ROGERS, Ark., (April 5, 2006) - Under looming storm clouds and intermittent rain Wednesday, a majority of the 200 pros fishing the Open bass fishing tournament on Beaver Lake headed straight for wind-swept main-lake points in search of five heavy-weight bass that would take them a step closer to the tournament's top award of $200,000. The man leading that charge at the end of the day was Team Pedigree pro Jeffrey Thomas of Broadway, N.C., who caught a limit weighing 16 pounds, 10 ounces.
The impressive opening-day catch came from a variety of cover and structure, with no single pattern dominating Thomas' day.
"I'm not just here for points, I'm here to win," said Thomas, an FLW Outdoors tournament veteran who has earned 11 top-10 finishes since 1995. "I covered a lot of water fishing anything that looked like it would hold a fish. I used crankbaits. I flipped. I threw a spinner bait. Whatever bait the cover or structure dictated, I used."
Fishing for the newly formed Team Gain, Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., used a technique that has dominated past Opens - sight fishing - to finish second with a limit weighing 15-13. Sight fishing wasn't supposed to be a factor in this year's tournament because foul weather was keeping fish deep and off the beds, but Kreiger, a renowned sight fisherman, made the technique work despite the conditions.
"I had a great day," Kreiger said. "I was up shallow in clear water fishing for cruising bass. I saw every fish I caught."
Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas, finished third with five bass weighing 15-11.
Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., brought in a limit of largemouths weighing 15-9 for a solid fourth-place showing. "I got lucky," said Powers, who finished second at the 2004 Open. "Whenever you catch five largemouth bass over 15 inches in a single day on Beaver Lake, it's luck."
Luck or not, Power's limit helped him earn the "Tyson Powerboat of the Day" award along with his partner, co-angler Ben Pitts of Pea Ridge, Ark. The award goes to the pro and co-angler who weigh the heaviest combined catch. Both men received $500 thanks to a combined catch of 10 bass weighing 24-4.
Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., rounded out the top five pros with five bass weighing 14-8.
Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan., landed the day's Big Bass award and $750 in the Pro Division with a 5-pound, 9-ounce largemouth.
Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., and Chad Parks of Memphis share the Co-angler Division lead with five bass limits weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Paul Addi of Las Vegas (five bass, 9-15); Todd Lowe of Greensboro, Ga. (four bass, 9-5) and Richard Strother of Tyler, Texas (five bass, 9-4).
In another tie on the Co-angler Division, Addi and Johnny Taylor of Kodak, Tenn., split the day's Snickers Big Bass award. Each of the men weighed in a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass and collected $166.67.
Overall, 1,263 bass weighing 1,985 pounds, 10 ounces were caught Wednesday, including 153 five-bass limits.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. each morning from the Prairie Creek Marina. Thursday's weigh-in will also be held at Prairie Creek Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd. in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m. Following Friday's weigh-in, fans are invited to a free concert featuring country singing sensation Mark Wills.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
Pros are competing for $200,000 cash and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in Birmingham, Ala., for a shot at $500,000 cash - the sport's biggest award. Two hundred co-anglers are competing for a top award of $40,000 cash and a trip to the championship. Overall, 37 states, Japan and Canada are represented.
Anglers compete in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday's competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday's weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.