Folgers pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., gave himself a birthday present Thursday when he caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces to capture the lead on day two of the FLW Tour’s Chevy Open on Lake Ouachita. The 44-year-old’s two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 13 ounces gives him a commanding lead in the tournament featuring anglers from across the United States.
“This feels great,” said Suggs, who won the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup and $1 million on Lake Ouachita. “I’ve been nervous all day long. I was fortunate this morning. I had a limit at 8:25. And they weighed probably nine pounds.”
Suggs said he hit five drops and caught fish on four of the five drops. Later in the day he realized he had a fish in the livewell he wanted to cull, so he made a run to the opposite end of the lake to an old “worm hole” that featured grass.
“I pulled in there and first cast she bites,” Suggs said. “She was over three (pounds). Other than that, I caught them mainly on main lake drops. But she came way back in a creek.”
Suggs remained vague about his methods, however he did say he was fishing for a limit early and then switching to another “thing” to cull fish.
“I’m not going to change a thing,” Suggs added. “I came into this tournament fishing trees like when I won the (Forrest Wood Cup). I’ve (fished) deep trees two mornings in a row and I’ve had a limit so I can go do this other thing comfortably, because it’s a while between bites. I would have pulled my hair out the last two days if I hadn’t already had a limit.”
Suggs said he is pleased to be sitting in the top slot after two days of competition and is not looking ahead to the weekend. He did say, however, if he did make it to the final day of competition that heavy Memorial Day weekend boat traffic would not affect him.
“I’ve fished in many tournaments on Memorial Day,” Suggs said. “A lot of times I think boat traffic can hurt running over some of that stuff, but then there’s times when it gets to churning and stirring stuff up and I think it helps it.”
Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky., is in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31-2.
Rounding out the top-10 pros after day two on Lake Ouachita are:
| 3rd: | Jacob Powroznik | Prince George, Va. | 10 bass | 30-5 |
| 4th: | Roy Hawk | Salt Lake City, Utah | 10 bass | 29-8 |
| 5th: | Todd Auten | Lake Wylie, S.C. | 9 bass | 28-10 |
| 6th: | Terry Bolton | Jonesboro, Ark. | 10 bass | 28-2 |
| 7th: | Ishama Monroe | Hughson, Calif. | 10 bass | 28-0 |
| 8th: | Brandon Coulter | Knoxville, Tenn. | 10 bass | 28-0 |
| 9th: | Cody Meyer | Grass Valley, Calif. | 10 bass | 27-15 |
| 10th: | National Guard pro Brent Erhler | Redlands, Calif. | 10 bass | 27-11 |
Overall there were 545 bass weighing 1148 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 132 pros Thursday. The catch included 78 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 Forrest Wood Cup which will be held Aug. 5-Aug. 8 at Lake Lanier in Atlanta, Ga., where they could win as much as $600,000 – the sport’s biggest award.
David Tierney of Fayetteville, Ark., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of seven bass weighing 24 pounds, 8 ounces, followed by Clent Davis of Montevallo, Ala., in second place with eight bass weighing 18-12.
Tierney caught four bass weighing 18-7 while fishing with pro Mark Rouse of League City, Texas, Thursday.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
| 3rd: | Alan Hults | Gautier, Miss. | 10 bass | 18-11 |
| 4th: | Mark White | Tuscon, Ariz. | 8 bass | 18-5 |
| 5th: | Dearal Rodgers | Camden, S.C. | 7 bass | 17-13 |
| 6th: | Mark Denney | Cottontown, Tenn. | 9 bass | 17-10 |
| 7th: | Spender Shuffield | Bismarck, Ark. | 10 bass | 17-6 |
| 8th: | Chuck Bellerby III | Croydon, Penn. | 6 bass | 15-15 |
| 9th: | Hector Delagarza | Sunnyvale, Texas | 9 bass | 15-10 |
| 10th: | Steve Reed | Bonita, Calif. | 8 bass | 14-0 |
Overall there were 310 bass weighing 552 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 123 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 20 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 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off from Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa located at 994 Mountain Harbor Rd. in Mount Ida, Ark., at 6:30 each morning. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Mountain Harbor Resort and Spa beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Hot Springs Convention Center located at 134 Convention Blvd. in Hot Springs beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at the Hot Springs Convention Center on Friday from 4-9 p.m. and Saturday prior to the final weigh-in from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The final weigh-in will be held at Summit Arena. There will be a drawing for a Can-Am ATV and rod and reel combos will be given to the first 300 kids under 14 in attendance on Saturday. The FLW Outdoors Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Lake Ouachita tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air June 27 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.By: Chad Gay, Public Relations Manager
