ROGERS, Ark. (April 8, 2006) - Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas, earned the FLW Tour's Angler of the Year title as a rookie in 2004, and today he joined legendary anglers David Fritts and Rick Clunn as only the third angler in history to win two FLW Tour bass fishing tournaments in a single season. His historic win in the Open came courtesy of a two-day, final-round catch of 10 bass weighing 21 pounds.
"I'm going to go for win number three on Kentucky Lake," said Fukae, who was visibly moved and a bit stunned by his historic accomplishment. "I like Lake Champlain, too. So maybe I can add another."
Fukae, who originally hails from Osaka, Japan, entered the final day of competition with a scant 1-pound, 7-ounce lead thanks to a solid finesse pattern. He caught five bass weighing 10-10 on opening day and five bass weighing 12 pounds Thursday to advance to the final round as the No. 8 seed. He then caught five bass weighing 9-9 Friday to claim his spot atop the leaderboard. His catch Saturday of five bass weighing 9-13 secured the win. Fukae caught his bass using a Shaky Head jig and a Yamamoto finesse worm combo. He separated himself from other finesse anglers by using an ultra-light 3/32-ounce jig head for a super slow presentation. He targeted fish around timber in 10 feet of water.
In January, Fukae won the FLW Tour season opener on Lake Okeechobee and pocketed $100,000. The last time an angler won two FLW Tour events in a single season was in 2000 when Clunn won the Open on Beaver Lake and the Forrest Wood Open on Pickwick Lake. Fritts still holds the single season record with three wins in 1997, one on Lake Ferguson, one on Kentucky Lake and one on Lake Eufaula.
Fukae earned three top-10s in 2004 then suffered a sophomore season slump, finishing no higher than 19th in 2005.
Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., climbed from third into second place Saturday, earning $100,000 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 18-2. He caught five bass weighing 9-9 Friday then added five bass weighing 8-9 Saturday using a watermelon and green pumpkin finesse worm.
"This feels great," said Rose, who was making his fifth top-10 appearance in FLW Tour competition. "I hope the momentum carries over to Kentucky Lake."
Bounty pro Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., finished third and collected $50,000 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 17-3.
Rounding out the top five pros were Pedigree pro Jeffrey Thomas of Broadway, N.C. (six bass, 14-15, $40,000) and Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (eight bass, 12-3, $30,000).
Richard Strother, 62, of Tyler, Texas, captured the co-angler title and $40,000 Friday with three bass weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces. He caught two of his fish on a Spot Remover jig and a Zoom finesse worm, but it was his third fish that propelled him to the top of the leaderboard. He caught the bass on a Rat-L-Trap after it ripped free of a snag.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va. (five bass, 5-2, $20,000); Pamela Wood of Bono, Ark. (two bass, 4-2, $10,000); Chad Parks of Memphis (one bass, 3-3, $9,000) and Paul Addi of Las Vegas (one bass, 2-9, $8,000).
Overall, 46 bass weighing 77 pounds, 9 ounces, including eight five-bass limits, were caught Saturday by the 10 pro finalists.
The next FLW Tour stop will be a $900,000 tournament on Kentucky Lake in Benton, Ky., May 10-13. The final regular-season stop, a $900,000 tournament, runs June 21-24 on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, N.Y.