JASPER, Ala. (April 27, 2018) – Pro David Williams of Maiden, North Carolina, caught five bass Friday weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces, to extend his lead at the FLW Tournament at Lewis Smith Lake. Williams’ two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds even gives him a 3-pound, 12-ounce advantage heading into Saturday over second-place pro Cody Meyer of Auburn, California, who has 10 bass weighing 30-4. The field is now cut to the final 30 pros, with only 10 anglers advancing to championship Sunday where the winner will take home the top prize of up to $125,000.
“I probably caught 50 keepers today and ended up weighing in three largemouth and two spotted bass,” said Williams, who is currently ranked fifth in the 2018 Pennzoil Marine Angler of the Year standings. “I went through the same two creeks (from Thursday) as well as a third creek and caught them just as good. I actually lost a big one in the third creek. I had a chance to have as big of a bag as I did yesterday if I’d have gotten it in the boat.”
Williams fished flooded cover and docks Friday, and his biggest catch of the day was a spotted bass – a 4-pound, 9-ouncer.
“I left my main area where I caught most of my big ones by 10 (a.m.),” said Williams. “I should be able to hammer on them a little more this weekend, and I’ll probably need to.”
Williams emphasized that he needs to finish strong if he wants to seal the deal on championship Sunday.
“It’s a tough field. You’ve got guys behind you like Cody Meyer and Matt Arey – guys that are real veterans. If you slip up, even a little bit, they’ll take advantage of it. I think I’m around the winning fish. I just need to execute and put them in the boat.”
The top 30 pros that made the first cut and will fish Saturday on Lewis Smith Lake are:
1st: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., 10 bass, 34-0
2nd: Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 15-13, 30-4
3rd: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 30-2
4th: Greg Bohannan, Bentonville, Ark., 10 bass, 29-7
5th: Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 29-0
6th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 28-15
7th: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 10 bass, 28-13
8th: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., 10 bass, 28-11
9th: Todd Auten, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 28-4
10th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 28-0
11th: Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 27-6
12th: Robert Behrle, Hoover, Ala., 10 bass, 27-2
13th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 26-5
14th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 10 bass, 26-4
15th: Jeff Gustafson, Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 26-4
16th: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 26-2
17th: Billy McCaghren, Mayflower, Ark., 10 bass, 25-10
18th: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 25-6
19th: Cody Hahner, Wausau, Wis., 10 bass, 25-6
20th: James Niggemeyer, Van, Texas, 10 bass, 25-4
21st: Jeff Dobson, Bartlesville, Okla., 10 bass, 24-14
22nd: Randy Haynes, Ripley, Miss., 10 bass, 24-14
23rd: Berkley pro Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., 10 bass, 24-14
24th: Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., 10 bass, 24-13
25th: Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 10 bass, 24-12
26th: Russell Cecil, Willis, Texas, 10 bass, 24-11
27th: Rex Huff, Corbin, Ky., 10 bass, 24-11
28th: Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 24-8
29th: Sheldon Collings, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 24-6
30th: J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 10 bass, 24-4
Smith earned the $500 Simms Big Bass award in the Pro Division Friday thanks to a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass. Overall there were 855 bass weighing 1,715 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 178 pros Friday. The catch included 164 five-bass limits.
Joel Willert of Prior Lake, Minnesota, won the Co-angler Division and $20,100 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 4 ounces. After winning the Co-angler title at Lake Cumberland earlier this month, Willert became the fifth co-angler in FLW Tour history to win back-to-back events.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Joel Willert, Prior Lake, Minn., 10 bass, 24-4, $20,100
2nd: Kyle Owen, Bradenton, Fla., 10 bass, 22-0, $7,550
3rd: Mark Horton, Nicholasville, Ky., nine bass, 21-7, $5,000
4th: Jerry Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., 10 bass, 21-7, $4,250
5th: Kyle Glasgow, Guin, Ala., 10 bass, 20-8, $3,000
6th: Gary Haraguchi, San Jose, Calif., 10 bass, 20-4, $2,500
7th: Justin Mounce, Springdale, Ark., 10 bass, 20-1, $2,000
8th: Joshua Perrymon, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 19-6, $1,800
9th: James Littich, Davidson, N.C., 10 bass, 18-15, $1,700
10th: Wataru Iwahori, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 18-10, $1,600
Reagan earned $250 for the Simms Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division Friday with a bass weighing 5 pounds even. Overall there were 649 bass weighing 1,023 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 172 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 77 five-bass limits.