EUFAULA, Ala. (May 14, 2015) – Pro Clent Davis of Montevallo, Alabama, caught five bass weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces Thursday to grab the lead on day one of the FLW Tournament at Lake Eufaula. Just 1 pound, 1 ounce separates the leader from second-place pro Troy Morrow of Eastanollee, Georgia, who caught five bass weighing 21-8 in the nationally televised tournament, hosted by the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, that features 149 anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
“I hit around 30 to 40 different spots today and caught eight keepers,” said Davis, a former FLW College Fishing standout from the University of Montevallo in Alabama. “Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. Coming in to the day I thought I would be pretty lucky to catch 12 pounds.
“It’s definitely a numbers game right now,” Davis continued. “I pull up to a spot, make three casts, and if they’re not feeding then I’m heading to my next area. I’ve been fishing here all my life, so I’ve got plenty of spots to hit. I caught one today off of a spot that I had fished six years ago when I was still in college.”
Davis said that it was no real secret what he and the majority of the anglers in the top-10 were doing – targeting suspended fish over brush piles. He used a variety of baits to catch his fish Thursday.
“I was throwing a big swimbait, a big crankbait, a big worm and a big jig,” Davis said. “One fish will want a swimbait and the next fish wants a worm dragging on the bottom. The key seems to be pulling up to the spot at the right time of the day when they are feeding.
“I think that the fish tend to reload here,” Davis went on to say. “I believe that there are more fish heading deeper and they’ll replenish some of the areas that I hit today. I’m just going to go fishing again and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Eufaula are:
1st: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., five bass, 22-9
2nd: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee., Ga., five bass, 21-8
3rd: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass 20-10
3rd: Ramie Colson, Jr., Cadiz, Ky., five bass, 20-10
5th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., five bass, 19-13
6th: Derrick Snavely, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 19-2
7th: Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., five bass, 18-13
8th: Jeff Gustafson, Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 18-12
9th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., five bass, 18-5
10th: Michael Murphy, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 16-15
Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, won the Bridgford Big Bass Award on the pro side Thursday with a bass weighing 7 pounds even to win the $500 prize. Overall there were 635 bass weighing 1,461 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 146 pros Thursday. The catch included 102 five-bass limits. Keith Honeycutt of Temple, Texas, leads the co-angler division with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces followed by Nick Loeffelman, Jr., of Valles Mines, Missouri, in second place with five bass weighing 13-6.
The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Eufaula are:
1st: Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, five bass, 15-4
2nd: Nick Loeffelman, Jr., Valles Mines, Mo., five bass, 13-6
3rd: Mike Comeau, Jericho, Vt., five bass, 13-1
4th: Mike Devere, Berea, Ky., five bass, 12-7
5th: Eric Self, Lawndale, N.C., five bass, 12-6
6th: Tom Stark, Angola, Ind., five bass, 12-2
7th: Braxton Setzer, Auburn, Ala., five bass, 11-4
8th: Jerry Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 10-11
9th: David Hudson, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 10-6
10th: Casey Laughlin, Rowlett, Texas, five bass, 10-1
Self caught Thursday’s Bridgford Big Bass Award in the co-angler division with a bass weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces to win the $250 prize. Overall there were 352 bass weighing 649 pounds, 4 ounces caught by co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 24 five-bass limits.
In addition to 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, anglers are also competing for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup. The Forrest Wood Cup Champion could win as much as $500,000.
Anglers will take off from the Lakepoint Resort State Park Marina located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula at 6:30 a.m. each day of competition. Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at Lakepoint Resort State Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at Walmart, located at 3176 S. Eufaula Ave., in Eufaula beginning at 4 p.m.