Bennett Still In Charge

There is an interesting fishing battle setting up in South Carolina at the Forrest Wood Cup and the winner of that battle is going to get a million dollars on Sunday afternoon.

After Saturday’s weigh-in, the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup has boiled down primarily to a two-horse race between Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Lincoln, Calif., and Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa.

After day three Bennett leads with 16 pounds, 1 ounce. Lefebre is trailing Bennett by 2 pounds, 13 ounces with 13 pounds, 4 ounces. Behind those two is Terry Bolton of Jonesboro, Ark., with 10 pounds, 15 ounces.

Simply put, Bennett has put on a clinic the last three days, junk fishing by the seat of his pants. He is demonstrating the art of tournament bass fishing in its purest form, relying solely on his instincts and intuition to fish almost all new water each day and making critical decisions on the fly.

So far his approach has worked beautifully, but he is the first to point out that the bottom could fall out at any time.

The last two days he has gotten just five or six bites per day and has made them count.

On the other hand, Lefebre has committed to one area and he knows it well. Each day he has gotten more bites than Bennett. Today Lefebre said he had 11 or 12 bites.

The question now becomes whether Bennett can live on the edge another day for the quality bites. A stumble from Bennett and Lefebre’s consistency could put the Kellogg’s pro in the winner’s circle.

Beyond that, a face plant by either pro could leave the door open for Bolton or Chris Baumgardner.

Bennett turning trash into treasure

As for Bennett’s day, he is learning how to mine the treasures out of his junk-fishing. Duracell pro Michael Bennett has put on a junk-fishing clinic the last three days to lead the Forrest Wood Cup.Each day he has dialed in a little more on where he needs to be and what he needs to be throwing.

“I started the tournament with 8 to 12 rods on the deck and I’m now down to just three,” Bennett said. “I know what to look for but I have run completely out of water.”

A critical move by Bennett happened on day two. After finishing off his limit at about noon yesterday, he invested the rest of his tournament day riding around the lake looking for a particular mix of shallow cover. He found several places that fit the bill and fished those places today for his catch. But the problem is he can not find anymore water like it.

“I’ve been very comfortable fishing new water as long as it has the right ingredients,” Bennett said. “But today I fished everything on this lake that looked like that and I’ve basically got no new water to fish. I’m going to have to start repeating on water that I’ve fished over the last few days and I’m a little nervous about that because I feel like the fish don’t replenish very fast in these areas.”

Bennett hit 30 plus spots today and noted that the critical time is the first three hours of the day.

“Getting at least three fish in the boat in the first three hours is crucial,” Bennett pointed out. “That puts me on the right pace to finish my limit by check in.”

As for the nerves in fishing for a million bucks, Bennett candidly said, “I get nervous on stage, but once that’s over I’m fine.”

Lefebre lurking

Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., is lurking behind Bennett for the $1 million top prize of the Forrest Wood Cup.In the Lefebre camp, there’s not much talk of junk-fishing, running and gunning or fishing by the seat of his pants.

Instead, Lefebre has spent the whole tournament in one area and knows it “like the back of his hand.”

He had nearly a dozen bites today and the best five checked in at 13 pounds, 4 ounces.

Unlike other leaders, who have had to run all over creation to assemble their limits, Lefebre has been steadily hammering out 11 to 13 pounds per day from this single area located up one of the rivers.

“I have a lot of confidence in the area,” Lefebre said. “I’m very familiar with what’s going on in there. Each day the pattern changes just a bit: some days the fish are more tucked in the cover and I have to probe in there to get them out; other days the fish are more outside the cover and I have to swim the bait more on the outsides of the cover to get the bites.”

Lefebre noted that Dion Hibdon and Jay Yelas are also up in his area, but he made it clear that he felt like they were not sharing the same water.

“We might be overlapping a tad, but for the most part we are all fishing different types of stuff up there,” he explained.

As for his chances at the million on Sunday, Lefebre said he would rather be in second going into the final day than leading.

“I wish that lead was just a few ounces instead of a few pounds,” he added. “But the pressure is on (Bennett) to hold the lead now.”

Bolton third

Terry Bolton of Jonesboro, Ark., holds down the third place position with five bass Terry Bolton of Jonesboro, Ark., holds down the third place position with five bass for 10 pounds, 15 ounces.for 10 pounds, 15 ounces.

