Down the homestretch, Ward wins Chevy Open co-angler title

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Fishing behind pro leader Brennan Bosley, Charles Ward caught a five-bass limit weighing 10 pounds, 6 ounces Friday at Lake Murray to take the Co-angler Division victory and $40,000 at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Chevy Open.

“Today, I saw the best water I’ve seen all week, and it worked out really well,” Ward said. “It was a little deeper and very conducive for a co-angler to fish.”

For Ward, a 41-year-old fifth-year FLW Tour co-angler from Greer, S.C., it was an emotional first win. He has three previous top-10 FLW finishes, including a runner-up showing at Lake Champlain in 2004.

“I grew up in Columbia, and I’ve fished Lake Murray for 30 years,” he said. “In fact, one of the places I fished yesterday was right beside an area where I first caught a fish over 6 pounds as a kid.”

Ward didn’t have any 6-pounders Friday, but his limit – the only one of the day on the co-angler side – contained just enough good 2- and 3-pound bass to push him past second-place Sondra Rankin of Paducah, Ky., who had a nice 4-pound kicker.

“Coming in today, I knew I was going to do well, but I didn’t think I was going to win,” he said.

Ward caught six fish Friday, all which came off deeper rock piles on a ¼-ounce J & M Custom Lures Spot Getter rigged with a Zoom green-pumpkin finesse worm. He was fishing 10-pound fluorocarbon line

Rankin, one of two female co-angler finalists, grabbed the second top-10 finish of her career Friday and collected $20,000. She caught three bass weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces, each on finesse baits.

Third place and $10,000 went to co-angler Mark Cummings of Pembroke, N.C., for two bass weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces.

Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., finished fourth and collected $9,000 for one nice bass weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-angler finishers was Mike Devere of Berea, Ky., who caught two bass weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces and earned $8,000.

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finishers at FLW Lake Murray:

6th: Matthew Parker, Whitesburg, Ga., one bass, 4-9, $7,000

7th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., two bass, 3-0, $6,000 (opening-round leader)

8th: Judy Israel, Clewiston, Fla., one bass, 2-6, $5,000

9th: Ken Murphy, Meridian, Miss., one bass, 2-3, $4,000

10th: David Brunaugh, Carbondale, Ill., zero bass, $3,000