DECATUR, Ala. (May 14, 2005) - The third time was the charm for veteran pro Alvin Shaw of State Road, N.C., as he won the FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on Wheeler Lake Saturday during his third consecutive top-10 appearance of 2005. It was Shaw's first victory in 10 years of FLW Tour competition.
Shaw landed the win and a $100,000 check with a two-day, final-round total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 8 ounces. He was the only pro to catch a five-bass limit Saturday as weather conditions changed drastically when thunder storms rolled through the area early in the afternoon.
"This has been a long time coming," said Shaw, who has qualified for all but one Forrest L. Wood Championship since the tour's inception in 1996. "I had five bites today, and I caught five fish, but I never thought in a million years it would be enough to win. I've been in this position too many times and come up short."
Shaw opened the tournament with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces to place 10th. He then added five bass weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces to his total Thursday to enter the final round as the No. 4 seed.
On Friday Shaw maintained his place as the No. 4 seed with a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces - 4 pounds, 8 ounces behind No. 1 seed Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas, who was looking to score his second win of 2005.
Saturday was Shaw's day, as he rose to the top of the leaderboard with a limit weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces. When the weigh-in concluded, his margin of victory was just 4 ounces over 21-year-old rookie Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif., who was hoping to become the youngest pro to ever win an FLW Tour event.
"This was bitter sweet," said Bennett, who in 2001 became the youngest angler to ever qualify for the Bass Fishing League All-American. "I'm happy to finish second, but a win would have been incredible." Bennett, who has earned six top-10 finishes in Bass Fishing League and EverStart Series competition since 2000, earned $36,000 for finishing second. He caught all but one of his bass this week while sight fishing in several different areas of Guntersville Lake with a drop-shot-rigged 6-inch Pro Worms straight-tail worm.
Shaw also caught spawning bass all week, although he could not actually see the bass. Instead he keyed on holes in shallow grass where bass had prepared spawning beds in Goose Pond. He knew the holes were beds if he worked his bait through and it came back without silt. He marked them with his GPS during practice and returned during competition. He used a green pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog rigged with a 5/16-ounce weight on 16-pound-test Gamma fluorocarbon line.
Jordon (six bass, 23 pounds, 3 ounces, $25,000); Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La. (seven bass, 22 pounds, 8 ounces, $20,000); and Toshinari Namiki of Hachioji City, Japan (five bass, 18 pounds, 9 ounces, $18,000) rounded out the top five pros.
Mark Hicks of Millfield, Ohio, took top honors and $20,000 in the Co-angler Division Friday with four bass weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces. He caught the fish on 3/8-ounce tungsten jigs tipped with black and red flake and black and blue flake chunk trailers while fishing Browns Creek with Namiki.
Hicks, a regular contributor to Field and Stream and FLW Outdoors Magazine, opened a commanding 5-pound, 10-ounce lead on opening day with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces while fishing with Sam Newby of Pocola, Okla. He then slipped to fifth place on day two after zeroing. On day three, with weights cleared, Hicks again took command of the field, earning a victory in his very first FLW Tour event. Hicks said short casts to grass humps in 7 feet of water were key to his win. "I'd let the jig sink straight to the bottom then snap it through the weeds," he said. "If I made long casts, the jig wouldn't sink through the grass."
Derek Jones of Chicago (three bass, 10 pounds, 3 ounces, $10,000); Greg Fleming of Holly Lake Ranch, Texas (three bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $9,000); Kelly Greer of Green Forest, Ark. (two bass, 7 pounds, 2 ounces, $8,000); and Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark. (two bass, 4 pounds, 4 ounces, $7,000) rounded out the top five co-anglers.
In addition to a top award of $100,000 and cash awards of $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division, anglers were also competing this week for valuable points that determine 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 awards the winning pro $500,000 cash, the sport's largest payout, and features a world-class outdoor show.