MARBURY, Md. (June 26, 2015) – Pro angler Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, brought five bass to the scale Friday weighing 17 pounds, 13 ounces to grab the lead on day two of the FLW Tournament at the Potomac River. Wendlandt now has a two-day catch of 10 bass totaling 32-10 and holds a 1-pound, 12-ounce lead over second place pro Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Maryland, in the four-day tournament, hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners, that features 142 of the top bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
“I focused on a lot of the same areas that I did yesterday,” said Wendlandt, who is chasing his fourth tournament win as a professional on the FLW Tour. “I didn’t catch a whole lot of fish today but the ones I did bring in were good-sized.”
Of the handful of bass Wendlandt did catch, he said it was the 5-pounder he reeled in around 11 a.m. that gave him a much-needed confidence boost.
“On this river that’s a big fish right now,” said Wendlandt “I’d say catching that fish is what really set today’s performance apart from yesterday.
“If this wasn’t a tidal fishery there’s no way my pattern would hold up,” continued Wendlandt. “But the fact that the water is constantly moving in and coming up and changing the location of the fish, there’s definitely an opportunity for it to work.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s top-20 showdown, Wendlandt said he has a few spots left to try and pull together a solid limit.
“I may hit some of the new stuff,” said Wendlandt. “It just really depends on how the day is going. I could see myself going in there and catching them quick or I could see it being a struggle. It’s just really hard to tell right now.”
The top 20 pros that made the Buck Knives Cut and will fish Saturday on the Potomac River are:
1st: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 32-10
2nd: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 10 bass, 30-14
3rd: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 10 bass, 30-12
4th: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., 10 bass, 28-3
5th: Jason Lambert, Pickwick Dam, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-2
6th: Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 26-15
7th: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 10 bass, 26-14
8th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 10 bass, 26-11
9th: Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-11
10th: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 26-10
11th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 26-9
12th: Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10 bass, 26-8
13th: Blake Nick, Adger, Ala., 10 bass, 26-7
14th: Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-5
15th: Scott Wiley, Bay Minette, Ala., 10 bass, 26-3
16th: Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 26-1
17th: Rusty Trancygier, Hahira, Ga., 10 bass, 26-0
18th: Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., 10 bass, 25-12
19th: Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-10
20th: Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 25-10
Mike Boyles of Kimberling City, Missouri, won the Bridgford Big Bass Award on the pro side Friday with a bass weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces, to win the $500 prize. Overall there were 643 bass weighing 1,468 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 139 pros Friday. The catch included 112 five-bass limits. Pro Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma, clinched the 2015 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year award Friday, which is awarded to the rookie pro angler who finishes the season with the highest point total.
Jim Jones of Big Bend, Wisconsin, won the co-angler division and $25,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Kyle Prskalo of Hobart, Indiana, who finished in second place with eight bass weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces worth $7,081. The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Jim Jones, Big Bend, Wis., 10 bass, 25-2, $25,000
2nd: Kyle Prskalo, Hobart, Ind., 10 bass, 23-15, $7,081
3rd: Shane Melton, Kokomo, Ind., 10 bass, 23-9, $4,715
4th: Timmy Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 10 bass, 22-3, $3,851
5th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 21-13, $2,821
6th: Tee Watkins, East Point, Ky., 10 bass, 21-6, $2,348
7th: Eric Self, Lawndale, N.C., seven bass, 21-3, $1,875
8th: Simon Borja, Johnson City, Tenn., 10 bass, 21-1, $1,685
9th: Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 21-0, $1,591
10th: Todd Lee, Jasper, Ala., eight bass, 20-12, $1,496
J.P. Sims of Cookeville, Tennessee, caught Friday’s Bridgford Big Bass in the co-angler division, a bass weighing 4 pounds, 2 ounces to win the $250 prize. Overall there were 411 bass weighing 833 pounds even caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 41 five-bass limits. John Hunter of Shelbyville, Kentucky, clinched the FLW Tour Co-Angler of the Year title Friday and won a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
Anglers will take off from Smallwood State Park located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury at 6:30 a.m. EST each day of competition. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at Walmart, located at 40 Drury Drive in La Plata, Maryland, beginning at 4 p.m.