Ambort alert: Norman spawn isn’t over

Temperatures reach upper 80s, sight-bite improves

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – The bite, the weather and the competition are all heating up at the National Guard Open. Yesterday the pros were miffed by the behavior of the Lake Norman bass. Today they locked on beds and bit. Leading the way at the halfway point in the tournament was pro Eric Ambort, who notched his first top-10 on the Walmart FLW Tour.

It’s rare in competitive bass fishing for the bite to improve as the tournament progresses. But that’s the case for many of the 10 finalists this week. Several anglers reported seeing new activity in the shallows as bass were pairing up and rubbing. Ambort caught 11-13 yesterday and improved to 14 pounds today, giving him an opening-round total of 25 pounds, 13 ounces.

Ambort might not even be in the top 10 had it not been for some last-minute heroics. Yesterday he caught a 3 1/2-pounder off a dock near the weigh-in site with very little time left. When he checked in, he literally had less than a minute to spare. Today he found a nice female on bed with 20 minutes left in the day. But he was quite a ways from the ramp, and there was a buck bass guarding the nest. Incredibly, the female went for his bait before the buck.

“I’m sight-fishing more than I’m casting,” said the Mabelvale, Ark., pro. “I’m using a 6-inch Berkley Hand Pour Finesse Worm in brown with a blue streak. I’m also using a creature bait. I’ve caught eight keepers each day, and it’s been about half and half between the two baits.”

Ambort wouldn’t specify the creature bait and for good reason – the bass are absolutely choking on it. The pro leader said he caught a bed fish yesterday that swallowed the bait so deep that he had to cut his line. Oftentimes spawning bass will attack a bait to defend their nest, but the third-year pro is coaxing these fish to eat.

“Once I see it, I like to back off and let it relax a little bit. I know I have caught fish that others have pitched to unsuccessfully before me.”

Not only is this the first time Ambort has made an FLW Tour cutoff, it’s also his first time leading.

“It feels great. Tomorrow I’m just going to put my head down and keep looking. This is a good lake, but it’s the toughest I’ve ever seen it. I believe most of the fish are just guarding fry, and that’s the point in the spawn where they can be tentative.”

Big comeback for 2008 champ

Exploding up the leaderboard from 41st place was Sean Hoernke, the defending National Guard Open champion in the Pro Division. After catching only 9 pounds, 13 ounces yesterday, Hoernke caught 15-10 today, the heaviest limit of the tournament thus far. Anchoring that limit was a 5-pound, 1-ounce largemouth.

“Yesterday I had a chance to have the same bag, but they came off,” he said. “One was over 4 pounds, and the other was probably over 5 (pounds).”

Hoernke said that he’s using the same stuff that he used last year, but that he’s fishing new areas. He hasn’t found a shad spawn yet, so he spends most of his time looking. To that end, six of the 10 bass he has weighed in so far have come via sight-fishing. His two key baits are a 4-inch weightless wacky worm and a swimbait. The swimbait is more of a secondary option that is briefly used in the morning.

“They’re coming up, and I like it. It’s coming my way. I really think a lot of people don’t know how to catch the big ones here. The whole deal here is converting (on those big fish). That’s why I fish new water every day. Last year, a lot of people said, `Well, he’s just going around and didn’t know what he was doing.’

“That’s not really the case. There’s so many fish here of the same caliber; the deal is you just have to run and run and run until you find that one good one. I came here to make the cut, so I simply do not stop to fish for small fish. Each day I try brand-new water, so I don’t know how well I’ll do tomorrow. But you can bet that I’ll do everything in my power to win this thing back to back.”

Williams third

After poor showings in 2007 and 2008, Keith Williams finally figured Lake Norman out. After catching 13-3 on day one, the Conway, Ark., pro caught 11-14 today to finish the opening round in third place.

“I’m surprised; I really thought I had about 9 pounds,” he said. “I used the exact same pattern as yesterday, but the big bass are getting harder to catch. The big ones are pairing up on bed, and when they pair up it gets tough. Tomorrow I’m really hoping they’ll be locked on and ready to bite on the first pitch.”

Williams is using a Zoom Trick Worm, but he rigs it two different ways – one on a shaky head and one weightless and wacky style. He is fishing pockets in the main-lake area and keying on certain shade spots within those pockets.

“I’ve got a lot of fish around me. I probably saw 17 or 18 pounds that I couldn’t catch. Tomorrow I’ll have it all to myself. It just feels really good to redeem myself on this lake. I never really fish with light line and a spinning rod, but it works.”

Blaylock fourth

Ambort wasn’t the only Arkansas pro to notch his first FLW Tour top-10 this week. Co-angler phenom Stetson Blaylock also made the cutoff – the first in his rookie season as a pro. Blaylock caught 10-15 on day one and followed it up with 13-8 for a two-day total of 24 pounds, 7 ounces.

