Quick Bites: FLW Okeechobee, Day 4
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Fla.
Saturday, final round
Rookies rewarded … This week’s winner, J.T. Kenney of Frostburg, Md., and runner-up, Jimmi Leuthner of Vernon, Vt., are both new to the FLW Tour this year. In fact, each of them also only had one full year of EverStart Series tournament experience under their belts prior to this week – Kenney in the Eastern Division and Leuthner in the Northern Division. They beat out the likes of bass-fishing greats Jay Yelas (3rd place) of Tyler, Texas, and Gary Klein (4th place) of Weatherford, Texas. Not so coincidentally, Kenney’s only prior FLW Outdoors top-10 finish came just several weeks ago at the EverStart Series here at Okeechobee. There, he placed fifth.
Worth the trip … Kenney wasn’t even on the original roster to fish this tournament. Kenney was second on the waiting list so he drove down from Maryland just on the chance that he might fish. As it happens in fishing tournaments, a spot or two opened up before the event Tuesday night and – voila – he wins $110,000. “I’m pretty excited,” the 27-year-old said. “I’ve been waiting to get into the FLW Tour for a long time.”
Nameless worm … Leuthner’s biggest bass today weighed around 5 1/2 pounds. He caught it and another big one using a homemade, green worm. A worm like that could become a hot item around here following Leuthner’s success using it this week, but there are few in existence – and most of them are in his tackle box. Asked what he called the lure, he said, “I don’t know. It’s a `No-name’ worm. These are experimental, mind you.”
Dudley’s take … Manteo, North Carolina’s David Dudley (7th place) said he wasn’t surprised he made the final round. That’s what he intends to do at every tournament he fishes. And he does it quite a bit. Over the years he’s made six FLW top-10s, including three final rounds. How has this year’s switch from a five-man final round to a 10-man field affected his approach to fishing on Saturday? Not much. “When you start fishing against 175 guys, you’re just happy you only have to fish against 10. I think (the 10-pro format) is great. It gives a lot more hope for more anglers. But it does change your strategy a little bit.” He said he felt needed just a little bit more weight than before if he wanted to win – especially here at Okeechobee. “Shoot yeah, you can’t come to Florida, catch just 15 pounds and win,” he said.
Quick Numbers
2,568: Total number of keeper bass caught by anglers in the 2002 Wal-Mart FLW Tour event at Lake Okeechobee.
2.431: Total weight, in tons, of the bass caught this week at Okeechobee. Official total weight was 4,862 pounds, 7 ounces.
1,069: Total number of bass caught at FLW Okeechobee 2001. They weighed in at 2,790 pounds, 11 ounces.
Sound Bite
“Yeah, I’m used to cold water and it’s a little different fishing up there. But I’ve caught a lot of fish up there and they’re all bass.”
– Vermont native Jimmi Leuthner, describing the difference between Northern bass fishing and Southern bass fishing.
Quick Links, Day 4: