GAINESVILLE, Ga. (March 8, 2018) – Pro Bradley Hallman of Norman, Oklahoma, weighed a 23-pound, 11-ounce limit of spotted bass to take the lead on Day One of the FLW Tournament at Lake Lanier. Hallman will bring a 3-pound, 6-ounce lead into Day Two of the four day event that features a field of 184 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers competing for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.
“It was an incredible day,” said Hallman, who is fishing in his fourth season on the FLW Tour. “To catch five spots that weigh 23 pounds – that’s a dream come true. That’s a bag that I’ll never catch again for the rest of my life.”
Hallman said that he caught his fish “playing the herring game”, fishing at least 45 different places from Brown’s Bridge all the way down to the Buford Dam.
“I only caught 9 or 10 fish today – there were not that many bites,” Hallman said. “I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m starting to understand the blueback herring deal. I know they move a lot – one hour they’re out on the top of the point, the next hour they could be out on the end of the point, the next hour they’re gone. I’m just trying to stay open minded. I don’t have any secret spots or anything like that.”
Hallman said that he caught his big limit of spots on three different baits.
“I had quite a bit going today, I got bit anywhere from 5 feet out to 24 feet. It was just one of those days where I couldn’t do anything wrong and everything went right.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Lanier are:
1st: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., five bass, 23-11
2nd: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., five bass, 20-5
3rd: Jason Meninger, Saint Augustine, Fla., five bass, 19-5
4th: Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., five bass, 19-3
5th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., five bass, 18-13
6th: Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., five bass, 18-12
7th: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 18-7
7th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, five bass, 18-7
9th: Jason Johnson, Dawsonville, Ga., five bass, 18-4
10th: Jeff Gustafson, Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 17-12
10th: Rob Kilby, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 17-12
Cales earned the day's $500 Simms Big Bass award in the pro division thanks to a 7-pound largemouth bass. Overall there were 846 bass weighing 2,179 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 183 pros Thursday. The catch included 146 five-bass limits.
Pro Yusuke Miyazaki of Forney, Texas, was assessed a 2-pound penalty on Day One of the tournament after he was found to be in violation of FLW Tour Rule No. 9 on Tuesday during his practice period. The rule states that safe boating must be observed at all times, and the provisions of this rule apply during practice and from boat check until weigh-in each day of the tournament.
Joe Anders of Easley, South Carolina, leads the co-angler division with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces, followed by Brad Wiley of Alto, Georgia, who weighed five bass totaling 15-9, good for second place.
The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Lake Lanier are:
1st: Joe Anders, Easley, S.C., five bass, 17-6
2nd: Brad Wiley, Alto, Ga., five bass, 15-9
3rd: Chad Smith, Minnetonka, Minn., five bass, 14-13
4th: Joe Eubanks, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 13-1
5th: Douglas Colson, Cadiz, Ky., five bass, 12-14
6th: Rex Jaeger, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 12-14
7th: Keith Bridges, Mission Viejo, Calif., five bass, 12-11
8th: James Littich, Davidson, N.C., five bass, 12-10
9th: Hiroyuki Watanabe, Shizuoka, Honshu, Japan, five bass, 12-8
10th: Reid Daniel, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 12-7
Mark Horton of Nicholasville, Kentucky, earned $250 for the Simms Big Bass award in the co-angler division with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass. Overall there were 532 bass weighing 1,182 pounds caught by 165 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 51 five-bass limits.