ROOKIE LANE LEADS $900,000 WAL-MART FLW TOUR EVENT
ON LAKE OKEECHOBEE
January 19, 2005
CLEWISTON, Fla. (Jan. 19, 2005) – The Wal-Mart
FLW Tour’s 10th anniversary season is officially under way on
Lake Okeechobee with rookie pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., leading
the pack thanks to an opening-day limit of five bass weighing 23 pounds,
8 ounces. Lane, who is fishing his first FLW Tour event after earning
11 top-10s in EverStart Series and Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competition
the last three years, opened a 12-ounce lead over second-place pro
Jerry Green of Justiceburg, Texas, in his quest for a $100,000 payday
in the first of seven FLW Tour events that will award a record $7.6
million in 2005.
“This feels pretty good considering it’s my first (FLW Tour)
tournament,” Lane said. “I was a little shaky going out
there this morning, but I put a big one in the boat, then another,
and I figured I could play with these boys.”
Lane earned the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $750 in the
Pro Division with an 8-pound, 15-ounce largemouth. He also caught
an 8-pound, 9-ounce bass Wednesday while flipping a Gambler BB Cricket
to matted vegetation and casting Senkos and worms between the floating
mats. One particular 10-foot by 10-foot area produced his big bass
and a 3-pounder in a matter of minutes.
“I was culling 12- and 13-inch bass all day,” he said. “Then
I caught the two big ones and sat down and smiled for about 30 minutes.”
Despite less than ideal conditions that left 48 of the 400 anglers
representing the United States, Japan, Spain and Australia without
a single fish, 102 pros and 29 co-anglers managed to reel in five-bass
limits, including nine that topped 15 pounds. Overall, however, the
lake was relatively stingy, producing 1,170 bass weighing 1,964 pounds,
10 ounces compared to last year’s opening-day haul of 1,589 bass
weighing 3,170 pounds, 5 ounces.
Last year’s hurricanes had a significant impact on the lake,
as high winds and water swept away large areas of vegetation and stirred
up fine sediment that is reluctant to settle out of the water. A strong
cold front that passed through the region Tuesday also contributed
to the difficult fishing, as water temperatures dropped into the mid
50s to low 60s. Considering these environmental factors, anglers are
limited to a few small areas of the massive lake where clear water
– and keeper largemouths – can be found.
“The lake is fishing the smallest it has ever fished,” said
Clewiston native and BFGoodrich Tires pro Scott Martin, who is 1 ounce
out of the top 10 with five bass weighing 14 pounds 8 ounces. “One
area we’ve fished all week has been clear, but the wind calmed
down today and the lake backed up into it mudding the water, so conditions
are changing daily. The person who can best predict those changes
is going to win.”
Green (five bass, 22 pounds, 12 ounces); Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of
Cullman, Ala. (five bass, 19 pounds, 13 ounces); Brent Chapman of
Lake Quivira, Kan. (five bass, 19 pounds, 12 ounces); and Kelly Jordon
of Mineola, Texas, (five bass, 17 pounds, 9 ounces) rounded out the
top five pros.
Jim Short of Ocean Pines, Md., leads the Co-angler Division thanks
to his catch of five bass that weighed 12 pounds, 14 ounces. He fished
with pro Mark Pack of Mineola, Texas, who is had five bass weighing
12 pounds, 15 ounces and is currently 14th on the pro side.
“It always feels good to be leading these things,” said
Short, who caught his bass on 7-inch and 10 1/2-inch Zoom worms and
Lake Fork tubes and craws. “It means that you don’t have
to work so hard to catch up. You still have to work, but being in
first and leading by 2 pounds is a heck of a lot better than being
2 pounds out of the cut and trying to make cup ground.”
Rounding out the top-five co-anglers are Roy Altman Jr. of Augusta,
Ga. (five bass, 10 pounds, 12 ounces); Tim Peek of Sharpsburg, Ga.
(five bass, 10 pounds); Tyrone Phillips of Little Rock, Ark. (five
bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces); and Frank Meyer of Marianna, Fla. (five
bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces).
Larry Dix of Bella Vista, Ark., claimed the Snickers Big Bass award
and $375 in the Co-angler Division Wednesday with a 7-pound, 5-ounce
bass that he caught on a Senko.
Anglers competing in the $900,000 tournament presented by EverStart
Batteries will take off from Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina
in Clewiston each morning at 7. Thursday’s weigh-in will also
be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s
weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1005 W. Sugarland
Highway in Clewiston beginning at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday
and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday,
features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire
family to enjoy.
Following Thursday’s competition, the field will be narrowed
from 200 competitors per division to 10, and weights will be cleared
for Friday’s competition. Co-angler competition concludes Friday
based on the heaviest one-day weight, and pros continue competition
Saturday with the winner determined by the heaviest two-day weight.
The winning co-angler earns $20,000 while the winning pro earns $100,000.
Anglers are also competing this week for valuable points that determine
Land O’ Lakes Angler of the Year standings and the field for
the 2005 Forrest L. Wood Championship, set for July 13-16 in Hot Springs,
Ark., on Lake Hamilton. The $1.5 million championship presented by
Castrol awards the winning pro $500,000 cash, the sport’s largest
award, and features a world-class outdoor show.
Complete coverage of the FLW Tour’s stop on Lake Okeechobee will
be broadcast on Fox Sports Net (FSN) Feb. 6 and Feb. 13 as part of
the “FLW Outdoors” television program. Following the Feb.
6 debut, “FLW Outdoors” will air every Sunday at 11 a.m.
Eastern time on FSN.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood,
FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and seven other national
tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through
214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of
America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including
the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League,
Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart
FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish
Series.
For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs,
visit FLWOutdoors.com
or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies
support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on
as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor
of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit
Wal-Mart.com.