Horton leads TBF National Championship
Horton's 15-13 limit leads all boaters as well as Southern Division contenders
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Plenty of bass were caught out of Lake Wylie to kick-start The Bass Federation National Championship, presented by the National Guard, and competition was fierce, as berths for both the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League All-American and the lucrative Forrest Wood Cup are on the line. Leading the pack is Southern Division contender Jamie Horton of Centerville, Ala., with a limit of five bass weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces.
Though Horton does lead all boaters in total weight on day one, what really matters today is that he leads all Southern Division contenders. The full field of 36 boaters and 36 co-anglers competed today and will fish again tomorrow for one of six berths in Saturday’s final round. Those six boaters and six co-anglers will not advance based on total weight, but rather the top finisher from each of the six divisions – Southern, Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Mid-Atlantic – will compete on the final day.
Nevertheless, catching the most bass will eventually matter big time, as the boater and co-angler who finish Saturday’s final round with the heaviest three-day weight will earn a trip to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup, where the boater could earn as much as $1 million cash for the win. All six boaters and co-anglers who advance to the final day of this week’s event automatically earn a trip to the $1 million BFL All-American.
Horton takes 3-pound-plus lead in Southern Division competition
In addition to catching the most weight of any boater today, Horton also leads the six-man Southern Division contingent by an impressive 3-pound, 9-ounce margin. He is no stranger to the TBF upper ranks – he says this is his fourth national championship – and he definitely has his eye on the big prize: entry into the Forrest Wood Cup and the “Living the Dream” package, which includes paid entry into the 2008 Wal-Mart FLW Tour or Wal-Mart FLW Series.
“The Federation has been a good steppingstone for me,” Horton said. “I can’t tell you how much it means – I had no hesitation, I wanted to fish FLW. You just don’t know how bad I want it.”
Working in Horton’s favor is the forecast. He’s sight-fishing, and though he obviously caught them today, the clouds didn’t help. Today on stage, a few anglers said they wanted more clouds tomorrow, while a few others hoped for sunshine. Horton is among those praying for sun, and he’s likely to get it tomorrow, according to current forecasts.
“The fishing is pretty good,” Horton said of Lake Wylie. “I caught a lot of 3-pounders, and I was worried about catching big fish. I caught all of them sight-fishing – all of them were on beds.”
In addition to today’s significant cloud cover, what also makes Horton’s sight-fishing pattern all the more remarkable is that torrential rains recently soaked the Charlotte, N.C., area, Lake Wylie included, muddying up many areas that competitors found in practice a few weeks ago.
“I’m pretty much just running a pattern,” Horton said. “It’s not really in one area; it’s all over the lake. (Wylie) doesn’t suit my No. 1 style, but it suits my No. 2 style.”
Horton, with his Alabama pedigree, says he has only fished Wylie in practice for this very event, but he’s proving to be quite the formidable foe.
“I know where some fish are if I can just catch them,” he said. “I feel good right now.”
Horton advanced to this week’s championship by finishing first in the Southern Divisional Championship, held last June on Kentucky Lake. To ultimately make it to the national championship, all anglers had to qualify through a series of TBF club, TBF state and TBF divisional tournaments.
Blank leads Northern Divisional with 15-4
Doug Blank of Fort Atkinson, Wis., caught a limit weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces today to land second on the overall weight list and first in the Northern Division ranks, edging past Derek Cummings by only 12 ounces.
Like Horton, Blank is also a divisional championship winner, having taken first place at the Northern Divisional last September on Lake Winnebago. His 15-4 haul today was anchored by a 3-pound, 8-ouncer.
“I can’t believe I made it this far,” said a visibly nervous Blank on stage. “I caught my first one early, so I’m hoping to see some clouds tomorrow. I probably won’t sleep at all.”
As a Ranger owner, Blank, decked out in a bright yellow Ranger Boats jersey and cap, would be competing for $1 million should he advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.
“That would be awesome,” he said. “This is the biggest tournament I’ve ever been in.”
Though Blank is hoping for clouds tomorrow, he had to readjust to Lake Wylie this week after clouds brought in rain that muddied up his good areas.
“Everything I found before was nothing but mud,” Blank said. “So I looked for cleaner water. I had a good bite this morning, but when the sun came out, I lost my bite.”
Cooper takes solid lead in Central Division
With the third-heaviest weight of the day – a limit weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces – Greg Cooper of Monroe City, Mo., leads contenders from the Central Division by a 2-pound, 12-ounce margin.
Cooper is also among the boaters who can take comfort in tomorrow’s mostly sunny forecast – despite catching them good on day one, he’s hoping to catch some fish along with some rays tomorrow.
