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California’s Cody Meyer Leads Day One of FLW Tour at Beaver Lake
ROGERS, Ark. (April 27, 2017) Pro Cody Meyer of Auburn, California, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 1 ounce Thursday to take the lead on opening day of the four-day FLW Tour event at Beaver Lake. The event, presented by General Tire, features a field of 322 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.
A rainy week has brought Beaver Lake water levels up drastically – as much as 8 feet – in the last seven days. As anglers launched from Prairie Creek Park Marina they faced a very different fishery than the one that they had experienced during practice. While many competitors fished shallow water, Meyer ran into a few smallmouth in deeper water with a drop-shot rig.
“Today was awesome, but I got really lucky,” said Meyer, an eight-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “I pulled up on a deep spot where I had gotten a bite in practice and caught four good smallmouth. It happened really quickly. I had a limit around 13 pounds or so, and I ended up making my way back to the check-in at Prairie Creek to end my day. I ended up catching two largemouth shallow just before checking in – my two biggest of the day. It was so random, but those big ones really helped.”
Meyer’s five-bass limit consisted of two largemouth and three smallmouth bass.
“I caught them on four different baits,” he said. “I flipped a couple, threw some little swimbaits and had a couple of different drop-shot rigs.
“I’m looking forward to going back out there tomorrow, but who know what’s going to happen,” Meyer went on to say. “I’ve been here so many times that I know it is very possible to go out tomorrow and not even get a bite. I’m very happy to be where I’m at, though.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Beaver Lake are:
1st: Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 16-1
2nd: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, five bass, 15-11
3rd: Mud Hole Custom Tackle pro John Cox, DeBary, Fla., four bass, 14-4
4th: Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., five bass, 14-3
5th: Daniel Kweekul, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 13-14
6th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, five bass, 13-13
7th: Keith Bryan, Novato, Calif., five bass, 13-5
8th: Nick Gainey, Charleston, S.C., five bass, 13-4
9th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 12-15
10th: Timmy Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., four bass, 12-10
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
John Devere of Berea, Kentucky, earned the day’s $500 Big Bass award in the pro division thanks to a 6-pound, 4-ounce largemouth.
Overall there were 637 bass weighing 1,217 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 156 pros Thursday. The catch included 85 five-bass limits.
Charley Slaton of Valliant, Oklahoma, leads the co-angler division with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by Rex Jaeger of Hamilton, Ohio, who weighed four bass totaling 11-0, good for second place.
The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Beaver Lake are:
1st: Charley Slaton, Valliant, Okla., four bass, 12-2
2nd: Rex Jaeger, Hamilton, Ohio, four bass, 11-0
3rd: Steve York, Bronson, Mich., five bass, 10-15
4th: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W.Va., five bass, 10-0
5th: Scotty Villines, Ponca, Ark., five bass, 9-12
6th: Wataru Iwahori, Palestine, Texas, five bass, 9-2
7th: Scott Parsons, Rogers, Ark., three bass, 9-1
8th: Scott Easter, Gentry, Ark., four bass, 8-8
9th: Don Harvey, Franklin, Tenn., four bass, 8-7
10th: Steven Meador, Bentonville, Ark., five bass, 8-6
Kevin Medine of Port Allen, Louisiana, earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the co-angler division with a largemouth weighing 6-pounds even.
Overall there were 336 bass weighing 569 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 127 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 18 five-bass limits.
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 of 322 anglers competes Thursday and Friday. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.
The FLW Tour has visited Beaver Lake 18 times previously, with 2017 marking the 19th visit in FLW’s 22-year history. The total purse for the FLW Tour at the Beaver Lake presented by General Tire is more than $800,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. The tournament is hosted by Visit Rogers.
Anglers will take off from the Prairie Creek Park Boat Ramp located at 9300 N. Park Road in Rogers at 6:30 a.m. each day of competition. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Prairie Creek Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at Walmart, located at 2110 W. Walnut St., in Rogers beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW will host a free Fishing Expo at Walmart from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at Lake Bentonville Park, located at 2204 SW I St., in Bentonville on Saturday, April 29, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to area youth 15 years of age and younger and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Beaver Lake presented by General Tire will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) June 18 from 6 a.m.-7 a.m. EDT. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
CUDA HD the Ultimate Fishing Kayak
The evolution of Kayak fishing is evolving quickly, Eric Jackson talks bout the new CUDA HD from Jackson Kayaks, this is the ultimate fishing machine. Take a look at some of the features that set Jackson apart from the rest.
Matt Lee and Casey Ashley Make Ross Barnett Predictions
Matt Lee and Casey Ashley both finished in the Top 12 at the most recent Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Toledo Bend, but what will a crowded Ross Barnett Reservoir bring? 
The two young guns graciously share their findings and expectations on the eve of competition at the shallow, wind-swept, reservoir near Jackson, Mississippi.
How many alligators have you seen during the 3-day practice period this week?
Matt Lee: I’d say 25 to 35.
Casey Ashley: I’d say at least 50.
What do you like best about Ross Barnett?
Matt Lee: That I get to stay at my buddy Taylor Ramey’s really cool cabin.
Casey Ashley: That I drew boat #1. I get to go out first on a fishery that’s gonna fish super crowded.
What’s the biggest challenge here at Ross Barnett?
