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Updated: 08/14/04
$500,000 JOURNEY BEGINS AT FLW TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Aug. 11, 2004) – The two heaviest weights from opening
day of the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship came out of one
bracket, as No. 26 seed Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash., hauled in a five-bass
limit weighing 14 pounds, 4 ounces to top his opening-round opponent, 7UP
pro and No. 23 seed Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind., who weighed in a hefty
13-pound, 14-ounce limit.
The four-day tournament began Wednesday and will
conclude Saturday with the winning pro walking away $500,000 richer. The
top 48 anglers from the six-event 2004 Wal-Mart FLW Tour advanced to the
championship, the most lucrative bass tournament in the history of the
sport. Anglers were seeded according to their year-end ranking, with the
No. 1 pro fishing head-to-head against the No. 48 seed, the No. 2 seed
fishing against the No. 47 seed, and so on.
Weights were sporadic throughout the pro field Wednesday,
with several anglers topping the 10-pound mark but several more faltering
slightly with much lower weights. The Clausen-Schenck matchup was the last
of the 24 duos to weigh in and produced the tournament’s stoutest competition.
“I think it was tough for everybody,” said Clausen,
an FLW Tour rookie. “Everybody expected to catch more than they did, and
it was tough to get what I got. I caught probably 25 keepers but only five
good ones.”
Clausen said he caught his bass on a top-water,
using light line and finesse baits. Hailing far from Alabama, Clausen believes
his home-lake “disadvantage” played right into his hands. “Bass are the
same everywhere,” he said. “I think it’s easier on guys who have never
been here, because we don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing. There’s
no letting up tomorrow when Shad and I are 6 ounces apart. There are a
lot of brackets we could have been in where we wouldn’t have to catch hardly
anything tomorrow.”
2004 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year and No. 1 seed
Shinichi Fukae of Osaka, Japan, brought in an 8-pound, 1-ounce limit to
fall more than 2 pounds shy of his opponent, BFGoodrich Tires pro and No.
48 seed Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich. “He’s awesome – probably the best
in the world – but I’m going to do my best and just go fishing,” said Grigsby,
whose five-bass limit Wednesday weighed 10 pounds, 4 ounces. Fukae said
he expects perfection from himself in tomorrow’s competition.
Also falling behind is Bassmaster Classic champion
Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas, the No. 11 seed. Omori brought in five
bass that weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce but fell behind No. 38 seed Mark Rose
of Marion, Ark., whose Wednesday limit weighed in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces.
“Every day I fish is a good day,” Omori said. “I did the best I can, and
I’ll do my best tomorrow.” If he can shrink the deficit and overcome Rose,
Omori will be in a position to unite the sport’s two most prestigious bass-fishing
titles.
“He’s still got one more day, and he’s on a roll,”
Rose said. “The Lord blessed me with a limit today. If he beats me, he
beats me.”
Local pro Todd Ary of Birmingham, a member of Team
Tyson and the No. 47 seed, barely bested his opening-round opponent, Yamaha
pro and No. 2 seed Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La. Ary’s four-bass catch
of 7 pounds, 14 ounces was enough to top Hackney’s limit by a mere 9 ounces.
Hackney is riding the heels of a stellar season on both the FLW Tour and
the Bassmaster Tour, finishing second in both circuit’s year-end points
standings.
“I’m fishing against the hottest angler in the world,
and it messed with my head; I’m not going to lie,” Ary said. “I lost three
or four but I settled down.”
Alabama pro Matt Herren of Trussville, the No. 9
seed, holds a 3-pound, 15 ounce lead over No. 40 seed Jacob Powroznik of
Prince George, Va. Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, however, is 11 ounces
behind Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa.
The day’s biggest lead within a bracket belongs
to rookie Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., the No. 27 seed who currently leads
No. 22 seed Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., by 9 pounds. The slimmest
lead is between Fuji pro and No. 18 seed Randy Blaukat of Lamar, Mo., and
Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. Blaukat, with 9 pounds, 13 ounces,
leads Gagliardi by a mere 3 ounces.
On the co-angler side, Greg Gulledge of Monticello,
Ark., leads with a commanding 15-pound, 11-ounce limit, the best catch
of the tournament. The 48 co-anglers compete against their entire field,
with the top 24 advancing after day two. Co-angler competition concludes
Friday with the winner taking home $25,000 cash.
“It’s been an awesome day – just unreal,” said Gulledge,
the No. 2-ranked co-angler of 2004. “My practice wasn’t all that good,
but all I need is a good tournament day.” Gulledge caught his tournament-leading
stringer – one that included a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass – flipping a jig.
Competitors take off from the Pell City Lakeside
Park, located at 2801 Stemley Bridge Road in Pell City, at 7 each morning,
and daily weigh-ins begin at 5 p.m. at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention
Complex. In conjunction with the championship is a world-class boat and
outdoor show featuring more than 140 exhibits and free daily giveaways,
including hats and T-shirts, tackle kits, tackle boxes, and rods and reels,
at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The outdoor show runs 2
to 8 p.m. Aug. 12, noon to 9 p.m. Aug. 13, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 14.
One lucky person attending Friday’s semifinal-round weigh-in will win the
newly unveiled Ranger Z-Series Comanche powered by Yamaha, and one lucky
fan attending Saturday’s final weigh-in will win a NASCAR Limited Series
Ranger 521VX Comanche powered by Evinrude courtesy of The Birmingham News
and Birmingham Post-Herald.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies
support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has
been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list
of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products
and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com.
Day One Notes:
* Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. – defending Wal-Mart FLW
Tour Championship winner – weighed in 3 pounds, 12 ounces on day one to
trail Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas, by 4 pounds, 7 ounces. “I’ve been
a professional fisherman for nine years, and this is the worst day I’ve
ever had,” he said.
* Stratos pro Ricky Shumpert of Lexington, S.C., also had a tough day
on the water, weighing in 3 pounds, 14 ounces. Shumpert got off to a bad
start shortly after takeoff. In the process of setting the hook on a bass,
the hook popped loose and his tungsten weight shot out of the water and
hit him in the mouth. Shumpert suffered a broken tooth.
* Local favorite Matt Herren of Trussville weighed in 9 pounds, 5 ounces
to lead his first-round opponent, Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va.,
by nearly 4 pounds. Herren, however, almost didn’t make it back to check-in.
He had battery problems, and Yamaha pro Dean Rojas gave Herren and his
co-angler a ride back to the ramp.
* Evinrude pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., caught a respectable
10 pounds, 8 ounces on day one. Walker’s co-angler, Greg Gulledge of Monticello,
Ark., really put on a show. He caught a tournament-leading 15-pound, 11-ounce
limit.
* Of the 24 brackets in the Pro Division, 13 brackets are led by the
lower seed.
* The two top weights in the Pro Division belonged to 7UP pro Shad
Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. (13 pounds, 14 ounces) and Luke Clausen of Spokane,
Wash. (14 pounds, 4 ounces). They are first-round opponents.
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