FLW Tour action heats up
Warmer weather could improve fishing
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A noticeably warmer morning kicked off day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour season opener on central Florida’s Lake Toho. And with the warmer temperatures, optimism among the field also returned.
While Arizona pro Brett Hite leads the event with 22 pounds, 6 ounces, many other highly skilled anglers struggled to find fish. Among those were pros Dave Lefebre and Greg Bohannan, both of whom have already qualified for the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
Lefebre caught a single keeper that weighed 1 pound, 6 ounces, while Bohannan caught two for 3-12. Despite their rough starts, neither angler thinks they are out of contention.
“I learned a lesson,” said Bohannan, a Rogers, Ark., native. “I was catching my fish in a foot of water during practice. When the water temperature drops 12 degrees, the bass don’t bite in a foot of water.”
Bohannan’s plan today is to scale down and try and catch five keepers. To do so, he plans to fish canals, which offer deeper water.
“I’m still learning to be a grass fisherman. I flipped yesterday, but today I’m going to grind it out with a Berkley finesse worm. I’d love to have 10 pounds at the end of the day. That would give me some points and maybe a check.”
Bohannan has already punched his ticket to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup through the 2007 Stren Series Championship. So why is he concerned about points?
“My whole goal is to win Rookie of the Year.”
On the other side of the fence is Yamaha pro Terry Bolton, who is hoping to qualify for the top 10. After day one, he was in 14th place with 14-2 despite having an unproductive practice.
“I had such a bad practice, my wife wouldn’t even go out with me on the final day,” said Bolton. “But I caught a 6-pounder yesterday, and that’s what this lake boils down to – who gets the big bite.”
Bolton thinks he’ll need another 13 or 14 pounds to make the top-10 cutoff.
“Andy Morgan and I talked, and he thinks yesterday was the good day. We will see. A lot of guys like me had one bite that made up half their weight. Who knows if they’ll get that big bite again today?”
Logistics
The two-day, opening-round cut will be made following Friday’s action. The full field competes in the opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Look for the pro cut weight to hover around 26 to 28 pounds, and the co-angler cut weight to settle in around 13 to 15 pounds.
Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. 
The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
On the Web
For those who can’t catch the weigh-in action in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings FLW Outdoors members real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:51 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 47 degrees
Expected high temperature: 74 degrees
Water temperature: 66-71 degrees
Wind: ENE at 10 mph
Maximum humidity: 49 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny