ANDERSON, S.C. (March 17, 2016) – Oklahoma pro Darrel Robertson, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces Thursday to grab the early lead after day one of the FLW Tounamentr at Lake Hartwell. Right behind him in second place is Jamie Horton of Centerville, Alabama, who weighed in five bass totaling 19-12. Robertson now brings a 10-ounce lead into day two of the four-day tournament that features 168 of the world’s best anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
“I’m very blessed to have caught what I did today,” said Robertson, an eight-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “It’s kind of a junk fishing deal out there, but I like it.”
Robertson said he spent his day concentrating on a specific set of spawning pockets on the lower-end of the lake. He said he caught two of his stringer fish – including a 4-pounder – sight-fishing off of beds.
“I knew what pockets to enter and which to avoid,” said Robertson. “I caught a limit of bedding fish, but they only would’ve weighed around 12 pounds so I knew I needed to mix things up.
“Earlier this week I had dialed in on some big bass that were cruising in these pockets,” Robertson continued. “I threw a worm on a drop-shot rig and a shaky-head jig and was able to catch three more good ones to put me at 20 pounds.”
Robertson said that his game-plan for the remainder of the tournament is to use as much of the lake as possible.
“Tomorrow I’m going to run up north near Seneca and try something else,” said Robertson. “I’m hoping I can get 15 pounds. I’ve just got to keep moving.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Hartwell are:
1st: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., five bass, 20-6
2nd: Jamie Horton, Centerville, Ala., five bass, 19-12
3rd: Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., five bass, 19-4
4th: Charlie Evans, Berea, Ky., five bass, 18-12
5th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 18-3
6th: Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 18-2
7th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, five bass, 17-13
8th: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, five bass, 17-9
9th: Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 17-6
10th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., five bass, 17-4
Jeff Gustafson of Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, earned the Big Bass Award on the pro side Thursday, weighing a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass to win the $500 prize. Overall there were 798 bass weighing 1,910 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 166 pros Thursday. The catch included 149 five-bass limits.
Chuck Kavros of Grass Valley, California, leads the co-angler division with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces, followed by Neil Farlow of Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada, in second place with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Lake Hartwell are:
1st: Chuck Kavros, Grass Valley, Calif., five bass. 12-14
2nd: Neil Farlow, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 12-12
3rd: Jerry Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 12-0
4th: Kevin Gordon, Aiken, S.C., five bass, 11-4
4th: Greg Mansfield, Burnsville, Minn., five bass, 11-4
6th: Stephen Crawley, Bush, La., five bass, 11-1
7th: Greg Glouse, Liberty, S.C., five bass, 10-15
8th: Greg Knick, Ansonia, Ohio, five bass, 10-12
9th: Justin Hicks, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 10-8
10th: Johnny Douglas, Liberty, Ky., five bass, 10-1
Brian Billett of Elgin, Illinois, earned the Big Bass Award on the co-angler side Thursday with a fish totaling 6 pounds, 6 ounces to win the $250 prize. Overall there were 495 bass weighing 825 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 147 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 54 five-bass limits.
Ranger pro Tony Dumitras of Winston, Georgia, withdrew from the tournament prior to the start of the event due to personal reasons. Dumitras will re-join the Tour next month at the Walmart FLW Tour at Beaver Lake presented by Jack Link’s, which is being held in Rogers, Arkansas, April 14-17.
Anglers will take off and weigh-in on all four days of competition at Green Pond Landing located at 470 Green Pond Road in Anderson at 7:30 a.m. each day. Weigh-in on Friday will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will begin at 4 p.m.