On the first cast of his pro fishing
career Thursday morning, Casey Martin of New Market, Alabama, boated a
6-pounder. His co-angler did not even have enough time to get the net ready.
That cast gave Martin the momentum he needed throughout the day, as he now
leads the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Okeechobee presented by Mercury. A full
field of 174 of the world's best bass-fishing pros began the four-day
tournament Thursday fishing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
"My goal coming in to this tournament was just not to bomb out," said
Martin, a rookie pro who previously fished the FLW Tour as a co-angler.
"There is a lot of pressure coming in to your first event as a pro, and I
really didn't want to let anybody down. Practice was really tough, and I didn't
want everyone thinking that I couldn't make it as a pro. I knew that if I did
well in this event it would set the pace for the rest of the year."
Martin did very well Thursday, bringing a five-bass limit to the scales that
weighed 26 pounds, 12 ounces. He now holds a 2-pound, 12-ounce lead over Rick Cotten of Guntersville Ala., who brought 24 pounds even to
the stage.
"I had one good bite in practice; a 5- or 6-pounder," Martin said.
"So I decided to start there. This morning I pulled up to the area, and on
my first cast I caught a 6-pounder. I caught an early limit and had around 12
pounds, so I decided to start running. I knew that 12 pounds would keep me in
check range, so I ran around checking stuff that looked good."
Martin hit four or five different areas and burned through almost two whole
tanks of gas. He said he would get multiple bites from a spot, but only one big
bite. None of his fish were caught sight-fishing, although he did see some
smaller skittish bass that were not the right size he was looking for.
"I caught another big one around 6 pounds between 11 a.m. and noon,"
Martin continued. "Three of my big bass that I weighed in were around 6
pounds, and they all bit on different baits. I was throwing a little bit of everything."
Martin said he caught his first limit flipping, then moved around. His three
big fish came on a green-pumpkin-colored Z-Man Chatterbait, a bluegill-colored
Omega Custom Tackle swimjig and a jig he flipped.
"Florida is just a matter of getting the right bites," Martin went on
to say. "I'm glad that I was able to check on some new areas now that the
weather has warmed up a bit. I found a couple of good areas that I think they
might be coming to. If the right school moves in there, I may be able to get a
20-pound bag out of it. Tomorrow, I'm just looking for five of the right
bites."
The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Okeechobee are:
1st: Casey Martin, New Market, Ala., five bass, 26-12
2nd: Rick Cotten, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 24-0
3rd: Drew Benton, Panama City, Fla., five bass, 23-7
4th: Rich Dalbey, Greenville, Texas, five bass, 21-14
5th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass, 21-2
6th: Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., five bass,
20-7
7th: Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Sunrise Beach, Mo., five
bass, 20-2
8th: Keystone Light pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., five bass, 19-7
9th: Shad Schenck, Waynetown,
Ind., five bass, 18-8
10th: John Cox, Debary, Fla., five bass, 18-0
For a full list of results visit FLWOutdoors.com.
Hibdon won the 3M ScotchBlue
Big Bass Award on the pro side with a fish weighing 9-10 to win $500.
Overall there were 833 bass weighing 1,886 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 173 pros
Thursday. The catch included 157 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 2013 Forrest Wood Cup presented by
Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top 35 anglers in the
point standings from the six events on the 2013 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify.
The 2013 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Shreveport, La., Aug. 15-18 on the Red
River.
Justin Jones of Apex, N.C., leads the co-angler division with five bass
weighing 22-11 followed by Bill Cowart of Kissimmee, Fla., in second place with
five bass weighing 16-9.
The top 10 co-anglers are:
1st: Justin Jones, Apex, N.C., five bass, 22-11
2nd: Bill Cowart, Kissimmee, Fla., five bass, 16-9
3rd: Greg Scott, Dearborn, Mich., five bass, 15-8
4th: Matthew Surman, Orlando, Fla., five bass, 15-6
5th: Anthony Goggins, Auburn, Ala., five bass, 14-13
6th: Mike Boyles, Kimberling City, Mo., five bass, 14-9
7th: Ron Shearer, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 14-7
8th: Brendon Delaney, Highland, Ill., five bass, 14-3
9th: Wataru Iwahori,
Palestine, Texas, five bass, 12-14
10th: Ronnie Green, Tampa, Fla., five bass, 12-7
For a full list of results visit FLWOutdoors.com.
Jones also caught Thursday's 3M Peltor Big Bass
weighing 9-7 in the co-angler division to win $250.
Overall there were 648 bass weighing 1,196 pounds, 6 ounces caught by
co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 90 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable
points that could help them qualify for the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup presented by
Walmart. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six events on
the 2013 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify.
Anglers will take off from Roland & Mary Ann Martin's Marina & Resort
located at 920 E. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston, Fla., at 7:30 a.m. the first two
days of competition. On the last two days takeoff will be at the Clewiston Boat
Basin at 7:30 a.m. Friday's weigh-ins will also be held at Roland & Mary
Ann Martin's Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday's final weigh-ins
will be held at the Walmart located at 1005 W. Sugarland Highway in Clewiston
beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at the Walmart on Saturday and
Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes
Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers,
enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and
fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
All activities are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Lake Okeechobee tournament will be broadcast in high-definition
(HD) on NBC Sports Network when "FLW" airs April 7 from 11 a.m.-12
p.m. ET. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" is hosted by Jason Harper and is
broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most
widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.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 2013 over the course of 220 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 559 million households worldwide, making it the most
widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is
committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the "Best in
Fishing, On and Off the Water." For more information about FLW visit
FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest
and YouTube.
www.FLWOutdoors.com
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