast forward to the present, and it looks as though Michael Bennett has the spotted bass figured out – possibly to the tune of $125,000. Ending day three with a total weight of 14 pounds, 9 ounces, the Duracell pro caught nine keepers and five shorts. All his fish were prespawn spots on day three, but on the opening day he sight-fished. He wanted to use sight-fish to make the top-10 cutoff and deep spots to win it. Thus far, the plan looks brilliant. His key bait is a Berkley Gulp Sinking Minnow in light green-pumpkin color. He is rigging it weightless and wacky style with an O-ring on 8-pound Berkley 100% Trilene fluorocarbon. He skips the bait under docks and lets it fall as far as 30 feet. Bennett grew up spotted bass fishing near his home in Roseville, Calif. In fact, his home lakes were actually stocked from Smith Lake – which gives him ample confidence. If the third-year pro does well on day four, he will claim his first tour-level victory and a six-figure payday.

Scott Canterbury, an FLW Tour rookie from Odenville, Ala., finished in second place with a two-day total of 24-5.Trailing Bennett is Odenville, Ala., native Scott Canterbury. On day three, Canterbury caught a five-bass limit of largemouths weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces. As he placed his 4-pound kicker bass on the scale, the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex roared with applause. Without question, the crowd wants the local rookie to take home the title.

Also in contention is Prilosec pro Koby Kreiger. The Okeechobee, Fla., native has a similar plan to Canterbury. Instead of throwing a buzzbait, he uses a Bomber Long-A as a search bait for bedding With his $40,000 check from his third place finish this week, Koby Kreiger surpassed the $1 million mark in career earnings.bass. Occasionally the spawning bass will eat it, but they’re mainly just showing themselves. Once he has the fish located on bed, he will pitch an 8-inch lizard. Although he weighed only an 11-pound limit on day three, Kreiger saw several fish over 4 pounds that wouldn’t bite. If the sun comes out, he feels he can bring in a monster stringer on day four.

FSN also flashes back to August 2006, when the Forrest Wood Cup was held on Logan Martin Lake in Pell City, Ala. In a classic summertime showdown, Ehrler edged BP pro Ray Scheide and Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt for the win and $500,000.

In addition, Coppertone pro Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., participates in this edition of Fishing 101. Hite, Brett Hite's key bait: a Phenix Vibrator Jig.who won back-to-back tour-level events earlier this year, shows viewers his how to use his favorite bait – a 3/8-ounce Phenix Vibrator Jig.

FSN is the industry leader in providing the most up-to-date technology in TV production. FSN puts viewers in the boats with the pros, shadowing them from sunrise until the final weigh-in using innovative camera work that gives fishing fans the most intimate viewing experience available.

FSN broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” Sunday mornings. Check local listings for show times and channels in your area. FLWOutdoors.com also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes on “FLW Outdoors.”

FSN is broadcast to more than 81 million homes through its network of 20 regional sports channels. Established in 1996, FSN is the only cable network that supplies national, regional and local sports programming. FSN serves as the cable TV home to 62 of the 82 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States, and produces more than 4,500 live events each year. FSN has an extensive catalog of original national programs, including “Best Damn Sports Show Period” and “Beyond the Glory” documentary series, along with national packages of collegiate sports. Based in Los Angeles, FSN is part of the vast FOX Sports television family. For the latest up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions, visit the FOX Sports/FSN website at www.FoxSports.com.

“FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 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 weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.

Tournament anglers 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.