BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 6, 2008) - Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 8 ounces to win $125,000 in the FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on Lewis Smith Lake. Bennett topped his closest rival, Scott Canterbury of Odenville, Ala., by more than 3 pounds to earn the win and 200 points toward qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup in Columbia, S.C.
"Every fish I weighed all week was a spotted bass," said Bennett, who has now won more than $396,000 in FLW Outdoors events. "I couldn't ask for a more perfect site for a tournament."
Bennett said he grew up catching Alabama spotted bass in California, and that experience paid off for him during the Lewis Smith Lake tournament. Bennett said he targeted bass near docks on main points during the tournament and threw a green-pumpkin Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnow rigged wacky-style to catch nine of his 10 keepers during the last two days of competition.
"In practice, they were on the very fronts of the docks," Bennett said. "As the tournament progressed, they seemed to get further and further beneath them. The first couple of days I just fished the front of the dock and wouldn't go around it, but the last two days I skipped way underneath the dock and just let it fall."
Bennett opened the tournament Thursday in 10th place with five bass weighing 12-13. He jumped to sixth place Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces to advance into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 1 ounce. On Saturday, weights were cleared, and Bennett caught five bass weighing 14-9 to advance to the final day of competition in first place. Bennett added another five bass weighing 12-15 to his final-round total Sunday.
Canterburycaught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 24-5 to claim second place and $50,000.
"It's unbelievable to do this in front of my hometown," Canterbury said. "I want to make numerous top-10s, and I don't want this to be my only one this year. I said all year long if I could have a choice of what tournament to make the top 10 in, it would be Smith Lake just so I could weigh in in Birmingham."
Rounding out the top 10 pros were pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla. (10 bass, 22-0, $40,000); Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash. (10 bass, 21-6, $30,000); Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (10 bass, 20-0, $20,000); Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (nine bass, 17-1, $19,000); Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla. (eight bass, 16-4, $18,000); Brandon Coulter of Knoxville, Tenn. (six bass, 13-15, $17,000); Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla. (six bass, 11-14, $16,000) and Danny Pierce of Greenbrier, Ark. (four bass, 7-10, $15,000).
Overall there were 42 bass weighing 89 pounds, 15 ounces caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included six five-bass limits.
On Saturday, Lynn Oswalt of Jasper, Ala., won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 with two bass weighing 3 pounds, 5 ounces followed by Teddy Roberts of Faubush, Ky., in second place with one bass weighing 1-13 worth $10,000.
Oswalt opened the tournament in 33rd place Thursday with two bass weighing 4 pounds while fishing with pro Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas. On Friday he jumped into third place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 11-04 while fishing with Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Pugh.
"I felt like all day long I was going to need to catch more than two fish," said Oswalt, who earned his win in only his second FLW Outdoors event. "You never really know what's in those other boys' sacks, and they're all sitting there looking at you and grinning. I've been close before in these things, but nothing this big."
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Paul Mueller of Southbury, Conn. (one bass, 1-11, $9,000); Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark. (zero bass, $8,000); Larry Hostetler of Floyds Knobs, Ind. (zero bass, $7,000); Masahiro Yanase of Nagoya, Japan (zero bass, $6,000); Greg Edwards of Jasper, Ala. (zero bass, $5,000); Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark. (zero bass, $4,000); Chad Hillis of McMinnville, Tenn. (zero bass, $3,000) and William Grantham of Mobile, Ala. (zero bass, $2,000).
Overall there were only four bass weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included no five-bass limits.