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.
“This win means a lot because I won it in a way that I used to think was my biggest weakness, which is deep cranking,” said Dudley, who is fourth on professional bass fishing’s all-time money winning list with more than $2.5 million. “In the past two years, I’ve learned a ton about deep cranking and deep-water fishing, and it has become an obsession with me.”
Dudley said he relied on the baits that had produced for him on his key spot during the previous three days of competition – a 10-inch green-pumpkin Berkley PowerWorm and a deep-diving custom-painted blueback herring-colored crankbait.
Dudley focused his efforts on the final day of competition on a ledge on the upper end of Fort Loudoun Lake that had current sweeping across it. The ledge featured a clean bottom with large rocks on it, and Dudley said he caught seven to 10 keepers off of the ledge Sunday.
“Everything I weighed in came off of that ledge,” Dudley said. “I moved around and let it rest up and fished around and went back and fished it again and then let it rest some more.”
Even though Dudley had fished the ledge with crankbaits previously in the week, he returned to it Sunday and fished it slowly to maximize his catch. Dudley said he fished the PowerWorm slowly and methodically to catch his winning limit.
“When the crankbait bite is on, it means there’s a lot of competition between the fish and you get a quicker bite,” Dudley said. “But as the week went on, I had to go to the dragging-type baits because there weren’t as many fish on it, so there wasn’t a competitive mood, so I had to talk them into biting with slow baits.”
Dudleyopened the tournament Thursday in second place with five bass weighing 20-02. He moved to first place Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 12 ounces to advance into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 14 ounces. On Saturday, weights were cleared, and Dudley caught five bass weighing 14-9 to advance to the final day of competition in second place. Dudley added another five bass weighing 15-02 to his final-round total Sunday.
Martin caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 28-7 to claim second place and $50,000.
“I caught some fish shallow earlier during the week, but then the water started fluctuating a lot,” Martin said. “When that happened, I pretty much lost confidence in it.”
Martin said he caught some big fish shallow on the first morning of competition on a Spro Little John crankbait and some fish deep on deep-diving crankbaits. Martin focused his efforts on the final two days of competition on a point on the main river he found during practice, and managed to catch his limits despite losing a few fish. The river point would produce quick smallmouth catches for Martin, and then he would relocate to look for bigger largemouth.
“I fished the smallmouth spot until about 10 a.m. this morning, and then I was through with the smallmouth hole,” Martin said. “I had three fish off of it and then went looking for largemouth. About 2 p.m., I hit a school of largemouth on a deep-diving plug and caught five in a row and basically came in after that.”
Martin said the key to his crankbait success during the week was his setup – a 7-foot, 8-inch Kistler Magnesium rod, Abu Garcia Revo reel and 10-pound-test fluorocarbon line. Martin claimed that setup let him make accurate casts at “crazy long” distances.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Art Ferguson of St. Clair Shores, Mich. (nine bass, 26-13, $40,000); Brandon Coulter of Knoxville (nine bass, 25 pounds, 11 ounces, $30,000); Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C., (10 bass, 21 pounds, 10 ounces, $20,000); Team Prilosec OTC pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., (10 bass, 21 pounds, 6 ounces, $19,000); Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., (10 bass, 19 pounds, 15 ounces, $18,000); Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. (10 bass, 18 pounds, 12 ounces, $17,000); Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas (eight bass, 16 pounds, 05 ounces, $16,000) and Team National Guard pro Ramie Colson of Cadiz, Ky., (seven bass, 10 pounds, 6 ounces, $15,000).
Overall there were 47 bass weighing 117 pounds, 5 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.
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.
On Saturday, Barry Isbell of Trussville, Ala., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Team Berkley co-angler Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., in second place with five bass weighing 9-04 worth $10,000.
Isbell opened the tournament in 19th place Thursday with four bass weighing 7-11 while fishing with pro Danny Correia of Marlborough, Mass. On Friday he jumped into fifth place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 10-06 while fishing with Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Green.
“This is awesome,” said Isbell, who earned his first win on the FLW Tour. “I’ve been working on it a long time. It really, really feels good to achieve it. These guys are tough out here.”
Isbell said a drop-shot rig tipped with a Purple Winnie-colored Jackall Cross Tail Shad sealed the deal for him on the final day of competition. Isbell rigged his drop-shot with 20-pound braided line and an 8-pound-test leader.
“Jerry had an awesome spot on the river that was a 100-yard stretch that we were fishing,” Isbell said. “They didn’t seem to want his Carolina rig today, and I just pitched over there with the drop-shot right on the rock pile and caught the big one. They just wanted something finessy.
“Actually, I went to go net a fish for Jerry, and when I got back to my rod, the big one was on it,” Isbell added. “That’s kind of how my day went. It was one of those golden days. I couldn’t do any wrong.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Jim Campbell of Maryville, Tenn. (three bass, 6-15, $9,000); Shawn Carnahan of Chandler, Ariz. (four bass, 6-07, $8,000); Dirk Davenport of Delaware, Ohio (two bass, 3-15, $7,000); Dennis Price Jr. of Tinley Park, Ill. (two bass, 3-00, $6,000); Brian Gage of Gray, Tenn. (two bass, 2-03, $5,000); Kyle Lane of Clarkrange, Tenn. (zero bass, 0-00, $4,000); Doug Weiser of Springdale, Ark. (zero bass, 0-00, $3,000) and Todd Lee of Jasper, Ala. (zero bass, 0-00, $2,000).
Overall there were 21 bass weighing 41 pounds, 5 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limit.
Coverage of the Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 10 and 17 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “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 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
The next $1.5 million FLW Tour stop, the Chevy Open, will be held on the Detroit River in Detroit, Mich., July 10-13.
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.
Pro Art Ferguson of St. Clair Shores, Mich., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to capture the lead in a top-10 field that includes some of the greatest anglers in the world. Ferguson now holds a 4-pound, 9-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Team Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., heading into the final day of competition in the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes. If he holds on for the win, Ferguson will pocket $100,000.
Ferguson gives the credit for his lead to his day two co-angler, Grant Holderman of Augusta, Kansas.
“I was scrambling at about 12:30,” said Ferguson, who has won more than $356,000 in FLW Outdoors events. “I had fished my areas where I thought they were and they weren’t there. Now I’m really freaking out. I was just getting ready to get out of there and Grant puts out a long cast out behind the boat, and now it’s history.
“My areas were like 20 yards on either side of that spot,” Ferguson added. “It turns out I was around them, but just a cast away. I just want him to know how much I appreciate him for putting me on those fish.”
Ferguson said his bait of choice on the third day of competition was a 5/8-ounce green pumpkin football-head jig. Ferguson said his fish are coming in an area about 12 feet deep where the rock is just a little different composition than the surrounding areas.
“I think they’re eating a lot of shad in these areas, and I think maybe something a little bit different coming at them, like a crawdad coming through there all of a sudden is freaking them out,” Ferguson said. “It kind of looks like a bluegill, too.
“I guarantee you I’m doing the same thing tomorrow,” Ferguson added.
Dudley caught five fish weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces to advance to the final day of competition as the No. 2 seed.
“Art was a showoff today,” joked Dudley, who is fourth on professional bass fishing’s all-time money winning list with more than $2.4 million. “I got to my spot and I knew on my first 10 casts something wasn’t right.
“I caught a few keepers other places, but I had to work,” Dudley added.
Dudley said he relied on the bait that had produced for him on his key spot the previous two days — a 10-inch green pumpkin Berkley PowerWorm. He also employed a deep-diving custom-painted blueback herring-colored crankbait.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Team National Guard pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla. (five bass, 13-10); Team Prilosec pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn. (five bass, 11-05); Brandon Coulter of Knoxville (four bass, 8-09); Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas (five bass, 8-07); Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C. (five bass, 8-04); Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C. (five bass, 7-13); Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. (five bass, 7-08) and Team National Guard pro Ramie Colson Jr. of Cadiz, Ky. (two bass, 2-08).
Overall there were 46 bass weighing 101 pounds, 11 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.
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.
Barry Isbell of Trussville, Ala., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Saturday with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Team Berkley co-angler Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., in second place with five bass weighing 9-4 worth $10,000.
Isbell opened the tournament in 19th place Thursday with four bass weighing 7-11 while fishing with pro Danny Correia of Marlborough, Mass. On Friday he jumped into fifth place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 10-06 while fishing with Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Green.
“This is awesome,” said Isbell, who earned his first win on the FLW Tour. “I’ve been working on it a long time. It really, really feels good to achieve it. These guys are tough out here.”
Isbell said a drop-shot rig tipped with a Purple Winnie-colored Jackall Cross Tail Shad sealed the deal for him on the final day of competition. Isbell rigged his drop-shot rig with 20-pound braided line and an eight-pound-test leader.
“Jerry had an awesome spot on the river that was a 100-yard stretch that we were fishing,” Isbell said. “They didn’t seem to want his Carolina rig today, and I just pitched over there with the drop shot right on the rock pile and caught the big one. They just wanted something finessy.
“Actually, I went to go net a fish for Jerry and when I got back to my rod, the big one was on it,” Isbell added. “That’s kind of how my day went. It was one of those golden days. I couldn’t do any wrong.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Jim Campbell of Maryville, Tenn. (three bass, 6-15, $9,000); Shawn Carnahan of Chandler, Ariz. (four bass, 6-07, $8,000); Dirk Davenport of Delaware, Ohio (two bass, 3-15, $7,000); Dennis Price Jr. of Tinley Park, Ill. (two bass, 3-00, $6,000); Brian Gage of Gray, Tenn. (two bass, 2-03, $5,000); Kyle Lane of Clarkrange, Tenn. (zero bass, 0-00, $4,000); Doug Weiser of Springdale, Ark. (zero bass, 0-00, $3,000) and Todd Lee of Jasper, Ala. (zero bass, 0-00, $2,000).