Bolton continued “practicing” today and said he fished all new water for about 40 percent of the day. He had seven keeper bites and boated six of them.

Yesterday he relied on a topwater toad for most of his bites but said that pattern went away today.

“I only caught one on top today and I ended up culling that one,” he said. “I spent too much time fishing that toad today and when I finally put it down I caught some flipping and on a shaky head. I’m telling you, every day is like a completely different day out here.”

Baumgardner fourth

Snickers pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., reeled in four keeper bass today for 10 pounds, 9 ounces putting him in fourth place.Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., reeled in four keeper bass today for 10 pounds, 9 ounces putting him in fourth place.

The Snickers pro is fishing a Zoom Horny Toad and a buzzbait around shallow cover to catch his fish.

“Some of them are on grass, but some of them are coming off nothing looking areas, too,” Baumgardner said. “Some of the best banks are just little flat banks with nothing on them.”

“I struggled for a while and then made a move down to some clearer water and that seemed to help my bite,” he added.

Ehrler fifth

National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces to round out the top 5 after day three.Pro Brent Ehrler is well on his way to winning Ranger Cup for the second year in a row.

Ehrler is on the run and gun program, using a buzzing-type toad to cover heaps of water. He hit an estimated 30 different spots today.

“I fished about 90 percent new water today,” Ehrler said. “I’m focusing on the back ends of creeks, especially where I find mix of docks and grass. But I can’t get bites in areas I’ve already fished over so covering new water is a key component to how I’m fishing.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top-10 pros in the Forrest Wood Cup event on Lake Murray after day three:

6th: Brian Travis of Conover, N.C., three bass, 8-2
7th: Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., four bass, 7-2
8th: Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., four bass, 6-3
9th: Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore., four bass, 5-9
10th: Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., two bass, 1-13

Day four of the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray will begin Sunday at 7 a.m. at the Lake Murray Marina and Yacht Club in Irmo, S.C.

Bennett Junk Fishes For Lead

The 2008 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray is quickly turning into professional bass fishing’s version of Junkyard Wars. All afternoon the words “junk-fishing” have been the primary vernacular to describe the type of fishing that seems to be allowing pros to climb to the top of the leader board.

Essentially, junk-fishing is not so much of a pattern as it is a lack of a pattern. It’s almost as if the idea is to avoid attaching too much significance to any fish caught during the day because doing so might just lead an angler astray.

The terms “covering new water” and “keeping an open mind” have been uttered a lot as well.

Leading the Forrest Wood Cup after day two is Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Lincoln, Calif.

Bennett sacked up 15 pounds, 5 ounces today to add to his 11 pounds, 15 ounces yesterday to lead with a two-day total of 27 pounds, 4 ounces.

And as you might have already guessed, Bennett is referring to his fishing as junk-fishing.

“I started the day by fishing some of the stuff I fished yesterday and it didn’t work out so at about 9 o’clock I gave up everything I was doing and just completely started over,” Bennett said. “I hit one little stretch, put three decent fish in the boat and finished out a limit by noon. From there I just drove around the lake looking for new stuff to fish.”

The only common denominator Bennett can seem to find is not to stay in an area too long after he has caught fish there. Common logic would dictate staying in areas where fish have been caught, but not for Bennett.

“Every time I catch a fish or two off a spot, it’s done,” Bennett continued. “I’m slowly learning that there is no reason to return to places where I have caught fish. I can find consistency in fishing new water, so that’s what I’m going to continue to do.

“The patterns seem to change every day and the only way I can adapt to that is to fish each hour with an open mind, even if that means completely starting over every couple of hours.”

Rose second

After sacking up 20 pounds, 2 ounces yesterday, Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., Day-one leader Mark Rose punted and finished the opening round in second place.returned to his honey hole today and struggled just to get two bites.

He eventually ended the day with four bass weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces which gives him a two-day total of 26 pounds, 6 ounces for second place.

“I went to the spot that produced the big bass yesterday, fished for two hours and only caught two keepers,” Rose said. “From there I ran way up the river and caught two more.”

Rose, too, is on a junk-fishing war path, fishing anything that gets in his way.

“I’m going to return to my best spot tomorrow and camp,” he added. “I know there are some big fish in there and all I want is just three bites from that place.”

As for why he likes the area, Rose noted that it features deeper bank grass than he has found in other parts of the lake.

