Pacing the field

Arkansas pro sets stage for Big O showdown with defending champ

CLEWISTON, Fla. – With a five-bass limit of 17 pounds, 5 ounces, it was Keith Pace who came out on top in the first half of Wal-Mart FLW Tour final-round competition at Lake Okeechobee Friday. But lurking dangerously close behind him just 1 pound, 3 ounces off the pace is defending FLW Okeechobee champion Kelly Jordon.

Foregoing the flipping bite, Pace fished a little differently than many top contenders Friday. The second-year FLW pro from Monticello, Ark., focused mainly on a single stretch of flats in Moonshine Bay. Instead of running a spinnerbait or flipping a jig into heavy mats, Pace sort of split the difference and caught his fish today on a swimming jig.

“I’m swimming a black-and-blue Berkley Power Jig, 3/8-ounce, with a Netbait Paca chunk trailer,” he said. “I’m rolling it really fast so it’ll get a reaction bite. I tried throwing a spinnerbait but I can’t get them to go near it. Maybe the water’s too clear for that.”

Temperatures warmed up for Friday’s fishing, but it was still a little breezy out on the Big O. Pace tucked into a windward area on the north end of Moonshine Bay where he said the bass are moving up onto the flats to start spawning. He caught the bulk of his limit – which included two fish over 3 pounds and a kicker in the 7-pound range – in about a foot of water.

But it wasn’t easy – for Pace or the other top 10 pros. Most anglers told tales of lost fish today, even the leaders. As usual at Okeechobee with its thick mats and heavy vegetation, a fish hooked up does not guarantee a fish makes it into the livewell. Pace estimated that he lost about 50 percent of the bass he had hooked Friday.

“I needed about 15 bites to get what I had,” he said. “In practice, I was catching about 90 percent of them. It’s hard during the tournament because you start losing them. But luckily the big fish are getting them pretty good.”

Still, despite a touchier bite today and the knowledge that the returning champion is lurking so close behind him, Pace – who, as a co-angler, already has three top-10 FLW finishes plus a victory to his name – felt positive about his prospects for Saturday’s final round.

“There’s enough fish in there for me to win, no doubt,” he said. “If it stays cloudy, I think I have a pretty good chance.”

Jordon nearly breaks away, stays in second

During his 2005 FLW victory at Lake Okeechobee, Jordon had what he called “one of the greatest 30 minutes of fishing in my life.” Last year on Saturday, Jordon had a half-hour stretch where he caught enough fish to overcome a more than 7-pound deficit to take the win.

Today, he nearly put a 7-pound difference – or more – between him and the rest of the field when he hooked a bass that he said weighed “at least 8 pounds. It might have been 12, from what I could tell.”

Unfortunately for him, like so many others throughout the week, Okeechobee took that fish back before Jordon could get it near the boat.

“I had the game-breaker on the line. I saw him roll one time, and it was huge. There was no stopping him. I mean, I had him on a 7-foot, 9-inch musky rod with 65-pound braided line, and he just opened up my hook. And it was a 5-aught hook; when you open a hook like that, you know you’ve hit bone. I fought him for about 20 seconds. My God, it was a monster,” he said. “That was my chance, but hopefully I’ll get another chance tomorrow.”

As it was, Jordon lost the big one early but was able to shake it off and stick to his flipping pattern with a Lake Fork Craw Tube. The bite picked up later in the day and he finished with a limit weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces, good for second place and within easy spitting distance of his second FLW Lake Okeechobee title in a row.

“Everyone here knows that it comes down to the big bites,” he said. “Seven pounds is in seventh place, and that’s where I came back from last year. So it’s anyone’s game.”

Fukae eases into third

The comeback bid of 2004 FLW Angler of the Year Shinichi Fukae of Japan is on. He caught a contending limit weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces Friday and sits just under 3 pounds off the lead in third place.

Fukae, who has found an isolated area on the southern end of Moonshine Bay, stuck to his casting worms and said he had a very good day.

“Five fish were easy for me today,” he said, smiling.

Dangerous Fritts still in it at fourth

If Jordon’s tale of unbuttoned monster fish and Fukae’s return to confidence weren’t enough to rattle first-time top-10 pro Pace, the prospect of having David Fritts sitting just 4 pounds, 9 ounces back heading into the final day of a Lake Okeechobee tournament might make him think twice.

Fritts, the veteran pro out of Lexington, N.C., is also a returning FLW Okeechobee champion, having won here in 2001. Not only that, he has three other FLW victories to his name.

Fritts crankbaited his way to a limit weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces and fourth place Friday, which is still in contention but not necessarily what he had in mind.

“The numbers aren’t the problem; I’m having a problem with the size (of fish),” he said. “But the thing about Okeechobee, there’s so many fish here and they’ve got to eat. If I just hang in there and get another 7-pounder, I’ll get caught up.”

Hardin fifth

After Fritts, the weights drop off a significant amount.

Pro Mark Hardin of Jasper, Ga., couldn’t duplicate his 20-pound-plus stringer from Thursday, but still managed to hang in there in fifth place with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce.

“I struggled today. I just didn’t have a lot of bites,” he said. “I had two or three fish that missed my bait, but I caught everything that bit.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros heading into Saturday’s final-round action at the Lake Okeechobee:

6th: Chad Grigsby, Maple Grove, Minn., three bass, 9-0

7th: Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., four bass, 7-5 (opening-round leader)

8th: Chip Harrison, Bremen, Ind., five bass, 7-3

9th: Dale Teaney, Williamsburg, Ohio, five bass, 6-0

10th: Sean Hoernke, Magnolia, Texas, three bass, 3-15

Final round Saturday

Day four of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour season opener at Lake Okeechobee begins as the final-round field of 10 boats takes off from Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina in Clewiston at 7 a.m. Eastern time Saturday. Friday’s weights carry over to Saturday, and the $100,000 Pro Division winner will be determined by two-day combined weight.