ROGERS, Ark. (April 27, 2017) Pro Cody Meyer of Auburn, California, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 1 ounce Thursday to take the lead on opening day of the four-day FLW Tournament at Beaver Lake. The tournament features a field of 322 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.
A rainy week has brought Beaver Lake water levels up drastically – as much as 8 feet – in the last seven days. As anglers launched from Prairie Creek Park Marina they faced a very different fishery than the one that they had experienced during practice. While many competitors fished shallow water, Meyer ran into a few smallmouth in deeper water with a drop-shot rig.
“Today was awesome, but I got really lucky,” said Meyer, an eight-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “I pulled up on a deep spot where I had gotten a bite in practice and caught four good smallmouth. It happened really quickly. I had a limit around 13 pounds or so, and I ended up making my way back to the check-in at Prairie Creek to end my day. I ended up catching two largemouth shallow just before checking in – my two biggest of the day. It was so random, but those big ones really helped.”
Meyer’s five-bass limit consisted of two largemouth and three smallmouth bass.
"I caught them on four different baits,” he said. “I flipped a couple, threw some little swimbaits and had a couple of different drop-shot rigs.
“I’m looking forward to going back out there tomorrow, but who know what’s going to happen,” Meyer went on to say. “I’ve been here so many times that I know it is very possible to go out tomorrow and not even get a bite. I’m very happy to be where I’m at, though.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Beaver Lake are:
1st: Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 16-1
2nd: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, five bass, 15-11
3rd: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., four bass, 14-4
4th: Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., five bass, 14-3
5th: Daniel Kweekul, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 13-14
6th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, five bass, 13-13
7th: Keith Bryan, Novato, Calif., five bass, 13-5
8th: Nick Gainey, Charleston, S.C., five bass, 13-4
9th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 12-15
10th: Timmy Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., four bass, 12-10
John Devere of Berea, Kentucky, earned the day's $500 Big Bass award in the pro division thanks to a 6-pound, 4-ounce largemouth. Overall there were 637 bass weighing 1,217 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 156 pros Thursday. The catch included 85 five-bass limits.
Charley Slaton of Valliant, Oklahoma, leads the co-angler division with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Rex Jaeger of Hamilton, Ohio, who weighed four bass totaling 11-0, good for second place.
The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Beaver Lake are:
1st: Charley Slaton, Valliant, Okla., four bass, 12-2
2nd: Rex Jaeger, Hamilton, Ohio, four bass, 11-0
3rd: Steve York, Bronson, Mich., five bass, 10-15
4th: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W.Va., five bass, 10-0
5th: Scotty Villines, Ponca, Ark., five bass, 9-12
6th: Wataru Iwahori, Palestine, Texas, five bass, 9-2
7th: Scott Parsons, Rogers, Ark., three bass, 9-1
8th: Scott Easter, Gentry, Ark., four bass, 8-8
9th: Don Harvey, Franklin, Tenn., four bass, 8-7
10th: Steven Meador, Bentonville, Ark., five bass, 8-6
Kevin Medine of Port Allen, Louisiana, earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the co-angler division with a largemouth weighing 6-pounds even.
Overall there were 336 bass weighing 569 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 127 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 18 five-bass limits.