Ehrler third

National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., coaxed five bass from Lake Murray today weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces to move into third with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 1 ounce.National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., coaxed five bass from Lake Murray today weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces to move into third with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 1 ounce.

Ehrler is a previous Forrest Wood Cup winner and he seems to only get calmer and more focused with each passing minute of mounting pressure.

And here’s the shocker: Ehrler is – you guessed it – junk fishing.

“I caught 7 or 8 keepers today,” Ehrler said. “I’m fishing both shallow and deep, but the better fish seem to be coming shallow. I’ve had a 4-pounder each day, which is why I’m in the top 10.”

“I’m probably hitting about 10 to 30 spots per day,” he continued. “Some of the stretches I’ve caught fish off of before; others are just random new places I’m not familiar with.

“I came here in pre-practice, fished four days of practice and I still have nothing solid to key in on. I honestly have no idea when or where my next bite is going to happen.”

Bolton fourth

Terry Bolton of Jonesboro, Ark., brought in the biggest limit of day two weighing Terry Bolton of Jonesboro, Ark., brought in the biggest limit of day two weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces to put him in fourth place with 25 pounds, 10 ounces.15 pounds, 12 ounces to put him in fourth place with 25 pounds, 10 ounces.

Instead of calling it junk-fishing, Bolton refers to his fishing as “still practicing.”

“I fished deep for 90 percent of practice and it was terrible,” Bolton explained. “So when the tournament started yesterday, I just went shallow and treated it like another day of practice. And the way I look at it, I’m still practicing – just fishing whatever looks good.”

Bolton did reveal that he spent most of day two with a topwater in his hand.

“I’m burning a lot of gas and covering a lot of water,” he continued. “So far the only key for me has been to fish new water. Now that I’ve caught a few fish off some spots, those little gremlins in my head are starting to tell me to go back to those places. But I’m not so sure that I would not be better off to keep fishing all new stuff because that’s been the best.”

Travis fifth

TBF Champion Brian Travis of Conover, N.C., grabbed the fifth position on day two with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 1 ounce.

Travis has fished Murray before, but noted that his experience on Lakes Norman and Wylie near his home is coming into play now.

“There’s not much consistency to what I’m doing,” Travis said. “It’s like the patterns change drastically from day to day. I could not catch a fish the way I caught them yesterday so I changed up to a topwater and just went fishing.”

“I did key in on a special kind of grass today,” remarked. “It’s that same kind of bank grass that’s all over the lake, but what I’m looking for has to do with where the grass is positioned along a bank. The only problem is I have only found that unique combination in a couple of very select areas so duplicating it is tough.”

“But who knows?” Travis added. “The way this lake is fishing, I’ll be doing something completely different tomorrow.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top-10 pros in the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray after day two:

6th: Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., two-day total of 23-0
7th: Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., two-day total of 23-0
8th: Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore., two-day total of 22-12
9th: Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., two-day total of 22-11
10th: Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., two-day total of 22-1

Day three of the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray will begin Saturday at 7 a.m. from Lake Murray Marina and Yacht Club located at 1600 Marina Road in Irmo, S.C.

Rose Hits The Mother Lode

Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces to lead day one of the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol on Lake Murray. Rose now holds a 2-pound, 13-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 77 pros and 77 co-anglers from across the United States, Japan and Korea.

“I found the area I fished during the last hour of practice,” said Rose, who has won more than $703,000 in FLW Outdoors competition. “I said, ‘Man, this looks good.’ I saw fish blowing up and I just wanted to go in there and catch a 4-pounder. And that’s where I got my three good ones.”

Rose said he caught five keepers during the day, including the “good ones” he estimated as 5-, 6- and 7-pounders.

“I had a terrible practice,” Rose said. “In a big tournament like this you have to use your instincts and skills and make decisions on the fly sometimes.”

Heavy rains Wednesday changed many anglers’ tactics for the first day of competition, and Rose chose to fish shallow, where he thought fish might migrate to the muddier water. Rose said he’s focusing on a large area instead of choosing to run all over the lake.

“Three hours into the day, I had my three biggest fish,” Rose said. “So that kept me at that spot. But that’s the only big bites I had all day.

“Tomorrow I’ll probably stop when I get seven or eight pounds,” Rose added. “But you don’t realize how hard it is to catch seven or eight pounds out there right now. I’ve got to go out there and really put my head to the grindstone to do that.”

Team Berkley pro Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., trails Rose in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 17-05.

