JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (April 11, 2019) – Pro Andrew Upshaw of Tulsa, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces to lead the field after day one of the FLW Tournament at the Cherokee Lake. Right behind Upshaw in second place is pro Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Arkansas, with 17-13 and Tim Frederick of Leesburg, Florida, in third with 17-4. The full field of 164 professionals, who are casting for a top award of up to $125,000, will continue competition into day two, with just the top 30 fishing Saturday and the final 10 competing Sunday.
“I started in an area that I’d thought there’d be a lot of boats, but there were only two of us when I got there. It’s a big area, and both of us caught quite a few fish out of there,” said Upshaw, a former FLW College Fishing angler who is a two-time FLW Cup qualifier. “I had 14 or 15 pounds early – within the 45 minutes to an hour or so. I made a couple of quick moves and caught two big ones that I’d marked and shook off in practice.
“I caught a lot of 3-pounders and that’s why, around 10 [a.m.], I just laid off of them completely,” continued Upshaw. “I was catching too many 3s and I knew how crucial 3-pounders would be in this tournament.”
Upshaw said he caught approximately 28 keepers Thursday – which included some largemouth – but ended up weighing a limit of smallmouth.
“I was fishing slow and just focusing on fish that were possibly on a bed, as well as staging fish in a couple of places,” said Upshaw. “I’m looking for a harder bottom.”
The Oklahoma pro went on to say that he doesn’t have a bait that’s producing better than the rest, saying he pretty much junk-fished his way to the lead today.
“I fell in love with this lake the first hour of practice, and ever since then I just kind of rolled with it. It really reminds me of a lake I grew up fishing - Lake Texoma –on the border of Texas and Oklahoma. How the fish set up is so similar, and they spawn on a lot of the exact same stuff.”
The top 10 boaters after day one on Cherokee Lake are:
1st: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 18-6
2nd: Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., five bass, 17-13
3rd: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., five bass, 17-4
3rd: Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., five bass, 17-4
5th: Andy Young, Isle, Minn., five bass, 17-2
5th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, five bass, 17-2
7th: Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., five bass, 17-1
8th: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 17-0
9th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 16-12
10th: Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., five bass, 16-9
Christopher Brasher of Longview, Texas, earned Thursday’s $500 Big Bass award after bringing a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass to the scale – the largest fish of the day. Overall there were 781 bass weighing 2,064 pounds, 8 ounces, caught by 163 pros Thursday. The catch included 143 five-bass limits.