Youngs Leads Walmart FLW Tour Event on Kentucky & Barkley Lakes
Category: press release
Jun 13th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 13th, 2009 at 12:00 AM
MURRAY, Ky. (June 13, 2009) – David Young of Mayfield, Ky., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to capture the lead in a top-10 field that includes some of the greatest anglers in the world. Young now holds a 9-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Team Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., heading into the final day of competition in the Walmart FLW Tour event on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes. If he holds on for the win, Young will pocket $125,000.
“I’m feeling real good,” said Young, who has posted 37 top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events. “I have some areas I haven’t even been to yet. A couple of those areas I caught them really good in practice. If those fish are still there it could be real good. You know fishing. Anybody could go out and catch 12 pounds or 20 pounds. And these guys could go out and catch a 28-pound sack on this lake today. You have to go out tomorrow and see what you can do and see how it finishes up.”
Young said he had only one fish at 10 a.m. and he relied on a later bite that is related to current. Young said he has been rotating baits between a big worm, a jig, a crankbait and a spoon. He said he couldn’t get an early bite on fast baits like crankbaits and spoons, so he slowed down with a worm and had better success. Young said he targeted ledges 17 to 24 feet deep with the boat sitting in 40 feet of water in both bays and in the river.
“I have one place that is absolutely awesome, and I haven’t been to it yet,” Young said. “More than likely I will go there tomorrow.”
Nixon remained tight-lipped about his methods for the third day in a row, although he did rule out crankbait fishing.
“I’m fishing deep,” Nixon said. “Everybody’s fishing ledges in 18 to 22 feet of water and everybody’s kind of got their own bait and own lure going.
“I’ve got two or three areas that have some good fish in them, and if they’ll hold up until tomorrow, I’ll be alright,” Nixon added.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Travis Fox of Springdale, Ark. (five bass, 17-15); Team Land O’Lakes pro Keith Williams of Conway, Ark. (five bass, 17-13); Mark Rose of Marion, Ark. (five bass, 14-0); Kenneth Woods of Hazard, Ky. (five bass, 13-12); Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo. (five bass, 13-3); Team PTSI pro Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. (three bass, 12-13); Team Land O’Lakes pro Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn. (five bass, 12-12) and Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla. (five bass, 11-7).
Overall there were 48 bass weighing 152 pounds, 10 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included nine five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol and BP, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa., where they could win as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
Brandon Hunter of Benton, Ky., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Saturday in front of his hometown crowd with a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 11 ounces followed by Frank Divis, Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark., in second place with five bass weighing 18-0 worth $10,000.
Hunter opened the tournament in eleventh place Thursday with five bass weighing 16-4 while fishing with Team Pop-Tarts pro Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark. On Friday he advanced to seventh place with a five-bass catch weighing 14-8 while fishing with Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Ga. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Land O’Lakes pro Keith Williams of Conway, Ark.
“We got to do what I love to do, and that’s fish a big worm on this lake,” said Hunter, who is fishing in his second season of FLW Tour competition. “I live on the north end of the lake and I got to see water I’ve never seen before. It’s a lot different. The quality of fish is so much better down there.”
Hunter said he had a limit by 10:30 and caught a total of six keepers throughout the course of the day. Hunter’s rig consisted of a 5/16-ounce bullet weight and a plum-colored Berkley PowerWorm Texas rigged on 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon.
“It’s tough to make a living as a co-angler, but this is just a learning experience for me,” said Hunter. “If you catch them, that’s just a bonus. It’s awesome to be able to win one of these.
“I really thought I’d have to cull another fish and catch another 3- or 4-pounder to get it done, but it turns out I didn’t,” Hunter added.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Dirk Davenport of Delaware, Ohio (five bass, 12-12 , $7,500); Scott Gibson of Wiggins, Miss. (five bass, 12-10, $5,000); Mark Horton of Nicholasville, Ky. (five bass, 11-10, $4,000); Chuck Lee of South Bend, Ind. (five bass, 10-5 , $3,500); Shawn Murphy of Nicholasville, Ky. (three bass, 10-3 , $3,000); Larry Carter of Little Rock, Ark. (four bass, 10-0 , $2,500); Rodney Brown of Eddyville, Ky. (one bass, 3-10 , $2,000) and Matt Hoffman of Cold Spring, Ky. (zero bass, 0-0 , $1,500).
Overall there were 38 bass weighing 108 pounds, 13 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included six five-bass limits.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 Sunday morning from Kenlake State Park Marina located at 542 Ken-Lake Rd. in Hardin, followed by a 4 p.m. weigh-in at the Regional Special Events Center at Murray State University located at 1401 State Route 121 North in Murray, Ky.
In conjunction with the weigh-in Sunday, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the Regional Special Events Center at Murray State University beginning at noon each day. The Family Fun Zone offers fans a chance to meet their Fantasy Fishing team anglers face-to-face and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other sponsors while children are treated to giveaways, fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. Kentucky native Kimberly Blair will perform a free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, and children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone will receive a free rod and reel combo while supplies last. One lucky member of the audience will even win a new Ranger boat during the final 4 p.m. weigh-in Sunday, June 14. Admission is free, and you must be present to win.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Saturday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Coverage of the Kentucky/Barkley Lakes tournament, hosted by the Marshall County Tourist Commission and the Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air Aug. 2 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
The FLW Tour will award more than $8 million cash to the world’s top bass anglers in 2009. Regular season competition includes three qualifiers and three opens. Each event takes anglers a step closer to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by Visit Pittsburgh will feature 77 pros, 77 co-anglers and bass fishing’s largest cash award – a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.