2017 FLW CUP Championship Lake Murray Day 1: Justin Atkins Leads with 21-05lbs!

Schooling bass key to many leaders
By Jody White
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Calm, cloudy morning key to many of the leader's success.
(Photo: FLW)

Sacking up a monumental catch of 21 pounds, 5 ounces, Justin Atkins of Florence, Ala., established a slim 4-ounce lead over Anthony Gagliardi on day one of the Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray. Atkins finished runner-up in the Rookie of the Year race on the FLW Tour in 2017 and third in the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League All-American this summer. Now, the 27-year-old pro is leading the race for one of the biggest titles in fishing.

Lake Murray has a reputation as a fickle fishery in the summertime, but today the schooling and offshore bite on the lower end of the lake shined bright, with Atkins, Gagliardi and most of the rest of the top 10 pros taking advantage of willing bass feeding on blueback herring.

Atkins fished for schooling bass some, but a lot of his fish came from fairly specific places that didn’t take many casts to cover. He says he caught all his fish on a topwater, but tossed a worm and a few other baits as well.

TOP 10 BELOW

2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Cumberland Day 1: Scott Martin Leads with Smallmouth

Cory Johnston 55th, Gustafson 94th, Richardson 118th & Chris Johnston 123nd. 

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Scott grabs lead with 19-07lbs.
(Photo: FLW)

The word of the day Thursday at the FLW Tour event presented by T-H Marine on Lake Cumberland was smallmouths – at least for the day one leaders.

Despite having an 18-inch minimum size limit, smallmouths were the day one shining stars of the species for many pros in the top 10.

Raw weather, which included gusty winds, drizzly rain and temperatures in the 40’s, all seemed to have spurred the smallmouth bite, and even those who were a little reluctant to commit to smallmouths Thursday did so based on the weather.

Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., took the early lead on Cumberland with a catch of 19 pounds, 7 ounces, which included four smallmouths and a stout largemouth.

“Based on this weather, I decided to start the day by targeting smallmouth,” Martin says. “And after I caught two, I figured I’d just keep rolling with it to see how many overs (18 inches) I could get. As it turned out, I caught a couple more and then a nice largemouth.”

Martin hinted he made a long run by saying he did have to stop for fuel. Some of his smallmouth water and largemouth water are in close proximity, so he bounced back and forth between the two later in the day.

2016 Walmart FLW Lake Hartwell Day 2: John Cox Grabs Lead.

Johnston Brothers Sit 11^th and 13^th.

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The Walmart FLW Tour sightfest continued on day two at Lake Hartwell which is presented by Evinrude and hosted by the Anderson Convention & Visitors Bureau. Once again, brilliant blue skies with a few clouds and no wind graced the field and to hear the anglers tell it, there are still plenty of fish moving up – by the hour.

Burning banks pays off for Cox. (Photo FLW)

Several leaders said they found new fish today and others have even commented they have watched fish swim up and lock down right in front of their eyes.

Though the weatherman continues to threaten with rain over the weekend, pros are in a state of bed-fishing bliss, with leaders claiming they plan to sight-fish right on into the weekend.

With sight fishing in full effect, it’s no wonder that the lead spot has been overtaken by John “Eagle Eye” Cox, an angler known for his sight-fishing savvy on the FLW Tour. Today Cox weighed in 20 pounds, 5 ounces for a two-day total of 37 pounds, 1 ounce.

While Cox did sight fish quite a bit today, he did admit that his two biggest fish came from, “just fishing” while looking for beds. One of those big ones registered 6-pounds, 11 ounces on the scales.

2015 Forrest L. Wood Cup Lake Ouachita Day 3: Wheeler Back on Top!

Unsettled day mixes leaderboard.
by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The weather across the Ozarks was unstable and volatile today – much like the leaderboard on the third day of the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart at Lake Ouachita.

First there was rain. Then sunshine. Then wind. Then another round of storms thrashed the top 20 pros just before check-in.

Jacob set to win his second Cup!
(Photo: FLW)

Names on the leaderboard swirled about as well. Weights were the lowest of the week, with Bryan Thrift checking in the day’s best weight of 14 pounds, 3 ounces for his biggest move of the tournament from 10th to fourth place. But some, like day-two leader Ramie Colson Jr., endured the dark clouds of not being able to complete a limit, which dropped him to third place.

By day’s end it was Jacob Wheeler who found the sunniest spot atop the leaderboard, regaining his first-place position from day one with a 14-pound limit, which gives him a three-day total of 41 pounds, 1 ounce and a scant 12-ounce lead over second-place pro Brad Knight.

Interestingly, as Wheeler and Knight battle it out on the final day, their strategies are very different. Wheeler is running a true pattern across the lake. Knight, however, is banking primarily on one area for the win.

Walmart FLW Tour Potomac River Day 3: Wendland in Lead, Martin Wins AOY!

Scott Martin Wins 2015 Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year !
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Clark Wendlandt has seen a lot of things throughout his career. Yet the act of kindness he experienced on day three of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River surprised even him.
With Wendlandt facing boat troubles, fellow top 20 angler Shinichi Fukae swapped boats with him – effectively ending his own day – to allow the Leander, Texas, pro to continue fishing and retain his hold on the No. 1 spot. Wendlandt’s 14-pound, 8-ounce bag was the second largest of the day, allowing him to increase his lead over second-place pro Adrian Avena to 3 pounds, 12 ounces.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an act of sportsmanship that great ever in this sport,” Wendlandt says. “Every time I caught one after that I just kept saying, ‘Thank you, Shin.’”

True sportsmanship comes to the aide of Wendlandt (Photo FLW)

The top 20 anglers launched amid torrential rains and unstable conditions. However, none of it seemed to affect Wendlandt early on, as he put three quick fish in the boat. That’s when things started going wrong. Wendlandt suffered a mechanical failure with his rig and figured he’d have to fish with his trolling motor until he could be towed back to the ramp early.
That’s where Fukae came in. In 16th place and fishless at the time, Fukae insisted Wendlandt trade boats so he could continue with his day unhindered. Fukae stayed in Wendlandt’s boat and was towed back to takeoff. Despite being loaned a boat for a restart, Fukae more or less ran out of time and never boated a keeper.

TOP 10 BELOW

2012 FLW Open Wheeler Lake: Mark Rose Wins

 by David A. Brown
FLW Press Release
DECATUR, Ala. – It's neither fair, nor respectful to other competitors to assume a tournament is "in the bag" just because a guy brings a huge lead into the final round. But Mark Rose, at least indirectly, justified any such murmurings with his dominant wire-to-wire win at the FLW Tour Open event on Wheeler Lake.

Mark lead all four days and took the trophy with ease.
(Photos: FLW)

Ever the humble gentleman, Rose simply won't engage in that line of thinking. He'll thank God, his family and his sponsors and he'll let others draw their own conclusions. For him, it's simply a matter of being fortunate enough to fish his style of fishing during a period when Wheeler's bass were positioned well for it. Essentially, the fish are just starting to move into their fall transition of shallow migration, but the water's still on the warm side, so plenty of quality fish remain out deep. With a solid understanding of these seasonal patterns and significant experience at picking apart the deep bottoms of TVA impoundments, Rose was in his comfort zone and simply went to work methodically locating and engaging his finned opponents.
"I just felt comfortable out there – I just get in tune with it," he said. "It's a passion I have. I really like it. I like it when I'm not catching anything because I'm trying to figure them out.

2012 FLW Open Wheeler Lake Day 3: Mark Rose Continues to Dominate!

Missouri’s Loeffelman Jr. Wins Co-Angler Title, $20,000

FLW Press Release
DECATUR, Ala. – National Guard pro Mark Rose slipped a bit and only weighed in the second-biggest stringer of the day at the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Wheeler Lake presented by Ranger Boats. It was still enough to increase his lead to a near-insurmountable 7 pounds, 1 ounce heading into the fourth and final day. The top cash award of $125,000 is now his to lose as the world’s best bass-fishing pros continued their four-day battle at Wheeler Lake on Saturday.

Rose does a little kneeling and reeling while keeping
a keen eye on the depth finder.
(Photos: FLW)

The West Memphis, Ark., native moves on to the final day of competition as the No. 1 seed with a five-bass limit Saturday of 15-10. Rose’s three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 54-8 gives him a dominating lead heading into Day 4.
“It’s awful special to be able to come out and be in the lead here,” said Rose, who is hunting for his sixth FLW tournament championship. “The Tennessee River just has a really special place in my heart. I’m fishing with a lot of confidence right now, just doing what I love to do.”
Rose said the bites were hard to come by Saturday and he really credits his Lowrance Structure Scan as being the key to his success.
“You have to idle and find these fish, and see where and how they’re set up,” Rose said. “You have to use your Lowrance to find the depths and positioning, and then decide what baits to throw. I couldn’t be doing this without it.

Larry Nixon Wins the 2012 Walmart FLW Tour Open on St. Clair

26.Aug.2012 by Brett Carlson
FLW Press Release
WOODHAVEN, Mich. – With his spot in bass fishing history already secure, it would be easy for Larry Nixon to coast for a few years before riding off into retirement. But Nixon simply isn’t wired that way; the competitive fire still burns. This week at the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, Nixon clinched his fourth FLW Tour win and his second on Lake St. Clair – a week before his 62nd birthday no less.
After a poor practice, Nixon was apprehensive about his chances to even cash a check. He’d go hours without a bite, but every time he’d return to one particular area, he’d get bit and then immediately leave. What Nixon didn’t know was that this 1/4-mile stretch of St. Clair, located on the south end near the Belle River, was absolutely loaded with giant smallmouths.

