2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Guntersville Day 1: Jay Kendrick Leads with 25-12lbs

Gussy #30, Cory Johnston #32, Chris Johnston #82 & Richardson #98

by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELESE

Kendrick is dangerous here! (Photo: FLW)

In the realm of professional bass fishing we have grassmasters, ledgemasters and timbermasters. But Jay Kendrick of Grant, Ala., is now carving out his own niche in pro fishing: bridgemaster.
On a cold, dreary day one of the season-opening FLW Tour event presented by Lowrance at Lake Guntersville, Kendrick took an impressive early lead with a limit of bass weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces. Three of his biggest bass came off one of Guntersville’s fabled bridges, which was a surprise to no one.
Kendrick won a Costa FLW Series event in March 2015 fishing the exact same way. Since then, his competitors have had plenty of time to read the coverage and watch footage of his win, but few seem to be able to unlock the bridge mysteries for big bass quite like Kendrick. But that’s the nature of being a “master” of a technique in this sport – other people can see all the pieces of the puzzle, but are not quite sure how to put those pieces together quickly enough in tournament competition.
“I know exactly what I’m looking for around those bridges,” Kendrick says. “I know when I see it on my electronics. I didn’t really even practice on bridges; I just idled them looking for the key ingredients.
“There is a technique to catching those bridge fish that once you figure it out, you can literally go in amongst other boats and make it work,” he adds. “The problem is those other boats get in the way of making the exact presentation needed to trigger a bite.”
TOP 10 BELOW

2016 Walmart FLW Kentucky Lake Day 2: Terry Bolton Leads with 44-13lbs.

Bolton takes over Kentucky

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The name Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., has been synonymous with the name Kentucky Lake for the better part of 30 years. Today, the well-known local pro showed why, bringing in another 22-pound plus bag of bass for the second day in a row to take the lead in the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Mercury and hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau with a two-day total of 44 pounds, 13 ounces.

Local pro shows consistency is key. (Photo: FLW)

Two major obstacles have been an issue for FLW Tour pros this week: fishing pressure and lack of current. Bolton has found a way to clear both hurdles over the last two days by searching out smaller “clusters” of suspended bass in waters that are deeper than where most of the fishermen are wearing ruts into the ledges.

“When they get up high off the bottom here, I like it,” Bolton says. “When they’re on the bottom, a lot more people can catch them. But when they suspend up high due to lack of current and fishing pressure, they get a little trickier to fool.”

“The big schools are broken up now and they are moving around a lot,” he continues. “So I’m looking for smaller clusters of fish. Some pods might have 5 or 6 fish in them; others might have 15 to 25. And I only catch a few fish out of these smaller groups – this is not a case where I’m sitting in one place wearing them out.”

Bolton adds that looking out deeper has been a key for him.

“I don’t normally like to fish this deep; it takes too long for my bait to get to the bottom,” Bolton adds with a laugh. “But that’s what I feel I have to do to get off the beaten path and find those more isolated, suspended pods that are not as pressured.”

 Top 10 pros below

2016 Walmart FLW Beaver Lake Day 2: Darrel Robertson Leads with 31-02lbs!

Jeff Gustafson Grabs 10th!

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The Beaver Lake lead shuffle has begun. Day two of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Jack Link’s saw leaders from day one slide back and those with big limits made a run up the outside to take their positions. Similar to Daytona in NASCAR, the lead always changes often at the Beaver Lake FLW Tour event.

Robertson just 1 ounce ahead of tight field. (Photo: FLW)

Day two dawned windless with sunny skies, but by mid-morning it had turned overcast with a little breeze.

As the saying goes, Beaver Lake is all about getting the big bite and how true it is. For the second day in a row, he who had the big fish of the day is leading the tournament.

Yesterday, JT Kenney caught a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass to anchor his leading weight. Today, Darrel Robertson caught a 5-pound, 8-ounce largemouth – the big bass on day two – and it loaded down a limit weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces to propel Robertson to the lead; his two-day total now stands at 31 pounds, 2 ounces.

