Terry Bolton Wins 2019 FLW Tour on Lake San Rayburn Day with 91-03lbs!

Canadian Charles Sim finishes 10th! 

by Justin Onslow

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Bolton hangs on for win crankingup 91-03lbs with Rapala DTs.
(Photo: FLW)

Terry Bolton’s professional fishing career almost ended before he finally had his moment. The moment every tournament angler dreams of. The moment decades in the making, so close so many times, yet still so far out of reach.

Today, Bolton finally grabbed hold of that moment, and he didn’t let go.

With a 17-pound, 6-ounce bag on day four of the FLW Tour opener on Sam Rayburn, which was presented by Polaris, the 24-year Tour veteran did something he’s been within ounces of doing so many times before: He won. He won his first Tour event, and he did it despite a handful of tremendous anglers — including standout rookie Nick LeBrun and the best angler on the planet, Bryan Thrift — breathing down his neck in a furious effort to outpace the Benton, Ky., pro.

Bolton bagged 33 pounds and 9 ounces on day two of the event, which set the wheels in motion for everything that followed. He added 19-10 on day three to retain the lead, and his 17-pound bag today brought his winning total up to 91-3.

But for all the fish Bolton caught this week, there were two moments that truly stood out for the man who has earned more than $1.2 million in his FLW career.

On day two, Bolton pulled up to a spot at which he caught all 20 pounds and 10 ounces the day before. He made some casts, landed a lot of fish and got up to “27 or 28 pounds” before he decided to move. Almost.

TOP 10 BELOW

2019 FLW Tour Lake San Rayburn Day 2: Terry Bolton Crushes 33lb Limit and Grabs Lead!

Canadian Sim 11th and Richardson 110th

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Bolton blasts giant limit and takes lead with 54-03lbs!
(Photo: FLW) 

Countless giants lie beneath the swollen and detritus-strewn waters of Sam Rayburn Reservoir. Terry Bolton might be able to give an accurate count, though, seeing as he caught a bunch of them Friday.

After sacking up 20 pounds, 10 ounces on day one of the FLW Tour season opener presented by Polaris at Big Sam – good for 10th place entering Friday – the Benton, Ky., angler put together a megabag full of hawgs that totaled 33-9 and moved Bolton to the top of the leaderboard with all the momentum he could want heading into the weekend.

One could point to technique, preparation and skill as the reasons for Bolton’s success on Rayburn, and all would be valid reasons. Yet, what’s happening for Bolton at the weigh-in stage is all about what’s happening between his ears on the water.

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do [on Saturday]: I’m going to do the same thing I’ve done the last two days,” he quips. “I’m going to get up, put my clothes on, go fishing, and I’m going to enjoy myself because that’s all this year is about is me having fun.”

Bolton kicked around retiring after the last Tour season, during which he says he didn’t have as much fun as he should have. Rayburn tends to be a cure-all for that when it’s fishing as hot as it is right now.

“When you catch 33 pounds, that helps you have fun,” Bolton adds.

The veteran pro says he caught some of his fish on day one on a spinnerbait, but overcast conditions today ignited a crankbait bite, and he did most of his damage with a Rapala DT14 or DT16 in his hand. Bolton caught fish throughout the day but really pounded on them during an early afternoon flurry that culminated with him culling 5 1/2-pounders.

Surprisingly enough, Bolton’s massive stringer wasn’t his largest bag ever. In 2008, during the FLW Series East-West Fish-Off, Bolton sacked up 38-15 at Falcon Lake. Still, you won’t catch him complaining. Quite the opposite, actually.

Nick LeBrun – 48-4 (19-2 day two)

Louisiana native Nick LeBrun put up a big showing at Rayburn on day one, totaling 29 pounds, 2 ounces for the outright lead heading into Friday. Bolton might have eclipsed LeBrun both on the leaderboard and in the big-bag rankings, but second place on cut day isn’t too shabby, especially considering it could have been much worse.

LeBrun had 12 pounds at 1 o’clock. His spots seemed to dry up a bit, which he attributes in part to fishing pressure in that area of the lake. After a tremendous day one, it was starting to look like all of LeBrun’s momentum was about to push him headlong into a brick wall.

