ROGERS, Ark. (April 11, 2014) – Pro Spencer Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark., brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces to grab the lead on day two of the FLW Tour at Beaver Lake. Shuffield’s two-day cumulative weight of 29 pounds even gives him a 1 pound, 1 ounce lead over second-place angler Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., who has a two-day weight of 10 bass worth 27-15 as the tournament heads into the third day of competition. The field is now cut to the top 20 in the four-day event that features 173 of the world’s best bass-fishing anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
“I caught them quick this morning,” said Shuffield, the son of legendary Arkansas angler Ron Shuffield. “I knew that I was going to have to. There was no breeze and the lake was flat calm. After 10:30 this morning, it was brutal. I caught around 50 keepers yesterday, but today I only had like nine or 10. I can’t tell you how many 2½- to 3-pounders that I saw coming after my bait today. They just wouldn’t bite it. We just didn’t have that breeze to give them that extra oomph.”
Shuffield said that he caught all of his fish on just two baits and that they were the same baits that he used Thursday. He said that he was targeting the transitional banks in Beaver Lake, looking for a specific type of rock and scouring the creeks for areas that “look right.”
“I’m just covering water,” Shuffield said. “The fish are still in the exact spots that I found them in during practice. The smallmouth just would not bite at all for me today, though. They’ve been the key fish for me every day, even in practice. Today I weighed in one largemouth and four spotted bass.
“The fish are still making their move in, it’s just that we didn’t have the wind today to make them bite,” Shuffield went on to say. “Tomorrow I see that the wind is supposed to blow pretty good again. I think it could get really crazy. I can’t wait.”
The top 20 pros that will fish Saturday on Beaver Lake are:
1st: Spencer Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., 10 bass, 29-0
2nd: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-15
3rd: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 27-6
4th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 26-10
5th: Micah Frazier, Newnan, Ga., 10 bass, 26-5
6th: Repel pro Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 26-1
7th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 10 bass, 25-13
8th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 25-12
9th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 25-10
10th: Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 10 bass, 24-14
11th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 10 bass, 24-7
12th: Matt Herren, Trussville, Ala., 10 bass, 24-5
13th: Eric Olliverson, Lampe, Mo., 10 bass, 24-1
14th: Stacey King, Reeds Spring, Mo., 10 bass, 24-1
15th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 24-1
16th: Travis Fox, Rogers, Ark., 10 bass, 24-0
17th: Jason Christie, Park Hill, Okla., 10 bass, 23-15
18th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 23-13
19th: Steve Kennedy, Auburn, Ala., 10 bass, 23-10
20th: Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 23-4
Shawn Murphy of Nicholasville, Ky., won the FLW Big Bass Award and $500 on Friday on the pro side with a bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces. Overall there were 698 bass weighing 1,299 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 165 pros Friday. The catch included 103 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2014 FLW Tour will qualify. The 2014 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17 on Lake Murray and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country. Anglers could win as much as $500,000.
Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., leads the co-angler division with 10 bass weighing 18-12 followed by Braxton Setzer of Auburn, Ala., in second place with eight bass weighing 17-6. The top 20 co-anglers fishing Saturday are:
1st: Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., 10 bass, 18-12
2nd: Braxton Setzer, Auburn, Ala., eight bass, 17-6
3rd: Mike McDonald, Randleman, N.C., eight bass, 16-8
4th: James Jewett, Nashville, Tenn., eight bass, 15-14
5th: Dave Hasty, Toledo, Ohio, seven bass, 14-9
6th: Nick Loeffelman Jr., Valles Mines, Mo., six bass, 14-2
7th: Todd Lee, Jasper, Ala., nine bass, 14-0
8th: Hunter Hicks, Charlotte, N.C., nine bass, 13-15
9th: Tee Watkins, East Point, Ky., seven bass, 13-13
10th: J.R. Wright, Truckee, Calif., nine bass, 13-8
11th: Frank Divis Sr., Fayetteville, Ark., eight bass, 13-5
12th: Shane Melton, Kokomo, Ind., five bass, 13-4
13th: Paul McNabb, Cave Springs, Ark., eight bass, 12-15
14th: Clint Williams, Fayetteville, Ark., eight bass, 12-13
15th: Philip Henderson, Pineville, La., nine bass, 12-12
16th: Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., eight bass, 12-12
17th: Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., seven bass, 12-6
18th: Michael Smith, Pickerington, Ohio, nine bass, 12-6
19th: Jamie Jacobus, Johnstown, Ohio, six bass, 12-3
20th: Jeff Gengler, Fort Collins, Colo., seven bass, 12-3
Loeffelman Jr. caught Friday’s FLW Big Bass in the co-angler division weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces to win $250. Overall there were 345 bass weighing 539 pounds, 7 ounces caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 19 five-bass limits. Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2014 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify.
Anglers will take off from Prairie Creek Park located at 9300 N. Park Road in Rogers at 7 a.m. each morning. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at the John Q. Hammons Center located at 3303 Pinnacle Hills Parkway in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m.