COLUMBIA, S.C. (Aug. 11, 2017) – The FLW’s best bass anglers convened on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Thursday to kick off the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup. The three-day tournament on Lake Murray, which awards a $300,000 top prize to the victor, featured a full field of 53 anglers competing today and Saturday before being cut to the final 10 on championship Sunday.
FLW Tour rookie Justin Atkins of Florence, Alabama, secured the early lead after weighing in a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 5 ounces – the largest limit ever weighed on Lake Murray in Forrest Wood Cup competition. Atkins’ limit was enough to edge local favorite Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, South Carolina, by just four ounces, who caught five bass weighing 21-1, good for second place.
“Today was really good,” said Atkins, who finished runner-up in the 2017 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year race. “I caught two real quick this morning, then finished out my limit by 7:40 (a.m.). Then I just started running areas from practice that looked like they would be productive and managed to catch a couple of good ones. Around 10:30 I caught a 5-pounder at a spot that I had saved, then I went to another place that I had found that was a little off of the wall and caught a 6-pounder on my first cast there.
“I didn’t want to burn through a bunch of 3½-pounders that could help me later, so I spent the afternoon graphing and looking for more areas, just getting ready for tomorrow.”
Atkins said that he fished just one bait throughout the entire day. Although he withheld specifics, he did say that it was a topwater bait and that he caught 20 to 25 fish throughout the day.
“I’m comfortable catching them on a worm or a few other baits here if I need to, but it was one bait all day, today,” Atkins said. “I’m fishing more of a pattern rather than certain areas or spots.
“I thought I’d catch around 17 pounds, which would have been a good Day One goal,” Atkins continued. “I definitely didn’t think I’d catch more than 20. The lake is fishing a lot better than it has in years past. I’m not planning on doing anything different tomorrow, I’m going to do the same thing and hopefully will have similar results.”
The top 20 pros after Day One on Lake Murray are:
1st: Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., five bass, 21-5
2nd: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 21-1
3rd: Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., five bass, 19-12
4th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 19-4
5th: Travis Fox, Rogers, Ark., five bass, 18-3
6th: Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., five bass, 17-13
7th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 16-0
8th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., five bass, 15-14
9th: Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif., five bass, 15-9
10th: Shane LeHew, Catawba, N.C., five bass, 15-7
11th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 14-13
12th: Allen Boyd, Salem, Ind., five bass, 14-6
12th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., five bass, 14-6
14th: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., five bass, 13-5
15th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, five bass, 12-13
16th: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 12-3
17th: Cody Bird, Granbury, Texas, five bass, 11-4
18th: Joel Richardson, Kernersville, N.C., five bass, 10-15
19th: Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., five bass, 10-14
20th: Scott Canterbury, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 10-9
20th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 10-9
Anglers will take off from Dreher Island State Park located at 3677 State Park Road in Prosperity, at 7 a.m. EDT each morning at the Folger’s Morning Takeoff. Each day’s weigh-in will be held at the Colonial Life Arena located at 801 Lincoln St., in Columbia, beginning at 5 p.m. Backpacks and other large bags are prohibited at Colonial Life Arena, so fishing fans are encouraged to leave their belongings in their vehicle.