“I had a tough practice,” said the 2008 FLW Tour Co-angler of the Year. “I spent so much time fishing, and it felt wrong. I think I was actually wasting my time; I should have been looking instead.”

Blaylock has located several quality bass, but he doesn’t sight-fish for them. If he knows their location, he will make a long cast to the area.

“Only four of the 10 fish I’ve weighed were caught by sight-fishing.”

The Benton, Ark., native is using a 5/16-ounce homemade finesse jig with a Berkley Craw in Texas color. He’s presenting the jig in midlake pockets.

“I think everybody is missing out on the jig bite. It’s really strong; its pretty much a reaction bite – if you throw it in front of them, they’ll eat it before it hits the bottom. If they don’t see you before you see them, they’ll bite. As soon as I flip my bait in there, I’m hooked up.”

Evans fifth

Falling from second to fifth was Summerville, S.C., pro Dale Evans, who is also making his first top-10 appearance on the FLW Tour. Evans caught 13 pounds, 11 ounces on day one and 10 pounds, 9 ounces today for a total of 24-4. In practice and on day one, he was intercepting prespawn bass on their migration to the bank. With the warmer weather, most of the fish have already made their move, which means Evans’ unique pattern is all but done.

“I’ll be bed-fishing for the rest of the week,” he said. “The fishing was much tougher for me because there was no wind and because they’re all moving up.”

With sight-fishing on the slate for the next two days, Evans plans to pull out a good pair of glasses and a Zoom lizard.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros at the National Guard Open on Lake Norman who will be fishing Saturday:

6th: Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., 24-3 (two-day total)

7th: Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., 23-15

8th: Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., 23-2

9th: Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., 23-2

10th: Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., 22-9

The $1,000 Folgers Big Bass went to Andy Montgomery, who bagged a 5-pound, 4-ounce Lake Norman largemouth.

Shuffield leads Co-angler Division

With a two-day total weight of 16 pounds, 11 ounces, Spencer Shuffield leads the co-anglers at the conclusion of the opening round on Lake Norman. Shuffield caught an 8-6 limit yesterday and an 8-5 limit today.

“We started out this morning, and my pro had a limit in about an hour and I had three,” he said. “But then I caught one about every hour after that.”

Shuffield said he targeted fish around docks with a weightless wacky-rigged 4-inch green-pumpkin Senko. He also used a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 jerkbait in ghost-minnow color. The jerkbait worked extremely well in practice when the weather was windy.

“I had at least 12 or 13 pounds follow it today,” Shuffield said of the jerkbait. “But they wouldn’t commit. The Senko is the sure thing, but if I get some wind tomorrow, it could get ugly with the jerkbait.”

This is Shuffield’s fifth top-10 on the FLW Tour, but he’s never won. Each of the last two years he’s barely missed the cut on Norman.

“I guess the third time is the charm. This feels really good. I need to catch 8 pounds tomorrow, and if I catch five fish, I think I can do that.”

Rodgers second

Dearal Rodgers of Camden, S.C., moved up two spots from fourth to second via a 7-pound, 8-ounce limit Friday. Rodgers finished the opening round with a two-day total of 16 pounds, 8 ounces. This is his second top-10 finish of the season. He placed ninth last month on Table Rock Lake.

Rest of the best

2008 National Guard Open champion David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., will have a chance to defend his title tomorrow. After catching a 12-pound limit yesterday, Hudson caught two more bass today that weighed 4 pounds, 2 ounces, giving him a total of 16-2, good for third place.

Hudson, who also won the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup from the back of the boat, is closing in on becoming the first co-angler in FLW Outdoors history to accumulate $200,000 in career earnings.

“I believe if I finish in the top three, I’d have enough to break $200,000. I’d be happy with that, but I’m looking to defend my title.”

Hudson continues to fish with a 1/8-ounce homemade jig made by Kerry Leach and a Zoom finesse worm in green-pumpkin and purple color.

Jason Ober of Johnstown, Pa., is in fourth place with a two-day total of 15 pounds, 14 ounces. Today Ober caught a limit that weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces.

“I’m just taking every opportunity I get – throwing that Zoom Trick Worm on a shaky head and on a wicky rig,” he said. “The key is making lots of casts and being cognizant of what is going on around you. Lots of guys get frustrated with pros that sight-fish, and I don’t.”

Grant McPeters of Marion, N.C., rounds out the top five co-anglers with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers at the National Guard Open on Lake Norman to be fishing Saturday:

6th: Bob Bjorklund of Centennial, Colo., 14-14 (two-day total)

7th: David Lauer of South Bend, Ind., 13-6

8th: Shane Lehew of Charlotte, N.C., 13-5

9th: Jeff Freeman of Max Meadows, Va., 13-3

10th: Fred Martin of North Little Rock, Ark., 12-15

Day three of the National Guard Open on Lake Norman will begin Saturday a 7 a.m. at Blythe Landing, located at 15901 North Carolina Highway 73 in Huntersville.