2009 Forrest Wood Cup

Will a relative no-name non tour pro pull it off? Going into Day 4 the no-names are stacked up 1 2 3, so there is a pretty good chance it could happen. Personally I am rooting for Lefebre, but it will probably take an almost 9 pound bag for him to come from behind and take it.

Update: And the winner is Greg Hackney!!!

This means they are only giving out $500,000 rather than the million.

Also of note is that Ike finished 2nd, just as he did in the Classic this year.

FLW Tour Champlain Day Final

Clark Wendlandt wins his 3rd Angler of the Year Title

Scott Martin Wins the tounament.

Can't say I'm surprized by either result.

Good Job to them both!!!

FLW Tour Champlain Day 3

The fishing got tougher today. Luke Clausen didn't even get a limit, but Clark Wendlandt didn't bury him like he had the opportunity to do. Scott Martin who is in the lead is my only guy in the Top 10 but I didn't pick him to win so those serious triple bonus points are not coming my way.

Here are the standings:
1 SCOTT MARTIN CLEWISTON, FL 5 19-02 5 16-11 10 35-13 5 18-08 5 18-08
2 KYLE MABREY MCCALLA, AL 5 15-12 5 20-10 10 36-06 5 16-04 5 16-04
3 GREG PUGH CULLMAN, AL 5 18-11 5 18-12 10 37-07 5 14-12 5 14-12
4 JAY YELAS CORVALLIS, OR 5 16-11 5 19-11 10 36-06 5 14-05 5 14-05
5 ANTHONY GAGLIARDI PROSPERITY, SC 5 18-01 5 17-03 10 35-04 4 13-13 4 13-13
6 MARK HARDIN JASPER, GA 5 22-02 5 17-12 10 39-14 5 13-01 5 13-01
7 CLARK WENDLANDT LEANDER, TX 5 17-14 5 19-00 10 36-14 5 12-12 5 12-12
8 DAVE LEFEBRE UNION CITY, PA 5 17-10 5 19-04 10 36-14 5 12-05 5 12-05
9 MIKE HAWKES SABINAL, TX 5 17-06 5 21-05 10 38-11 5 11-01 5 11-01
10 LUKE CLAUSEN GAINESVILLE, GA 5 18-15 5 19-06 10 38-05 4 7-01 4 7-01
11 CHARLES SIM OTTAWA, ON 5 17-06 5 17-14 10 35-04

I would say it's a pretty good bet that Martin is going to win it, but you never know because 20lb plus bags are out there.

FLW Tour Champlain Day 2

My FLW fantasy fishing season has for practical purposes come to an end. Scott Martin was my only angler at Champlain in the Top 10. I would definitely consider my results this year to be sub-par. I got off to an OK start but I didn't do anything at all in the last 3 tournaments. I have yet to crack the prizes in the new FLW Fantasy Fishing Game and who knows if they will keep things insane for next year.

Of Note: It will be a shoot out for FLW Angler of the Year with Clark Wendlandt and Luke Clausen both making the 10 Cut. Brent Ehrler made a come back today but ended up just a little short. I would have to say that Wendlandt is the favorite at this point because of his success and experience at Champlain. However Luke has proven he can be a closer when the biggest titles in the sport are on the line. Should be a good couple of days.

FLW Tour Champlain Day 1

Well it's the last chance for FLW Fantasy Fishing glory and I am not off to the kind of start I would like.

Tharp 87th
Kenney 82nd
Walker 54th
Morgan 58th
Canterbury 130th
Martin 5th
D. Hibdon 80th
Baumgardner 10th
Gluszek 2nd
Fukae 72nd

I went heavy with largemouth guys and it is going to take 1 serious bag to get Tharp in the Top 10; It's not outside the realm of possibility because there was only 1 giant bag on Day 1.

Here is the Top 10 on Day 1 In parentheses is weight above the cut.
1. Mark Hardin: 22-02 (4-01)
2. Pete Gluszek: 19-12 (1-11)
3. Jeremiah Kindy: 19-05 (1-04)
4. David Fritts: 19-05 (1-04)
5. Scott Martin: 19-02 (1-01)
6. Luke Clausen: 18-15 (0-14)
7. Alvin Shaw: 18-14 (0-13)
8. Greg Pugh: 18-11 (0-10)
9. Tracy Adams: 18-03 (0-02)
10. Anthony Gagliardi: 18-01
10. Anthony Gagliardi: 18-01
10. Koby Kreiger: 18-01

It is disappointing to see Jim Moynagh way down in 139th place.

Will Keith Williams do it?

FLW Tour Kentucky Lake:

FLW's on the water coverage is indicating that Land O Lakes Pro Keith Williams has the makings of a really big sack today. As that Keith is 1 of 3 FLW Tour Pro's I've fished with, I hope he does it!!!

Update:

He does it!!! Keith gets the win by 2lbs 6ozs on the back of a Kentucky Lake 9lb Monster. Today was a true example of "when it's your time, it will happen."

Congratulations Keith!!!

FLW Kentucky Lake Day 2

FLW is indeed doing on the water coverage with a couple of their reporters. It may not be much, but it is something.

FLW Kentucky Lake Day 1

BassFan is reporting that FLW intends to up their tournament coverage with "on-the-water updates and blogs."

Interesting...

FLW Tour Beaver Lake Final Results

Ray Scheide wins!!!

1 RAY SCHEIDE DOVER, AR 5 11-07 5 10-09 10 22-00 5 8-13 5 12-04 10 21-01 $150,000
+$50,000 (Ranger Boat Bonus)
2 MARK ROSE MARION, AR 5 13-00 5 9-11 10 22-11 5 11-00 5 8-13 10 19-13 $55,000
3 CLARK WENDLANDT LEANDER, TX 5 7-08 5 15-06 10 22-14 4 5-00 5 14-12 9 19-12 $45,000
4 JASON CHRISTIE PARK HILL, OK 5 11-08 4 11-12 9 23-04 5 12-15 3 5-12 8 18-11 $35,000
5 KEITH COMBS DEL RIO, TX 5 9-08 5 11-13 10 21-05 5 6-04 5 10-10 10 16-14 $30,000
6 JAY YELAS CORVALLIS, OR 4 10-00 5 12-08 9 22-08 3 8-03 5 8-01 8 16-04 $28,000
7 GABE BOLIVAR RAMONA, CA 5 11-11 5 9-09 10 21-04 5 9-15 3 6-02 8 16-01 $26,000
8 GLENN BROWNE OCALA, FL 5 10-15 5 12-04 10 23-03 5 7-03 4 6-07 9 13-10 $24,000
9 ROB KILBY HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 12-03 5 9-05 10 21-08 5 6-07 5 6-15 10 13-06 $22,000
10 BRENT EHRLER REDLANDS, CA 5 10-13 5 13-09 10 24-06 5 7-01 3 5-02 8 12-03

FLW Tour Beaver Lake Day 2

2 Jump in 2 flop out, that is the story of my FLW Fantasy Fishing roster today.

I had Yelas jump from 31st to 6th and Wendlandt with the jump of the day from 100 to 4th.

On the down side Fukae went from 8th to 17th and Morgan went from 4th to 23rd.

Here is the Top 10 Cut:
1. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 5, 10-13 -- 5, 13-09 -- 10, 24-06
2. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, Ok -- 5, 11-08 -- 4, 11-12 -- 9, 23-04
3. Glenn Browne -- Ocala, Fl -- 5, 10-15 -- 5, 12-04 -- 10, 23-03
4. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Tx -- 5, 7-08 -- 5, 15-06 -- 10, 22-14
5. Mark Rose -- Marion, Ar -- 5, 13-00 -- 5, 9-11 -- 10, 22-11
6. Jay Yelas -- Corvallis, Or -- 4, 10-00 -- 5, 12-08 -- 9, 22-08
7. Ray Scheide -- Dover, Ar -- 5, 11-07 -- 5, 10-09 -- 10, 22-00
8. Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 5, 12-03 -- 5, 9-05 -- 10, 21-08
9. Keith Combs -- Del Rio, Tx -- 5, 9-08 -- 5, 11-13 -- 10, 21-05
10. Gabe Bolivar -- Ramona, Ca -- 5, 11-11 -- 5, 9-09 -- 10, 21-04

FLW Tour Beaver Lake Day 1

Here is the Top 10
1 MARK ROSE MARION, AR 5 13-00 5 13-00
2 THANH LE LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ 5 12-08 5 12-08
3 ROB KILBY HOT SPRINGS, AR 5 12-03 5 12-03
4 ANDY MORGAN DAYTON, TN 5 12-01 5 12-01
4 BRYAN THRIFT SHELBY, NC 5 12-01 5 12-01
6 JOE THOMAS MILFORD, OH 5 11-15 5 11-15
7 BRETT HITE PHOENIX, AZ 5 11-14 5 11-14
8 SHINICHI FUKAE MINEOLA, TX 5 11-12 5 11-12
9 GABE BOLIVAR RAMONA, CA 5 11-11 5 11-11
9 CRAIG POWERS ROCKWOOD, TN 5 11-11 5 11-11

Once again my fantasy team is looking mediocre.
Robertson 90th
Dudley 140th
Fukae 8th
Bohanan 82nd
Morgan 4th
Newby 44th
Shaw 105th
Pack 24th
Wendlandt 100th
Yelas 31st

Realistically, at best I could squeeze 5 guys into the cut, but the odds on that happening are not very good. What are the chances that Yelas, Pack, and Newby weigh the biggest sacks tomorrow while Fukae and Morgan hold serve?

FLW National Guard Open Lake Norman Day Final!

Exacta Pain. Not only am I having terrible pain from the gums in the upper jaw of the right side of my mouth, going to see dentist tomorrow, but I had the pain of two near misses on the Exacta Bonus in FLW Fantasy Fishing. I had Andy Morgan in 3rd and he got 2nd and Jacob Powroznik in 8th and he got 7th. I really needed to hit at least 1 because of the doubled bonus points for an Open. Hitting both I probably would have been really close to getting into the lower tier of prizes. My misery is compounded.

Congrats to Rookie Pro Stetson Blaylock on the Win

Here is the Top 10.
1 STETSON BLAYLOCK BENTON, AR 5 10-15 5 13-08 10 24-07 5 11-02 5 12-13 10 23-15 $150,000
+$50,000 (Ranger Boat Bonus)
2 ANDY MORGAN DAYTON, TN 5 13-00 5 10-15 10 23-15 5 10-06 5 12-09 10 22-15 $55,000
3 KOBY KREIGER OKEECHOBEE, FL 5 11-14 5 12-05 10 24-03 5 12-09 5 9-02 10 21-11 $45,000
4 GREG PUGH CULLMAN, AL 5 12-11 5 10-07 10 23-02 5 8-08 5 10-12 10 19-04 $35,000
5 SEAN HOERNKE THE WOODLANDS, TX 5 9-13 5 15-10 10 25-07 5 9-00 5 8-14 10 17-14 $30,000
6 JIM MOYNAGH CARVER, MN 5 12-04 5 10-14 10 23-02 5 10-00 4 6-12 9 16-12 $28,000
7 JACOB POWROZNIK PRINCE GEORGE, VA 5 13-12 5 8-13 10 22-09 5 8-14 5 7-05 10 16-03 $26,000
8 ERIC AMBORT MABELVALE, AR 5 11-13 5 14-00 10 25-13 5 8-08 4 5-02 9 13-10 $24,000
9 DALE EVANS SUMMERVILLE, SC 5 13-11 5 10-09 10 24-04 4 4-14 5 7-08 9 12-06 $22,000
10 KEITH WILLIAMS CONWAY, AR 5 13-03 5 11-14 10 25-01 5 9-04 1 1-05 6 10-09 $20,000

Moynagh Norman Update

After Day 3 at Norman, Jim is in 4th place and just a little over 2lbs out of the lead. He certainly has a shot if he can weigh the heaviest sack tomorrow.

Come on Jim!!!

FLW Norman, Elite Series Smith Mountain Day 1

Day 1 was yesterday and I didn't blog anything because as we all know Day 1 means JACK SQUAT!

However, it is nice to see Jim Moynagh near the top at Norman again. I really hope he can make the cut and bring it home. Go Jim!!!

Update: Jim made the cut in 9th place. Why was he not on my fantasy team?????????????? I didn't go with either guy who made the 2 previous Norman cuts and they, Moynagh and Pugh, both made the cut.

FLW Fantasy Fishing Lake Norman

Roster lock at 10:59PM Central so you better get on it.

BassFan has an article that might help...

BassFan radio has an interview with BP fuel Pro Jim Moynagh that you might want to check out too.

Norman is a lake with several consistant performers the last 2 years. Will these guys continue to step up or will a bunch of new faces emerge? My guess is it will be a little of both. I don't have Moynagh on my roster but I hope he wins.

FLW Tour Table Rock Day Final

Weigh-in Live blogged

I had to run an errand so I am coming to this a little late. It looks like 6 guys have weighed in and Dan Moorhead is up.

The only guy to weigh over 10lbs so far is Walker with 11-09

Moorhead
5 for 11-09
and he moves to first.

Walker interview
"I want to thank my sponsors...says his boat is the best tournament boat he ever has... caught his big stringer on the James river... culled a 4lber with a 6 knew he would be in the lead at that point...caught the big fish on a jig.

Gags is up
needs 9-12 to beat Moorhead
5 for 14-08
New Leader!
Interview with Gags family
"Good luck, I love you" from his wife.

Moorhead interview
"fishing today was tough... I saw a 15lb bag of fish follow my jerkbait and turn away"

Scott Suggs
needs 13-01
5 for 12-07 just short 10ozs
"That's a hard one to swallow...I owe my whole week to Berkely...I caught em on a hollow belly, caught them 30 feet down...could tell it would be a tough day by the way the fish were taking it."
Interview with family
"Scott gets emotional anytime he fishes...we are excited that he got another top 10"
"Put stripes in their swimming pool so he could test his lure"

Interview with Scott Canterbury's wife
"I told him not to be in the lead after day 3 again"
"She had a check up in Dec. and is cancer free"

Scott Canterbury
needs 12-15
has weighed over 12-15 each day
Gags interview
is OK with 2nd place thanks sponsors

Apparently they have a big crowd.
"I was fishing for the fish to win this tournament"
4 top 10's in 8 events
He is bringing out fish that get a cheer
Only has 3
10-
Gagliardi Wins!!! $125,000
"Feels like it's been a really long time"

Final Standings
Gags
Suggs
Canterbury
Moorehead
Walker
Ehrler
Bennett
Bohannan
Morganthaler
Fukae

For some reason Fukae's weight's are zero for both days. I wonder if he was DQ'ed. If Fukae holds true in 10th then I have my second Exacta bonus and they have both been with Shin.

I was rooting for Canterbury, but Congratulations to Gagliardi!!!

You can send him Kudos through his website...

FLW Tour Table Rock Day 3 Weigh-In Live Blogged

Hmmm for the TBF Championship I had to go through the mothership FLW website to watch the FLW Live weigh-in and I was able to blog that without things locking up. I am going to go through the mothership rather than through the Fantasy Fishing site and see if I just might be able to live blog it.

Introducing Al Lindner
"FLW Outdoors changed this sport forever."
Al's son Troy fished in the TBF Championship

I won't bother with the Co-Anglers except the final two and Zac Cassill who is "bass addict" at the Futurebass.com message board. Zac was in 3rd place after the 1st two days. They zero the weights for the final day but he got to fish with Scotty Suggs.

As it stands Zac needs to weigh 14-3, which is some serious weight.

Zac is from Fairfax Iowa
Only got 1 moster smallmouth 5-7
"I live near LaCrosse WI were there is awesome smallmouth fishing"

The guy with the lead is Patrick Majors from Rogers Ark.
The last guy to weigh is James Watson from MO and he has 3 for 6-11 so Majors WINS!!!
He wins $20,000.
"I was really lucky the first two days, only weighed 4 fish but they were all big"

Pimp N Fantasy Fishing and Players Advantage (What has PA done for me?)
The Pro's are Up:

Scott Canterbury last years rookie of the year
"Never seen this lake before and you run out of fish" then he pulls his limit fish.
5 for 16-00
"I like to keep moving a lot"
"I lost the biggest fish I've had all week, maybe I'll get him tomorrow"

Greg Bohannan
3 small fish 5-11
"Our area got a bit crowded today"
Fishing near Bennett
"This is my favorite lake, you can legitimately catch a 4lb spot, smallmouth, and largemouth"

Gags (Former AOY)
5 for 14-06
"Your never out of it on a lake like this"
Fishing a Lucky Craft jerkbait.

Dan Moorhead (Former AOY)
5 for 12-09
My partner caught the big fish (Co-Angler won)
"Never got the quality bite like I got yesterday"
Throwing a jerkbait, might go to a jig.

Brent Ehler (Former Forrest Wood Cup Champion)
4 for 9-08
Special Guest:
Brent Ehlers wife shows up from Cali. Booked her ticket last night. "Had to lie to him this morning and tell him I was in bed while I was at the airport"

Shinchi Fukae (3rd FLW Angler of the Year to weigh-in)
5 for 9-02 into 5th place
"I'm 5 years old in the United States"
"I just run up the river and keep cranking"

Chad Morganthaler
"It's always great to come to Table Rock and fish this great fishery"
1 for 2-04
"I took a chance and it didn't pay off"
"I had 11 bites the first 2 days"

Scott Suggs (2nd Forrest Wood Cup Champ to weigh)
5 for 15-13
"I was wanting the pressure to be on somebody else, there is a lot of money riding on this tournament, think about it Canterbury"
"Shin has whipped our tails for 5 years, think about it Canterbury"

Michael Bennett (3rd Forrest Wood Cup Champ to weigh)
2 for 4-01
"Things went South pretty quick"
"I didn't do anything different, I think the cloud cover hurt me"
"Unlikely, but feasible" on chances

David Walker (4th FLW Angler of the Year to weigh-in)
This is one solid Top 10
5 for 11-08
"Suggs isn't gonna get much sleep tonight"
Everybodies weight is down and we are all in it.

1. Canterbury
2. Suggs
3. Gagliardi
4. Moorhead
5. Walker
6. Ehler
7. Fukae
8. Bohannan
9. Bennett
10. Morganthaler

At this point any Exacta's for me are long shots, the closest at this point is Fukae for 10th.

FLW Table Rock Day 2 Results and Fantasy Fishing

Here is the all important FLW Top 10 for Table Rock

1 DAVID WALKER SEVIERVILLE, TN 5 26-11 5 13-12 10 40-07
2 MICHAEL BENNETT LINCOLN, CA 5 20-02 5 19-00 10 39-02
3 SCOTT SUGGS BRYANT, AR 5 17-10 5 17-12 10 35-06
4 CHAD MORGENTHALER COULTERVILLE, IL 5 17-00 5 17-10 10 34-10
5 SHINICHI FUKAE MINEOLA, TX 5 22-05 5 11-15 10 34-04
6 BRENT EHRLER REDLANDS, CA 5 17-11 5 16-08 10 34-03
7 DAN MOREHEAD PADUCAH, KY 5 14-05 5 19-03 10 33-08
8 ANTHONY GAGLIARDI PROSPERITY, SC 5 15-04 5 17-15 10 33-03
9 GREG BOHANNAN ROGERS, AR 5 15-08 5 17-11 10 33-03
10 SCOTT CANTERBURY SPRINGVILLE, AL 5 18-06 5 14-08 10 32-14

I've got Suggs, Fukae, and Bohanan. I did have Morehead on my team but switched him for Jay Yelas which any way I slice it except for what actually happened comes out as a good bet that Yelas should finish higher than Moorehead. Also Luke Clausen who I dumped at the last minute choked today and is in the 11 spot so I actually did make the right move in dumping him for Suggs.

Ehler was on the radar screen and was on my Dad's team but he got switched out due to his negative report on the BassFan Scouting Report. What are you gonna do when a guy says he is struggling? You gotta drop him. Dad's team came out better than yesterday but doesn't have a single angler in the Top 10, which is a total buzz kill for any asperations of end of the year prizes.

I am a little disgusted that I am missing out on Canterbury and Bennett who I think are among the top fishermen in FLW. FLW guys that always are a good bet as far as I'm concerned: Andy Morgan, Scott Canterbury, Michael Bennett, Jay Yelas, David Dudley, Brent Ehler, Shin Fukae, and Brian Thrift. If I just go with this all star line up there are 4 guys in this top 10.

