Cifuentes Crushes for Co-Angler Title
17-10 limit boosts Cifuentes to the top
When longtime FLW Tour pro Mark Rose took to the weigh-in stage today, he raved about his co-angler. From sportsmanship to technique, the Walmart pro called the man in the back of the boat one of the best he’s ever shared a tournament day on the water with.
The man he was talking about, Joey Cifuentes, was next to take the stage. With shaky hands, he lifted a 17-pound, 10-ounce bag onto the scale. It was the second largest bag, pro or co-angler, weighed in on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour on Beaver Lake presented by Jack Link’s. That monster bag gave the Clinton, Ark. native a two-day total of 25-12. Cifuentes nerves would not be calmed until all 166 co-anglers crossed the stage.
Cifuentes was paired with Michael Wooley on day one of the event. The two fished main-lake areas while targeting prespawn fish. Cifuentes used a 3/16-ounce Jewel Baits Squirrel Shaky Head Jig to catch four keeper bass. Despite being one short of a limit, a 4 pound kicker fished anchored his 8 pound, 2 ounce bag for a 20th place finish.
On day two, Cifuentes fished with Rose in a similar part of the lake.
“It was crazy. We started in the same creek Wooley did and we finished in the creek Wooley finished,” recalls Cifuentes. “It helped me some to stay in the same part of the lake because I had an idea of what the fish were doing. The fish in certain areas of the lake would have moved up to spawn differently.”
Cifuentes started off by using the same shaky head to get a quick limit of spotted bass. “At 1 p.m. the wind picked up and the clouds moved in,” says Cifuentes. “From then on it just got stupid.”
He switched baits to target the better quality bass. The two key baits were a 1/2 -ounce War Eagle spinnerbait in chartreuse and white and a 3/8-ounce Jewel Baits football head jig in Missouri craw. With the help of two largemouth bass over 5 pounds, Cifuentes sealed the deal.
He bested second place finisher Mike Devere by 2 pounds, 6 ounces. In an emotional weigh-in filled with family and friends, he was pronounced the winner. Cifuentes was presented the trophy and giant $25,000 dollar check by Forrest L. Wood and practice partner Larry Nixon.