HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (July 14, 2005) - Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., the No. 44 seed in the FLW Tour Forrest L. Wood Bass Fishing Championship on Lake Hamilton, brought in the heaviest two-day catch during the first round of competition. Adams' catch, anchored by Wednesday's 12-pound, 12-ounce limit, weighed a total of 23 pounds, 5 ounces. Friday's semifinal round will determine which 12 pros advance to fish Saturday for the $500,000 prize.
"I'm just flipping a jig around docks and seawalls," Adams said of his fishing pattern. "I've been staying shallow and covering lots of water. The bite was quite a bit slower today than it was yesterday."
Adams upset No. 5 seed Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., and he will advance to face No. 29 seed Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., in Friday's semifinal round.
Adams acknowledged that he'll have his work cut out for him while fishing against Strader but said he still has a game plan for Friday. "I was only catching about 7 pounds in practice," Adams said. "So I think I can catch a few more."
Anglers again dealt with steamy temperatures and humidity Thursday, although some cloud cover and rain moved in later in the day. Catches were small Wednesday, and anglers also struggled to catch quality fish Thursday.
Other notable finishes included the shoot-out between Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., and rookie pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. Nixon, the No. 24 seed, hauled in a two-day total weight of 17 pounds, 8 ounces. Lane, the No. 25 seed, held his own by catching 15 pounds, 5 ounces, but was cut from the competition.
While Nixon chose to keep the exact make of his bass-catching lures to himself, he did disclose that he was fishing fast and covering a lot of shallow water with soft-plastic lures and several hard baits.
Nixon will go on to face No. 1 seed and Angler of the Year Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La.
"Competing for a half-million dollars while fishing against my hero in the sport is just awesome," Hackney said.
The four-day tournament will conclude Saturday with the winning pro walking away $500,000 richer. The top 48 anglers from the six-event 2005 FLW Tour advanced to the championship - the most lucrative bass tournament in the history of the sport. Anglers were seeded according to their year-end ranking, with the No. 1 pro fishing head-to-head against the No. 48 seed, the No. 2 seed fishing against the No. 47 seed, and so on.
No. 12 seed, and one of six pros from Arkansas who were fishing the event, was Scott Suggs of Bryant. Suggs out-fished his opponent, No. 37 seed Todd Ary of Moody, Ala., by 1 ounce to advance to the semifinal round. Suggs caught a two-day total weight of 13 pounds, 3 ounces, while Ary landed 13 pounds, 2 ounces.
"I feel so good, it's unbelievable," Suggs said. "I've been fishing for suspended fish with a crankbait along ditch and channel swings. Following schools of shad has been the key."
Suggs will go on to face No. 13 seed Chip Harrison of Bremen, Ind. "Chip and I are fishing pretty close together," Suggs said. "I watched him catch a limit this morning. Who knows what will happen now."
Another Arkansas native and local favorite, No. 16 seed George Cochran of Hot Springs, beat No. 33 seed Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla. Cochran caught a round-one total weighing 10 pounds, 1 ounce to easily overcome Melvin's catch of 4 pounds, 3 ounces.
"I'm a little disappointed," Melvin said of the defeat. "But George's picture is in the book beside professional angler, and this is a difficult lake."
Cochran has been fishing a shallow-water pattern during most of the event. "That's my strong point," Cochran said of shallow-water fishing. "I've been covering lots of water, so I'll stick what I'm comfortable with."
No. 31 seed John Murray of Phoenix, Ariz., brought in one of the largest catches during Wednesday's competition, with a 12-pound, 10-ounce limit. While he only brought two bass to the scale on Thursday weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces, it was enough to displace No. 33 seed Ken Wick of Star, Idaho, and make it to the semifinal round.
"Today was a tough day," Murray said. "I started out practicing because I thought I had a solid lead, but the conditions are changing every day. I actually got stuck on the deep water today, and it hurt me. "I hit brush piles, and at least eliminated lots of water. I'll be fishing a shallow pattern tomorrow."
On the co-angler side, Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C., led the field with a two-day catch of six bass weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces. "My pattern is no big secret," Arey said. "I'm finesse fishing deep brush with a 4-inch worm rigged on a jighead." The co-anglers compete against an entire field of 48 other co-anglers during the first round of competition, and the field was cut down to the top 24 co-anglers for Friday's final co-angler round.