Quick Bites: FLW Tour Kentucky Lake, Day 2

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Kentucky Lake, Benton, Ky.

Opening round, Thursday

Gagliardi craves the Corn Flakes … Yesterday, No. 2-ranked pro Anthony Gagliardi thought he had kissed his Angler of the Year chances goodbye after ending day one in 148th place. Not so fast. He rebounded today in a big way today by more than doubling his day-one weight, bringing in 19 pounds, 6 ounces to vault a whopping 121 spots up the leaderboard. He ended the tournament in 27th place, virtually assuring an Angler of the Year points lead. (Official standings and point totals will be released following Saturday’s weigh-in.) “I learned a valuable lesson last night that you’re not out of it until you’re out of it,” he said. “I need to remember this day.” … On day one, rookie Gabe Bolivar seemed a near-lock to take over the points lead, as he entered the tournament ranked fourth and was the only points contender to end the day anywhere near the top. Today, though, Bolivar fell from fifth place to 34th, still a decent finish but not enough to take the lead after Gagliardi’s incredible day. “I have such a hard time backing them up two days,” said Bolivar, who caught only 6-15 today after catching 19-12 yesterday. “It was brutal. I had one spot that was good, and I banked on it. I have no excuses.” … Kentucky Lake was not kind to current points leader Darrel Robertson, who finished 147th this week. He brought in four fish today, and when the emcee told him he needed only one more, Robertson responded, “I need a bunch more.” One tournament remains on the schedule to determine this year’s Angler of the Year, who historically graces boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.

Deep thinking … No. 3 pro Terry Bolton, who has earned the designation of Kentucky Lake expert, estimated that half of the 200-boat field was fishing deep while the other half was fishing shallow. Bolton himself was fishing deep and said he chose that over shallow because he was going after quality, not quantity. “The fish used to stay up shallow,” Bolton said of Kentucky Lake bass. “But with Kentucky Lake being older and relatively void of shallow cover, the water is getting cleaner and they make their way out deeper. There is more comfort and security out there.” Bolton said he hasn’t gotten many bites, but the one he has are solid, evidenced by his two-day catch of 36 pounds, 7 ounces. … On the other hand, No. 6 pro Curt Lytle fished shallow the opening round and says if Bolton is correct about half the field going that direction, then that is the half that “got their butts kicked.” Lytle himself does not believe his shallow pattern is going to serve him well in the final rounds. “I’m making the best of something that’s probably going away,” he said. Lytle opted for shallow this week because it reminds him of home. “I feel like Kentucky Lake is very similar to Buggs Island, which is a home lake for me,” said the Virginia pro. “I can apply the same things.” Lytle estimates that only two of the 10 finalists are on a shallow-water pattern, with him being one of them.

Good things come in fours … Co-angler Chad Parks may not have made the final round, but he still has a lot to celebrate after catching the tournament’s heaviest co-angler stringer so far despite zeroing yesterday. Parks’ 15-pound, 6-ounce limit moved him all the way up to 35th place and into check range, which was a lot better than yesterday when his name wasn’t even on the standings sheet. Also perking up Parks was the 6-pound, 3-ouncer that anchored the bag and got him an extra $375 as the day’s co-angler big-bass winner. So what made today so different from yesterday? “I caught 12 fish yesterday, but none I could keep,” he said. “Today I got the right ones.” He says his big one, a smallmouth, came on his fourth cast of the day, and he had four fish by 8 a.m. Four seems to be a lucky number for Parks, as he finished in fourth place at the last two FLW Tour events. “This would have been my third consecutive top 10, but I got what I needed to go to the championship,” he said. Indeed, Parks entered the tournament ranked 18th in co-angler points standings, and his solid performance this week should boost him even further up the rankings. Updated co-angler standings will be released following tomorrow’s weigh-in.

Abbie the caddy … Co-angler Judy Israel has accomplished quite a bit in her fishing career, having set and exceeded major milestones in women’s fishing in the near-decade she’s competed on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Though Israel is used to catching big fish and breaking records, one thing she’s not used to is being beaten by her husband, fellow co-angler Abbie Israel. It happened this week, though, as Abbie finished the tournament in 43rd and Judy took 59th. “Every bass caddy has his day, and today is my day,” Abbie said. As for Judy, she delighted in her husband’s little victory. “I’m so excited that Abbie did better than me,” she said. “But I know he’s never going to stop talking about it. I’m going to hear about it until at least my next tournament.” Both Israels earned checks, with Abbie claiming $925 and Judy earning $600. “I hope he gets a check,” Judy said. “He’ll hold it up and say, `Look, I got a check this time!'”

Bubble boy … Kentucky and Barkley lakes encompass an enormous area, and pro Wesley Strader was fishing the Tennessee side today when he was an accidental witness to an apparent military drill. A major army base, Fort Campbell, is located nearby, and their soldiers are likely what Strader saw today on the water. “I saw the plane go over, and the next thing I know, this guy hits the water a hundred feet behind me in a parachute,” Strader said. “He had fins on. I look up, and there are 20 more of them. They looked like bubbles, and they scared me to death.” They must not have scared the fish too much, though, as Strader brought in more than 13 pounds today to finish 20th.

Double whammy … The week’s heaviest stringer belongs to current leader Jim Moynagh, who brought in 23 pounds, 4 ounces of Kentucky Lake bass today to lead the final-round pros. Amazingly, that massive sack contained not one but two 6-pound-plus bass, one that weighed 6-12 and one that was an even 6 pounds. “I was fishing a new spot,” he said. “I had enough weight when I caught a fish, and it was a 6-pounder.” Moynagh, who was already in contention after day one, when he finished 12th, had confidence he could pull in a huge stringer after having similar luck while prefishing. “In practice, one day I had over 20 pounds,” he said. “If you can do it once, you can do it again.”

Quick numbers:

41: Day-one finish of No. 9 pro David Dudley, the lowest opening position of the top-10 finalists.

35: Positions moved up the leaderboard by No. 5 pro Steve Kennedy, the most of any top-10 pro.

14: Difference, in pounds, of No. 8 co-angler Eric Foltin’s day-one weight of 3 pounds, 8 ounces and his day-two weight of 17 pounds, 8 ounces.

106: Spots moved up the leaderboard by Foltin.

3: Number of local sticks who made the top 10 – Bolton on the pro side and Brian Hickey and Sondra Rankin on the co-angler side.

Sound bites:

“How does my fake smile look?” – Pro Dave Lefebre, on the difficulty of acting cheerful when you’re finishing in 121st.

“I’m not fishing the way I’m comfortable with, but I’m getting to like it.” – David Walker, whose discomfort has led to a No. 2 position.

“I want to know what you’re fishing so I’ll know what not to tie on.” – Weighmaster Charlie Evans to 146th-place co-angler Doug Caldwell.

“I always need a little more money.” – George Cochran, who earned $500,000 at last year’s FLW Tour Championship. Cochran did indeed finish in check range, earning $10,750 as this week’s 23rd-place pro.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. Central time at Kentucky Dam Marina, located at 466 Marina Drive in Gilbertsville.