DEL RIO, Texas – Clayton Meyer of San Diego, Calif., the No. 13 seed from the National Guard Western Division, easily out-fished his opponent, Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., the No. 18 seed from the BP Eastern Division, on Friday to lead day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Series® East-West Fish-Off on Lake Amistad. Meyer’s five-bass limit weighing 34 pounds, 5 ounces set a new single-day weight record for the FLW Series, making Rose’s respectable catch of five bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces seem paltry by comparison.
“Everything went perfect today,” said Meyer, who has amassed more than $147,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I didn’t lose one fish all day. It was almost like I couldn’t do anything wrong.
“The fish were biting all day,” he added. “I had a great morning bite, and that’s when I caught the majority of my fish. I am going out tomorrow and sticking with the same plan I have all week. I’m not going to count Mark out. He is a great angler that could come back and beat me tomorrow.”
Meyer leads Rose 46-10 (10 bass) to 38-14 (10 bass) with one day remaining, but Rose, who has earned more than $600,000 in FLW Outdoors competition, proved on day one that he could land the big ones by sacking a limit weighing 26 pounds, 1 ounce to lead all Eastern Division anglers. Now he most regain his opening-day glory and overcome a 7-pound, 12-ounce deficit to advance to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C., for a shot at winning $1 million – the sport’s biggest award – Aug. 14-17.
In another much-anticipated match-up, Kellogg’s pro and No. 19 Eastern Division seed Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, is facing Duracell pro and No. 12 Western Division seed Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif. With two days down, Bennett holds a 15-pound lead over Tutt with 10 bass weighing 41-15 compared to 10 bass weighing 26-15.
“I am ready to go fishing tomorrow and see what I can do,” Tutt said. “I have a lot of ground to make up but this lake is a great fishery. I think I might still have a chance. We will find out tomorrow.”
National Guard pro and No. 25 Western Division seed Tim Klinger of Boulder City, Nev., won the 2007 FLW Series National Guard Western Division event on Clear Lake, and he is hoping to eliminate Kellogg’s pro and No. 6 Eastern Division seed Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, for a shot at the Forrest Wood Cup. Wendlandt, who finished third at the Cup in 2007, is looking to qualify again with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 32-02 to Klinger’s 10 bass weighing 20-03.
Overall Eastern Division pros lead their Western Division counterparts 16-14.
On Friday there were 294 bass weighing 902 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the 60 pros. The catch included 58 five-bass limits.
On the co-angler side, Bob Bjorklund of Centennial, Colo., topped the field Friday with five-bass weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces for a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 14 ounces. Bjorklund holds a slim 1-ounce lead over his closet competitor, Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., who owns a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34-13.
“I feel good going into tomorrow,” Bjorklund said. “I have had some really great partners that know where the fish are. The key to catching the fish is finding the fish. That will win it for you.”
Bjorklund is throwing a football-head jig in 30 to 40 feet of water to catch his bass.
“I am just going fishing tomorrow and staying with the same plan,” Bjorklund said “I have been close to winning before, but tomorrow I am ready to seal the deal and win this.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Steve Lindner of Lakewood, Calif. (10 bass, 31-15); Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark. (10 bass, 29-02) and Darrell Hagood of Wilton, Calif. (10 bass, 28-08).
Overall there were 275 bass weighing 658 pounds caught by the 60 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 50 five-bass limits.
The winners of the head-to-head match-ups in the Pro Division will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup along with the top 30 co-anglers based on accumulated weight during the three-day Fish-Off. The pro with the heaviest overall weight will also earn $25,000, and the co-angler with the heaviest overall weight will earn $5,000.
Anglers will take off at 7 Saturday morning from the East Diablo launch ramp at Lake Amistad Marina in Del Rio. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the FLW Series Fish-Off will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing March 16. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
FLW Fantasy Fishing invites virtual anglers to compete
Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate.