NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Scott Martin hasn’t had a big fish in his weigh bag since the first day of competition at the FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on the Potomac River. His consistency is making up for the lack of a big fish, however, and he has now led all three days of competition against a field of pros from all across the United States, Canada, Spain and Japan as they fish for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
The Clewiston, Fla., angler advanced to the top 10 as the No. 1 seed with a five-bass limit Saturday of 15-4. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 52-15, he now holds a 2-pound, 5-ounce lead in the tournament going into the final day of competition.National Guard pro Scott Martin
“Any time you catch fish three or four days in a row is just a blessing,” said Martin, who is the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion. “The first day I caught three really big bass and the last two days I just haven’t had those quality bites. But I know they’re in the area. Maybe tomorrow is the day, hopefully. I’m going to stick to my game plan and just focus.”
Martin said he has 10 different places he is fishing and he’s rotating those places during the day. He said he’s focusing on a large grass flat early in the morning. On the first day of competition he stayed on the flat until 9 a.m. The second day he stayed until noon, and the third day left at 9 a.m. Martin said he’s also targeting matted grass and a couple of logs on the flat that hold fish.
Martin said he’s throwing a finesse-style Bruiser Bait and a flipping-style creature bait he chose to keep secret to catch his bass. He added that his strategy won’t change on the final day of competition.
“(The Potomac) is a great fishery,” Martin said. “I need to catch a big bag, though, because I know these guys are going to whack them tomorrow, for sure. There’s going to be some huge bags.
“Hopefully tomorrow I can get those two or three big bites that I need to have a shot at this thing,” Martin added. “That’s all I can hope for. To just go out there and fish all day long and see what happens.”
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., advanced to the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 50-10.
Rounding out the top 10 pros and advancing to the final day of competition are:
3rd: Clifford Pirch, Payson, Ariz., 15 bass, 50-4
4th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 49-13
5th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 49-10
6th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 15 bass, 49-3
7th: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 15 bass, 48-9
8th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 47-12
9th: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 15 bass, 47-11
10th: Ron Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., 15 bass, 47-3
Finishing in 11th through 20th are:
11th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 15 bass, 46-2, $12,026
12th: Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., 15 bass, 45-15, $12,026
13th: Tim Johnson, Dallas, Ga., 15 bass, 45-12, $12,026
14th: Jim Tutt, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 45-9, $12,026
15th: Gary Yamamoto, Palestine, Texas, 15 bass, 45-5, $12,026
16th: Marty Stone, Fayetteville, N.C., 15 bass, 44-12, $11,543
17th: Jim Dillard, West Monroe, La., 15 bass, 44-10, $11,543
18th: Michael Williamson, Fort Smith, Ark., 13 bass, 41-6, $11,543
19th: Wade Hendricks, Thompsons Station, Tenn., 14 bass, 40-11, $11,543
20th: Bill Day, Frankfort, Ky., 13 bass, 38-3, $11,543
Overall there were 95 bass weighing 271 pounds, 5 ounces caught by pros Saturday. The catch included 17 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six Walmart FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify.
Chris Dillow of Waynesboro, Va., won the co-angler division and $20,000 Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 47 pounds, 3 ounces followed by Greg Knick of Ansonia, Ohio, in second place with 15 bass weighing 46-11 worth $7,238.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Leo Reiter, Greenup, Ill., 15 bass, 44-11, $4,822
4th: Marvin Reese, Gwynn Oak, Md., 13 bass, 43-2, $4,105
5th: Ralph Mulleins, Cumberland, Va., 15 bass, 42-8, $2,888
6th: Philip Jarabeck, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 41-12, $2,405
7th: Rich Dalbey, Greenville, Texas, 15 bass, 40-11, $1,922
8th: Nicholas Toman, Washington, D.C., 15 bass, 40-9, $1,728
9th: Ronnie Baker, Providence Forge, Va., 13 bass, 40-4, $1,632
10th: Chad Billiot, Raceland, La., 14 bass, 38-15, $1,535
Overall there were 86 bass weighing 224 pounds, 8 ounces caught by co-anglers Saturday. The catch included 13 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 2012 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six Walmart FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify.
The top 10 pros will take off at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning from National Harbor Marina located at 168 National Harbor Plaza in National Harbor. Sunday’s final weigh-in will be held at National Harbor Marina beginning at 4 p.m.