Blaylock Wins Co-AOY

Berkley co-angler Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Arkansas, was named the 2008 Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s Castrol Co-angler of the Year following the tour’s final qualifier, the Chevy Open, on the Detroit River July 10-13. Blaylock won the title with a total of 1,013 points out of a possible 1,200 over six qualifying events and will enter the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Columbia, South Carolina, as the No. 1 co-angler seed.

“Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about Angler of the Year when the season started,” said the 20-year-old Blaylock, who has earned more than $158,000 in his FLW Outdoors career. “I just wanted to win an FLW Tour event. I had already qualified for the Cup through the FLW Series East-West Fish-Off. After winning the Wal-Mart Open, I completely changed my mindset and focused on Angler of the Year. ”

Rounding out the top five contenders for the Co-angler of the Year title were Barry Isbell of Trussville, Ala., with 992 points; Paul Mueller of Southbury, Conn., with 972 points; Hector Delagarza of Garland, Texas, with 960 points; and Bryan Talmadge of Pell City, Ala., with 919 points.

For winning Castrol Co-angler of the Year, Blaylock received a $2,500 Wal-Mart gift card plus a year’s supply of Castrol marine oil.

Blaylock started the FLW Tour season off with a 79th-place finish on Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla. After Lake Toho, he rebounded nicely with an eighth-place on Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala. At the National Guard Open on Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C., Blaylock finished 33rd. He then won $40,000 as the Wal-Mart Open champion on Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark., and took second at the FLW Tour event on Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes in Knoxville, Tenn. At the season’s final qualifying event on the Detroit River in Detroit, the Berkley co-angler took 70th place. Through six events, Blaylock has earned $55,900 this season, and will be competing for a top co-angler award of $50,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray Aug. 14-17. In his FLW Outdoors career, Blaylock has four victories and has finished in the top 10 17 times. Three of those four wins have come in the past nine months.

“I fish each tournament as though it’s the Forrest Wood Cup. That’s how hard I fish. Winning the FLW Series event on Pickwick last fall took the mental pressure off me where I didn’t have to think about that tournament that I haven’t won. From then on, my goal was to win an FLW Tour event.”

Blaylock said a key to his recent success has been Trilene’s new 100% Fluorocarbon line.

“I know for a fact that it’s the best line there is. That was a big key to my win on Beaver, getting bites on the lighter 20-pound-test line behind guys. A lot of my pros were using braid and they weren’t getting the bites I was. In Knoxville, I used the 12-pound test and a Berkley Sinking Minnow and finished second.”

In the foreseeable future, Blaylock plans to turn pro.

“I started fishing tournaments when I was 10 years old so I do have 10 years of experience. It’s a possibility for next year - we’ll see if things line up, but it’s definitely going to happen in the next few years.”

Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing?, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.

McCrone Moves Ahead

David McCrone of Minnetonka, Minn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 15 ounces Friday to capture the lead in the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s $1.5 million Chevy Open on the Detroit River with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 42-05. He now holds a 1-pound, 2-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 35 states, Mexico, Australia and Japan.

McCrone said he repeated his Day 1 strategy and made a long run of about 60 miles to Lake Erie in search of a limit of huge smallies to secure his spot in the top 10.

“The water was quite rough today,” said McCrone, who is fishing in only his second FLW Tour event. “It was nothing like yesterday. I ran a total of about five hours.

“The spots where I ran to, well, there’s all kinds of big fish,” McCrone added. “But tomorrow’s going to be a problem if it’s rougher. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it because it will leave me with a minimum amount of time to fish.”

McCrone admits he has put all his eggs in one basket — Lake Erie. McCrone said he has never fished Lake St. Clair, which many anglers are relying on for their big limits.

“I don’t have any closer spots I can go to,” McCrone said. “Nothing like (Lake Erie). Tomorrow might be tough.”

Team Kellogg’s pro Alvin Shaw of State Road, N.C., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41-03. Shaw has relied on Lake St. Clair to carry him the first two days of competition.

“I spent all four days of practice there to ensure myself of an easy run to the Forrest Wood Cup,” Shaw said. “The more I practiced, the better it kept getting.”

Shaw targeted small isolated clumps of grass, rocks and sand in 12 to 16 feet of water he located on his electronics while the surface of the water was smooth.

“Everybody else was fishing and I was running from point to point just looking,” Shaw said. “When you have all of that wave action, you can’t tell what’s going on on your electronics.”

The majority of the field that crossed the stage Friday admitted their fish came on a Berkley Gulp! Goby or Leech fished on drop-shot rigs.

Rounding out the top five pros who will continue competition Saturday and Sunday are Team Chevy pro Kim Stricker of Howell, Mich. (10 bass, 40-02); David Reault of Livonia, Mich. (10 bass, 39-02); and Team Pringles pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio (10 bass, 38-10).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 37 pounds, 3 ounces and adding to this already power-packed top-10 field are Team Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Lincoln, Calif.; Team BP pro J.T. Kenney of Port Charlotte, Fla.; Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky.; Mark Modrak of China Township, Mich.; and Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas.

Danny Pierce of Greenbrier, Ark., earned the day’s $1,000 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass. He also won an extra $1,000 for having the biggest bass of the tournament.

Overall there were 827 bass weighing 2,484 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 184 pros Friday. The catch included 138 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $200,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award. The top 40 pros after three $1 million qualifiers and three $1.5 million opens will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup.

Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing, which offers $7.3 million in cash and prizes, FLW Outdoors presents anyone with the opportunity to land the catch of a lifetime. Players in the lucrative new fantasy sports league can become virtual pros by signing up for Player’s Advantage, which provides exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and receive a complimentary $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

Jerry Weisinger of Wyandotte, Okla., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 40 pounds, 12 ounces, followed by Mike Weidman of Burton, Mich., in second place with 10 bass weighing 35-3.

“We were fishing St. Clair, and every spot we went to I caught a pretty good one,” said Weisinger, who is fishing in his first season of FLW Tour competition. “I had most of what I weighed in today by 10:30.

“I’m just glad to get my shot at a top-10 finish,” Weisinger added. “Now, whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.”

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Scott Gibson of Biloxi, Miss. (10 bass, 33-14); Team Wal-Mart co-angler Hector Delagarza of Garland, Texas (10 bass, 33-00) and Mark Frickman of Grand Ledge, Mich. (10 bass, 32-11).

Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 32 pounds, 00 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Team National Guard co-angler Diane Delagarza of Garland, Texas; J.B. Young of Deer Park, Texas; Andrew Lemle of Perrysburg, Ohio; Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind.; and Todd Robbins of Romulus, Mich.

Hector Delagarza earned $500 for the day’s Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught while fishing with pro Rick Marsh of High Point, N.C.

Overall there were 705 bass weighing 1,962 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 184 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 89 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $40,000 this week.

Vatalaro Leads on Detroit River

Team Pringles pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, crossed the stage Thursday with a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 11 ounces to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s Chevy Open on the Detroit River. Vatalaro now holds a slim two-ounce lead in the $1.5 million tournament featuring 400 anglers from 35 states, Mexico, Australia and Japan.

Anglers set an FLW Tour record Thursday with a one-day total catch of 5,137 pounds, 6 ounces, which was 262 pounds, 1 ounce heavier than the previous record of 4,874-05 set in 2006 on Lake Champlain in New York. Before the event began, many anglers found that the better bite might have shifted from Lake Erie to Lake St. Clair. Vatalaro was no exception, opting to fish St. Clair on opening day despite spending most of his practice on Lake Erie.

“I decided to change up and go the other direction,” said Vatalaro, who has won more than $412,000 in FLW Outdoors events. “(In practice) I couldn’t get Lake Erie to do the job.

“We caught them pretty quick this morning,” Vatalaro added. “Both me and my co-angler caught fish right off the bat, exactly where we stopped.”

Vatalaro said he caught his keeper limit by noon in a big area he was able to roam, targeting weed openings in 18 to 20 feet of water and flipping tubes into the openings he had marked on his electronics. He also claimed a few fish on a drop-shot rig.

“The thing about St. Clair is, the tournament can definitely be won there,” Vatalaro said. “Those fish are definitely growing up. There’s lots of food over there and those fish are healthy. The 3-pounders that were around just a couple of years ago are now 4- and 5-pounders.”

Rounding out the top five places are Bryan Coates of Amherst, Ohio (five bass, 21-09); David McCrone of Minnetonka, Minn. (five bass, 21-06); Mike Hawkes of Sabinal, Texas (five bass, 20-12); and Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn., and Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Ala. (five bass, 20-10).

Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky., earned the day’s $1,000 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass. If that weight holds up Friday as the heaviest of the two-day opening round, he will earn an additional $1,000.

Overall there were 945 bass weighing 2,885 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 199 pros Thursday. The catch included 174 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for a top award of $200,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17, where they could win as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.

The Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title is still up for grabs, as Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., who has 926 points, and Team Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Florida, who has 904 points, finished the day in 175th place and 190th place, respectively.

Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, which offers $7.3 million in cash and prizes, FLW Outdoors® presents anyone with the opportunity to land the catch of a lifetime. Players in the lucrative new fantasy sports league can become virtual pros by signing up for Player’s Advantage, which provides exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner.

Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and receive a complimentary $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

Jerry Weisinger of Wyandotte, Okla., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 20-10 followed by Brandon Hunter of Benton, Ky., in second place with five bass weighing 19-01.

“We made a pretty long run and fished offshore in 18 feet of water,” said Weisinger, who is fishing in his first season of FLW Tour competition. “We fished mainly a goby on a drop-shot rig. We kept working areas and changing. We’d get one bite here and one bite there.

“I’m not even sure where we were,” Weisinger added. “We were so far offshore I couldn’t even see land.”

Weisinger took the early lead in the tournament while fishing with Team Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Penn., who is currently in 13th place with five bass weighing 19-11.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Scott Gibson of Biloxi, Miss. (five bass, 18-14); Mike Lawrence of Toledo, Ohio (five bass, 18-13) and Kris Thornton of Osceola, Ind. (five bass, 18-10).

Michael Marshall of Dawsonville, Ga., earned the day’s $500 Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass.

Overall there were 771 bass weighing 2,251 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 190 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 108 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $40,000 this week.

Dudley Dials-In For Win

Team Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 11 ounces to win $125,000 in the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event presented by BP on Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes. Dudley topped his closest rival, Team National Guard pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., by 1 pound, 4 ounces to earn the win and 200 points toward qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup in Columbia, S.C., where the winner will earn as much as $1 million – the biggest award in bass fishing – Aug. 14-17.

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