ROGERS, Ark. (April 12, 2003) - Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., landed five bass weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces and $200,000 Saturday on Beaver Lake to cap off his third top-10 FLW Tour performance of the season and tighten his grip on the 2003 Angler of the Year title. Morehead's final round total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 8 ounces put him 8 pounds, 11 ounces ahead of Randall Hutson of Washburn, Mo., who finished second with nine bass weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces.
Morehead used a brown crankbait on 8 pound-test line in the final round to land his second FLW Tour career win. His first FLW Tour win came in 1998 on Kentucky Lake, the tour's next stop May 14-17.
"I was casting parallel to the bank," said Morehead, who lost three fish on the final day after fishing a clean tournament to that point. "If I wasn't ticking the rocks with the bait, I wasn't catching fish."
On Wednesday Morehead landed five bass weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces to place 29th. He then added five bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces Thursday to enter the finals as the No. 3 seed with an opening round total of 10 bass weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces. Weights were cleared for Friday's action where he caught five bass weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces to secure first place heading into Saturday.
He caught his fish in Prairie Creek along a chunk-rock point in 8 to 10 feet of water. To get his bait into the strike zone, he was casting 40 to 50 yards with a limber 7-foot rod. Other keys to his success were slightly off-color water and a mild western breeze. "What little wind there was, was maximized because Prairie Creek runs east and west," Morehead said. "There was just a tremendous number of fish schooled on that point."
The win boosts Morehead to 769 Angler of the Year points. David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., the tour's No. 2 ranked angler, and Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., the tour's No. 3 ranked angler, trail Morehead by 51 and 53 points, respectively.
"I'm focusing on Angler of the Year and winning the Jacobs Cup," said Morehead, noting that two tournaments remain before Angler of the Year will be decided. "I'm not going to sit on my laurels. I want to be humble because I know what can happen, but I've got the momentum and I'm going for broke."
Hutson earned $100,000 for finishing second after landing four bass weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to supplement Friday's catch of five bass weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces. Rounding out the top five pros are Russ Moran of Murfreesboro, Tenn. (10 bass, 18 pounds, 9 ounces, $54,500); Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn. (nine bass, 18 pounds, 3 ounces, $39,000); and Aaron Martens of Castaic, Calif. (nine bass, 17 pounds, 1 ounce, $33,500).
Cash payments were awarded through 75th place in the $1.26 million Wal-Mart Open. Each pro was guaranteed a minimum of $21,000 for making the top 10 cut, and even the pro finishing in 50th place earned $10,000.
Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., won a $500 Wal-Mart gift card plus a selection of Stanley tools as the winner of the Stanley Accuracy Cast Award, which goes to the angler who pitches a jig closest to a specified target.
Roy Altman Jr. of Augusta, Ga., caught three bass weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to win the Co-angler Division by a 7-ounce margin. He pocketed $40,000 cash plus a $500 Wal-Mart gift card from Castrol and $500 worth of Castrol products thanks to the spotted bass he caught using a standup jig that he designed called the Spot Remover. He matched the 1/8-ounce jig with a green pumpkin finesse worm dipped in chartreuse coloring to land the win Friday.