JASPER, Ala., March 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fishing in
just his second event as a professional, FLW Tour rookie Zack Birge
of Blanchard, Oklahoma, brought a five-bass limit to the scale
Friday weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces to take the lead at the
Walmart FLW Tour at Lewis Smith Lake presented by Evinrude. With
less than six pounds separating first place from 10th
place, the tournament is still very much up for grabs as we enter
day three of the four-day event, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce
of Walker County, that features
154 of the best bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a
top cash award of up to $125,000.
Link to photo of pro leader Zack Birge
Birge's two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 13 ounces
gives him a scant 1-pound lead over day one leader Drew Benton of Panama
City, Florida, who brought five bass to the scale Friday
totaling 15-1, for a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 35-13.
"I didn't get my first good bite until around 11 a.m. today," said Birge, who is the reigning
Rayovac FLW Series champion. "The sun came out around noon and the
water temperature rose about three degrees. Then the fishing
gradually got better.
"I caught my first fish in about a foot of water on a frog, way
back in the bushes," Birge continued. "That's Oklahoma fishing, and that's what I'm
comfortable doing. I'm fishing shallow, flat pockets and flooded
bushes.
"I'm throwing a Santone Lures buzzbait and a frog and bouncing
back and forth between them. Yesterday they were tearing up the
frog, but today they wouldn't really touch it. I stopped at a creek
today where I had caught some fish yesterday on the frog, but I
didn't get bit. Something didn't feel right, so I went back through
with a buzzbait and ended up catching eight keepers."
Birge said that he caught around 10 keepers Friday, and his
five-bass limit that he brought to the scale consisted entirely of
largemouth.
"Tomorrow I'm going to go and try to catch five spotted bass in
the morning and try to take some of the pressure off," Birge went
on to say. "Then, hopefully the sun will come back up and warm the
water up a little bit. I'm going to have three rods on my deck
tomorrow – a buzzbait, a frog and a drop-shot rig. I hope I can get
a few largemouth bites later in the day."
The top 20 pros that made the Buck Knives Cut and will fish
Saturday on Lewis Smith Lake are:
1st:
Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 36-13
2nd:
Drew Benton, Panama City, Fla., 10 bass, 35-13
3rd:
Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 33-8
4th:
Tracy Adams, Wilkesboro, N.C., 10 bass, 31-12
5th:
Scott Wiley, Bay Minette, Ala., 10 bass, 31-10
6th:
Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., 10 bass, 31-7
7th:
Clayton Batts, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 31-6
8th:
Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 31-6
9th:
Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 30-15
10th:
Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan,
Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-14
11th:
Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 30-6
12th:
Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 10 bass, 30-6
13th:
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 10 bass, 29-12
14th:
Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 10 bass, 29-11
15th: Quaker
State pro Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 29-10
16th: Walmart
pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 29-9
17th:
Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 29-9
18th:
Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-5
19th"
Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 29-5
20th:
John Cox, Debary, Fla., 10 bass, 29-4
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Dalton Cooksey of New Concord, Kentucky, won the Bridgford Big
Bass Award on the pro side Friday with a bass weighing 7 pounds, 15
ounces to win the $500 prize.
Overall there were 742 bass weighing 1,715 pounds, 15 ounces
caught by 153 pros Friday. The catch included 141 five-bass
limits.
Brad Roberts of Faubush, Kentucky, won the co-angler division
and $20,000 Friday with a two-day
total of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 1 ounce, followed by hometown
angler Todd Lee of Jasper, Alabama, in second place with 10 bass
weighing 26 pounds, 12 ounces worth $7,500.
"Fishing this tournament was a really great experience," said
Roberts. "To come down to Alabama
and get a win here against these great anglers really means a lot
to me. This feels awesome."
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st:
Brad Roberts, Faubush, Ky., 10 bass, 32-1, $20,000
2nd:
Todd Lee, Jasper, Ala., 10 bass, 26-12, $7,500
3rd:
Cody Hammontree, Flat Rock, Ala., 10 bass, 23-13, $5,000
4th:
Lee Black, Danville, Ala., 10 bass, 23-5, $4,000
5th:
Nick Thliveros, St. Augustine, Fla., 10 bass, 22-11,
$3,000
6th:
John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 21-14, $2,500
7th:
Mike Devere, Berea, Ky., 20-15, nine bass, 20-15,
$2,000
8th:
Casey Laughlin, Rowlett, Texas, 10 bass, 20-9, $1,800
9th:
Jimmy Kowalski, Lake Placid, Fla., 10 bass, 20-5, $1,700
10th:
Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 19-11, $1,600
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Roberts also caught Friday's Bridgford Big Bass in the co-angler
division weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces to win the $250 prize.
Overall there were 541 bass weighing 958 pounds, 10 ounces
caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 69 five-bass
limits.
In addition to casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to
$25,000 cash in the co-angler
division, anglers are also competing for valuable points in hopes
of qualifying for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship
of bass fishing. The 2015 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 20-23 on Lake Ouachita and is hosted by
Visit Hot Springs. The Forrest Wood Cup Champion could win as much
as $500,000 – professional
bass-fishing's richest prize.
Anglers will take off from Smith Lake Dam Access located at 7482
Smith Lake Dam Road in Jasper at
7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday and Sunday's final weigh-ins will be held at the Smith
Lake Dam Access beginning at 4
p.m.
Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo on Saturday and Sunday
from noon to 4 p.m. at the Smith Lake
Dam Access prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes a Ranger
boat simulator, the opportunity to interact with professional
anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided
by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other
outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the
public.
In conjunction with the FLW Expo, the FLW "Get Outdoors.
Go Fish!" Youth Fishing Derby will
also be held at Smith Lake Dam Access on Saturday from noon –
3 p.m. The derby is free and open to
area youth 15 years of age and younger. FLW Tour pros who are not
one of the top 20 anglers that make the Buck Knives Cut will be on
hand to assist the youth. Pros Rich
Dalbey and Todd Hollowell's
"Hooked on Helping" foundation will also be hosting a food drive to
benefit the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama and Feed My Sheep Ministries.
FLW fans who donate five or more cans of food will be entered to
win a $50 Walmart gift card.
Coverage of the Lewis Smith Lake tournament will be broadcast in
high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) October 5 from 7 p.m.-8
p.m. EST when Season 20 of "FLW" returns this fall. The
Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit
Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than
564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely
distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the
world.
For complete details and updated information visit
FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and
more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on
Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry's premier
tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill
levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money
nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five
tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport's
richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest
Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated
"FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million
households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly
outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information
about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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SOURCE FLW