2012 Walmart FLW Tour Open Lake Erie Day 3: Legendary Nixon Takes Lead Win Big Sack

25.Aug.2012 by Brett Carlson
FLW Press Release
WOODHAVEN, Mich. – Bucking the normal trend of diminishing weights, Larry Nixon has improved his catch each day of the Walmart FLW Tour Open. After sitting in relative obscurity on day one with 17 pounds, Nixon rallied on day two with nearly 23 pounds. Today he upped the ante to 23 pounds, 11 ounces and is one day away from his second tour title on Lake St. Clair.

Larry is trying to capture his 3rd national tournament
on St. Clair. Can he do it fishing amongst several other
top 10 anglers?
(Photos: FLW)

After a relatively poor practice, Nixon was pleasantly surprised to learn his one area that had potentially was actually loaded with giant smallmouths. This spot, a 1-square-mile stretch of water, is essentially a flat with a clean, hard bottom that has scattered rock and grass. It also possesses a considerable amount of baitfish – namely perch and emerald shiners. The area is so big crowding is not an issue, but each of the top three pros are fishing it, as well as ninth-place Shinichi Fukae and 10th-place Chris McCall.
“In practice I really thought I stunk,” said Nixon. “But you never know what you have until you fish it hard. Today was one of those great days. I got on my best waypoint and they were just loaded there. I caught them and caught them, and I was getting concerned because they were mostly 2- to 2 1/2-pounders. Finally I caught one real big one, and another that was pretty big. It really wasn’t as good as yesterday to be honest.”
Nixon has fittingly named this spot “awesome” on his GPS and said it produces best right away in the morning. In fact, the General said he had close to 20 pounds by 8 a.m. By the end of the day, he had caught roughly 25 keepers.

FLW Tour Potomac River Day 1: Vetern Larry Nixon Takes Command!

Nixon, Vatalaro share overall lead during wind-swept opening round of FLW Tour competition on the Potomac

02.Jun.2011

by Gary Mortenson

FLW PRESS RELEASE



Larry "The General" Nixon takes command.
(Photos by Gary Mortenson FLW)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Heading into Thursday’s opening round of competition on the Potomac River, anglers had an idea that they would have to battle some type of wind. However, when all was said and done, most competitors seemed to be caught off guard by just how fiercely today’s wind actually blew. With regular wind speeds clocking in at 18 to 20 mph, anglers were forced to deal with giant swells as well as a heavy dose of mud which darkened waters and messed with the anglers’ prime fishing locations all day.

In the end though, Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., and Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, managed to put enough pieces of the Potomac River puzzle together to muster identical limits weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces – enough to grab the overall lead in one of the tougher opening tournament rounds in recent memory.

“With the way the wind and tides were today, it made fishing very fickle,” said Nixon. “A lot of anglers had some pretty good areas in practice that really got messed up today. I got a little lucky and had a pretty good backup area where the wind was just right so I could fish it. And that really helped. But a lot of other guys weren’t so fortunate.”

Nixon said another key to his successful outing, in addition to have a stellar backup plan, was lack of fishing pressure.

“I really didn’t have much pressure in my area. I think I saw only one or two other boats there,” said Nixon. “And I was kind of excited about that.”

While Nixon didn’t want to divulge too much regarding bait choices and fishing locations, he did say that he targeted grass “all day long.”

“I fished two or three different baits and caught all of my big fish pretty much fishing one way,” he said. “Overall, I feel really good about what I’m doing and where I’m at. I’m doing what I like to do.”

FLW Tour on Lake Hartwell: Secrets to Their Success

How Hartwell Was Won
By Luigi De Rose

Under trying conditions, Jason Christie of Oklahoma went wire to wire all four days to claimed the championship at Lake Hartwell this past weekend. To the casual observer, it looks so simple. Whip a spinnerbait out there and reel them in.
Fourth-place Ramie Colson, Jr. and 12th-place Dan Morehead fished the same backwater, yet they couldn't equal his success.  Christie's catches over the event were: day 1: 22-04, day 2: 20-04, day 3: 13-06 and day 4: 14-13  for a grand total of 70-11. Jason Christie executed very well and used a proven spring time strategy to keep first place all to himself.

Confidence was the name of his game. During several interviews, Jason explained that his fishing area looked a lot like Oklahoma water. What that meant was his area was very similar to the types of areas he fishes back in his home state. It had shallow flats with trees along the shoreline and an underwater ditch. It was very typical of the areas Jason prefers to fish in the spring.

Feeling comfortable in an area provides a feeling that cannot be matched. This is especially true during high stakes fishing. Its easy to become frazzled and leave a good area. Jason had the confidence, conviction and stamina to work it. Much like how KVD won the Classic, how Brandon MacMillan won at Lake Okeechobee and how Shaw Grigsby won at Harris Chain of Lakes. Each angler found the correct location, with all the features needed for spawning and worked it to death. It is amazing how much repetitive casting is needed to grind out a victory. Larry Nixon, a living legend, explained that he intentionally searched out clearer water at Hartwell.  For him, clear water has always worked for him in the past and he felt comfortable there and road it out to a sixth place finish. Even when the wind blew the baitfish out of Larry's location the second day, he stood by his guns like a true veteran.