“Right now it’s postspawn,” Cooper said. “The fish are scattered. You’ve got to do a lot of casting, flipping and pitching to get your fish. You can’t give up.”
Cooper reported having a limit by 9 o’clock this morning and says he just got lucky.
“I got a lot of bites,” he said. “I want sunshine. It pulls them closer to the cover.”
In addition to leading his division and putting himself in contention for the overall weight prize, Cooper also caught the day’s heaviest bass on the boater side – a 4-pound, 3-ouncer that earned him $250.
“I’m nervous,” said Cooper, who has his sights set on the FLW Tour or FLW Series should he win this week’s event. “It’s a great opportunity for all 72 guys. Even at my age, I’m still nervous.”
Cooper took second place at the Central Divisional Championship held last June on the Arkansas River to advance to the national championship.
Andrews holds slim lead among Eastern Division contenders
With a 14-pound, 14-ounce limit on day one, Dave Andrews of Bolton, Mass., leads his nearest Eastern Division competitor by a mere 6 ounces. His best bass was a 3-pound, 15-ounce kicker.
“I don’t think it’s fishing great,” Andrews said of Lake Wylie. “It was probably better three or four weeks ago when it was prespawn. The fish are a little confused. It was 10 degrees warmer three weeks ago.”
Andrews said he is fishing shallow and also said he’d like to see the clouds return for another day tomorrow.
“The cloud cover helped me a lot,” he said. “It put fish where I needed them to be – shallow – and it made them active. I’d just as soon it be cloudy.”
Beneath today’s cloudy skies, Andrews reported a hot bite, as the results show.
“They’re not shy,” he said of Wylie bass. “You put it in front of him, and he eats it. I’m not having to finesse them, let’s put it that way.”
Andrews perhaps had one of today’s most prolific experiences on Lake Wylie, as he reported catching nearly 20 keepers.
“I was expecting eight or 10,” he said. “I had as good a day as I could have had. I’m going to run the same circuit tomorrow, but I don’t think I could repeat that. I’m using a bait nobody else is fishing.”
Andrews, too, is among the divisional winners, as he claimed victory at the Eastern Divisional held last September on Lake Champlain to advance to this week’s event.
Jordan, Keisel round out divisional leaders
Currently in the No. 1 spot from the Western Division is Dan Jordan of Florence, Ore. He brought in a limit weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces to edge past John Albidrez by only 4 ounces. His bag included a 3-pound, 10-ouncer.
Leading the Mid-Atlantic Division contenders is David Keisel of Virginia Beach, Va., with a limit of bass weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces. That catch put him ahead of his nearest competition by 2 pounds, 4 ounces.
“It started out slow and sped up really fast,” Keisel said of his day-one experience on Lake Wylie.
Keisel was the winner of the Mid-Atlantic Divisional held last September on Lake Hopatcong.
Andrews leads co-anglers in weight
Leading the Co-angler Division in total weight as well as leading the Mid-Atlantic Division co-angler contenders is David Andrews of Fairfax, Va. His 13-pound, 10-ounce five-bass limit leads the Mid-Atlantic Division, though, by only 6 ounces.
“I’m going to go out and give it my best shot and see what I can do,” Andrews said. “I drew a great partner, and I think I’ll catch them tomorrow.”
Robertson leads Southern co-anglers
Though most of the divisional co-angler leaders were determined by just ounces today, Carl Robertson of the Southern Division is currently leading the tightest co-angler race, as his five-bass, 12-pound, 6-ounce day-one catch edged past Wayne Black’s by only 2 ounces.
“If I don’t go another step, I had a good ride,” Robertson said.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the co-angler division leaders after day one on Lake Wylie:
Jim Jones, Big Bend, Wis., Northern Division, five bass, 11-12
Steve Cagle, Farmerville, La., Central Division, five bass, 11-3
Gerald Wright, Pasco, Wash., Western Division, five bass, 10-2
Ronald Herbert Jr., East Livermore, Maine, Eastern Division, five bass, 8-14
Competition resumes tomorrow with the full field taking off at 7 a.m. EDT from Copperhead Island Park, located at 15222 York Road in Charlotte. Tomorrow’s weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. at the Charlotte Merchandise Mart, Liberty Hall, located at 2500 E. Independence Blvd. in Charlotte. The National Guard Expo surrounds the weigh-in and opens at 2 p.m. Friday. The National Guard Expo features games, prizes, free product samples and displays for fishing fans of all ages to enjoy. Admission is absolutely free.