Photo by Gary Mortenson / Check out FLWOutdoors.com for more photos and stories
Wired2Fish and National Guard pro Brent Ehrler has risen to the top of professional bass fishing in the last few years. He's already won the Forrest Wood Cup as well as the American Fishing Series Championship in years past. This year he won the opening event of the FLW Tour season on Table Rock Lake. He leads the points in the Western Division of the FLW Series this year as well where he won the opening even on that tour's first stop, Lake Shasta. All that's left for him is an Angler of the Year title and he's done all he's set out to do in professional competition. Oh and by the way he might add another victory to his resume Saturday at the Chevy Open on Lake Ouachita.
Ehrler hoisted 18 pounds, 11 ounces of bass to the scale this afternoon to take a slim lead of day two leader, Wired2Fish and Folgers pro Scott Suggs, the local favorite at this venue. Ehrler has 46-6 for three days of fishing but only leads Suggs by a mere 12 ounces.
“I found them wolf-packing more than I have,” said Ehrler, who has won more than $1.4 million in FLW Outdoors competition. “That’s kind of been the key. I ran all new water and found a lot more fish today than I have. I don’t know. It’s just different.
“I started in an area where I knew there were some fish and I caught a limit with a big one early,” Ehrler added. “And that gave me the freedom to kind of expand on it and look around.”
Ehrler said Lake Ouachita is nothing like the western waters he’s used to, however, he managed to figure the fish out.
“I think (the fish) are post-spawn and they’re just kind of swimming around and the high water got them kind of running together,” Ehrler said. “In low water they’d probably be out on that deeper stuff more. I think with the high water it kind of got them to get on the bank. It’s kind of a fall deal. That’s kind of what they do in the fall is wolfpack up like that. It’s different than anything I’ve seen this time of year.”
Ehrler said his main pattern folded on the second day of competition and he was forced to make a change.
“It’s one of the hardest things to do is to change up when things aren’t going right,” Ehrler said. “You get stressed out. Not only do you get stressed out, you can’t think with an open mind. The biggest key to catching fish is having an open mind.”
Folgers pro Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., advanced to the final round of five pros in the No. 2 spot with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 45-10.
“I’ve got two or three bunches of schooling fish that have got 3 1/2- to 4 –pound largemouth in them,” said Suggs, who won the Forrest Wood Cup and $1 million on Lake Ouachita in 2007. “And they’ve not shown up all week. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get them to show up. I’ve started on them three mornings in a row and I’ve not had the first bite off of them yet.
“I’m starting on them in the morning,” Suggs added. “Because if they show up, it’ll be a big bag. But who knows? They haven’t shown up yet.”
Despite the absence of the schooling fish, Suggs said he wouldn’t change his strategy.
“It’s one of those deals where it’s a long run and the whole time you’re running you’re going, ‘Is it worth it? Is it worth it?’ Hopefully tomorrow they’ll show up. I’m not going to change a thing. I’m not changing anything. I’m fishing just like I have fished.”
Rounding out the top-5 pros and advancing to the final day’s competition are:
3rd: Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., 15 bass, 44-2
4th: Castrol pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 44-1
5th: Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., 15 bass, 42-2
The rest of the top-10 pros include some of the greatest anglers in the world, and they are:
6th: Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., 15 bass, 40-11, $15,350
7th: Roy Hawk, Salt Lake City, Utah, 15 bass, 40-7, $14,436
8th: Chevy pro Luke Clausen, Gainesville, Ga., 15 bass, 38-8, $13,523
9th: National Guard pro Tim Klinger, Boulder City, Nev., 14 bass, 37-9, $12,610
10th: Terry Bolton, Jonesboro, Ark., 14 bass, 37-6, $11,696
Overall there were 580 bass weighing 1,213 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 133 pros Friday. The catch included 94 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., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Friday with a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 1 ounce followed by Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky., in second place with 13 bass weighing 25-12 worth $9,098.
Tierney opened the tournament in 25th place Wednesday with three bass weighing 6-1 while fishing with pro Christian Romans of Carrolton, Ky. On Thursday, he jumped to first place on the strength of a four-bass catch weighing 18-7 while fishing with pro Mark Rouse of League City, Texas. He wrapped up the win Friday with a three-bass catch weighing 6-9 while fishing with pro Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla.
“This makes me feel great,” said Tierney, who now has two FLW Outdoors wins under his belt. “I’ve been wanting to win one of these forever, and it’s a dream come true.
“I’ve fished here for about 10 years quite a bit,” Tierney added. “It’s really been good to me in tournaments. I’m glad I could win it on this lake.”
Tierney said he caught his fish on the final day of competition flipping shallow bushes. He began the first day of competition flipping bushes, as well, but got the chance to fish grass on the second day. Tierney said he fished Zoom Brush Hogs, Zoom Speed Craws and Zara Spooks during the tournament.
