‘Bugged’ out at Beaver
North Carolina natives feel at home on Beaver; Richardson disqualified for inadvertent rule infraction.
ROGERS, Ark. – Wal-Mart Open leader Alvin Shaw is all the way from State Road, N.C., yet in the flooded bushes of Beaver Lake this week he’s been right at home.
That’s because one of Shaw’s favorite lakes is Buggs Island (Kerr Reservoir) on the North Carolina-Virginia border and his favorite time to fish it is when it’s high and muddy.
“When Beaver is high like this, it fishes identical to Buggs Island, which is why a lot of these North Carolina pros did so well here this week,” Shaw said. “When my boat is floating in mud and I’m pitching a big jig back into that thick stuff, I feel right at home. And when you’re that comfortable with something, it naturally builds confidence.”
Shaw iterates that he’s not exactly looking for something identical to what he fishes on Buggs Island at Beaver, rather it just helps define patterns from day to day.
“It really just helps with reading flooded cover – bushes, gum trees, willow trees, flooded grass and finding daily patterns within those elements,” Shaw said. “Water depth in that flooded stuff has been key for me this week, which comes from my background on Buggs.”
Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C., currently in fourth, indicated the same thing regarding his 
Buggs Island experience.
“I just left a BFL on Buggs a few weeks ago, the water was about 3 feet high in the bushes and that made for some good practice for Beaver with the conditions we have now,” Arey said. “What makes Beaver a little different are the spotted bass and smallmouth – they still relate a little differently. But in terms of the largmouths, they’re up there in that flooded stuff just like on Buggs Island.”
Richardson makes inadvertent error, Cochran moves into top 10
Joel Richardson of Kernersville, N.C., was another angler who had used his vast experience on Buggs Island to earn a top 10 at Beaver Lake this week, but unfortunately he was disqualified Friday evening after learning he inadvertently fished in an off-limits area that was obscured by high-water and fog on day two of the Wal-Mart Open.
Richardson, a veteran pro with 20 top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors competition, including an FLW Tour win on Lake Okeechobee, notified FLW Outdoors officials of the inadvertent rule infraction, which bumped him out of the top-10 and advanced George Cochran of Hot Springs, Ark., to the final round.
“It was a complete honest mistake,” Richardson said. “Due to the fog and high water, I totally misread where the off-limits buoys were. I stopped on a place shortly after takeoff where I thought the off limits area ended, made a couple of casts and Cody Bird idled up to me and pointed out another buoy a couple hundred yards away that had been moved by high water. I immediately made a call to Tournament Director Bill Taylor and informed him of my actions.”
“Joel is a true professional with the utmost integrity,” said FLW Outdoors President and CEO Charlie Evans. “This was simply an inadvertent violation on his part, but a violation nonetheless. We appreciate his actions in notifying the tournament director as soon as he realized his mistake.”
Day three weigh-in
The day three weigh-in of the Wal-Mart Open will begin at 4:00 p.m. at the John Q. Hammons Center, located at 3303 Pinnacle Hills Parkway.
Prior to the weigh-in, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the John Q. Hammons Center from noon to 6 p.m.
The Family Fun Zone offers fans a chance to meet their Fantasy Fishing team anglers face-to-face and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other sponsors while children are treated to giveaways, fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator.
Saturday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:08 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 55 degrees
Expected high temperature: 78 degrees
Water temperature: 65 degrees
Wind: WSW 10 to 20 mph
Day’s outlook: sunny and warmer