Matt Lee: Fishing pressure, and muddy water.
Casey Ashley: Finding somewhere to fish that hasn’t already been hammered by another competitor.
Name 4 lures most pros will have tied on this week.
Matt Lee: Texas rigged plastics, a heavy Texas rigged ‘punch’ style bait, a soft plastic stick bait, and a spinnerbait.
Casey Ashley: Swim jig, frog, Texas-rigged creature bait, and a topwater.
How much weight will an angler have to average each day to make the Top 12 cut on the final day?
Matt Lee: 15 pounds a day
Casey Ashley: 15 pounds a day
‘Pots and Pans’ led VanDam to top finish at Ross Barnett 32 Years Ago
A lotta things change in three decades, so Kevin VanDam is putting in long practice days on Ross Barnett in preparation for this week’s Bassmaster Elite presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, because the only time he fished the shallow reservoir previously was 32 years ago, at the age of 17.
“Back then, I was fishing team tournaments and B.A.S.S. Nation Series tournaments around home in Michigan, and my team partner Don Stevens and I qualified for an end-of-the-year tournament down here at Ross Barnett,” explains VanDam. “To be honest, I don’t even remember what trail it was.”
He may not remember what trail it was, but the southerly winds warming the air at Madison Landing boat ramp following a long day of practice seemed to spin sweet memories of 1985 at a rate equal to the revolutions the giant willow leaf blade was making beneath the swivel of the spinnerbait he was holding.
“Don and I called this spinnerbait blade combination “Pots & Pans” because those big blades clank on each other underwater and make a ton of noise like somebody banging pots and pans together,” remembers VanDam with a smile.
And in what would become a very telling tournament 32 years ago – the noisemaker worked.
“I caught a 7-pounder from a beaver hut on a big-bladed spinnerbait just like this in that tournament, and that big fish is the one that landed us a Top 10 finish,” grins VanDam.
“Other than that, I really couldn’t remember much about this place before practice started Monday,” he admits.
“I mean heck, Don and I came down here from Michigan in an 18-foot boat with a 150 horsepower engine, and nobody had GPS mapping back then, so it was pretty intimidating to try and navigate and figure out where to fish among the massive lily pad fields and underwater stumps.”
Don Stevens has since retired, and spends his days shooting trap and skeet. VanDam has figured things out just fine – to the tune of $6 Million dollars in prize money, with hopes of adding to the sum this week where good memories chime like the big blades of a spinnerbait configuration that helped launch his amazing career.
Green Top Report- 4/27/17
FRESH- Before the heavy rains came down, anglers were enjoying a wide variety of catches along the lower James River, which is typical for this time of year. White Perch, Bass, Giant Blue Catfish, and sizable Rockfish. The Rockfish must be released for now, as the season is still closed. This weekend, conditions will probably be quite tough for river fishing due to the rising water and higher levels from the rain. The Chickahominy River will often remain clear through heavy rain , due to the many swampy areas of the upper Chickahominy,which catches much of the sediment. The area lakes will rise accordingly, but may not be as tough to deal with as the rivers. Lake Anna has a small watershed, so muddy/high water may not be as much of an issue, as with Kerr and Smith. These lakes have been outstanding lately, but this may calm them down a bit. These lakes will usually offer ares of clean water to fish due to their size and depths. Many of the Bass in our lakes are going through the spawn still, but there could be some post spawn conditions also. Staying small may be the answer for success this weekend, by targeting smaller ponds that clear up faster and receive less runoff. The Bass and Crappie could be far enough from the spawn to resume feeding again more frequently. Try topwater baits for Bass. Crappie may be starting to scool up again. Look for the Bluegill/Shellcrackers to turn on now.
SALT- The Red Drum bite has heated up considerably over the last week. Anglers fishing the shallow areas of the Eastern Shore are reporting Reds in the 40-52 inch range. Crab is usually the bait of choice for the big Reds, but fresh cut bait works well also. Setting up among the breakers is often the key to getting bit, but is also dangerous, so “learning the ropes” with experienced anglers or guides is a great idea. The Black Drum are also being caught, but not with the frequency that the Reds are. Another species increasing in action along the Eastern Shore is the Flounder. A Squid /minnow combo nation is an old favorite among locals. Puppy Drum and Speckled Trout catches are on the rise in shallow areas such as Lynnhaven Inlet, Mobjack Bay, Rudee Inlet, and Little Creek. Many of these anglers prefer to throw artificials such as Gulp! swimming mullets and shrimp , Bass Assassin sea shads, and flukes on light jig heads. May is typically one of the best months for Specks. There have been sporadic reports of Croaker being caught in some areas of the lower bay. Piers, such as Oceanview, and Buckroe, have been some of the places. Reports from anglers fishing the York River have been slow. Tautog fishing remains excellent at the CBBT, but time is running out to keep these tasty fish. The Tautog season closes on May 1st. Reports from the charter boats out of Hatteras and Nags Head are that the Yellowfin Tuna are plentiful right now. An occasional Wahoo shows up at the docks when the Tuna boats return. Big Bluefish continue to get caught along the beaches of Nags Head, Buxton, & Frisco. Metal jigs and spoons are very popular. Surf anglers using cut bait are reeling in Drum, bluefish, and Sea Mullet.