FLORENCE, Ala. (July 22, 2011) – Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces Friday to maintain his lead on day two of the FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on Pickwick Lake. His two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 42 pounds, 12 ounces gives him a 3-pound, 12-ounce lead heading into the third day of the tournament. There were pros from all across the United States that started the tournament and the top 20 will fish day three and the top 10 will compete for the title on day four.
“You always want to be in the lead,” said Rose, who led the first day of competition. “I’d like for it to be a 10-pound lead, but Boo Woods is catching them and he works really hard at this. I’m proud for him for catching them. I’m going to go and try to put some pressure on him and make him have to catch them.
“I’ve been really blessed the last couple of days,” added Rose. “I did not expect the 24-pound bag I had (Thursday), although I knew the potential was there. It was just a blessing.”
Rose said he has targeted ledges and relied on a Strike King shaky-head rig to catch his early limit and then culled fish using a large soft-plastic worm as well as a chartreuse Strike King 6XD crankbait during the first two days of competition. Rose said his larger fish, including a 5 1/2-pounder he caught Friday, have come on the crankbait.
“Where I’m starting is not where I’m catching my biggest fish,” said Rose. “I stay in one place to get up to 13 or 14 pounds and then I start moving around. I catch a big one here and there about every 10 stops.
“Yesterday I caught three big ones on one spot, and today that didn’t happen on one spot,” Rose added. “It was the same except for all the 6-pounders.”
Kenneth (Boo) Woods of Hazard, Ky., is in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 39-0.
Leading the top 20 pros that will fish another day on Pickwick Lake are:
3rd: Lance Vick, Mineola, Texas, 10 bass, 35-6
4th: Randall Tharp, Gardendale, Ala., 10 bass, 35-1
5th: Robbie Dodson, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 35-0
6th: National Guard pro Brent Erhler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 34-15
7th: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., 10 bass, 33-15
8th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 33-14
9th: Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 33-11
10th: Jason Christie, Park Hill, Okla., 10 bass, 33-3
Kevin Hawk of Guntersville, Ala., who was in contention for the Angler of the Year title, was disqualified for fishing in water designated as off-limits.
Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., caught the Big Bass weighing 8-11 on the pro side to win $500.
Overall there were 573 bass weighing 1,379 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 116 pros Friday. The catch included 107 five-bass limits.
The Walmart FLW Tour Rookie of the Year title was claimed by John Cox of Debary, Fla., after Friday’s competition. Cox also won the FLW Tour’s Red River event in Shreveport, La., in May.
Clent Davis of Montevallo, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 14 ounces, followed by Dan Thill of La Crosse, Wis., in second place with 10 bass weighing 33-8.
Leading the top 20 co-anglers are:
3rd: Chris Hults, Vancleave, Miss., 10 bass, 27-4
4th: Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., 10 bass, 26-3
5th: Dean Tucker, Hiawassee, Ga., 10 bass, 25-5
6th: Johnny Douglas, Hustonville, Ky., 10 bass, 25-2
7th: Justin Sward, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 24-14
8th: Sean Stepp, Stafford, Va., 10 bass, 24-9
9th: Mike McDonald, Randleman, N.C., 10 bass, 24-2
10th: Caleb Kuphall, Mukwonago, Wis., 10 bass, 23-15
Davis caught the Big Bass weighing 6-11 in the co-angler division to win $250.
Overall there were 476 bass weighing 890 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 112 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 78 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup. The Co-angler of the Year will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors and the winner will receive a new Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
Anglers will take off from McFarland Park located at 200 James M. Spain Drive in Florence, Ala., at 6 each morning. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 3100 Hough Rd. in Florence at 4 p.m.