Forrest Wood Open begins
$1 million, Angler of the Year on the line in final regular-season FLW tournament of the year
DETROIT – For some it will be the swan song of their 2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour season. For others, it will be their ticket to fortune, fame and maybe even the FLW Championship in September. The final regular-season tourney of the year began at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday as 350 pros and co-anglers took off from Detroit’s Metro Beach Metropark for the $1 million Forrest Wood Open.
A lot is at stake this week on Lake St. Clair. The pros are fishing for a regular season-high $200,000 first-place cash prize while co-anglers are angling for $40,000 first-place cash. Competitors are also fishing for the coveted Angler-of-the-Year title, which will be decided at week’s end.
In the Pro Division, all eyes are on Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., who leads second-place Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., by a solid 74 points in the standings. VanDam, who placed second at the last FLW tournament to be held on Lake St. Clair in 1999, would have to undergo a major collapse this week for Clunn or anyone else to have a shot at the points title.
Competition is a little closer in the Co-Angler Division. Wesley Burnett of Hot Springs, Ark., leads the standings with 892 points followed by Chris Rand of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 871 points.
Thunderstorms rumbled through the Detroit metropolitan area last night, but anglers remained confident about the possibility of a big smallmouth bite on Lake St. Clair today. Expect more than a few 20-pound stringers to cross the scales this afternoon.
Wednesday is the first day of the two-day opening round, after which the Pro and Co-Angler divisions will each be cut to 10 competitors apiece. Today’s weigh-in is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Metro Beach in Mt. Clemens, Mich.
Vital statistics
Sunrise: 5:54 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees
Expected high temperature: 77 degrees
Wind: From the northeast at 5 to 10 mph
Relative humidity: 100 percent
Day’s outlook: Mostly cloudy with showers likely
Day-one related links: