One-hour show also covers Wendlandt’s historic third Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title
The sixth and final regular-season stop on the 2009 Walmart FLW Tour took place on Lake Champlain, one of the best black bass fisheries in the United States, located in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Two pro anglers with completely separate strategies saw their game plans come to fruition on the tournament’s final day. For National Guard pro Scott Martin, that meant a $125,000 win, the third in his FLW Tour career. For Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt, it meant a third Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title. Complete coverage of the event will air Aug. 16 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET on VERSUS as part of the weekly “FLW Outdoors” program.
For Martin the victory was special because he was fishing with a heavy heart as his maternal grandmother passed away the day before the tournament began. He said he dedicated the title to her and could feel her presence with him on the water. Of Martin’s three victories, two have came on Champlain, the other on the Pascagoula River. In 2004, the Clewiston, Fla., native sight-fished exclusively for spawning smallmouths. He located some brown bass this time, but he caught and weighed only one of them. Instead, smallies were a backup for his brilliant largemouth strategy.
Sitting in 5 to 8 feet of water, Martin’s postspawn fish were gravitating to a healthy mix of milfoil and eelgrass on a Missisquoi Bay flat. To catch these fish, Martin cranked and then combed over the area with a Texas-rigged Berkley Chigger Craw. His two-day total registered 36 pounds, 4 ounces ? superseding his 2004 winning weight of 32-8.
Wendlandt had his sights set solely on Angler of the Year, a title he describes as the most impressive achievement in bass fishing. All week long, Wendlandt dueled with Chevy pro Luke Clausen. On day two, Clausen applied some serious pressure by finishing the opening round third overall. To have a chance, Wendlandt too would have to make the top 10. At 1 p.m. on the second day, the Leander, Texas, pro caught a 6-pound kicker on the southern end of the lake known as Ticonderoga. That fish anchored a 19-pound limit and pushed Wendlandt into the final round. Clausen’s smallmouth pattern eventually faded and Wendlandt caught workmanlike limits to put the finishing touches on his third AOY campaign.
VERSUS Country broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” in high-definition (HD) Sundays from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET. FLWOutdoors.com also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes of “FLW Outdoors.” In addition, each episode of “FLW Outdoors” will be available on demand in its entirety on the FLWOutdoors website.
“FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
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.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.
By: Jeff McCoy, PR dir, FLW Outdoors
