KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 1, 2008) - Opening day leader Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to reclaim his lead in the FLW Tour bass fishing tournament on Lake Toho. He now holds a 12-pound, 13-ounce advantage over his closest competitor, Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., heading into the final day of competition.
"You dream about days like this," Hite said. "I stayed calm and relaxed all day. I just went out and fished, and it was unbelievable."
Hite caught his bass on a green-pumpkin Chatterbait near submerged vegetation on Kissimmee Lake.
"There is something about the vibration of the lure that the fish are keying on, and it has worked for me everyday," he said. "I am fishing a big area, and I covered a lot of water today. Early in the week other boats where in the area, but today it was calm. I was able to break down my spot and really focus on catching the fish."
Morehead caught five bass weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces to advance to the final day of competition as the No. 2 seed.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Carl Svebek III of Siloam Springs, Ark. (five bass, 9-10); Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas (five bass, 9-04); Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. (five bass, 6-15); Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. (four bass, 6-11); Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. (two bass, 6-02); Pat Fisher of Buckhead, Ga. (four bass, 5-14); Randy Hadden of Jacksonville, Fla. (five bass, 5-04) and Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. (three bass, 4-03).
Overall there were 43 bass weighing 92 pounds, 6 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included six five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17.
Talmadge opened the tournament in first place Thursday with five bass weighing 13-07 while fishing with pro Lendell Martin Jr. of Nacogdoches, Texas. He retained his lead Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 9-14 while fishing with Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn. He wrapped up his win Saturday while fishing with Svebek.
"I knew in practice that I would win the tournament," said Talmadge, and FLW Tour rookie. "In practice I fished a different lake everyday and a lot of different ways. When it came tournament time, I felt like I was prepared no matter where my pro decided to go. That gave me the confidence I needed.
"Today, I took a lot of chances. I didn't catch a keeper until 12:15, and that's when I decided to stop going for the big bite. I picked up my spinning rod with a wacky-rigged Senko and went to work."
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Trevor Fitzgerald of Ocklawaha, Fla. (four bass, 5-13, $9,000); Garrett Olivotti of Rockford, Ill. (two bass, 2-13, $8,000); David Givens of Hernando, Fla. (one bass, 2-8, $7,000); Spencer Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. (one bass, 2-05, $6,000); Sean Stepp of Stafford, Va. (two bass, 2-05, $5,000); Mike Drain of Purcell, Okla. (one bass, 1-02, $4,000); Louis Manata of Columbia, Miss. (zero bass, $3,000) and Casey Gallagher of Pulaski, Wis. (zero bass, $2,000).
Overall there were 19 bass weighing 28 pounds, 14 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limit.
Anglers will take off at 7 Sunday morning from Kissimmee Lakefront Park, located at 101 Lake Shore Blvd. in Kissimmee, followed by a 4 p.m. weigh-in at Silver Spurs Arena in Osceola Heritage Park, located at 1875 Silver Spur Lane in Kissimmee.