2016 Walmart FLW Lake Hartwell Day 1: Darrel Robertson Leads with Ideal Sight-fishing Conditions.

Gussy lands 6-14 bass to grab big bass award.                                                                               FLW PRESS RELEASE 

During the official practice period for Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Evinrude and hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau on Lake Hartwell, a huge springtime warm-up graced the Southeast. For three days in a row, sunny slick conditions warmed Hartwell’s waters to the peak spawning temperatures for bass. All during practice anglers trolled the banks looking at fish that had just moved up from deep water and were just starting to make beds.

Vetran Robertson leads with only limit over 20lbs.
(Photo: FLW)

Today the pros finally got to mash the gas and see exactly what Hartwell could produce. On a scale of 1 to 10 for sight-fishing conditions, today ranked a 10 plus with bright blue sunny skies and not a breath of wind. Anglers were not confined to just pockets or coves for sight-fishing; they could have sight-fished on main-lake shoals if they wanted.

The result was a weigh-in dominated by bass that were being looked at when they were caught. Hartwell showed out with multiple 15-pound bags. In fact, 27 limits topped the scales at 15 pounds or better on the pro side. The top 20-cut after day one stands at 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Hallman Punching Up a Huge Lead!

Chris Johnston Jumps to 4th. 

by Rob Newell
FLW PRESS RELEASE
The third day of Walmart FLW Tour events always seem to be the stingiest days. Whether it’s due to condition changes or fishing pressure or both, day three is the seam where anglers’ primary locations and patterns from the first two days begin to fray. As a result, anglers fishing in the top-20 round on day three are faced with some difficult decisions that boil down to staying committed to their primary gig or switching up their game to try something else for a new window that might be opening.

This week at the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on Lake Okeechobee, tournament leader Bradley Hallman, who has sacked up about 25 pounds per day the last two days, says his day-three decision was pretty easy: stay committed to flipping and punching matted reed heads.

This 8 pounder helps keep the pack 13 1/2 pounds behind.  (Photo: FLW)

That decision resulted in being one fish shy of a limit on day three. But one of his four bass weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, pushing Hallman’s catch to 14 pounds, 3 ounces to give him a three-day total of 64-10. His lead over second-place angler Alex Davis is now 13 1/2 pounds going into the fourth and final day in this event that is hosted by Roland and Mary Ann Martin's Marina and Resort and the Hendry County Tourism and Development Council.

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 1: Bradley Hallman Leads!

Vincent Yonemitsu of Thornhill, Ontario leads Co-anglers

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The old saying is that the third time is the charm, but for Bradley Hallman of Norman, Okla., it’s more like the first time is the charm. Hallman is fishing his first Walmart FLW Tour event on Lake Okeechobee. It’s the first day of the first Tour event of 2016, and Hallman sits in first place with 25 pounds even.

Hallman's 25 pound limit grabs lead as flooded Big O remains difficult.
(Photo: FLW)

Hallman even contends that this is the first time he has ever fished Lake Okeechobee – the key word being “lake.”

“I fished an FLW Series event here in ’07 or ’08, but the lake was so low we all fished in the rim ditch – we called it the ‘rim ditch tournament,’” he recalls. “I never even got to go out on the main lake for that event.”

Brad Knight Wins the 2015 Forrest L. Wood Cup Lake Ouachita!

Knight Slays Ouachita 
by Rob Newell
FLW PRESS RELEASE

For the last decade, Brad Knight has had the same recurring dream at night. Although the dream has varying versions, scopes and backdrops, the theme is always the same: He is in contention to win a big bass tournament.

Sticking to his guns kept Brad in the same area the entire tournament.
(Photo: FLW)

“It’s not so much that I win the tournament or that I catch a big bass or anything like that,” he said Saturday afternoon. “It’s more that I’m in contention to win. I’m in a good position, I feel good about what I’m doing and I know exactly how I’m going to catch them. It’s not a nervousness but an anticipation – a good anticipation …”

And then he wakes up to his normal life as a part-time manager of Wartburg Pharmacy in Wartburg, Tenn., and all the intense feelings of anticipation are chased into the shadows by reality.