Overall there were 21 bass weighing 41 pounds, 5 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limit.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 Sunday morning from the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp located at the intersection of Highways 321 and 444 east of Lenoir City, Tenn., followed by a 4 p.m. weigh-in at the Knoxville Convention Center located at 701 Henley St. in Knoxville.
Prior to the final day weigh-in, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Knoxville Convention Center from noon to 6 p.m. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. Children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will also receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last, and one lucky member of the audience will win a new Ranger boat during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in on Sunday. Admission is free and you must be present to win.
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. The full field competes Thursday and Friday for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared Saturday, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from Saturday and Sunday.
Coverage of the Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 10 and 17 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “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 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 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.
Team National Guard pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., crossed the weigh-in stage Thursday with a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces to lead day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour® Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes event. Martin now holds a slim 9-ounce lead in the $1 million tournament featuring 400 anglers from 35 states, Mexico, Australia and Japan.
Martin and his fellow competitors faced clear skies as they left the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp early Thursday morning. The fishing was good, and many anglers caught bigger bags than they expected to.
“I had a pretty miserable practice,” said Martin, who has won more than $778,000 in FLW Outdoors competition. “I found one or two areas a day in practice and was real concerned about how many boats would be around, and fortunately I didn’t have anybody bother me today, and that was a big factor.
“I caught a couple of big largemouth and a big smallmouth this morning, and then later in the day caught another smallmouth,” Martin added. “That was kind of a bonus for me.”
Martin said the deep bite that so many anglers found on the first day of competition wasn’t very productive for him. Martin said a lack of current was keeping his deep bite from developing.
“Really, I’m just looking for the bait,” Martin said. “That’s the main pattern. And looking for some shad and finding some active fish and trying to find some shallow structure the shad are around. It was kind of an all-day process.”
Martin said he fished both deep off-shore areas as well as near the bank in the pursuit for the 10 keeper fish he caught.
“In the mornings you’re pretty much fishing the banks and later in the afternoon, when the current tries to run, you try to catch them in deep water,” Martin said. “They’re just not pulling enough water to get them deep.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Team Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (five bass, 20-02); Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. (five bass, 19-07); Team Prilosec pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn. (five bass, 17-10) and Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas (five bass, 17-00).
Second-place Dudley remained tight-lipped about his day on the water. He nodded in the affirmative when asked if he caught his fish on a crankbait and did reveal that he caught some fish on ledges.
“I can’t say too much because there’s too many people in the area, and if I spill any more than I should … I can’t really talk about it,” Dudley said.
Stacy King of Reeds Spring, Mo., earned the day’s $750 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a large Texas-rigged plum-colored plastic worm. 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 728 bass weighing 1,543 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 190 pros Thursday. The catch included 98 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of $125,000 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 they could win as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
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.
Dennis Price Jr. of Tinley Park, Ill., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 13-3 followed by Shawn Carnahan of Chandler, Ariz., and Doug Weiser of Springdale, Ark., who tied for second place with five bass weighing 11-09.
Price took the early lead in the tournament while fishing with Green.
“Whatever Jerry was dragging, I was dragging the same thing,” said Price, who said he caught eight to 10 keepers throughout the course of the day. “I didn’t have my first fish until 11 a.m., but it started picking up after that. I caught my biggest fish, which was three to four pounds, about 2 p.m.
“I just hope the next few days are like today,” Price added. “I had a great day out on the water and a great day with Jerry.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark. (five bass, 11-04) and Brian Gage of Gray, Tenn. (four bass, 11-00).
Team Land O’Lakes co-angler Tyrone Phillips of Little Rock, Ark., earned the day’s $500 Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass he caught.
Overall there were 373 bass weighing 659 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 152 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 13 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp located at the intersection of Highways 321 and 444 east of Lenoir City, Tenn. Friday’s weigh-in will also be held at the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center, located at 701 Henley St. in Knoxville, beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoorswill host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show in the Knoxville Convention Center from noon to 6 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone offers fans a chance to meet their Fantasy Fishing team anglers face-to-face and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other sponsors while children are treated to giveaways, fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. Children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will also receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last, and one lucky member of the audience will win a new Ranger boat during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in on Sunday. Admission is free and you must be present to win.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, and the full field of 400 anglers competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for Saturday, 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 the final two days.
Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing Aug. 10 and 17. “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 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 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.
