Martin still holds FLW Tour lead at Potomac

Lead shrinking for Forrest Wood Cup champion

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (May 19, 2012) – National Guard pro Scott Martin hasn’t had a big fish in his weigh bag since the first day of competition at the Walmart FLW Tour on the Potomac River presented by the National Guard. His consistency is making up for the lack of a big fish, however, and he has now led all three days of competition against a field of pros from all across the United States, Canada, Spain and Japan as they fish for a top cash award of up to $125,000.

The Clewiston, Fla., angler advanced to the top 10 as the No. 1 seed with a five-bass limit Saturday of 15-4. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 52-15, he now holds a 2-pound, 5-ounce lead in the tournament going into the final day of competition.

“Any time you catch fish three or four days in a row is just a blessing,” said Martin, who is the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion. “The first day I caught three really big bass and the last two days I just haven’t had those quality bites. But I know they’re in the area. Maybe tomorrow is the day, hopefully. I’m going to stick to my game plan and just focus.”

Martin said he has 10 different places he is fishing and he’s rotating those places during the day. He said he’s focusing on a large grass flat early in the morning. On the first day of competition he stayed on the flat until 9 a.m. The second day he stayed until noon, and the third day left at 9 a.m. Martin said he’s also targeting matted grass and a couple of logs on the flat that hold fish.

Martin said he’s throwing a finesse-style Bruiser Bait and a flipping-style creature bait he chose to keep secret to catch his bass. He added that his strategy won’t change on the final day of competition.

“(The Potomac) is a great fishery,” Martin said. “I need to catch a big bag, though, because I know these guys are going to whack them tomorrow, for sure. There’s going to be some huge bags.

“Hopefully tomorrow I can get those two or three big bites that I need to have a shot at this thing,” Martin added. “That’s all I can hope for. To just go out there and fish all day long and see what happens.”

Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 50-10.

Rounding out the top 10 pros and advancing to the final day of competition are:

3rd: Clifford Pirch, Payson, Ariz., 15 bass, 50-4

4th: Castrol pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 49-13

5th: National Guard pro Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 49-10

6th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 15 bass, 49-3

7th: M&Ms pro Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 15 bass, 48-9

8th: Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 47-12

9th: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 15 bass, 47-11

10th: EverStart pro Ron Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., 15 bass, 47-3

Finishing in 11th through 20th are:

11th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 15 bass, 46-2, $12,026

12th: Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., 15 bass, 45-15, $12,026

13th: Tim Johnson, Dallas, Ga., 15 bass, 45-12, $12,026

14th: Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats pro Jim Tutt, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 45-9, $12,026

15th: Gary Yamamoto, Palestine, Texas, 15 bass, 45-5, $12,026

16th: Marty Stone, Fayetteville, N.C., 15 bass, 44-12, $11,543

17th: Hawaiian Punch pro Jim Dillard, West Monroe, La., 15 bass, 44-10, $11,543

18th: Michael Williamson, Fort Smith, Ark., 13 bass, 41-6, $11,543

19th: Wade Hendricks, Thompsons Station, Tenn., 14 bass, 40-11, $11,543

20th: Bill Day, Frankfort, Ky., 13 bass, 38-3, $11,543

Final results for the remaining field can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

Overall there were 95 bass weighing 271 pounds, 5 ounces caught by pros Saturday. The catch included 17 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six Walmart FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify.

Chris Dillow of Waynesboro, Va., won the co-angler division and $20,000 Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 47 pounds, 3 ounces followed by Greg Knick of Ansonia, Ohio, in second place with 15 bass weighing 46-11 worth $7,238.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:

3rd: Leo Reiter, Greenup, Ill., 15 bass, 44-11, $4,822

4th: Marvin Reese, Gwynn Oak, Md., 13 bass, 43-2, $4,105

5th: Ralph Mulleins, Cumberland, Va., 15 bass, 42-8, $2,888

6th: Philip Jarabeck, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 41-12, $2,405

7th: Rich Dalbey, Greenville, Texas, 15 bass, 40-11, $1,922

8th: Nicholas Toman, Washington, D.C., 15 bass, 40-9, $1,728

9th: Ronnie Baker, Providence Forge, Va., 13 bass, 40-4, $1,632

10th: Chad Billiot, Raceland, La., 14 bass, 38-15, $1,535

Final results for the remaining field can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

Overall there were 86 bass weighing 224 pounds, 8 ounces caught by co-anglers Saturday. The catch included 13 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six Walmart FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify.

The top 10 pros will take off at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning from National Harbor Marina located at 168 National Harbor Plaza in National Harbor. Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at National Harbor Marina beginning at 4 p.m.

Fans will be treated to the FLW Expo at National Harbor Marina on Sunday from noon-4 p.m. prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public. One lucky fishing fan will win a $500 Walmart gift card. The gift card giveaway is free to enter but the winner must be present at the conclusion of Sunday’s final weigh-in to win.

Coverage of the Potomac River tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when “FLW” airs June 24 from 1-2 p.m. ET. “FLW” is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.