KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (June 19, 2008) - Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., crossed the weigh-in stage Thursday with a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces to lead day one of the FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes. Martin now holds a slim 9-ounce lead in the $1 million tournament featuring 400 anglers from 35 states, Mexico, Australia and Japan.
Martin and his fellow competitors faced clear skies as they left the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp early Thursday morning. The fishing was good, and many anglers caught bigger bags than they expected to.
"I had a pretty miserable practice," said Martin, who has won more than $778,000 in FLW Outdoors competition. "I found one or two areas a day in practice and was real concerned about how many boats would be around, and fortunately I didn't have anybody bother me today, and that was a big factor.
"I caught a couple of big largemouth and a big smallmouth this morning, and then later in the day caught another smallmouth," Martin added. "That was kind of a bonus for me."
Martin said the deep bite that so many anglers found on the first day of competition wasn't very productive for him. Martin said a lack of current was keeping his deep bite from developing.
"Really, I'm just looking for the bait," Martin said. "That's the main pattern. And looking for some shad and finding some active fish and trying to find some shallow structure the shad are around. It was kind of an all-day process."
Martin said he fished both deep off-shore areas as well as near the bank in the pursuit for the 10 keeper fish he caught.
"In the mornings you're pretty much fishing the banks and later in the afternoon, when the current tries to run, you try to catch them in deep water," Martin said. "They're just not pulling enough water to get them deep."
Rounding out the top five pros are David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. (five bass, 20-02); Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. (five bass, 19-07); Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn. (five bass, 17-10) and Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas (five bass, 17-00).
Second-place Dudley remained tight-lipped about his day on the water. He nodded in the affirmative when asked if he caught his fish on a crankbait and did reveal that he caught some fish on ledges.
"I can't say too much because there's too many people in the area, and if I spill any more than I should, I can't really talk about it," Dudley said.
Stacy King of Reeds Spring, Mo., earned the day's $750 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a large Texas-rigged plum-colored plastic worm. If that weight holds up Friday as the heaviest of the two-day opening round, he will earn an additional $1,000.
Overall there were 728 bass weighing 1,543 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 190 pros Thursday. The catch included 98 five-bass limits.
Dennis Price Jr. of Tinley Park, Ill., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 13-3 followed by Shawn Carnahan of Chandler, Ariz., and Doug Weiser of Springdale, Ark., who tied for second place with five bass weighing 11-09.
Price took the early lead in the tournament while fishing with Green.
"Whatever Jerry was dragging, I was dragging the same thing," said Price, who said he caught eight to 10 keepers throughout the course of the day. "I didn't have my first fish until 11 a.m., but it started picking up after that. I caught my biggest fish, which was three to four pounds, about 2 p.m.
"I just hope the next few days are like today," Price added. "I had a great day out on the water and a great day with Jerry." Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark. (five bass, 11-04) and Brian Gage of Gray, Tenn. (four bass, 11-00). Co-angler Tyrone Phillips of Little Rock, Ark., earned the day's $500 Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass he caught.
Overall there were 373 bass weighing 659 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 152 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 13 five-bass limits. Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp located at the intersection of Highways 321 and 444 east of Lenoir City, Tenn. Friday's weigh-in will also be held at the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday's weigh-ins will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center, located at 701 Henley St. in Knoxville, beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW Outdoorswill host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show in the Knoxville Convention Center from noon to 6 p.m. each day. The Family Fun Zone offers fans a chance to meet their Fantasy Fishing team anglers face-to-face and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other sponsors while children are treated to giveaways, fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. Children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will also receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last, and one lucky member of the audience will win a new Ranger boat during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in on Sunday. Admission is free and you must be present to win.
Pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, and the full field of 400 anglers competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for Saturday, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the final two days.