2022 Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits: Neal Grabs Lead as Fish Continue to Chew on Cayuga Lake

by Tyler Brinks

BASS PRO TOUR PRESS RELEASE

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – Following a spectacular kickoff Saturday to the Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits on Cayuga Lake yesterday, Day 2’s results – while still excellent – almost seemed like a breather. That’s how good Cayuga Lake is, where five anglers over the 70-pound mark on the second day means slightly slower action than the day prior.

Six anglers racked up 70 pounds or more the first day of competition, led by Justin Lucas and Jacob Wheeler over the 100-pound mark. But looking past the Top 10 tells the tale of how consistently excellent the largemouth and smallmouth fishing is right now on Cayuga: Chris Lane holds the 20th spot in Group A with 42-12 in Group A and his brother, Bobby, holds the 20th spot in Group B with 36-13.

No matter how you analyze it, the numbers say that Cayuga is showing out.

The action was consistent on Day 2, with plump largemouth and smallmouth steadily ringing up SCORETRACKER® throughout all three periods and red hot Michael Neal taking the lead after catching 21 bass for 83-3.

Neal Continuing Impressive Run

Fresh off his second consecutive Angler of the Year title on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, Neal is back in contention for another win. Beside Wheeler, nobody has been able to consistently shine and find themselves at the top of the standings across varied fisheries as much as Neal has in the past few years. Sunday was just another example of that and Neal will carry a nearly 8-pound lead over second place angler Mark Daniels, Jr. going into their group’s next fishing day on Tuesday.

Neal finds himself at the top doing something right in his wheelhouse – fishing offshore and utilizing his electronics. His success Sunday came after an early morning adjustment.

2013 ICAST 3 New Colours from Lucky Craft with Brent Ehrler and IBASSIN

2013 ICAST find Brent Ehrler in the Lucky Craft booth explaining the new colours. Listen with IBASSIN.com as Brent explains these new patterns.

2013 The New 10 and 12 Foot Minn Kota Talons with Brent Ehrler and IBASSIN

IBASSIN.com found FLW Cup Champ Brent Ehrler in the Minn Kota booth at ICAST 2013. He explains all the features on the new and improved 10 and 12 foot Talons. These shallow water anchors are truly amazing.

2013 Walmart FLW Lewis Smith Lake Day 3: Ehrler Retains Lead for Third Day.

Keystone Light pro increase lead to 6-4 going into final day

09.Mar.2013 by Kyle Wood

FLW PRESS RELEASE

JASPER, Ala. – Today brought the weather that many anglers – especially largemouth guys – had hoped for with warmer temperatures to start the day and wind. Those factors still couldn’t seem to help the bite on Lewis Smith Lake which is beginning to show signs of fishing pressure getting the best of it. One man, however, still remains perched atop the leaderboard for the third straight day in a row.

Ehrler fishing deep for spots and the win.
(Photo: FLW)

Keystone Light pro Brent Ehrler has caught the largest bags from each day of competition during days one and two – 17 pounds, 8 ounces and 16-7, respectively. On day three his weight slipped some, but Ehrler still managed 11-15 to bring his overall weight to 45-14 and carries a 6-4 lead to the final day.

“I have caught heavier weights than I thought I could this week,” said Ehrler. “It hasn’t been easy at all this week – each day is truly a grind.”

Throughout the event Ehrler has been relying on a few key places that he found during practice. One of them has produced quality bites for him despite having never received a bite in practice from it. After yesterday though, Ehrler felt that he couldn’t rely as heavily on that area and knew he would have to make it happen from the other few places he had left. Most of the water he is focusing on is in around 30 to 40 feet, with his fish coming off the bottom or close to it - where he has been utilizing his electronics to see the fish that he often times will later catch.

Drew Benton 2013 Walmart FLW Lake Okeechobee Champ!

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Consistent week helps Benton on
cold front last day.
(FLW Photos)

CLEWISTON, Fla. – Twenty-four year-old rookie Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., was fishing in his first event as a professional this week and caught a 7-pound kicker bass with only seven minutes to spare to win the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Okeechobee presented by Mercury on Sunday. That fish pushed Benton’s day 4 weight to 13 poounds, 4 ounces and his total four-day weight to 75 pounds, 7 ounces and was enough to best 174 of the top bass anglers in the world to earn him a $100,000 paycheck. Finishing in second place was Keystone Light pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., who weighed in 20 bass totaling 70 pounds, 8 ounces.

“Fishing in my first ever Tour event, I never expected this,” said Benton, whose previous high finish was a 14th-place effort in EverStart competition on Lake Seminole. “I have to pay my entry fees all on my own, so this is such a big step for me. Now I can actually relax and fish for the rest of the year and not have to worry about just making a check.”

Like Saturday, Sunday’s fishing conditions were windy and tough. Benton made several runs back and forth to areas in South Bay and Turners Cove and burned through ¾ of a tank of gas by scrambling to try and catch enough weight.

“It was such a grind,” Benton said. “I started the day in South Bay, then went to Turners. Nothing was happening there, so I went back to South Bay and checked it again. I fished there for three hours and was only able to catch two keepers. So, I ran back to Turners and was able to finish out a small limit. I didn’t catch my limit of fish until 1:45 p.m. I told the camera man that I had to run and try and catch a big one. So I made the run back down to South Bay, and that’s when I got the kicker.”

Benton said the kicker – a 7-pound Okeechobee behemoth – came while throwing an entirely different bait than he had used all week.

“I had thrown a PGM Lures bladed swimjig all day and not had one bite on it,” Benton said. “I decided to try a Hildebrandt white and gold-bladed spinnerbait, and it bit.”

2013 FLW Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Huge Flip Flop Lands Benton in Lead

By Luigi De Rose

Strong north wind wrecks havoc with the Top 20 anglers on day 3 of the first stop of the 2013 FLW tour. Day 2 leader Rick Cotton, only lands 3 bass for 7 pounds, dropping him to second. A far cry from his 30-03 bag yesterday,  Cotton remains optimistic as the wind will shift from the north to south east. He feels it will help productive areas remain sheltered and clear.

Consistency has propelled Florida angler Drew Benton into first. He only brought 15 pound to the scales today but on the back of two 23 pound days, today' limit was enough to push him pass all others. He was unsure how day 4 will unfold but is glad to be leading.

Tremendous fishing pressure and two cold fronts seemed to take their toll but on everyone except Brent Ehrler. He's sitting in 3rd with the day's best catch of 20-02 pounds. As for the rest of the Top 20, many had dismal results scattering the leader board. Brent is sharing his main area with Chad Grigsby might succumb to over fishing. Chad's catch of 10 pounds dropped him all the way to 8th place.  Wade Henricks and Mike Neil, both of Tennessee round out the rest of the top 5.

Sunday, the last day, will be very interesting. A wind switch, more large spawning bass advancing toward top anglers and a limited field should make for a nail biting final weigh-in.