CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Sept. 17, 2010) – Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces Friday to take the lead in the FLW Series Eastern Division tournament on Lake Chickamauga. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 45-7, he holds a 2-pound, 15-ounce lead over his closest competitor, Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Ga., heading into the final day of competition.
“Things went just like I wanted them to this morning as far as the fish biting,” said Rose. “It went a little better, actually, because when I saw there was no current this morning, man, I was worried about even getting a bite. I thought I was going to have to get a spinning rod out early this morning.
“I got this one little school fired up,” Rose added. “I don’t know how I got this school triggered, but I did, and boy, it was on there for a few minutes.”
Rose said he caught 13 or 14 keepers in a row after he got the school excited. He said his primary area is a “square hump” with a corner that features stumps, a side composed of a shell bed and a “gut”.
“So there’s really three locations … those locations are a couple of hundred yards apart,” Rose said. “If they’re not on one, they’re on the other.”
Rose said he normally likes to get fish “fired up” with a spoon or crankbait to trigger the bite, but he has had to throw a ¾-ounce green pumpkin Strike King football-head jig with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer to get the fish to bite and get them excited. He then targets the fish with a rootbeer-colored Strike King 6 XD crankbait or a Strike King Sexy Spoon.
Rose said he has an alternate area where he finished the third day of competition. In the final 10 minutes, Rose said his co-angler missed two bass and caught one and Rose lost what he thought was a decent fish.
“I wish I had been there a little earlier, but I stayed mainly in one spot all day today,” Rose said. “I may move around a little more later (the final day) because my first spot’s really not all that good late.”
Mann caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 42-8 to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.
“Today I caught them all out of grass, but I’m fishing grass a lot different than most of these guys are,” Mann said. “I’m fishing real outside deep scattered grass. Some of the grass is anywhere from 10 to 14 feet.”
Mann said Friday he fished a Texas-rigged 6-inch green pumpkin Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm on 12-pound Sufix fluorocarbon line with a 3/16-ounce tungsten weight.
“About every grass bed you stop at has got fish in it, but I think guys are fishing through it too fast and maybe fishing the thicker grass,” Mann said. “I keyed in early on those bigger fish being just off of that grass in that deeper water. The water temperature is still hot, so they’re down there just a bit cooler, and I think that’s really been the key for me.”
The remaining top 5 pros who will fish the final day at Lake Chickamauga are:
3rd: Goodwill pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 15 bass, 41-3
4th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 15 bass, 40-15
5th: Pete Thliveros, Saint Augustine, Fla., 15 bass, 38-13
The remaining pro anglers in top-10 are:
6th: Folgers pro Scott Suggs, Bryant, Ark., 15 bass, 38-2, $7,612
7th: Rogne Brown, Hixson, Tenn., 15 bass, 37-0, $7,165
8th: Derek Remitz, Grant, Ala., 14 bass, 36-15, $6,717
9th: Randall Tharp, Gardendale, Ala., 15 bass, 36-7, $6,269
10th: Damiki pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 36-5, $5,821
Overall there were 333 bass weighing 779 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 89 pros Friday. The catch included 41 five-bass limits.
In FLW Series competition, pros are competing for a potential top award of $50,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.
Patrick Roy of Syracuse, N.Y., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower Evinrude outboard motor Friday with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 29 pounds, 3 ounces followed by Aaron Combs of Jackson, Ky., in second place with 10 bass weighing 25-13 worth $4,215. Roy also received $1,500 for being the Ranger Cup program winner.
Roy also won a $1,000 gift card as part of the new Cabela’s Angler Cash program. Beginning in 2010, Cabela’s is offering pro and co-anglers the opportunity to register and win a $1000 gift card for being the highest qualified finisher in each division at all FLW Series events, making the stakes even higher in an already rich award package. Anglers can visit FLWOutdoors.com for a complete list of rules and to register.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Jerry Hayden, Charlotte, N.C., 10 bass, 23-1, $3,162
4th: Lonnie Tidwell, Harriman, Tenn., 10 bass, 20-4, $3,221
5th: Jeff Gengler, Tulsa, Okla., eight bass, 20-4, $1,686
6th: Kevin Thomas, Miramar, Fla., nine bass, 20-4, $1,265
7th: Roger Wideman, McCormick, S.C., eight bass, 19-6, $1,054
8th: George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., 11 bass, 19-1, $843
9th: Anthony Hunt, Tamarac, Fla., seven bass, 18-10, $738
10th: Miller Castle, Abingdon, Va., eight bass, 18-3, $632
Co-anglers are also competing for valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.
Overall there were 181 bass weighing 382 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 75 co-anglers Friday. The catch included four five-bass limits.
Kapiton clinched the Co-Angler of the Year title Friday with a total of 778 points. Kapiton won the title by 54 points over Hunt. Kurtis Michaux of Clermont, Fla., placed third with 718 points.
The remaining five pros will take off at 7 Saturday morning from Chester Frost Park located at 2318 Gold Point Circle North in Hixson, Tenn. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Chester Frost Park beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to a Family Fun Zone at Chester Frost Park prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. There will be a drawing for a $300 Cabela’s gift card and drawings for rod and reel combos will be held every 30 minutes during the event. All activities are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Lake Chickamauga tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors”, will air Nov. 7 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.