ROGERS, Ark. (March 4, 2011) – Bass fishing pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind., caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces Friday to capture the lead on day two of the FLW Tour bass fishing event on Beaver Lake. His two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 7 ounces gives him a 2-pound, 1-ounce lead heading into the third day of the tournament. There were 158 pros and 158 co-anglers from across the United States, Canada and Mexico that started the tournament. The top 20 will fish day three and the top 10 will compete for the title on day four.
“I think every tournament you fish you definitely learn something when you fish against this caliber of fishermen,” said Schenck, who began fishing FLW Outdoors events in Bass Fishing League competition and worked his way to the premier field of the FLW Tour. “I’m keying on some things that were important that I learned in the past fishing the lake. It’s always the little things that really separate people when you’re fishing. Those couple of little things could be the difference.
“It doesn’t really matter if I’m first or fifth,” said Schenck. “I still have to catch them again tomorrow and again on Sunday. It’s a cumulative weight. You basically have to go out and do your job again tomorrow. With that being said, it’s a tough tournament.”
Schenck said he keyed in on two areas Friday that didn’t see much, if any, boat traffic on the second day of competition. Schenck said he was fishing slowly and not moving the boat much during the course of the day.
“I’m fishing very, very thorough,” said Schenck. “As long as I can fish those areas by myself I’ll be fine.”
Day one leader Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., is in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26-6.
“Yesterday I caught seven or eight keeper largemouth, and today I only caught two,” said Lefebre. “With the front coming, generally the fish like to feed before a front and they’re waiting until the last second. It was pretty obvious they didn’t bite as good today.”
Lefebre said he caught a limit fairly quickly in the morning and knew he wouldn’t have to catch much to make the cut.
“That was my goal – not to screw that up,” Lefebre said. “You never know what’s going to happen. I’m not disappointed.”
Rounding out the top 20 pros that will fish another day on Beaver Lake are:
3rd: Roy Hawk, Salt Lake City, Utah, 10 bass, 23-12
4th: Stacey King, Reeds Spring, Mo., 10 bass, 23-5
5th: Ron Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., eight bass, 22-12
6th: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 22-2
7th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 21-10
8th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., nine bass, 21-7
9th: Randy Blaukat, Joplin, Mo., 10 bass, 21-2
10th: Shane Long, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 20-15
11th: Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark., six bass, 20-13
12th: George Cochran, Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 20-8
13th: Nick Larson, Ball Ground, Ga., seven bass, 20-4
14th: Sean Hoernke, The Woodlands, Texas, nine bass, 20-2
15th: Mark Rose, Marion, Ark., nine bass, 20-2
16th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., eight bass, 20-1
17th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 19-15
18th: Todd Auten, Lake Wylie, S.C., six bass, 19-14
19th: Bo Cross, Knoxville, Tenn., nine bass, 19-14
20th: Brad Roberts, Nancy, Ky., 10 bass, 19-12
Ray Scheide of Dover, Ark., Tom Spangler of Corryton, Tenn., and Larson tied for the Big Bass weight of 6-3 on the pro side and each won $166.67.
Overall there were 412 bass weighing 903 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 137 pros Friday. The catch included 41 five-bass limits.
Keeton Blaylock of Benton, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces, followed by Brandon Hunter of Benton, Ky., in second place with seven bass weighing 17-10.
Rounding out the top 20 co-anglers are:
3rd: Mark Horton, Nicholasville, Ky., seven bass, 16-3
4th: Philip Jarabeck, Lynchburg, Va., four bass, 15-2
5th: Jeffrey Cummins, Marion, Ohio, five bass, 13-8
6th: Mark Shelton, Fayetteville, Ark., six bass, 12-11
7th: Brock Bertrand, Fayetteville, Ark., five bass, 12-7
8th: Moo Bae, West Friendship, Md., four bass, 10-15
9th: Tony Nation, Springdale, Ark., five bass, 10-13
10th: Van Foster Jr., Dalton, Ga., seven bass, 10-7
11th: Ronnie Lawson, Hollister, Mo., four bass, 10-4
12th: Stephen Williams, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 10-3
13th: Donald Myrick, Verbena, Ala., four bass, 10-2
14th: Brian Wilson, Somerset, Ky., three bass, 9-15
15th: Jim Campbell, Maryville, Tenn., six bass, 9-4
16th: James Dixon, Southfield, Mich., six bass, 9-3
17th: Steven Meador, Bella Vista, Ark., three bass, 8-8
18th: Joseph Ellis Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 7-10
19th: Glen Williams, Cullman, Ala., four bass, 7-10
20th: Patrick Roy, Syracuse, N.Y., two bass, 7-10
Rick Harkness of St. Marys, W.V., and Jarabeck tied the Big Bass weight of 5-7 in the co-angler division to each win $125.
Overall there were 150 bass weighing 302 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 116 co-anglers Friday. The catch included one five-bass limit.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.The FLW Tour Co-angler of the Year will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors and the winner will receive a new Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
Anglers will take off from Prairie Creek Park located at 9300 N. Park Rd. in Rogers at 7 each morning. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at the John Q. Hammons Center located at 3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy. in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m.