O'CANADA! Richardson leads All-American!
by Colin Moore
FLW PRESS RELEASE
For a guy who’s put together two solid days of fishing to occupy
the top spot in the Walmart Bass Fishing League All-American on Kentucky Lake
hosted by the Henry County Alliance, Curtis Richardson doesn’t exude a lot of
confidence.
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| Ontario angler Richardson feels comfortable on the ledges. Just like smallmouth fishing back home. (Photo FLW) |
It’s understandable. On day two of the championship, the
31-year-old Ontario angler had six bites all day, and managed a five-bass limit
weighing 21 pounds, 15 ounces. So Richardson isn’t exactly covered up with
aggressive fish. He’s also fishing in an area near New Johnsonville, Tenn., that’s
going to get covered up with boats Saturday, and he has Billy Schroeder
stalking him – that in itself is enough to make a body worry.
In fact, counting his 24-13 stringer from day one, Richardson
has a total of 46-12, or about a 1¼ pounds ahead of Schroeder. Both anglers
moved up in the standings after first-round leader Bobby Padgett faltered with
a second-round stringer of 17-2. The trio is among the top 10 finalists who
will compete for the title and the $100,000 prize ($120,000 if Ranger Cup
qualified) that goes with it in Saturday’s final round.
“I might wind up going to some of the places I found in
pre-practice,” says Richardson, one of The Bass Federation representatives in
the All-American. “I found about 50 schools, though I was doing so well down at
New Johnsonville I never really took the time to check them out. I might have
to tomorrow [in Saturday’s championship round].”
Friday, Richardson rotated among four spots – two of them key to
his daily grind and the source of most of his keepers thus far in the tournament.
He’s fishing “a moving bait,” but won’t reveal what it is yet. If his pattern
is similar to those of most of the other tournament leaders, it’s a swimbait, a
crankbait or one of the gargantuan spoons the locals call “hubcaps.”
“I had my two biggest fish today [Friday] by about 9:30, then
caught another one at 11, and the rest after that,” recalls Richardson, who
aspires to being a professional tournament angler. “It was very slow and I had
to go to a drop-shot to get my last two keepers. I’m fishing a shell bed in
about 15 feet of water and another stretch of ledge that’s in about 22 feet of
water that has a little ditch through it at about 25 feet deep.”
The self-employed Canadian businessman says the howling wind
that scoured the lake south to north Friday made fishing problematic. He
couldn’t set up on his spots as well, nor hold the boat in place as well as day
one, when there was only a slight breeze.
“My biggest problem is going to be the local fishing pressure,”
opines Richardson. “I was told that there’s a 100-boat tournament going out of
New Johnsonville on Saturday, and those guys were out practicing today. I had a
bunch come in on me and just watch. They know where I’m fishing and what I’m
fishing with. All I can do is run down there first thing and hope that it’s not
covered up. If it is, I’m either going to have to get in there with them and
rub boats, or run some new water.”
Treadwell Paces Non-Boaters
Saturday was The Bass Federation day at the All-American, or so
it seemed as a pair of TBF anglers took the lead in both divisions: Curtis
Richardson as a boater and Will Treadwell as a non-boater. Both reached the
All-American via the TBF National Championship.
Treadwell went from fifth to first in the non-boater standings
on the strength of a 20-pound, 2-ounce limit, the biggest sack so far in the
non-boater ranks. Treadwell, of Burford, Ga., qualified for the TBF
championship that led to the All-American by winning the BOAT/US College
Championship as a member of the University of Georgia team.
“Mainly I’m using one of the magnum spoons and a big worm,” says
Treadwell. “I’m really ripping the spoon before letting it fall. That seems to
make a big difference between getting bit or not.”
Saturday’s
championship weigh-in of the top 10 begins at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Walmart in
Paris, Tenn. The weigh-in also can be viewed live on flwfishing.com
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