SHREVEPORT, La. (Aug. 16, 2013) – Forty-six of the best professional bass anglers from across the country continued their four-day battle for a top cash award of $500,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup tournament at the Red River in Shreveport/Bossier City on Friday.
EverStart pro Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces for a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29-11 to maintain the lead for the second consecutive day. Tharp holds a 4-ounce lead over Chevy pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., who weighed five bass weighing 11-0 for a two-day total of 10 bass for 29-7.
“I started out today in a different area that I didn’t fish in yesterday,” said Tharp, who is seeking his first Tour-level win outside of the state of Florida. “I caught two decent fish right away and it really settled me down. It wasn’t fast and furious, but I had my limit today by 9:15 a.m., and it was pretty close to what I weighed in today.
“I really struggled from 11:30 on,” Tharp continued. “I culled twice this afternoon, but I only caught nine keeper fish throughout the day. I did see some good fish, though, and I had some good fish roll on my bait that I know will be there for me tomorrow.”
Tharp said that he fished around 10 different areas in Pool No. 5 throughout the day on Friday, and that he was fishing some of the same water as 3M Scotch Tape & Peltor Brands pro Ray Scheide.
“I’ve still got a bunch of good areas that I have not fished in this tournament,” said Tharp. “But, a lot of them are on the river. Fishing the river is like rolling the dice and trying to get a big bite. You can catch 50 bass and not get a big bite, and then pull up to a new spot and find a big one. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. I feel like this tournament is going to be won in the backwaters, and that’s where I need to stay to get those big bites.
“There are still two days to go, and 11 pounds a day won’t win this tournament,” Tharp continued. “I’ll need at least one more day in the teens to get this thing done.”
The top 20 pros that will continue to Saturday’s competition are:
1st: Randall Tharp, Port St. Joe, Fla., 10 bass, 29-11
2nd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 29-7
3rd: Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10 bass, 27-9
4th: Ray Scheide, Dover, Ark., 10 bass, 25-3
5th: Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 10 bass, 24-13
6th: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 24-11
7th: John Cox, Debary, Fla., 10 bass, 23-15
8th: Robbie Dodson, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 23-7
9th: Mark Daniels Jr., Fairfield, Calif., 10 bass, 23-2
10th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 23-0
11th: J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 10 bass, 22-2
12th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 10 bass, 22-0
13th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 22-0
14th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 21-9
15th: Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., 10 bass, 21-3
16th: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 21-0
17th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 20-12
18th: Jacob Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., 10 bass, 20-11
19th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 20-4
20th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 19-13
Overall there were 223 bass weighing 435 pounds even caught by pros Friday. The catch included 43 five-bass limits.
Theo Corcoran of Kansas City, Mo., won the co-angler division and $50,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 10 ounces followed by Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., in second place with 10 bass weighing 19-1 worth $10,000.
“This is a dream come true, or at least the start of it,” said Corcoran, who earned the first victory of his career. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was five years old when I was watching Jimmy Houston on my television.”
Corcoran said that eight of the 10 fish that he weighed in came on a Nemesis Baits Bullet Craw.
“I can put that bait on and go anywhere in the country,” Corcoran said. “It’s my confidence bait. From New York to Florida to Texas, that bait catches me fish.
“I’m going to have to fish at least one more year as a co-angler before trying to fish the Tour as a pro,” Corcoran went on to say. “Some of these pros are so good with all of the new electronics and graphs and I still have to learn how to do that. Punching, flipping and power fishing – I can do that. But, if I fished on Kentucky Lake I would get my butt handed to me.”
The top 10 co-anglers are:
1st: Theo Corcoran, Kansas City, Mo., 10 bass, 26-10, $50,000
2nd: Brock Mosley, Collinsville, Miss., 10 bass, 19-1, $10,000
3rd: Alan Woodford, Winslow, Ind., 10 bass, 17-8, $9,000
4th: Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., 10 bass, 17-5, $8,000
5th: Patrick Stines, Granger, Ind., 10 bass, 17-4, $7,000
6th: Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., 10 bass, 16-9, $6,000
7th: Mike Hardin Sr., Robertsdale, Ala., eight bass, 14-15, $5,500
8th: Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 10 bass, 14-14, $5,000
9th: Brett Preuett, Colfax, La., eight bass, 14-5, $4,500
10th: Richard Peek, Centre, Ala., nine bass, 14-2, $4,000
Overall there were 188 bass weighing 287 pounds even caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 26 five-bass limits.
The 2013 Forrest Wood Cup at the Red River presented by Walmart is being hosted by the Shreveport/Bossier City Sport’s Commission.
Anglers will take off from Red River South Marina located at 250 Red River South Marina Road in Bossier City, La., at 7 a.m. each morning. Weigh-ins will be held at the CenturyLink Center located at 2000 CenturyLink Center Drive in Bossier City, La., beginning at 5 p.m. daily.