JASPER, Ala. (March 27, 2015) – Fishing in just his second event as a professional, FLW Tour rookie Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces to take the lead at the FLW Tournament at Lewis Smith Lake. With less than six pounds separating first place from 10th place, the tournament is still very much up for grabs as we enter day three of the four-day event, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County, that features 154 of the best bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
Birge’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 13 ounces gives him a scant 1-pound lead over day one leader Drew Benton of Panama City, Florida, who brought five bass to the scale Friday totaling 15-1, for a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35-13.
“I didn’t get my first good bite until around 11 a.m. today,” said Birge, who is the reigning Rayovac FLW Series champion. “The sun came out around noon and the water temperature rose about three degrees. Then the fishing gradually got better.
“I caught my first fish in about a foot of water on a frog, way back in the bushes,” Birge continued. “That’s Oklahoma fishing, and that’s what I’m comfortable doing. I’m fishing shallow, flat pockets and flooded bushes.
“I’m throwing a Santone Lures buzzbait and a frog and bouncing back and forth between them. Yesterday they were tearing up the frog, but today they wouldn’t really touch it. I stopped at a creek today where I had caught some fish yesterday on the frog, but I didn’t get bit. Something didn’t feel right, so I went back through with a buzzbait and ended up catching eight keepers.”
Birge said that he caught around 10 keepers Friday, and his five-bass limit that he brought to the scale consisted entirely of largemouth.
“Tomorrow I’m going to go and try to catch five spotted bass in the morning and try to take some of the pressure off,” Birge went on to say. “Then, hopefully the sun will come back up and warm the water up a little bit. I’m going to have three rods on my deck tomorrow – a buzzbait, a frog and a drop-shot rig. I hope I can get a few largemouth bites later in the day.”
The top 20 pros that made the Buck Knives Cut and will fish Saturday on Lewis Smith Lake are:
1st: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 36-13
2nd: Drew Benton, Panama City, Fla., 10 bass, 35-13
3rd: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 33-8
4th: Tracy Adams, Wilkesboro, N.C., 10 bass, 31-12
5th: Scott Wiley, Bay Minette, Ala., 10 bass, 31-10
6th: Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., 10 bass, 31-7
7th: Clayton Batts, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 31-6
8th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 31-6
9th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 30-15
10th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-14
11th: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 30-6
12th: Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 10 bass, 30-6
13th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 10 bass, 29-12
14th: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 10 bass, 29-11
15th: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 29-10
16th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 29-9
17th: Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 29-9
18th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-5
19th” Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 29-5
20th: John Cox, Debary, Fla., 10 bass, 29-4
Dalton Cooksey of New Concord, Kentucky, won the Bridgford Big Bass Award on the pro side Friday with a bass weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces to win the $500 prize. Overall there were 742 bass weighing 1,715 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 153 pros Friday. The catch included 141 five-bass limits.
Brad Roberts of Faubush, Kentucky, won the co-angler division and $20,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 1 ounce, followed by hometown angler Todd Lee of Jasper, Alabama, in second place with 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 12 ounces worth $7,500.
“Fishing this tournament was a really great experience,” said Roberts. “To come down to Alabama and get a win here against these great anglers really means a lot to me. This feels awesome.”
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Brad Roberts, Faubush, Ky., 10 bass, 32-1, $20,000
2nd: Todd Lee, Jasper, Ala., 10 bass, 26-12, $7,500
3rd: Cody Hammontree, Flat Rock, Ala., 10 bass, 23-13, $5,000
4th: Lee Black, Danville, Ala., 10 bass, 23-5, $4,000
5th: Nick Thliveros, St. Augustine, Fla., 10 bass, 22-11, $3,000
6th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 21-14, $2,500
7th: Mike Devere, Berea, Ky., 20-15, nine bass, 20-15, $2,000
8th: Casey Laughlin, Rowlett, Texas, 10 bass, 20-9, $1,800
9th: Jimmy Kowalski, Lake Placid, Fla., 10 bass, 20-5, $1,700
10th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 19-11, $1,600
Roberts also caught Friday’s Bridgford Big Bass in the co-angler division weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces to win the $250 prize. Overall there were 541 bass weighing 958 pounds, 10 ounces caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 69 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 2015 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 20-23 on Lake Ouachita and is hosted by Visit Hot Springs. The Forrest Wood Cup Champion could win as much as $500,000.
Anglers will take off from Smith Lake Dam Access located at 7482 Smith Lake Dam Road in Jasper at 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at the Smith Lake Dam Access beginning at 4 p.m.