Veenstra prevails on day one

Michigan pro catches more than 23 pounds at Old Hickory; Bourgeois leads co-anglers

GALLATIN, Tenn. – They said this week’s Wal-Mart FLW tournament would be a tough one at Old Hickory Lake, and by many accounts on day one it was. Still, Marcel Veenstra needed one of the heaviest single-day limits of the year – 23 pounds, 9 ounces – to take the Pro Division lead out of the chute here in Tennessee.

“It feels great,” said Veenstra, a pro from Brighton, Mich., who won the standings title in the EverStart Series Northern Division’s inaugural season, 2002. “I was expecting to catch 13 pounds per day here at best.”

As predicted, the five-bass limits were relatively scarce – the pros caught just 28 of them – but when competitors did weigh in a limit, it was generally pretty big.

“It’s a really fine bite, but that’s the kind of bite you can win with,” said pro Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., who placed fourth with a limit weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces. “I only caught six keepers, but when I caught one, it was usually a pretty good fish.”

Veenstra also caught just six keeper fish Wednesday. His kicker, an even 7-pounder that he caught first thing in the morning, tied for best bass of the day, and he caught it using a 3/8-ounce Johnson jig. He threw a variety of baits, adding that he also used a Bandit crankbait and a Rat-L-Trap to fill out his limit.

“There are no real big secrets here,” he said. “It had more to do with the area I was fishing than the baits.”

Finding the hot spot was the key Wednesday, especially with crowded conditions on the lake. A number of anglers said they fished in locations with as many as 20 to 30 boats in one area. Veenstra, who admitted having a short, unproductive practice, said he found a shallow, unpopulated area in a creek that yielded his big fish early.

“I got a few bites and, from there, I was able to tell what these fish were holding on,” he said. “When I caught my first fish, there wasn’t a boat in the area.”

Robertson also tops 20 pounds, places second

Former Ranger M1 champion Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., placed second with the day’s only other limit over the 20-pound mark. His five bass weighed a total of 20 pounds, 3 ounces.

He, too, said that he didn’t catch very many fish, but they were mostly quality bites.

“I’ve been running around and hitting lots of spots, not staying in one place very long – a tree here, a rock there,” said Robertson, who focused on throwing a jig in shallow water. “There’s a lot of (fishing) pressure. I caught all of these in places that I didn’t pre-fish – trashy little places no one else would fish.”

Browne third

FLW rookie Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., continues to make an impression in his first season on tour. Currently ranked fifth in the standings after good finishes in the first two FLW events, Browne claimed third place on opening day at Old Hickory after catching a limit weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces.

“I fished a spot that I found yesterday where I got five bites in an hour. It’s a little place just off the river,” he said, adding that he has been flipping a 4-inch Gambler tube bait. “I caught these five by 11:15 today and left. I could have broken 20 pounds if I’d stayed there.”

Clunn capitalizes on crowded water

Ironically, Clunn said he was fortunate that he found a number of boats at his prime location this morning. While he said he usually doesn’t let a crowd bother him or push him off his spot, he decided to fish elsewhere today and it paid off.

“I went ahead and moved, thank goodness,” he said. “Then I figured out where the fish were. It’s a very slow bite, which is good because then people tend to fish right over them.”

Adams fifth

Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., used a jig and a crankbait to secure fifth place in the Pro Division with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces.

“It was a very good day,” he said. “It was a whole lot better than I expected. The sun helped – that, and no wind.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 in the Pro Division are Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces (6th place); Charlie Ingram of Santa Fe, Tenn., with five bass weighing 16-2 (7th); season points leader Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas, with five bass weighing 15-12 (8th); Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., with five bass weighing 15-11 (9th); and Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala., with five bass weighing 15-9.

Veenstra shared the Snickers Big Bass Award with Mark Goines of Shady Point, Okla. They each caught a 7-pound largemouth and collected $375.

Bourgeois bags four bass, leads co-anglers

One of only two co-anglers to catch more than three keeper bass Wednesday, Quint Bourgeois of Knoxville, Tenn., led the Co-angler Division Wednesday with four bass weighing 11 pounds, 1 ounce.

Bourgeois said he caught his fish using a Gambler Ninja jig around “little bluff banks and creek channels.” He added that chillier temperatures and a slower approach to fishing were keys to his success.

“The fact that it’s gotten a lot colder made a big difference,” he said.

Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va., claimed second for the co-anglers with a three-bass weight of 9 pounds, 10 ounces. He caught his fish using “a crankbait and plastics.”

Third place went to co-angler Miles Johnson of Beaver Creek, Ohio, for three bass weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces.

Greg Gulledge of Monticello, Ark., claimed the fourth spot with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce.

Mike Boyles of Ozark, Mo., placed fifth with three bass weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

The only other four-fish sack in the Co-angler Division came from sixth-place Curt Fannin of Prestonsburg, Ky. His weight was 7 pounds, 1 ounce.

Rounding out the top 10 in the Co-angler Division are Katsutoshi Furusawa of Tokyo, Japan, with two bass weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces (7th place); Alex Ormand of Bessemer City, N.C., with two bass weighing 6-12 (8th); Chris Koester of Winston Salem, N.C., with three bass weighing 6-11 (9th); and J.J. Gibbs of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., with two bass weighing 6-5 (10th).

First-place Moyer also landed the $500 Snickers Big Bass Award on the co-angler side for a 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth.

The opening round of FLW action at Old Hickory Lake continues with its second half Thursday as anglers take off from Bull Creek Ramp in Gallatin at 7 a.m. CST. The full fields will be cut down to the top 10 anglers apiece following tomorrow’s action.