JASPER, Ala. (March 8, 2013) – Brent Ehrler weighed in the largest stringer for the second consecutive day at the FLW Tournament on Lewis Smith Lake, giving him a commanding lead heading into the third day of competition. A full field of professional anglers continued their battle Friday for the top prize of up to $125,000.
The Redlands, Calif., angler brought another five-fish limit of spotted bass to the scales Friday, this one weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 33-15, Ehrler now holds a 6-pound, 1-ounce lead over second-place pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., who has a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27-14.
“It took me a long time to catch a limit today,” said Ehrler, who currently sits in a three-way tie for most wins in FLW Tour competition with five. “It was really tough. I think that my good area that I had yesterday is over with. I was able to catch one big one off of it, but I think they’ve moved on and I’m going to have a much tougher time trying to find the big fish tomorrow.
“I absolutely hate leading tournaments this early,” Ehrler said. “I like the weight that I have caught the last two days, but I would much rather fly under the radar and work my way up on the final day.”
Ehrler was not ready to talk about specific baits used, but said he had seven different rods on his deck. He fished mainly in the same areas as yesterday, and said the pressure on the lake was having an effect on the fishing.
“Every day it has been harder and harder to catch five fish,” Ehrler said. “The weather has been up and down, but it’s been consistent with no real fronts coming through. It has to be the tournament pressure on the lake.
“I think that timing is crucial in this event,” he continued. “There are a few spots that I watched guys fish and then leave that I pulled up on later in the day and was able to catch a couple of nice ones. I’m not doing anything different; I think I’m just getting there at the right time.
“My gameplan for tomorrow is to just run the spots that I have been and hopefully I can catch a couple of big ones,” Ehrler went on to say. “I’ve looked around at a bunch of new areas and I haven’t really found a whole lot to get me excited. I might try out some new stuff, but I don’t plan on spending a lot of time trying to find them.”
The top 20 pros that will fish Saturday on Lewis Smith Lake are:
1st: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 33-15
2nd: Koby Kreiger, Okeechobee, Fla., 10 bass, 27-14
3rd: Jason Christie, Park Hill, Okla., 10 bass, 27-10
4th: Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., 10 bass, 27-7
5th: Randy Blaukat, Joplin, Mo., 10 bass, 26-2
6th: Brandon McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., nine bass, 26-1
7th: Ray Scheide, Dover, Ark., 10 bass, 26-1
8th: Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., 10 bass, 26-0
9th: Spencer Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., 10 bass, 25-8
10th: Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 25-2
11th: Jay Yelas, Corvallis, Ore., 10 bass, 25-1
12th: Austin Terry, San Angelo, Texas, 10 bass, 24-15
13th: Jacob Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., 10 bass, 24-13
14th: Drew Benton, Panama City, Fla., nine bass, 24-11
15th: Zell Rowland, Montgomery, Texas, 10 bass, 24-11
16th: David Fritts, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 24-10
17th: Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 10 bass, 24-9
18th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 23-14
19th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 23-11
20th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 23-4
Biffle won the 3M ScotchBlue Big Bass Award on the pro side Friday with a fish weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces worth $500. Overall there were 614 bass weighing 1,162 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 157 pros Friday. The catch included 87 five-bass limits.
For this event, FLW was issued a permit from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that exempted tournament competitors from the normal lake slot limit that states all bass measuring 13 to 15 inches must be immediately released.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2013 FLW Tour will qualify. The 2013 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Shreveport, La., Aug. 15-18 on the Red River.
Hoyt Tidwell of West Point, Tenn., leads the co-angler division with 10 bass weighing 21 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Rick Bowen of Jackson, Tenn., in second place with 10 bass weighing 19-8.
The top 20 co-anglers fishing Saturday are:
1st: Hoyt Tidwell, West Point, Tenn., 10 bass, 21-9
2nd: Rick Bowen, Jackson, Tenn., 10 bass, 19-8
3rd: Tom Stark, Angola, Ind., 10 bass, 19-4
4th: Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., 10 bass, 16-6
5th: Danny Grissett, McDavid, Fla., 10 bass, 16-1
6th: Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., nine bass, 15-11
7th: Chuck Rounds, Benton, Ky., seven bass, 15-3
8th: Bryan Partak, Rockdale, Ill., eight bass, 14-12
9th: Josh Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, nine bass, 14-10
10th: Patrick Stines, Granger, Ind., six bass, 14-9
11th: Jesse Wiggins, Cullman, Ala., nine bass, 14-9
12th: Anthony Goggins, Auburn, Ala., eight bass, 14-5
13th: Braxton Setzer, Auburn, Ala., six bass, 13-15
14th: Richard Peek, Centre, Ala., 10 bass, 13-12
15th: Ken Coates, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 13-7
16th: Masafumi Nishida, Osaka, Japan, eight bass, 13-6
17th: Don Harvey, Franklin, Tenn., six bass, 13-5
18th: Mike Hardin Sr., Robertsdale, Ala., six bass, 13-4
19th: Todd Lee, Jasper, Ala., ten bass, 13-4
20th: Alan Woodford, Winslow, Ind., nine bass, 13-0
Setzer caught Friday’s 3M Peltor Big Bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces in the co-angler division to win $250. Overall there were 333 bass weighing 547 pounds, 15 ounces caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 24 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 2013 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2013 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify.
Anglers will take off from Smith Lake Dam Access located at 7482 Smith Lake Dam Road in Jasper, Ala., at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at Walmart located at 1801 Highway 78 E. in Jasper beginning at 4 p.m.