Bolton, Auten Tie for Lead at Chevy Open

5/27/2010 8:13:57 AM

Terry Bolton and Mike Auten both lead on Lake Ouachita


Photos by Gary Mortenson - Check FLWOutdoors.com for live updates, photos and great coverage! 

After an hour-and-a-half fog delay Wednesday morning, anglers hit the water for the FLW Tour’s Chevy Open. Later that afternoon, Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., and Terry Bolton of Jonesboro, Ark., both crossed the stage with five-bass limits weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce to lead day one on Lake Ouachita. They now hold a six-ounce lead over pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., with five bass weighing 17-11 in a tournament featuring anglers from all across the country.
 
“I tried to stay shallow most of the morning,” said Auten, who has won more than $235,000 in FLW Outdoors competition. “I fished a lot of topwater and a little bit of crankbaits here and there. It was a slow bite all day and a grind, but I stuck with the topwater all day, and I think that’s what helped me.”
 
Auten said he caught “nine or 10” keepers throughout the course of the day and said he saw the most bites every time clouds covered the water.
 
“You just had to be in the right place at the right time,” Auten said. “If you could get back in a little pocket with a little shade it would help. It seems like you had to have a little piece of structure there to hold the fish.”
 
Auten said falling water levels seemed to help him target cruising fish that were keying in on pieces of structure.
 
“I fished a place a couple of times today and caught my biggest one on the second time by,” Auten said. “It’s just timing and making the right casts. Hopefully one will get it.”
 
Bolton said he had a rough go of it on the first day of competition, as he weighed in two fish that perished and cost him a 1-pound penalty. He said he fished two offshore spots with familiar techniques, much as he would on his native Kentucky Lake.
 
“I kind of figured out where I made my mistakes in practice,” said Bolton, who has won more than $728,000 in FLW Outdoors competition. “I think I kind of understand sort of what’s going on. They’re coming out, but their stopping points are a little different. It may have something to do with this water being higher.
 
“I caught a ton of fish, and I may not catch a bass tomorrow, but I was really on a lot more than I thought,” Bolton added. “I was fortunate to get the good bites and to get them all in. I’m still having trouble in the afternoons, but the mornings (have) been good. I was pretty well done by 11 o’clock and I got there at 8:30. It was a good day. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. At least I feel a lot better about it than I did.”
 
Rounding out the top-10 pros after day one on Lake Ouachita are:
 
4th:     Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 16-0
5th:     Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 15-6
6th:     Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., five bass, 15-5
7th:     Chad Brauer, Osage Beach, Mo., five bass, 15-3
8th:     Rusty Salewske, Alpine, Calif., five bass, 14-7
9th:     Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., five bass, 14-5
10th:   Tim Klinger, Boulder City, Nev., five bass, 14-3
 
Overall there were 563 bass weighing 1,217 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 136 pros Thursday. The catch included 82 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. 5-8 at Lake Lanier in Atlanta, Ga., where they could win as much as $600,000 – the sport’s biggest award.
 
Dearal Rodgers of Camden, S.C., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 12-1 followed by Steve Reed of Bonita, Calif., in second place with five bass weighing 11-4.
 
Rodgers took the early lead in the tournament while fishing with James Christian of Dickson, Tenn., who is currently in 85th place with four bass weighing 7-12.
 
Rounding out the top-10 Co-anglers are:
 
3rd:     Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., three bass, 9-15
4th:     Spender Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., five bass, 9-14
5th:     Mark Denney, Cottontown, Tenn., five bass, 9-11
6th:     Michael Brunson, Dubberly, La., three bass, 9-8
7th:     Cory Leonard, Castalia, N.C., four bass, 9-2
8th:     Ken Keirsey, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 8-1
9th:     Elton Cleveland, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 7-14
10th:   Alan Hults, Gautier, Miss., five bass, 7-11
 
Overall there were 244 bass weighing 449 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 104 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included six five-bass limits.
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