HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (May 28, 2010) – National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces Friday to capture the lead at the FLW Tour’s Chevy Open on Lake Ouachita and advanced to the top 5 as the crucial No. 1 seed. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 46-6, he now holds a 12-ounce lead in the tournament going into the final day of competition.
“I found them wolf-packing more than I have,” said Ehrler, who has won more than $1.4 million in FLW Outdoors competition. “That’s kind of been the key. I ran all new water and found a lot more fish today than I have. I don’t know. It’s just different.
“I started in an area where I knew there were some fish and I caught a limit with a big one early,” Ehrler added. “And that gave me the freedom to kind of expand on it and look around.”
Ehrler said Lake Ouachita is nothing like the western waters he’s used to, however, he managed to figure the fish out.
“I think (the fish) are post-spawn and they’re just kind of swimming around and the high water got them kind of running together,” Ehrler said. “In low water they’d probably be out on that deeper stuff more. I think with the high water it kind of got them to get on the bank. It’s kind of a fall deal. That’s kind of what they do in the fall is wolfpack up like that. It’s different than anything I’ve seen this time of year.”
Ehrler said his main pattern folded on the second day of competition and he was forced to make a change.
“It’s one of the hardest things to do is to change up when things aren’t going right,” Ehrler said. “You get stressed out. Not only do you get stressed out, you can’t think with an open mind. The biggest key to catching fish is having an open mind.”
Folgers pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., advanced to the final round of five pros in the No. 2 spot with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 45-10.
“I’ve got two or three bunches of schooling fish that have got 3 1/2- to 4 –pound largemouth in them,” said Suggs, who won the Forrest Wood Cup and $1 million on Lake Ouachita in 2007. “And they’ve not shown up all week. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get them to show up. I’ve started on them three mornings in a row and I’ve not had the first bite off of them yet.
“I’m starting on them in the morning,” Suggs added. “Because if they show up, it’ll be a big bag. But who knows? They haven’t shown up yet.”
Despite the absence of the schooling fish, Suggs said he wouldn’t change his strategy.
“It’s one of those deals where it’s a long run and the whole time you’re running you’re going, ‘Is it worth it? Is it worth it?’ Hopefully tomorrow they’ll show up. I’m not going to change a thing. I’m not changing anything. I’m fishing just like I have fished.”
Rounding out the top-5 pros and advancing to the final day’s competition are:
3rd: Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., 15 bass, 44-2
4th: Castrol pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 44-1
5th: Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., 15 bass, 42-2
The rest of the top-10 pros include some of the greatest anglers in the world, and they are:
6th: Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., 15 bass, 40-11, $15,350
7th: Roy Hawk, Salt Lake City, Utah, 15 bass, 40-7, $14,436
8th: Chevy pro Luke Clausen, Gainesville, Ga., 15 bass, 38-8, $13,523
9th: National Guard pro Tim Klinger, Boulder City, Nev., 14 bass, 37-9, $12,610
10th: Terry Bolton, Jonesboro, Ark., 14 bass, 37-6, $11,696
Overall there were 580 bass weighing 1,213 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 133 pros Friday. The catch included 94 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup which will be held Aug. 5-Aug. 8 at Lake Lanier in Atlanta, Ga., where they could win as much as $600,000 – the sport’s biggest award.
David Tierney of Fayetteville, Ark., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Friday with a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 1 ounce followed by Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky., in second place with 13 bass weighing 25-12 worth $9,098.
Tierney opened the tournament in 25th place Wednesday with three bass weighing 6-1 while fishing with pro Christian Romans of Carrolton, Ky. On Thursday, he jumped to first place on the strength of a four-bass catch weighing 18-7 while fishing with pro Mark Rouse of League City, Texas. He wrapped up the win Friday with a three-bass catch weighing 6-9 while fishing with pro Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla.
“This makes me feel great,” said Tierney, who now has two FLW Outdoors wins under his belt. “I’ve been wanting to win one of these forever, and it’s a dream come true.
“I’ve fished here for about 10 years quite a bit,” Tierney added. “It’s really been good to me in tournaments. I’m glad I could win it on this lake.”
Tierney said he caught his fish on the final day of competition flipping shallow bushes. He began the first day of competition flipping bushes, as well, but got the chance to fish grass on the second day. Tierney said he fished Zoom Brush Hogs, Zoom Speed Craws and Zara Spooks during the tournament.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Matt Peters, Gainesville, Ga., 12 bass, 24-6, $6,815
4th: Dakota Lucy, Ulm, Ark., 12 bass, 23-8, $4,532
5th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 10 bass, 22-9, $3,618
6th: Chuck Bellerby III, Croydon, Penn., nine bass, 22-6, $2,705
7th: Alan Hults, Gautier, Miss., 12 bass, 22-1, $2,248
8th: Kevin Hawk, Ramona, Calif., nine bass, 21-5, $1,792
9th: Steve Reed, Bonita, Calif., 13 bass, 21-2, $1,563
10th: Dereal Rodgers, Camden, S.C., nine bass, 20-13, $1,335
Overall there were 268 bass weighing 519 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 104 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 19 five-bass limits.
The remaining five pros will take off at 6:30 Saturday morning from Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa located at 994 Mountain Harbor Rd. in Mount Ida, Ark. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Hot Springs Convention Center located at 134 Convention Blvd. in Hot Springs beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at the Hot Springs Convention Center on Friday from 4-9 p.m. and Saturday prior to the final weigh-in from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The final weigh-in will be held at Summit Arena. There will be a drawing for a Can-Am ATV and rod and reel combos will be given to the first 300 kids under 14 in attendance on Saturday. The FLW Outdoors Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, 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. For a full schedule of events, additional information and to register for the ATV, visit FLWOutdoors.com/chevyopen.
Coverage of the Lake Ouachita tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air June 27 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.
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