Team Yamaha pro Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to capture the lead in a top-10 field that includes some of the greatest anglers in the world. Davis now holds a sturdy 7-pound, 14-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, heading into the final day of competition in the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event presented by BP on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes. If he holds on for the win, Davis will pocket $100,000.
“Today was the big day I needed,” said Davis, who has amassed nearly $1.5 million in career winnings between the BASS and FLW tours. He also weighed in the tournament’s second-heaviest limit. “I think I have the potential to win this. I am around some really good fish. I was extremely lucky to catch that 6-pounder today. Everything seems to be going as planned.
“Even with this good lead going into the final day, one can never feel too comfortable competing against the caliber of fishermen who are still in this. I could go out and blank tomorrow. This thing is far from over,” Davis said. “My plan for tomorrow is to fish the conditions. If the weather changes like it is forecast, and the wind blows all day, it’s going to hurt me. I need a few hours early in the morning of calm winds to catch my fish. I feel like I am going to need at least 12 pounds tomorrow to win this.”
Davis has been working bedding areas, sight-fishing for prespawn bass with a combination of swimbaits and wacky worms.
Yelas, the FLW Tour’s Land O’Lakes angler of the year in 2002, caught four fish weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.
“I made a run at it today,” said Yelas, who has been sight-fishing most of the week. “Davis has us by nearly 8 pounds, but I’m going to do my best to catch him. He is one of my best friends on tour, so if I can’t win it, I’ll be happy to see him win.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa. (five bass, 11-6); Land O’Lakes pro Keith Williams of Conway, Ark. (five bass, 10-15); Harmon Davis of Marlow, Okla. (five bass, 10-3); Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (five bass, 9-15); National Guard pro Derek Jones of Chicago, Ill. (three bass, 9-8); M&M’s pro John Sappington of Willard, Mo. (five bass, 8-15); BP pro Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas (five bass, 7-12) and Thanh Le of Las Vegas (four bass, 6-2).
“I had a lot tougher day today,” said Jones, who led the tournament Friday. “The fish today seemed really spooky. I’m just going to go back out there and try it again. I think there are still some good fish in my area, and if the weather holds, I think I can catch them tomorrow. If I have a good bag, I might still have a shot at this.”
Overall there were 46 bass weighing 106 pounds, 8 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included seven five-bass limits.
Terry Chapman of Stanley, N.C., won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 Saturday with a five bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces followed by Land O’Lakes co-angler Aaron McManaway of Altamont, Ill., in second place with four bass weighing 7-1 worth $10,000.
Chapman opened the tournament in 39th place Thursday with two bass weighing 4-3 while fishing with pro Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich. On Friday he jumped to ninth place on the strength of a three-bass catch weighing 7-10 while fishing with pro Katsutoshi Furuswa of Tokyo. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Williams.
“This is great,” said Chapman, who now has two FLW Tour victories as a co-angler. “It has been a while since I have made a top-10. We fished some points really close to the dam today because Keith thought he had exhausted his area. This new pattern was a co-anglers dream. There was a lot of open-water and easy fishing. I only had five fish today, and luckily they were the right ones. I’m going to go home and put this money in the bank and keep fishing.”
Chapman was throwing a combination of a ChatterBait, spinnerbait and wake baits to catch his fish all week.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are David Hudson of Jasper, Ala. (three bass, 5-5, $9,000); Ryan Valentine of Jonesboro, Ga. (one bass, 4-3, $8,000); J.B. Young of Deer Park, Texas (one bass, 4-2, $7,000); Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas (two bass, 3-15, $6,000); Eddie Griggs of Richmond, Va. (one bass, 1-11, $5,000); Thomas Helton of Charleston, Tenn. (one bass, 13 ounces, $4,000); John Barrett of Fayetteville, N.C. (zero bass, $3,000) and Kevin Olivet of Greenback, Tenn. (zero bass, $2,000).
Overall there were 18 bass weighing 36 pounds, 8 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limit.
Anglers will take off at 7 Sunday morning from the Tellico Recreational Area Ramp. Sunday’s weigh-in will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center located at 701 Henley St. in Knoxville beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the final weigh-in Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Knoxville Convention Center from noon to 4 p.m. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 300 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will receive a free rod and reel combo from WIVK-FM 107.7.
Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on April 29 and May 6 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $43 million through 241 events in 2007.