Quick Bites: FLW Tour, Lake Norman, Day 3

Walmart FLW Tour

National Guard Open

Lake Norman, Charlotte, N.C.,

Final round, Saturday

Master and apprentice … One of the great things about FLW Outdoors is the organization’s open-door policy of inviting those who want to fish tournaments into the sport via the Co-angler Division. For proof of how powerful that gateway to the sport can be, take the story of Iams pro Koby Kreiger and co-angler Jason Ober of Johnstown, Pa., who just won the National Guard Open in the Co-angler Division today. About three years ago, Kreiger took Ober under his wing and mentored him in the ways of tournament bass fishing, and now Ober is a Tour champion. “I met Koby through a mutual friend,” Ober explained. “I showed up at a Stren tournament at Lake Eufaula several years ago and Koby said, `Get in the boat kid; your practicing with me.'” Ober ended up drawing Kreiger the second day of that event. Kreiger won the tournament on the pro side and Ober ended up 11th, and from there a new fishing friendship was born. Now the two travel and practice together at all FLW Tour events. “I can’t tell you the number of years of learning Koby has saved me,” Ober continued. “Practicing behind one of the best anglers in the world has taught me so much. And he does not cut me any slack, either. He makes me work hard in the back of his boat figuring out different techniques to catch fish behind pros. I owe a lot of this win to him and can’t thank him enough.”

Martin makes it three in a row … Co-angler Fred Martin of North Little Rock, Ark., scored his third consecutive top-10 of 2009 at Lake Norman. His two previous tournaments included an eighth-place finish at Lake Guntersville, a second-place finish at Table Rock and now a ninth-place finish at Norman. His 2009 FLW Tour earnings now stand at $14,500, and he currently leads the Co-angler of the Year points race.

Hudson just short of 200K … Speaking of co-anglers making money from the back deck, David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., is on the brink of being the first co-angler to amass $200,000 in FLW Tour winnings. After 17 top-10s as a co-angler, Hudson has won $193,960 FLW dollars since 1996. With his recent fourth-place at the National Guard Open, he now stands at $198,960 in winnings, just 1,040 bucks shy of the $200,000 mark.

Morgan on the move … Pros Sean Hoernke, Greg Pugh and Jim Moynagh have demonstrated a solid understanding of how Lake Norman bass operate. Pugh and Moynagh both share three top-10s in the National Guard Open, while Hoernke is the defending champion. But pro Andy Morgan has had his fair share of success on Norman as well, albeit a little more bittersweet. Morgan has finished 11th and 12th in this event in the last two years and finally broke the top-10 barrier this week. His secret? “Stay on the move,” Morgan said. “I don’t get caught up in that sight-fishing, GPS, waypoint game. I don’t have a single waypoint in my GPS for this event. I don’t even know where I’m going to start each morning – I just put the trolling motor down and fish as many miles as possible, making as many presentations as possible. I mainly focus on docks, casting a Trick Worm and Skinny Dipper to as many docks per day as possible. There are so many fish in this lake, it’s purely a numbers game. The more casts I make, the more fish I catch and the more times I get to cull by ounces at time. Some days you might catch 25 fish, some days just 10 fish, but the more you can catch, the more you can cull – that’s my game at Norman.”

Quick numbers

1: Number of limits weighed in on day three in the Co-angler Division, caught by champion Jason Ober.

40,000: Amount, in dollars, won by Ober.

18: Number of top-10s David Hudson has made in his co-angler career with FLW Outdoors.

1,040: Amount, in dollars, that Hudson needs to reach the $200,000 mark.

3: Number of top-10s co-angler Fred Martin has made in FLW Tour competition in 2009.

Sound bites

“Get up every day and be positive.” – David Hudson, on the secret to his success from the back of the boat.

“You can’t imagine how much Koby has done to help me out. When it comes to his love for this sport, he goes above and beyond in helping others.” – National Guard Open co-angler champion Jason Ober, on his fishing friendship with Koby Kreiger.

“She was a big bass, 5 1/2, maybe 6 pounds … and I finally caught her, but when I got her to the boat, she was hooked in the head and I had to let her go.” – Seventh place pro Jacob Powroznik, on obeying FLW rules that a sight-fish must be hooked inside the mouth.

“I’ve got to thank my pro Greg Pugh – what a class act. He stopped and let me catch a couple fish off beds today. Most pros wouldn’t do that on day three of a Tour event.” – Sixth-place co-angler Shane Lahew.

“I’ve got a funny feeling that my best day is yet to come.” – Fourth-place pro Jim Moynagh on his chances at winning tomorrow.

Day four of the National Guard Open on Lake Norman will begin Sunday at 7 a.m. from Blythe Landing located at 15901 Highway 73, Huntersville, N.C.