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NIXON
LEADS WAL-MART FLW TOUR NATIONAL GUARD OPEN ON
Trevor Jancasz wins
co-angler title, $40,000
CHARLOTTE,
N.C. (April 28, 2007) – Team Chevy pro
Larry Nixon of Bee
Branch, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday
to capture the lead in a top-10 field
that includes some of the greatest anglers in the world. Nixon now
holds a slight 1-pound, 5-ounce edge over his closest competitor, Folgers
pro Scott Suggs of
“It’s going to be a shoot-out tomorrow,” said
Nixon, who has been fishing the FLW Tour for 10 years and has amassed more
than $700,000 in tour earnings. “I am around the fish that could definitely
win this. I have lost a few key fish everyday, and that has held my weight
down. I’m not going back to the spots I fished today. I have a few more
places that I found in practice that seem to be holding quality fish. I just
have to slow down, be patient and catch them.”
Nixon was keying on cuts in gravel banks and laydowns, throwing an array of
Texas-rigged soft plastics and finesse gear.
Suggs, who is fishing in his second FLW Tour
top-10, caught five fish weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces to advance to the
final round as the No. 2 seed.
“The bite seemed to be a little bit down
today,” said Suggs, who has been throwing finesse gear around docks and
stumps all week. “With the tremendous catches in the opening round it has
made it harder to find five keepers. My kicker all week has come down to
finding a few large schools of bigger spotted bass and then going back to
them everyday and picking up a few. I’m trying not to even think about the
leaderboard and just go fishing.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Duracell pro
Michael Bennett of
“I was blessed yesterday,” said Cherry, who led
the tournament Friday. “Instead of catching them today, I put on a bloopers
video. I just couldn’t connect. It seemed like they were biting it with
their mouths closed. It just feels wonderful to make the cut and even be
competing against this caliber of fishermen.”
Overall there were 48 bass weighing 96 pounds,
15 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included eight
five-bass limits.
Wal-Mart angler Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., won the Co-angler
Division and $40,000 Saturday with a five bass limit weighing 8 pounds, 9
ounces followed by Alessandro Debbi of Italy, in second place with four bass
weighing 6-6 worth $10,000.
Jancasz opened the tournament in 13th place
Thursday with five bass weighing 9-12 while fishing with pro Chad Cook of
Summerville, S.C. On Friday he jumped into first place on the strength of a
five-bass catch weighing 10-3 while fishing with Suggs. He wrapped up his
win while fishing with Cherry.
“It was a tough week,” said Jancasz, who is a
former Wal-Mart FLW Tour Champion on the co-angler side. “I never caught a
single fish until late in the day, everyday. I did fish clean and only had
maybe three or four short fish this entire tournament. I usually struggle on
the second or third days, but this time I figured it out and everything went
great. Hank Cherry was a great partner, and he gave me all the opportunity I
needed to catch these fish. I really needed this win to boost my confidence
and help me mentally.”
Jancasz was throwing finesse gear around stumps
and docks to catch his fish all week.
Rounding out the top 10
Overall there were 23 bass weighing 39 pounds,
6 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included one
five-bass limit.
Anglers will take off at 7 Sunday morning from
Blythe Landing followed by a 4 p.m. weigh-in at the Cabarrus Arena and
Events Center located at 4751 Highway 49 North in
Concord, N.C.
Prior to the final day weigh-in, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun
Zone and outdoor show at the Cabarrus Arena and
Sunday’s festivities will also include the
FOX Charlotte Big Bass Challenge tournament featuring area residents fishing
with FLW Tour pros to benefit
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers
are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat
movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back
deck against other co-anglers. The full field competes Thursday and Friday
for 10 slots in Saturday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated
weight. Weights are cleared Saturday, and
Coverage of the tournament will be broadcast to
81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW
Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren
Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail
presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series,
Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW
Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and
Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series.
These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241
events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of
For more information about FLW Outdoors and
its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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