Knapp time
22-year-old wins co-angler title, $40,000 at Forrest Wood Open
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Having fished the circuit for three years, Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., is a relative veteran on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. But, at 22 years old, he became one of its younger champions when he won the Co-angler Division at the Forrest Wood Open on Lake Champlain Friday.
“I’ve been doing this a long, long time,” said Knapp, who already has two previous FLW top-10 finishes under his belt, including a fifth place at this season’s Wal-Mart Open. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was 10 years old.”
Knapp (pronounced “nap”) caught his winning limit of largemouths, which included a roughly 5-pound kicker, by flipping a black Mizmo tube into cattails and reeds in shallow water. Fishing with pro Jason Kilpatrick, he caught a total of 14 pounds, 9 ounces and edged out second-place Charles Ward of Greer, S.C., by 12 ounces. Knapp won $40,000.
“I’m very excited. $40,000? That’s unbelievable,” he said.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time. Prior to the EverStart Series Northern Division tournament at the Mississippi River three weeks ago, Knapp endured a frightening accident during practice in which a boat he had recently won blew up and sank while he was on the water. While he fortunately escaped serious injury, the fire destroyed all of the young angler’s fishing tackle and gear.
Knapp indicated that his winnings this week were earmarked for replacing his equipment and continuing to follow his dream on the competitive fishing circuit.
“I want to make the move to the front of the boat eventually, so I’ll probably just use (the winnings) to keep fishing,” he said. “This isn’t just fishing, it’s a way of life for some people. I want to thank Wal-Mart, (the Forrest Wood Open’s title sponsor) Kellogg’s and everybody else who makes this possible. I’m just excited about where this sport is going.”
Second place and $20,000 went to Charles Ward of Greer, Pa., for a limit weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces.
“What a great time,” Ward said. “This is an awesome, awesome lake.”
Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va., finished third and collected $10,000 for five bass weighing 12 pounds, 3 ounces.
“I fished with (pros) Larry Nixon and Randy Blaukat. It was a dream week,” he said. “It’s a real treat to be basically guided around this lake for two or three days.”
Day-three co-angler leader Tee Watkins of East Point, Ky., finished the week in fourth place with a limit weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces. He earned $9,000.
Fifth place and $8,000 went to Stacey Smith of Stephens City, Va., for a limit weighing 10 pounds, 3 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 Co-angler Division finishers at the Forrest Wood Open Charles Pearson of Auburn, Ala., with four bass weighing 10 pounds, 1 ounce (6th place, $7,000); day-one leader Greg Gulledge of Monticello, Ark., with five bass weighing 10-0 (7th, $6,000); Brantley Peoples of Raleigh, N.C., with five bass weighing 9-2 (8th, $5,000); Arch Cornett of Huntsville, Ala., with five bass weighing 7-11 (9th, $4,000); and Rick Parnell of Casselberry, Fla., with two bass weighing 1-15 (10th, $3,000).
The final day of FLW competition at Lake Champlain begins Saturday at 6:30 a.m. EST as the 10 Pro Division finalists take off from Mooney Bay Marina in Plattsburgh. The heaviest two-day weight from Friday and Saturday combined will determine the tournament’s $200,000 winner.