HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (June 25, 2010) - Brent Long of Cornelius, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to extend his lead at the FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on Lake Guntersville and advanced to the top 5 as the crucial No. 1 seed. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 76-7, he now holds an 8-pound, 12-ounce lead in the tournament going in to the final day of competition.
"It makes me feel good having a little bit of a lead now because it's going to be tough tomorrow with all of the local traffic," said Long, who is looking for his first Tour win. "There's going to be a lot of places where these guys may not be able to get on - places where they've been catching fish. And I may not get on my stuff, either, but I've got a little bit of cushion so I don't have to catch as much as they do. So that makes me feel good."
Long said he caught his fish on the third day of competition the same way he did during the previous two days - by dragging a 1/2-ounce football jig and casting a Norman DD22 crankbait.
Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., advanced to the final round of five pros in the No. 2 spot with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 67-11.
"Tomorrow we're looking at a couple of 10-pounders right out of the gate," laughed Rose, who has won more than $1 million in FLW Outdoors competition. "That would get me right back where I need to be. No, I've got a tall order to try to catch (Long). He's doing a great job. He's doing exactly what you need to do to win.
"I stumbled today, and you can't do that on Lake Guntersville," Rose added. "You've got to bring it every day, because (the fish) are out there."
Rose said he's gotten a couple of big bites every day and, as a result, is both encouraged and discouraged at the same time.
"I've landed everything that's bit me so far, but today a couple cost me," Rose said. "I'm fishing a lot of areas - 15 to 20 schools of fish - I'm always hopeful. If we were on a small reservoir with small bass in it I wouldn't have a lot of hope. It ain't looking real good, but I'm going to be hopeful."
Rounding out the top five pros and advancing to the final day's competition are:
3rd: Keith Combs, Del Rio, Texas, 15 bass, 66-12
4th: David Fritts, Lexington, N.C., 15 bass, 65-15
5th: David Walker, Sevierville, Tenn., 15 bass, 63-4
The rest of the top 10 pros include some of the greatest anglers in the world and they are:
6th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 63-2, $15,223
7th: Luke Clausen, Gainesville, Ga., 15 bass, 62-14, $14,317
8th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 15 bass, 62-7, $13,410
9th: Damiki pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 61-6, $12,503
10th: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 15 bass, 61-4, $11,597
Thrift wrapped up his season-long quest for the FLW Tour's Angler of the Year title at Lake Guntersville. Thrift's 2010 title comes after two back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the points race. Thrift finished the season with 775 points, 21 points ahead of runner-up National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif. Rounding out the top five were Ishama Monroe of Hughson, Calif., (741), Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., (721) and Rusty Salewske of Alpine, Calif. (712).
Overall there were 635 bass weighing 2,104 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 132 pros Friday. The catch included 120 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 Forrest Wood Cup which will be held Aug. 5-8 at Lake Lanier in Atlanta, Ga., where they could win as much as $600,000.
Mike Devere of Berea, Ky., won the Co-angler Division and $27,500 Friday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 53 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Eric Schultz of Minnetonka, Minn., in second place with 15 bass weighing 52-7 worth $9,029.
Devere opened the tournament in 22nd place Wednesday with five bass weighing 15-13. On Thursday, he jumped to second place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 20-3. He wrapped up the win Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 17-9.
"I've been chasing this for a long time," said Devere, who won his first FLW Tour event. "It's pretty awesome. My son won a BFL (tournament) last week. When he won it I was getting ready to come down here and he said if I won this one to tell (everyone) he won the BFL. I said, 'I'll do it if I win.'"
Devere said he caught his fish throughout the week on a Stan Sloan Booza Bug and a Cumberland Pro Football Jig on deep humps as well as clumps of grass in 5 feet of water. Devere said his jigs were black and chartreuse tipped with a green pumpkin Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Chad Hillis, McMinnville, Tenn., 15 bass, 50-14, $6,762
4th: John Jacobs, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 49-15, $4,495
5th: Jason Law, Waycross, Ga., 14 bass, 48-12, $3,589
6th: J.R. Wright, Truckee, Calif., 14 bass, 47-11, $2,682
7th: Stephen Williams, Columbus, Miss., 15 bass, 47-11, $2,229
8th: Ron Fabiszak, South Bend, Ind., 15 bass, 47-3, $1,775
9th: Steve Reed, Bonita, Calif., 15 bass, 46-14, $1,549
10th: Moo Bae, West Friendship, Md., 15 bass, 46-1, $1,322
Devere also won a $2,500 gift card as part of the new Cabela's Angler Cash program. Beginning in 2010, Cabela's is offering pros and co-anglers the opportunity to register and win a $2,500 gift card for being the highest qualified finisher in each division at all FLW Tour events, making the stakes even higher in an already rich award package.
Overall there were 495 bass weighing 1,369 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 126 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 69 five-bass limits.
The remaining five pros will take off at 6 Saturday morning from Lake Guntersville Resort State Park located at 7966 Alabama Hwy. 227 in Guntersville, Ala. Saturday's final weigh-in will be held at the Von Braun Center located at 700 Monroe St. in Huntsville, Ala., beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at the Von Braun Center on Friday from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday prior to the final weigh-in from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The final weigh-in will be held at the Von Braun Center. There will be a drawing for a Can-Am ATV compliments of the Huntsville Times and rod and reel combos will be given to the first 300 kids under 14 in attendance on Saturday compliments of WDRM. The FLW Outdoors Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.