Knight again experienced that same dream on Saturday night. Except this time when he awoke, it was reality: He really was in contention to win a big tournament, the biggest of its kind – the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup.

“When I woke up, the first thing I said was, ‘If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me up. I want to know how this ends,’” he added.

On Sunday afternoon, Knight stood before a packed house in the Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs, Ark., hoisting a Forrest Wood Cup over his head. He now knows how his dream ends.

2015 Forrest L. Wood Cup Lake Ouachita Day 1: Jacob Wheeler Takes Lead!

All or northing at Ouchita for Cup anglers
By Luigi De Rose

Wheeler is all smiles on Day 1 (Photo: FLW)

Day 1 is a wrap with Jacob Wheeler taking the lead with 16-2 lbs just over a pound ahead of two-tour pro Ish Monroe. The next top nine anglers are within striking range and this tournament will be an endurance race. One big day might make or break a career here at Ouchita. Many anglers are working established patterns but size is a huge problem. Most of the field has under ten pounds for a five bass limit. Spotted bass are more plentiful but tend to be slim and fail to amass enough weight to make a big difference. Expect tomorrow's top anglers to try to duplicate their first day and the rest of the field to make adjustments.

Here is the top 10.

1	JACOB WHEELER	INDIANAPOLIS, IN	16 - 2 (5)
2	ISHAMA MONROE	HUGHSON, CA	15 - 0 (5)
3	BRANDON COBB	GREENWOOD, SC	14 - 10 (5)
4	SCOTT MARTIN	CLEWISTON, FL	14 - 6 (5)
5	BRAD KNIGHT	LANCING, TN	14 - 4 (5)
6	CHRIS BAUMGARDNER	GASTONIA, NC	13 - 8 (5)
7	RAMIE COLSON JR	CADIZ, KY	13 - 3 (5)
8	LUKE CLAUSEN	SPOKANE, WA	13 - 1 (5)
9	MARK DANIELS JR	TUSKEGEE, AL	12 - 15 (5)
10	JOHN COX	DEBARY, FL	12 - 0 (4)

2015 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Toho Day 1: JT Kenney Sacks 29 Pounds!

Kenny and King Take Control.
FLW PRESS RELEASE

There was fuel, and there was flame.
The fuel was in the form of a delayed largemouth bass spawn on Lake Toho that had been pushed back for several weeks due to low water temperatures and high water flows through the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. The biological clocks of Toho’s bass have been ticking, so to speak.

Kenny states he's on them big time. (Photo: FLW)

The flame was in the form of a fast warm-up over the last three days, a full moon occurring right now and water temperatures rising nearly 10 degrees in the last 72 hours.
At the day-one takeoff of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Mercury this morning, everyone held his breath for the combustion that was about to occur.
And when fuel met flame there were a few fiery flare-ups, but not of the size that many expected.
In all, the 20-pound mark was reached by seven anglers on a warm, balmy day that had five-alarmer written all over it.
Exactly why the bite was not as good as expected is still in question. Many pros reported a vanishing act of bedding bass that had just started to show up during practice, but have now disappeared despite highly favorable conditions
At the top of the standings are Florida ace JT Kenney and Missouri veteran Stacey King, who checked in with 29-14 and 28-1, respectively.

Top Ten Standings Below

The Future of Ranger, Triton and Stratos Boats. Part 2

Is this the Death of FLW?
By Luigi De Rose

Last Friday, Bass Pro Shop announced that it acquired Ranger, Triton and Stratos boats. This deal has transformed Bass Pro Shops into the largest bass boat company in the world and one of the largest boat companies in America. With this deal came many concerns on how the bass fishing world would be affected. Here is Part 2 of our look into this matter.

Corporate Alliances

The tournament organization FLW had two title sponsors; Ranger Boats and Walmart, both are the backbone of their entire operation. Here lies the potential problem.  Will Bass Pro Shop (BPS) continue to honour Ranger’s commitment to FLW or will BPS remain focused on their Bassmaster sponsorship? Currently, BPS is the main sponsor for the BASS Open events. Even a slight pullback of financial support could make a huge difference in FLW’s bottom line and future.

