Lackie has no equal

Co-angler Alton Lackie of Germantown, Tenn., shows off his first-place check after winning the FLW Tour event on Lake Okeechobee. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Alton Lackie.

January 24, 2003 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

Tennessee native captures co-angler title on Lake Okeechobee with only one fish

CLEWISTON, Fla. – Although every co-angler struggled with the brutal conditions on Lake Okeechobee during the finals, Alton Lackie of Germantown, Tenn., had enough resources to ultimately ride out the storm. Using a modest catch of 2 pounds, 9 ounces, Lackie walked away with the top prize of $15,000 and the tournament title despite fishing in his first-ever FLW Tour event.

Although Lackie had tried to get a spot in the FLW Tour for years, this was the first season that he wasn’t stranded on the waiting list. Clearly, it was worth the wait.

“It’s unreal,” said Lackie of his unlikely accomplishment. “I’ve been trying to get into the FLW Tour for like six or seven years, and this year, I finally made it. It’s just awesome. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

With the pro field getting battered by the ferocious winds and chilly temperatures, the co-angler field was arguably in worse shape, having to go after what little scraps were leftover from their pro partners.

“The wind was blowing so hard that the grass mats were really bunched up tightly,” said Lackie. “And it was really hard to pull any fish out of there. I started getting really nervous because with only 30 minutes to go, I didn’t even have one fish in the boat.”

However, with seconds ticking away, Lackie finally tied on a spinner bait and went to work. Within minutes, he was rewarded with his first and only fish of the day. But while 2 pounds, 9 ounces might not seem like much, it was worth everything to the rookie angler from Tennessee.

“I really didn’t think I had enough to win,” said Lackie, who produced the smallest winning stringer in the Co-angler Division since Frank Divis’ 2001 FLW Tour victory at the Pascagoula River with 1 pound, 14 ounces. “But after I saw what the other guys had, I started to think I had a chance. I still can’t believe it. This is one of the greatest wins of my life.”

Divis places second by ounces

Perennial co-angler heavyweight Frank Divis, Sr., managed to catch only one fish in the finals weighing 2 pounds. However, to hear Divis tell it, it was the hardest he’s ever worked to land such a small yet profitable stringer.

“This is the coldest weather here in like 50 years,” said Divis of the brutal conditions. “I broke more rods today than you can imagine. It was really tough out there. I only had one bite all day. But I went for the win. I just came up a little short.”

Divis said that although he was disappointed in the results, he said he had no regrets.

“Generally I’m disappointed because I’m a competitor and I want to win,” said Divis of his second-place result. “But I did everything I could today, so I’m satisfied. I had three great partners, Kevin VanDam, Pat Fisher and Aaron Martens and you can’t ask for anything better than that. It’s a long season. You’ll see, I’ll be back. You can count on that.”

Divis won $6,000 for his efforts.

In third place was Mayor Doug Caldwell of Kane, Penn., who recorded a one-fish catch weighing 1 pounds, 11 ounces. Caldwell, who led the field during the first two days of tournament action, took home a check for $4,000.

(Photo by Gary Mortenson)” BORDER=”1″ ALIGN=”left”>Chuck Lawless of Park Hill, Okla., used a 13-ounce catch to grab fourth place and a check for $3,000.

However, the best bargain of the day belonged to Ralph Mulleins of Cumberland, Va. Although Mulleins didn’t bring in one fish, he still managed to net a fifth-place finish and a check for $2,500 by virtue of the tournament tiebreaker.

Other than the top four compeititors, no other co-anglers managed to bring any fish to the scales.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top 10 finalists were: Sean Kelly (sixth) of Greenlawn, N.Y.; Frank Meyer (seventh) of Marianna, Fla., Richard Lowitzki (eighth) of St. Charles, Ill., William Drown (ninth) of Roseland, Fla., and Darrell Stevens (tenth) of Roseland, Va.

Tomorrow’s final takeoff for the Pro Division is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. at Roland Martin’s Marina, located at 920 E. Del Monte Avenue in Clewiston, Fla.