Heading back out to Old Hickory - Major League Fishing

Heading back out to Old Hickory

FLW day two under way
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Anglers take off from Bull Creek Marina for day two of FLW competition at Old Hickory Lake. Photo by Jeff Schroeder.
March 11, 2004 • Jeff Schroeder • Archives

GALLATIN, Tenn. – Wal-Mart FLW Tour anglers are back on the water at Old Hickory Lake for the second half of opening-round action in the third tour stop of the year.

It was a low-limit day in the first half of the opening round Wednesday, but the top stringers – led by pro Marcel Veenstra’s 23 pounds, 9 ounces – were relatively heavy. Thursday should see similar results since weather conditions haven’t changed much. The sun was out and it was a bit warmer at takeoff, but air temperatures are forecast to top out in the mid-50s.

For many of the leading pros, like season standings leader Dean Rojas, the weather is mostly irrelevant this week.

Dean Rojas works the shallows Wednesday.“I’m not too concerned about the weather,” said Rojas, who sits in eighth place with a day-one weight of 15 pounds, 12 ounces. “The fish are up, moving, getting ready to spawn. I’m just anxious to get out there. Things are clicking for me right now. I usually don’t have a lot of big bites in practice, but I did this week. I’ve caught them when it’s cloudy and when it’s sunny.”

As it stands, the 10th-place weight on the pro side is 15 pounds, 9 ounces, which should put today’s cut weight around 27 to 28 pounds or so. However, the weights fall off pretty dramatically down the list, so don’t be surprised if the cut weight falls to 24 or 25 pounds.

For the co-anglers, 10th place caught 6 pounds, 5 ounces Wednesday.

Thursday’s weigh-in takes place at 3 p.m. Central time at Bull Creek Ramp in Gallatin. Following day two, both fields will be cut down to 10 anglers apiece based on their two-day accumulated weight for Friday’s competition.

For bass-fishing fans unable to attend the festivities in person, you can catch all the weigh-in action live at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. Showtime starts at 3 p.m. Central.

Thursday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:02 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 42 degrees

Expected high temperature: 55 degrees

Water temperature: 49 degrees

Wind: from the west at 15 mph

Maximum humidity: 50 percent

Day’s outlook: a.m. clouds / p.m. sun