The second major conflict is retail between Bass Pro Shops and Walmart. Walmart is a huge player in FLW events, so much so that the last two weigh-ins of every Tour event take place at a Walmart. How willing is Johnny Morris, owner and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, of supporting a tournament organization that promotes a direct rival?  Will FLW events start taking place in Bass Pro Shop parking lots? It might not be that crazy of a notion.

One possible outcome is that BASS develops stronger alliances with Bass Pro Shop and Ranger Boats. Ranger could become the official bass boat of BASS and BPS could be the main Tour event sponsor. This scenario would strengthen BASS as it cripples FLW. Fans and anglers embrace two national tours but remember these are businesses that wish to generate as much money and power as possible. This could be a very big win for BASS if they play their cards correctly. Regardless of the combination of conflicts or outcomes, FLW outdoors will have to dance a very dangerous dance to remain one of the best tournament organizations.

Anthony Gagliardi Wins 2014 Walmart Forrest Wood Cup!

One Ounce Makes the Difference in Victory!
by David A. Brown
FLW PRESS RELEASE

COLUMBIA, S.C. – How much is enough? For Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi, it was an ounce. That’s what it took to edge Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury and win the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart and hosted by Capital City/Lake Murray Country with 51 pounds, 2 ounces. Gagliardi hoisted the Cup before a packed house at Colonial Life Arena.

Local favourite Gagliardi pulls off victory
with amazing last day charge.
(Photo: Brian Lindberg FLW)

Details on top finishers will follow, but here’s the upshot: Just 11 ounces separated first and fifth places. For fans of this sport, a weigh-in like this delivers memories not soon forgotten. Safe to say, that sentiment runs a good bit deeper for the local favorite from Prosperity, S.C.

“It just falls in line with everything else that happened this year,” he says. “I made it into the Cup by 1 ounce. It’s just fitting.”

Gagliardi was a statistical improbability from the start; and not the start of the tournament – the start of the season. His season began as horribly as an angler could imagine when he was disqualified at the Walmart FLW Tour opener at Lake Okeechobee due to an inadvertent rules infraction.

Suffice it to say that at that point qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup seemed an impossible dream. But it was a dream Gagliardi refused to relinquish.

Jarabeck Jumps into Lead of 2014 Walmart FLW CUP

By Luigi De Rose

Philip Jarabeck's 17lb limit sky rockets him into the lead!
(Photo: Brian Lindberg FLW) 

Philip Jarabeck take lead on Day 2 on the back of a 17lb limit. Ehrler is 2nd and Thrift is 3rd. David Dudley, yesterday's leader fell to 6th.

More info to follow!

2014 Walmart FLW Cup Lake Murray Day 1: David Dudley Captures Lead with 17-14lbs!

Dudley Take 3lb Lead!

by David A. Brown
FLW PRESS RELEASE

COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the field of 45 pros hoping to raise the trophy at the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart and hosted by Capital City/Lake Murray Country, five have enjoyed that magical moment before. After a strong day-one performance, Castrol pro David Dudley is looking a lot like a man on a mission for No. 2.

Weighing in a first-round limit of 17 pounds, 14 ounces, Dudley took an early lead and held off all challengers to finish atop the field by a margin of 3-5.

David Dudley might be the first angler to win 2 FLW Cups! It is only the first day
but the last few FLW Cup winner all had big first days.
(Photo: Brian Lindberg FLW)

                       
As expected, definitive patterns remained elusive. Very few anglers stuck exclusively with shallow or 
deep patterns, and Dudley was not among them.

“I went deep and shallow. I think everybody is doing that. I’m mixing it up,” he says. “I have no idea where the next bite is coming from. I’m just flying by the seat of my pants and trying to stay focused.”

Ish Monroe's reaction to the 2015 Walmart FLW Tour schedule with IBASSIN

The Walmart FLW 2015 Tour has been announced! IBASSIN.com was on hand as the Tour locations were announced. We got Ish Monrow, BASS Elite star and FLW Tour Pro reactions to next year's lakes and Tour stops.

