CLEWISTON, Fla. (Jan. 23, 2008) - Pro Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., landed five bass weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce Wednesday to lead day one of the FLW Series Eastern Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee. He now holds a 1-pound, 4-ounce lead in the $1 million tournament featuring 200 pros and 200 co-anglers representing 34 states, Japan and Canada. Anglers were greeted with heavy fog on the opening day of the tournament, and officials postponed the 7 a.m. takeoff until 8 a.m. to ensure the safety of the fishermen.
"That delay didn't hurt me at all," said Lane, who caught his two largest bass on his own Vicious Fishing Russ Lane Signature Series spinnerbait. "What probably helped me most of all today was when the wind picked up around 2 p.m. That's when I caught my three biggest fish."
Lane's spinnerbait of choice was a ½-ounce double willow white and chartreuse bait. The cloud cover and added chop on the water gave Lane confidence in the spinnerbait, although he said he didn't think that pattern would hold up as the tournament progressed.
"On most lakes, you want to look for the schools of fish," Lane said. "You want to get into a situation where the schools are coming to you. I was just junk fishing today. I caught one here and one there.
"I was just jumping around and taking chances out on the lake," Lane added.
Mark Shepard of Clewiston trails Lane in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 18-13.
"I grew up down here, but Lake Okeechobee is not fishing anything like it ever has in the past," Shepard said. "I want everyone to know that Lake Okeechobee is alive and well. It's just shallow right now. It is still one of the greatest bass fisheries in the United States."
Shepard fished both the main lake and some of the canals, and said he moved around to put together his five largest keepers. Shepard said his largest bass, an 8-pound, 1-ounce brute, was his second fish in the boat.
"I caught about 15 keepers today, and I feel comfortable that I can put together 10 to 12 pounds tomorrow," Shepard said. "I make homemade crankbaits, and I love throwing my little crankbaits.
"Because of the lower water levels, I've had to change everything I've done," Shepard added. "I'm fishing it like you would a northern lake. I can't get to the vegetation like I love to do."
Rounding out the top five pros are Ishama Monroe of Hughson, Calif. (five bass, 18-11); Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa. (five bass, 18-8) and Chad Brauer of Osage Beach, Mo. (five bass, 18-1).
Monroe earned the day's $500 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 9-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught, which was just three ounces shy of tying the largest bass caught in an FLW Series event on Lake Okeechobee. That 9-pound, 9-ounce largemouth was caught at the January 2007 FLW Series stop.
Overall there were 840 bass weighing 1,863 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 195 pros Wednesday. The catch included 132 five-bass limits.
Mark Heatwole of Harrisonburg, Va., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 15-2 followed by Robert Wood of Jupiter, Fla., in second place with five bass weighing 13-15.
Heatwole caught his bass while fishing with pro Lloyd Pickett Jr. of Bartlett, Tenn., who is currently in 67th place with five bass weighing 11-1.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jon Newman of Brielle, N.J. (five bass, 13-8); Leo Reiter of Goshen, Ind. (five bass, 13-6) and Michi Oba of Tokyo, Japan (five bass, 13-5).
Bruce Kane of Delray Beach, Fla., earned $300 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass he caught while fishing with pro Richard Patterson of Windermere, Fla.
Overall there were 600 bass weighing 1,209 pounds even caught by 177 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 71 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of $25,000. Like the pros, the top 30 co-anglers from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fish-Off for a shot at qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Roland & Mary Ann Martin's Marina & Resort located at 920 E. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston. Thursday and Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1005 W. Sugarland Hwy. in Clewiston beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday's weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Wal-Mart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The entire field competes for the first three days, and co-angler competition concludes on day three with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.