Quick Bites: Wal-Mart Open, Beaver Lake, Day 3

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Beaver Lake, Rogers, Ark.

Final round, Saturday

What is that? … National Guard pro Brent Ehrler caught a 4-pound kicker bass on day two that anchored his 10-pound, 5-ounce limit. He was ecstatic with the catch, especially considering day two was much tougher than day one. In fact, the Redlands, Calif., native was one of only a handful of pros who improved their stringer on the second day. Ehrler said it was all about the kicker – a hefty smallmouth bass. Wait, was that a smallmouth or a spotted bass? It’s not a largemouth because its jaw is too short and there is no horizontal black stripe. But it looks too dark to be a spotted bass. Is it a meanmouth – a hybrid between a spotted bass and a smallmouth? Ehrler claims it is a spotted bass because he saw the rough patch on the fish’s tongue. But don’t meanmouth bass also have the rough patch on the tongue? “I’m sure it was a spot, at least I think it was,” Ehrler said. “I swear it was a spot; I don’t think meanmouths get that big. Plus, meanmouths in this lake look just like smallmouths.” I don’t know, Brent, hundreds of spotted bass were caught this week, and none of them looked like that. Perhaps FLWOutdoors.com should take a poll.



Three awarded Bronze Star medals … The third Saturday in May is Armed Forces Day – a day to honor Americans serving in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard and Coast Guard. Appropriately, three servicemen were awared Bronze Star medals prior to the day-three weigh-in. Bronze Star medals are given to servicemen and servicewomen in order to honor their bravery, acts of merit or meritorious service. The three men receiving the honor Saturday were Sgt. First Class Flood, Sgt. First Class Omohundro and Sgt. First Class Hanson. Each were given a rousing round of applause by the northwest Arkansas crowd.

Co-angler champ now running the boat … Two years ago, Richard Strother held up a $40,000 check on center stage at the Wal-Mart Open in Rogers, Ark. Winning the Co-angler Division of a tour-level event, Strother thought he had achieved the pinnacle of his bass-fishing career. A self-proclaimed retired “phone man,” Strother still had an itch to scratch. “I just wanted to play one time against the big boys,” he said. With that in mind, the Tyler, Texas, angler embarked on his first season as an FLW Tour pro. Like so many others, he found the transition to the front of the boat difficult at first. In fact, his best finish in the first three qualifiers was 179th at Norman. But after catching a two-day total weight of 22 pounds, 10 ounces, Strother has made his dream come true. If he wants to win the Wal-Mart Open as a pro tomorrow, he’s got some work to do. After day three, he is ninth with three bass weighing 4-2.

Arey gets a surprise visit … Strother wasn’t the only FLW Tour co-angler champion making his first appearance in the top 10 as a pro. Shelby, N.C., angler Matt Arey, who won the 2006 Forrest Wood Cup from the back of the boat, also made the cutoff. To his surprise, his wife, Emily, his father, Robert, and his mother, Candy, were in attendance as he took the stage. Emily, Robert and Candy left North Carolina this morning at 5, took a connecting flight through Dallas and finally landed in northwest Arkansas just after noon. Ironically, Emily had a dozen friends and family members fly in to North Carolina for the NASCAR All-Star race tonight at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Ultimately, Emily chose fishing over NASCAR. “I hope I didn’t upset them,” Emily said of her stranded guests. “When we found out he made the top-10 (cutoff), we had to come,” said his father.

Richardson makes honest mistake … Veteran pro Joel Richardson has always had the respect of his peers as an ethical angler. That’s why it was no surprise that when he committed an inadvertent rules violation, he immediately called Tournament Director Bill Taylor and came clean. The Kernersville, N.C., angler was disqualified for fishing in an off-limits area that was obscured by high water and fog. Richardson’s DQ bumped him out of the top 10 and advanced Wal-Mart pro George Cochran to the final round of 10 boats. FLW Outdoors President and CEO Charlie Evans called Richardson a “true professional with the utmost integrity,” labeling the situation an “inadvertent violation, but a violation nonetheless.” Richardson called the situation an honest mistake. “Due to the fog and high water, I totally misread where the off-limits buoys were. I stopped on a place shortly after takeoff where I thought the off-limits area ended, made a couple of casts, and Cody Bird idled up to me and pointed out another buoy a couple hundred yards away that had been moved by high water. I immediately made a call to Tournament Director Bill Taylor and informed him of my actions.”

Quick numbers

2-5: Weight, in pounds and ounces, for opening-round leader Alvin Shaw on day three.

4: Number of FLW Outdoors victories for 20-year-old Benton, Ark., co-angler Stetson Blaylock.



5: Estimated weight, in pounds, of second-place co-angler Gregory Auzenne’s kicker bass.

7: Number of five-bass limits caught by the Pro Division Saturday.

9-5: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the heaviest pro stringer from day three caught by Mike Hawkes.

10-9: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the heaviest stringer from day three caught by Blaylock, the co-angler champion.

Sound bites

“I just kept the big stick in my hand all week and said I’m not going to use a shaky head because I’m fishing to win.” – Blaylock.

“Stetson’s a good friend and a teammate of mine. I wanted some of his big fish, but I’m happy for him.” – Trilene pro Sam Newby, who drew Blaylock on day three.

“I like the big brown Beaver better than the big blue Beaver.” – Newby, on fishing Beaver Lake when the water is high.

“They better look out; I feel like I have a chance.” – Third-place pro Kyle Mabrey.

“I’m an IRA fisherman; my IRA is my sponsor.” – Strother.

The final takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. Central time from Prairie Creek Marina located at 1 Prairie Creek Marina Drive in Rogers.