Robertson puts on fishing clinic at Lake Murray

Team Castrol's Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., caught five bass weighing 26 pounds, 13 ounces on opening day of the $500,000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop on Lake Murray Wednesday to lead an elite field of pro anglers in what could turn out to be a battle of the 40-pound-plus weights come Thursday afternoon. These two bass weighed a hefty 7-6 and 7-5, respectively. Photo by Jeff Schroeder. Angler: Darrel Robertson.

March 12, 2003 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

Scott out-fishes 162 pros, grabs top spot in Co-angler Division

COLUMBIA, S.C. – For anglers who struggled on the FLW Tour over the first two events of 2003, Lake Murray had to be a sight for sore eyes. With a parade of monster stringers and a total weight of 2,743 pounds and 10 ounces recorded at the weigh-in podium throughout the afternoon, it seemed that nearly everyone had a banner day of fishing. However, when all was said and done, 21 proved to be the magic number. If you had 21 pounds, you found yourself in the top 10. If you didn’t, you found yourself on the outside looking in.

By the end of today’s competition, however, all pros had their eyes on Darrel Robertson. Although the native of Jay, Okla., had been relatively quiet during the 2002 season, Robertson amassed a whopping 26-pound, 13-ounce stringer in today’s competition to grab the overall lead in the Pro Division and perfectly position himself to qualify for tomorrow’s all-important top-10 cut.

“It feels pretty good,” said Robertson of his first-place finish in today’s competition. “I had a terrible year last year from start to finish, and I had a terrible practice coming into this tournament – I only caught eight bass in six days. But at the end of yesterday’s practice, I caught a pretty good fish at one spot, and that’s where I started out fishing today.”

As it was, that one fish turned out to be the lynchpin to today’s dominating performance.

“By 9 a.m. I had 22 pounds in the boat. And if I didn’t lose a 7-pounder today, I would have had somewhere near 33 pounds,” he said. “It just seemed like I could catch fish no matter what I did today.”

Although Robertson wouldn’t divulge the specific baits he used in today’s competition, he did say that he was targeting bass near wood and grass in about 2 to 5 feet of water.

“But I’ll tell you what, I was really surprised by the weights today,” he said. “I figured it would take 18 pounds to finish in 10th place today. On a lake like this, though, you just never know.”

Robertson said he was especially pleased with his performance given the frustration he felt at the Atchafalaya FLW tourney last month. According to Robertson, that’s part of the reason he’s changing stragegy for tomorrow’s competition.

“I wound up finishing in 16th place at Atchafalaya and missing out on the top-10 cut because I was trying to save too many fish,” he said. “So tomorrow, I’m going to catch all the fish I can catch. I really can’t afford to turn it off until I get (a two-day total of) 40 pounds. Because as good as everyone is catching fish here, I think I’m going to need at least 12 pounds to make the cut.”

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five pro finishers in today’s competition were Terry Segraves (second) of Kissimmee, Fla., with a catch of 26 pounds, 1 ounce; Mickey Bruce (third) of Buford, Ga., with a catch of 24 pounds, 10 ounces; John W. Crews (fourth) of Jetersville, Va., with a catch of 24 pounds, 5 ounces; and Ricky Shumpert (fifth) of Lexington, S.C., with a catch of 23 pounds, 11 ounces.

Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., won the Snicker’s Big-Bass Award in the Pro Division after netting a 9-pound, 1-ounce largemouth. Lefebre, who finished the day in 17th place after landing a total catch of 19 pounds, 3 ounces, won $750 for his efforts.

Scott leads co-anglers into second day of competition

All in all, it was one heck of a day on the water for Greg Scott of Dearborn, Mich. Not only did he land a total catch of 19 pounds, 15 ounces in today’s competition, but he also managed to out-fish more than 160 pros as well as win the day’s Snickers Big-Bass Award in the Co-angler Division. And, for good measure, Scott’s 9-pound, 10-ounce largemouth bass – which won him $500 in prize money – also turned out to be the largest fish caught in the entire tournament to date.

“It feels really good,” said Scott, who is only fishing in the fifth FLW Tour event of his career. “I had been catching some good fish in practice, so I had some confidence coming into this tournament. And I had my first three fish – including that big one – before 10 a.m. Like I said, it feels great. But I’ll feel a lot better tomorrow if I can make the cut.”

Scott, who targeted shallow grass near drop-offs with a copper crankbait to land the majority of his catch, said he is far from comfortable with his current lead.

“I really think I’m going to need to catch between 8 or 9 pounds tomorrow to be safe,” he said. “Right now, my goal is to make that top-10 cut.”

Stevens nets second place

Darrell Stevens of Roseland, Va., parlayed a catch of 18 pounds, 10 ounces to remain Scott’s nearest competititor heading into tomorrow’s competition.

“This is a great day. It’s the best I’ve ever done on this lake,” said Stevens. “And it really sets me up well for tomorrow. I only expected to get two or three bites today, so overall, I’m pretty happy. But you have to remember, this is a very humbling sport. One day you’re a hero and the next day you’re a zero.”

Stevens landed the majority of his catch targeting banks and fishing a Jerry Lee “killer” crankbait in about 3 to 6 feet of water.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five co-angler finishers in today’s competition were Greg Gulledge (third) of Monticello, Ark., with a catch of 13 pounds, 14 ounces; Laura Aldridge (tied for fourth place) of Berkley, Mich., with a catch of 13 pounds, 12 ounces; and Alan Paczkowski (fourth) of Henrico, N.C., with a catch of 13 pounds, 12 ounces.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. at the Lighthouse Marina, located at 1925 Johnsons Marina Road in Chapin, S.C.