ZAPATA, Texas (Nov. 21, 2008) – Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., the No. 16 seed from the BP Eastern Division, easily out-fished his opponent, John Billheimer Jr. of Discovery Bay, Calif., the No. 15 seed from the National Guard Western Division, on Friday to lead day two of the Walmart FLW Series® East-West Fish-Off on Falcon Lake. Hackney’s five-bass limit weighing 39 pounds, 11 ounces set a new single-day weight record for FLW Outdoors.
“It was an incredible day,” said Hackney, who was the 2005 FLW Tour Land O’ Lakes Angler of the Year. “I caught a 9-pounder and an 11-pounder on back-to-back casts. It is the best lake in the country and I have been a lot of places.
“The wind was really making it hard to fish today. It was taking me a long time to get lined up on the goods. Every time I would get lined up I would catch one.” Hackney said that he is not getting a lot of bites but when he does the fish will range from 5 to 10 pounds. He caught a total of 10 keepers today.
“The areas that I am fishing are two different depth levels but the same exact structure,” he added. “I only have three or four spots and today I fished three of them. The nasty weather today really turned the big bite on. When you have a lake like Falcon Lake 50 pounds is possible because there are so many big fish.
“My main goal here was to make the Forrest Wood Cup and it looks like I have so tomorrow I plan on going fishing and having fun. We will see what happens as far as taking home the money.” Hackney leads Billheimer 71-11 (10 bass) to 7-2 (three bass) with one day remaining. With Hackney’s record day of fishing he will advance to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in Pittsburgh, Pa., for a shot at winning $1 million – the sport’s biggest award – July 30-Aug. 2.
In another much-anticipated match-up, Kellogg’s pro and No. 25 Eastern Division seed Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, is facing National Guard pro and No. 6 Western Division seed Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif. With two days down, Ehrler holds a 22-pound, 5-ounce lead over Tutt with 10 bass weighing 44-8 compared to seven bass weighing 22-05.
“I am ready to go fishing tomorrow and see what I can do,” Tutt said. “I have a lot of ground to make up but this lake is a great fishery. I think I might still have a chance. We will find out tomorrow.”
Castrol pro and No. 30 Eastern Division seed David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va.., won the 2008 Walmart FLW Tour Land O’ Lakes Angler of the Year award, and he is hoping to eliminate No. 1 Western Division seed Ken Wick of Star Idaho. Wick, who won the 2008 FLW Series National Guard Western Division Land O’ Lakes Angler of the Year, is looking to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 49-04 to Dudley’s 10 bass weighing 39-14.
Overall Eastern Division pros lead their Western Division counterparts 18-12.
On Friday there were 233 bass weighing 1,041 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the 60 pros. The catch included 35 five-bass limits.
On the co-angler side, Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind., topped the field Friday with three-bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces for a two-day total of eight bass weighing 40 pounds, 9 ounces. Fabiszak holds a 3-pound, 12-ounce lead over his closet competitor, Mike Iloski of Escondido, Calif., who owns a two-day total of nine bass weighing 36-13.
“I am really excited to even be here,” Iloski said. “It’s one of the best lakes that I have ever fished; I am really looking forward to tomorrow.
“I have been close to winning before, but tomorrow I am ready to seal the deal and win this.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Greig Sniffen of Saratoga, Calif. (nine bass, 36-04); Masayuki Matsushita of Aichi, Japan (10 bass, 33-00) and Troy Crawford of Phoenix, Ariz. (nine bass, 32-02).
Overall there were 146 bass weighing 512 pounds, 7 ounces caught by the 49 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 11 five-bass limits.
The winners of the head-to-head match-ups in the Pro Division will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup along with the top 30 co-anglers based on accumulated weight during the three-day Fish-Off. The pro with the heaviest overall weight will also earn $25,000, and the co-angler with the heaviest overall weight will earn $5,000.
Anglers will take off at 7 Saturday morning from the Zapata County Park & Public Boat Ramp. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The entire field competes all three days with the winner of each head-to-head matchup in the Pro Division determined by the heaviest total weight from all three days. These 30 winners will advance to the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup. In the Co-angler Division, the top 30 competitors based on total weight will advance to the Forrest Wood Cup. With a total purse of $2 million, including as much as $1 million going to the winning pro, and a world-class outdoor show, the Forrest Wood Cup is bass-fishing’s crown jewel.
The 2008 Walmart FLW Series Fish-Off will be the final one as the format to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup in 2010 has changed. The top 20 pros and co-anglers from the FLW Series BP Eastern Division and National Guard Western Division will advance directly to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup for a shot at winning $1 million, the sport’s largest award. Coverage of the FLW Series Fish-Off hosted by the Zapata County Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Center will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits. FLW Outdoors also took fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million in cash and prizes.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
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