Stormy start at Beaver
Wal-Mart Open anglers in for some wicked weather during opening round
ROGERS, Ark. – Thunder, lightning and sporadic rain squalls interrupted takeoff proceedings at Beaver Lake Wednesday morning, but all 200 boats got off safely to start the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s 2006 Wal-Mart Open.
As ominous as the weather was this morning, it only looks to get worse tomorrow. Clouds and rain will continue on and off throughout the day Wednesday, but Thursday’s forecast is calling for some really nasty stuff. Heavy storms and strong winds could test the patience of more than a few anglers.
Still, the fishing should be pretty good this week. The bass are starting to move up to spawn, and some pros are saying that catch weights could be as high as they’ve seen at Beaver Lake in a while.
“There are some on bed, but I don’t think that’s going to be as big of a factor today, with the weather,” pro Jason Knapp said Wednesday morning. “I’m just going to go fishing.”
“Yeah, it bums me out,” pro Dave Lefebre said about the potential for sight-fishing. “Before this, I thought I had a little something figured out, but now everybody and their brother are going to be catching them.”
Logistics
The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Hosted by the Rogers Convention and Visitors Bureau, the tournament features 400 anglers from 37 states, Japan, Canada and Australia, with 200 of the world’s best bass pros fishing for a top award of $200,000 cash. Two hundred co-anglers will compete for a top award of $40,000 cash.
Anglers will take off at 7 Central time each morning from Prairie Creek Marina. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will also be held at Prairie Creek Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd. in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m. Immediately following Friday’s weigh-in, fans are invited to a free concert in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
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. Show time starts at 3 p.m. Central today.
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:57 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 52 degrees
Expected high temperature: 71 degrees
Water temperature: 55-57 degrees
Wind: SSE at 14 mph
Maximum humidity: 61 percent
Day’s outlook: thundershowers