“My day went better than expected,” said Vida, who has compiled seven wins and 26 top-10 finishes while accumulating more than $521,000 in FLW Outdoors competition. “It was a good day, but then again, I knew I had the potential for this.”

Vida said he caught seven keepers, all of which he caught before 1:30 p.m. He said he caught fish both shallow and deep, and they came about 20 minutes apart. Vida said the fish are cruising, and if the fish see him, they will not bite.

“The area that I’m fishing has a lot of fish, and I’m catching them,” Vida said. “It’s my prime area, and I’m probably not even going to go there tomorrow. I also have it all to myself.

“It’s like spring fishing in August,” Vida added.

Rounding out the top five pros are Brian Travis of Conover, N.C. (five bass, 13-15); Bud Pruitt of Houston, Texas (five bass, 13-13) and Team PTSI pro Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. (five bass, 13-09).

Overall there were 300 bass weighing 574 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 75 pros Thursday. The catch included 43 five-bass limits.

The field of 77 professional anglers consists of qualifiers from the 2008 Walmart FLW Tour, the 2007 Walmart FLW Series, the 2008 Walmart BFL All-American, 2008 TBF National Championship and 2007 Stren Series Championship.

Pros in the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup are competing for a top cash prize of $1 million — the sport’s biggest award.

Pat Wilson of Penngrove, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 8-14 followed by Chris Hults of Vancleave, Miss., in second place with five bass weighing 8-09.

“I was fishing with David Fritts, and he’s around fish,” said Wilson, who has five wins and 14 top-10 finishes as a co-angler in FLW Outdoors events. “I caught my first keeper at about 8:30. I caught them steady until about 4:30, when I put another three keepers in the boat and culled out the last two 12-inchers.”

Wilson said he caught eight keepers and another 10 short fish throughout the course of the day. Wilson said his fish came on soft plastics fished slowly behind Fritts’ crankbait.

“I prefished with Jimmy Reese and got on a solid bite and knew they were going to eat what I’m throwing,” Wilson said. “I think the fish are real bait-specific. I felt coming into this tournament that if I was around fish I was going to have a good shot. And that’s the key — getting a draw who is around fish.

“My goal is to catch three keepers a day,” Wilson said. “Anything after that is gravy. It’s a brutal bite out there.”

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Keith Honeycutt of Temple, Texas (five bass, 8-01); Masahiro Yanase of Nagoya, Japan (five bass, 7-14) and Team PTSI co-angler Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (four bass, 7-2).

Overall there were 149 bass weighing 225 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 62 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $50,000 this week.

The full field competes in the two-day opening round for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.

Forrest Wood Cup contenders will launch at 7 a.m. each day from the Lake Murray Marina and Yacht Club located at 1600 Marina Road in Irmo, S.C. Daily weigh-ins will be held at The Colonial Center located at 801 Lincoln St. in Columbia each afternoon at 5 p.m. The Forrest Wood Cup Family Fun Zone and Outdoor Show – featuring outdoor product exhibits, fishing seminars by Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston and other bass-fishing legends, and free daily giveaways – runs 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center located at 1101 Lincoln St. in Columbia.

The first 500 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Friday will receive a free tackle kit. The first 750 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Saturday will receive free Solar Bat sunglasses. On Sunday, the first 1,500 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo. One lucky person attending the final weigh-in Sunday will even win a new Ranger Z20 powered by Yamaha. Participants must be present to win.

Chris Rose, John Salley and Charissa Thompson will join the world’s top professional bass anglers to tape FSN’s hit “Best Damn Sports Show Period” Saturday at noon in The Colonial Center. Celebrity guests scheduled to make an appearance are Steve Spurrier, the head football coach of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, William “The Fridge” Perry of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and Mike Schmidt, the Hall of Fame third baseman who played his entire 18-year career for the Philadelphia Phillies. Taping for the nationwide cable show will precede the tournament’s day-three weigh-in and crowning of the co-angler champion. Spectators could possibly make an appearance on the show as well, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity. Admission to the Forrest Wood Cup and “Best Damn Sports Show Period” taping is free.

Also, multi-platinum recording artist Tracy Byrd will perform a free concert hosted by WCOS-97.5 FM on the main stage at The Colonial Center on Sunday at 4 p.m., just before the start of the final weigh-in.

Coverage of the Forrest Wood Cup will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing Sept. 28 and Oct. 5. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.

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. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.