Browne bomber

Rookie leads at Old Hickory; Hackney hammers huge sack

GALLATIN, Tenn. – It’s been difficult to find a consistent bite at Old Hickory Lake this week, but Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., has been steady enough over the first two days to lead the charge out of the opening round. He placed first in the Pro Division in Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition Thursday with a two-day combined weight of 33 pounds, 2 ounces.

Some of the biggest contenders from day one dropped like flies when their patterns and fishing locations dried up Thursday. Darrel Robertson, who caught one of just two 20-pound-plus limits Wednesday, only managed a little over 5 pounds Thursday and just missed the cut. The same was true of contenders Charlie Ingram and standings leader Dean Rojas, who both missed the cut after posting weights over 15 pounds the first day.

Browne, who caught 19 pounds, 13 ounces Wednesday, also fell off pace a little bit, but his 13-5 limit Thursday was enough to secure first place – not that he planned it that way.

“I would have rather been in second,” the FLW rookie said. He explained that the last time he led an opening round, at the 2003 EverStart Eastern tournament at Lake Okeechobee, he fell apart the next day and missed the final cut.

Still, Browne appreciated his opening-round effort here at Old Hickory, so far, even though he said that he “really had to work for it today.

“I just found one area, put my trolling motor down and fished it hard. I didn’t have anything else, really. Not having the sun today hurt me a little bit, too.”

Browne’s area, which he said yesterday is “just off the river,” has been apparently unaffected by the crowded fishing conditions many other competitors’ spots have seen. Today, he saw just one other boat at his location.

The pro leader is mainly flipping, and he used a Gambler Ninja jig, a Gambler BB Cricket and a Gambler 4-inch tube to catch his five bass. While he had a limit relatively early Wednesday, he said it took him until 2:15 this afternoon to fill his livewell.

Hackney’s rebound

While some of yesterday’s contenders dropped off the pro leaderboard today, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., took it the other way in dramatic fashion. After posting just 3 pounds, 3 ounces of fish for 122nd place Wednesday, he came in with a limit weighing a jaw-dropping 26-8 Thursday and leapt into the cut in sixth place with an opening-round weight of 29-11. It was one of the biggest comebacks in FLW history.

“Yeah, I made a change today,” he said in the understatement of the day.

Adams, Veenstra hang on

Pro Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., moved up from the sixth spot into second place Thursday with an opening-round weight of 32 pounds, 9 ounces. He, too, said he struggled due to the overcast conditions. Fishing shallow rocks using a crankbait and a jig, he only had three small bass until 2:30 in the afternoon, but then the clouds parted for a while.

“I caught three nice ones in the last hour,” Adams said. “They began to bite once the sun tried to start coming out. Hopefully, the sun will be out all day tomorrow.”

Marcel Veenstra of Brighton, Mich., had a tougher go of it, as well, catching just four keeper bass weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces. But his weight of 23-9 from day one kept him afloat in third place with an opening-round total of 31-3.

“I’m fishing a Rat-L-Trap and a little bit with a jig. I’m basically just fishing shallow,” he said. “I caught my last keeper with a couple minutes to go. Tomorrow, I’m just going to fish harder.”

Murray fourth, Lefebre fifth

John Murray of Phoenix, Ariz., placed fifth in the Pro Division with an opening-round total of 31 pounds, 1 ounce.

“I just found one place,” he said. “I’m just going to keep working it up and down the bank.”

Pro Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., who finished in third place at the EverStart Championship at Old Hickory in November, caught his second stringer around the 15-pound mark and claimed the fifth spot with a two-day weight of 30-1.

“The first day, I was going to go check on my stuff from last fall, but it’s 50 miles away,” he said. “So I started in my backup place and caught 20 fish. Today, I kind of slacked off a little bit. The spot I’m fishing is 10 to 15 minutes. I’m just making a milk run, and I saved all my best ones.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros to make the cut are Hackney (sixth place); Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., with an opening-round weight of 29 pounds, 3 ounces (seventh); Morizo Shimizu of Osaka, Japan, with 27-12 (eighth); Mickey Bruce of Buford, Ga., with 26-15 (ninth); and Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., with 26-6 (10th).

Stanley Mitchell of Fitzgerald, Ga., caught a 7-pound, 11-ounce largemouth Thursday to win the $750 Snickers Big Bass Award in the Pro Division.

Pace also plays catch-up, leads co-anglers

Hackney’s wasn’t the only remarkable comeback. Keith Pace of Monticello, Ark., took the Co-angler Division lead with an opening-round total of 15 pounds, 1 ounce Thursday after placing 85th with just 1-10 Wednesday. His four bass weighing 13-7 – including a $250 Snickers Big Bass-winning kicker weighing 6-4 – came with a bit of luck today, he said.

“I was throwing a Rat-L-Trap,” Pace said. “The wind started blowing and the fish just started coming up to feed. I got two big bites in less than 10 minutes. I only had one 14-incher at 12 o’clock. By 12:30 I caught three more keepers. I guess they thought it was lunchtime so they started feeding.”

Pace, who won the co-angler title at the 2002 FLW Championship, said he’s only fished at Old Hickory twice in competition, and both times he has made the cut.

“I just had an awesome day,” he said. “This place has been great to me. I hope I can keep it up.”

Day-one co-angler leader Quint Bourgeois of Knoxville, Tenn., slipped into second place after the opening round with a weight of 14 pounds, 13 ounces. Larry Dix of Bella Vista, Ark., tied Bourgeois with 14-13 but placed third for the co-anglers due to the tiebreaker.

Co-angler Alex Ormand of Bessemer City, N.C., qualified in fourth place with a weight of 14 pounds, 9 ounces. Billy Yelverton of Baton Rouge, La., made the cut in fifth place with 12-13.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers to make the cut into Friday’s finals are Greg Gulledge of Monticello, Ark., with an opening-round total of 12 pounds, 11 ounces (sixth place); Katsutoshi Furusawa of Tokyo, Japan, with 11-15 (seventh); Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va., with 11-9 (eighth); Johnny Taylor of Kodak, Tenn., with 11-4 (ninth); and Darrell Stevens of Roseland, Va., with 10-1 (10th).

Larry Herron of Joplin, Mo., also took home $250 for Snickers Big Bass. He tied Pace with a 6-pound, 4-ounce largemouth.

The top 10 anglers in both divisions advanced to Friday’s competition, which begins at the 8 a.m. CST takeoff from Bull Creek Ramp in Gallatin. Weights are cleared for Friday’s competition, and co-anglers will fish for one day with the $15,000 winner crowned at weigh-in. The 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the $100,000 winner determined by the heaviest two-day weight.

Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1112 Nashville Pike in Gallatin beginning at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.