Cold Hickory Lake

Third tour stop of 2004 FLW season off to chilly start

GALLATIN, Tenn. – With a nip in the air, frost on the ground and water temperatures hovering in the high 40s, 400 pros and co-anglers kicked off the start of the FLW Tour event on Old Hickory Lake bundled from head to toe. The unseasonably cool temperatures seemed to catch many anglers, who departed Bull Creek Marina shortly after 7 a.m., by surprise.

“This is the coldest it’s been since I’ve been here,” said FLW Tour pro Billy Bowen Jr. of Ocala, Fla. “The bite has been pretty slow for a lot of guys. We’re catching a lot of small fish.”

However, with a total purse of $500,000 at stake, including $100,000 for the top pro and another $15,000 for the winning co-angler, the field will likely look past the cold weather and concentrate on the stiff competition. In fact, the most difficult aspect of the first two days of tournament fishing just might be finding a relatively private location to fish.

“There aren’t many big areas where you can find fish, so there are going to be a lot of boats (battling) for the same spots,” said Bowen. “I’m going to make a long run just to try and get away from the crowds.”

Per tournament rules, the full field – which hails from 30 states, Japan and Australia – will compete for two days in an effort to make Thursday’s all-important top-10 cut, which is based on their two-day accumulated weight. Pros and co-anglers who qualify for the third day of competition will have their weights zeroed out. During Friday’s weigh-in, a co-angler champion will be crowned. In the Pro Division, the angler with the best two-day combined weight over Friday and Saturday will be awarded the tournament title.

However, a tournament title isn’t the only thing at stake this week on Old Hickory. As the season progresses, the top anglers will also be positioning themselves for the 2004 FLW Tour Angler of the Year race. Currently, Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas, leads all pros with 389 points. The Co-angler Division lead is held by Mark Martin of Vidor, Texas, with 388 points. Anglers receive 200 points for each tournament victory, 199 points for second place, and so on.

FLW action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Central time at Bull Creek Marina, located at 200 Odoms Bend Road in Gallatin, Tenn.

Wednesday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:03 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 31 degrees

Expected high temperature: 53 degrees

Water temperature: 49-52 degrees

Wind: from the north at 3 mph

Humidity: 71 percent

Day’s outlook: sunny