Back to hero?
Local pro looks for day-three redemption in FLW Series on Old Hickory
GALLATIN, Tenn. – First he was a hero, then a zero. Local pro Ashley Hayes of Rockvale, Tenn., is finding out just how manic professional bass fishing can be as he samples the pro side of FLW Series competition on his home lake this week.
On day one, Hayes made some big noise with a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces to finish the day in second place. Actually, Hayes would have been leading after day one had it not been for a dead-fish penalty.
But Thursday, the unthinkable happened: Hayes failed to catch a keeper bass, falling from second to 67th. To add insult to injury, his co-angler boated three nice fish behind for 8 1/2 pounds.
As they say, welcome to the Big Leagues.
“I’ve got a problem,” said the amiable Hayes, still trying to shake off the goose-egg sting this morning. “I hate a Carolina rig. The fish were still there, but I’m hard-headed and stuck with my crankbait while my co-angler was wailing them on a rig. At least you can’t say I don’t have conviction.”
Today, Hayes is hoping that hero-to-zero pendulum swings back his way to the hero side. He has put the “shoulda, woulda, coulda” behind him and is focused on another big stringer today.
“I didn’t come here for points, I came here to win,” he said. “Sometimes that
mentality puts you in a rut like I was in yesterday. Today, I’m going to loosen up and just go fishing again. I’m looking forward to the challenge of trying to get out of this hole with a big string.”
But when you leave the door open on your home lake in the Big Leagues, the veterans are bound to make themselves at home on your turf. Guys like Woo Daves and Larry Nixon don’t bother knocking, even, when the door is cracked, especially when there’s an early morning topwater bite going on.
Nixon made a move to 15th yesterday with the help of a 12-10 stringer.
“I’m getting a pretty good limit early on top,” Nixon said Friday morning. “Both days I’ve had my limit before 7 o’ clock. The problem is I kind of struggle after that topwater bite is over.”
Nixon was a little bit antsy this morning as he was boat No. 198. Though he’ll get a little later start today, lingering clouds and a threat of all-day rain should only help extend his topwater bite.
Another veteran using a topwater bite to move up through the pack is Woo Daves.
Yesterday Daves climbed to fourth with a 13-4 catch.
“It won’t hurt my feelings if these clouds want to stick around all day,” Daves said before departing the dock this morning.
The day-three weigh-in begins at 2:30 Central this afternoon at the Bull Creek Marina on Old Hickory. A co-angler champion will be determined and the top-10 cut will be made on the pro side. For those who cannot attend the weigh-in in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an application that allows fans to watch weigh-ins live over the Net.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 5:31
Temperature at takeoff: 75 degrees
Water temperature: 75-80 degrees
Expected high temperature: 75 degrees
Wind: NW at 5 to 10 mph
Day’s outlook: 80-percent chance of heavy rain and thundershowers