Instead, the Tour rookie reached into his bag of tricks and decided to fish a spot he’d been saving for a rough stretch. It paid off in a big way, aided by a 5-pounder that buoyed his day-two weight into the high-teens.

Scott Martin Wins 2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Cumberland with 60-01lbs!

Smallmouth key to victory.

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Adjusting to calm, clear water key to win.
(Photo: FLW)

After leading day one of the FLW Tour event on Lake Cumberland presented by T-H Marine, then falling back to fifth place on day two, Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., battled back to regain his lead on the final day of the event Sunday, winning in Kentucky with a four-day total of 60 pounds, 1 ounce.

This marks Martin’s 8th FLW Tour win – a new FLW record. During his 18-year career he has won Tour events in Florida, Mississippi, New York, Arkansas, Maryland and now Kentucky, proving that he’s matured from a being just a kid under his famous father’s wing to one of the top anglers in the professional fishing world.

His win on Lake Cumberland demonstrated just how much he has learned to trust his instincts to fish new water instead of being chained only to places where he has caught fish in the past.

“When I first started fishing professionally, I would only fish places where I had caught a fish in practice or in the tournament,” Martin says. “I didn’t have the confidence to go down the lake during a tournament and just pull into a place I had never fished before. Basically, I was a very spot- or area-oriented angler. So this win feels good because it shows progress in becoming more of a pattern-oriented angler that is willing to take risks on new water during the events.”

TOP 10 BELOW

2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Cumberland Day 3: Clark Wendlandt Continues to Lead with 50lbs!

Calm day after the big front

by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELEASE

As forecasters promised, day three of the FLW Tour event on Lake Cumberland presented by T-H Marine proved to be slick and calm with bright blue skies, throwing FLW Tour pros their third drastic condition change in a row.

Clark widening lead.
(Photo: FLW)

The one angler who seems to be most nimble at weaving his way through condition swings this week is Clark Wendlandt, who extended his lead on day three to 3 pounds, 11 ounces over second-place pursuer Scott Martin.

Wendlandt hauled in 14-10 Saturday to bring his three-day total to 50 pounds even.

Lake Cumberland has landed right in Wendlandt’s wheelhouse this week for several reasons.

First, it’s been a long time since FLW has visited Lake Cumberland. It’s a lake with very little searchable tournament history when compared to the Okeechobees, Beavers and Kentucky Lakes of the world.

Second, Lake Cumberland is monstrously large – its vastness for an impoundment is impressive.

Third, Lake Cumberland is a very conditional lake where fish act one way on one day in one condition - and suddenly change everything the next day based on another condition.

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

Walmart FLW Tour - Kentucky Lake Day 1: Todd Hollowell Claims Top Spot

TOP 20
Place / Name / Hometown / Total (#bass)

1	TODD HOLLOWELL	FISHERS, IN	19-05 (5)
2	TERRY BOLTON	PADUCAH, KY	19-03 (5)
2	JACOB WHEELER	INDIANAPOLIS, IN	19-03 (5)
4	JOHN COX	DEBARY, FL	18-15 (5)
5	JIM MOYNAGH	CARVER, MN	18-11 (5)
6	JT KENNEY	PALM BAY, FL	18-10 (5)
7	JAY YELAS	CORVALLIS, OR	18-07 (5)
8	TIM GRIGGS	PADUCAH, KY	18-04 (5)
9	KEVIN HAWK	GUNTERSVILLE, AL	17-14 (5)
9	ANDY MORGAN	DAYTON, TN	17-14 (5)
11	BRYAN THRIFT	SHELBY, NC	17-12 (5)
12	RON SHUFFIELD	BISMARCK, AR	17-11 (5)
13	SHANE LONG	SPRINGFIELD, MO	17-05 (5)
14	JT PALMORE	BLACKSTONE, VA	17-02 (5)
15	JEFF CLOUD	LUBBOCK, TX	16-15 (5)
15	RANDALL THARP	GARDENDALE, AL	16-15 (5)
17	DAVID DUDLEY	LYNCHBURG, VA	16-13 (5)
18	STETSON BLAYLOCK	BENTON, AR	16-10 (5)
18	CLENT DAVIS	MONTEVALLO, AL	16-10 (5)
18	PAYDEN HIBDON	SUNRISE BEACH, MO	16-10 (5)
21	KYLE MABREY	MCCALLA, AL	16-09 (5)