Andy Morgan's reaction to the 2015 Walmart FLW Tour schedule with IBASSIN

The Walmart FLW 2015 Tour has been announced! IBASSIN.com was on hand as the Tour locations were announced. We got Andy Morgan, 2 time FLW Angler of the Year reactions to next year's lakes and Tour stops.

David Dudley's reaction to the 2015 Walmart FLW Tour schedule with IBASSIN

The Walmart FLW 2015 Tour has been announced! IBASSIN.com was on hand as the Tour locations were announced. We got David Dudley FLW Cup Champ  reactions to next year's lakes and Tour stops.

Skip Johnson wins 2014 Kentucky Lake Walmart FLW Tour Event!

by Curtis Niedermier
FLW Press Release

Sometimes simple strategies are the best strategies. And they don’t get much simpler than the game plan put together by Michigan pro Skip Johnson on Kentucky Lake for the sixth and final stop of the 2014 Walmart FLW Tour season.

His strategy: Don’t move.

Johnson spent all four days of competition on one hole on Kentucky Lake’s southern end. He landed more than 22 pounds each day Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, a string of lost fish cost Johnson, and he brought in just 19-12.

But Johnson rallied on Sunday. All day long he hammered away, catching more than 75 fish and culling up to the day’s best limit of 24 pounds.

The four-day, 88-pound, 10-ounce performance earned Johnson his first career Tour victory and a check for $100,000.

The triangle

“The key was to stay – don’t leave,” Johnson says about his performance on the final day of the event, which was presented by Evinrude and hosted by Henry County Alliance. “I parked right there and ran my little triangle again.”

The triangle describes the shape of a row of more than a dozen waypoints that Johnson dropped along a creek channel that snakes from a shallow flat out to the main shipping channel.

“It was a winding creek channel with old oxbows and humps in the oxbows,” he explains. “They were on the edge of the ledges dropping into the channel.”

The edges where he caught his fish were rocky and topped out in 10 to 12 feet of water. They dropped off into about 15.

Each day, Johnson worked in and out along the creek channel – once even following it all the way up onto the flat, just to see if any bass had moved in shallow.

2014 Walmart FLW Tour Kentucky Lake Day 3: Redington Remains Leader, Morgan Wins AOY

by Curtis Niedermier
FLW Press Release

Up and down. Up and down.

Kentucky Lake has been like a rollercoaster this week for the pros fishing the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Evinrude and hosted by Henry County Alliance.

One day is a whackfest, but the next is a grind. One hour can produce a 20-pound stringer, while the next hour is a zero.

Tom Redington earned the second FLW top 10 of his career and is leading the Walmart FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake with 65-12 over three days. (Photo by Garrick Dixon FLW)

The one pro who seems to have the most solid grasp on how to hang tight through fast, slow, up and down is Tom Redington. The Royse City, Texas, pro extended his lead on the third day of competition with an 18-pound, 13-ounce limit. It was a slower day, but enough to keep him at the top. His three-day total of 65-12 is 1 pound, 2 ounces ahead of pros Skip Johnson and Jason Lambert. And every one of the 10 pros who’ll fish the final day is within 4 pounds of the leader.

That’s one big Kentucky Lake keeper separating nine other pros from the title that Redington worked so hard for today.

“It was a tough day,” Redington says. “I went to my limit hole in the morning, and there were no fish there. I left after five minutes. I spent the first hour running around trying to find a school."

Redington relied heavily on his Lowrance depth finders to scan each spot and quickly judge the size and feeding potential of the bass hanging out there – a much more efficient way to compete than testing schools by fishing them.

He found schools, but they were the opposite of the mega-schools that Kentucky Lake is famous for. Redington wasn’t sure if it was boat pressure, sun, wind or some other factor that caused the change from yesterday, when he went on a two-hour flurry that produced his 24-pound, 9-ounce limit and helped him take the lead. Whatever it was, his schools busted up into smaller clusters, and he never was able to find a window of heavy activity where the right class of bass was feeding. Almost all day it was small schools and small bass – he caught nearly 25 keepers, just not the right ones.