Well if I lock in a couple of Exacta's I'll be well into the prizes. I have Bohanan in 3rd, Suggs in 9th, and Fukae in 10th. I think Bohanan is the most likely candidate but you never know.

FLW Tour Table Rock Lake Day 2

Developing...

Something to do if you have Players Advantage while your waiting for weigh in time is to go and watch the On Demand Video highlights of Day 1. I hadn't watched any of the highlights from Guntersville and it was good stuff. There was a really interesting interview with David Fritts and David Walker on the last morning of Guntersville where they were talking about the hole they had to dig out of. Of coarse, David Fritts managed to do just that and won the tournament when Canterburry stumbled.

I'm thinking about trying the video feed only to see if I can liveblog the weigh-in. Another thought I had was to try watching out of Mozilla Firefox to see if my computer doesn't get so stuffed up.

Oops I fell asleep and have missed about 45 minutes of the weigh in. I don't have it on FLW Live with the Players Advantage features but just the streaming video so I can blog it

David Dudley 5 for 13-00 This will make Hellabass happy.

George Cocheran 6-13 Oh oh

Guido Hibdon moves in to 5th for now.

Dion Hibdon weighs 17-1 for 30-12 and moves into 6th
however my computer froze up so live blogging may not work, I'll give it one more shot.

Ok not gonna work. Guess this is the end of the live blog.

FLW Tour Table Rock Lake Day 1

Developing...

I would live blog the weigh in, but FLW Live eats my computer resources to the point that trying any operation but watching the weigh in isn't a good idea.

So in the meantime I'll fill you in on my Fantasy Fishing moves. As you may have read I was going with Clausen, but after a look at his Table Rock history with BASS I dropped him like a rock in favor of Million Dollar man Scott Suggs. Another move prompted by the BASS standings was a switch of Dan Morehead for Jay Yelas. Morehead's Table Rock resume isn't the greatest while Yelas had fished there 5 times and never was out of the top 20. At the last minute I read the BassFan scouting report and I got spooked by Clark Wendlandt's comments so I switched him out for Gentleman George Cocheran who had an 8th place finish with BASS at Table Rock in early March 2004.

Of Note- In Addition to Luke Clausen another angler who was highly touted was Larry Nixon, but Nixon's BASS Table Rock resume isn't very good at all.

Weigh in now over- When the video feed finished FLW seemed to freeze up the computer so I couldn't get the Day standings there but they had them right away at FLW mothership.

Here are the Top 10:
1 DAVID WALKER SEVIERVILLE, TN 5 26-11
2 SHINICHI FUKAE MINEOLA, TX 5 22-05
3 CHRISTIAN ROMANS CARROLLTON, KY 5 21-04
4 AARON MCMANAWAY ALTAMONT, IL 5 20-13
5 MICHAEL BENNETT LINCOLN, CA 5 20-02
6 LUKE CLAUSEN MOUNT JULIET, TN 5 20-01
7 RANDALL THARP GARDENDALE, AL 5 18-10
8 SCOTT CANTERBURY SPRINGVILLE, AL 5 18-06
8 CHRIS ELLIOTT MOREHEAD CITY, NC 5 18-06
10 JACOB POWROZNIK PRINCE GEORGE, VA 5 18-05

My only top 10 angler is Shin. You may say I made a very bad call on Clausen at this point but he said he caught way more than he thought he would and Day 1 don't mean Jack Squat, so he could easily slip.

Looks like Hellabass made the right call with Walker. Bennett, Canterbury, and Powroznik are dangerous anywhere, but I didn't give any of them a look for this tournament. I think Guntersville ace Tharp is a bit of a surprise and the other 3 guys are not really familiar to me.

The thing is there are a lot of solid bags out there and even 78th place with 13-00 has a shot tomorrow with a 21+ pound bag of which there were 3 today, so lots of guys are still in the running and I could see a lot of movement in and out of the top 10 tommorrow. If Fukae stays strong and I get a few rally's I could have anywhere from 2-6 anglers in the top 10, but really anthing beyond 2 is really a long shot and I could easily have none.

Dad's Team: Ouch!!! 5 anglers at 100 or worse including #148 and #151. His best angler is in 30th.