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Divis
wins co-angler title, $25,000
AUSTIN,
Texas (Feb. 17, 2007) – Aaron Hastings of Middletown, Md.,
caught a five-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to take the
lead after squeaking into the final
round of the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour event presented by Kellogg’s on
Lake Travis. Hastings, who qualified as the ninth of 10 final-round
competitors, now holds a 2-pound, 3-ounce lead over pretournament favorite
Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, heading into the final day of competition
for a top award of $125,000.
“It feels good to be leading, but I’ll feel a
whole lot better after tomorrow,” said Hastings, who is making his first top
10 appearance since joining the FLW Tour in 2006. “I didn’t know anything
about the lake when I got here, but I did my homework. The whole key is to
fish slowly. I think I managed my fish well this week, and I hope it pays
off.”
Fishing for Team Kellogg’s, Wendlandt caught a
five-bass limit weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces skipping finesse jigs around
boat docks to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.
“It feels great to be in second place, but I
would rather be leading,” said Wendlandt, a two-time Land O’Lakes Angler of
the Year award winner. “I still feel like I have a great chance to win this.
I don’t have just one spot to key on, I have the whole lake. I just fish
where it feels right.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Bryan Thrift
of Shelby, N.C. (five bass, 7-6); Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City,
Pa. (five bass, 6-8); Craig Dowling of Madison, Ala. (four bass, 5-8); PTSI
pro Ron Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. (two bass, 5-5); Ott Defoe (four bass,
4-12); BFGoodrich Tires pro Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas (two bass, 3-8);
Castrol pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla. (one bass, 1-7) and BP pro Tracy
Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C. (one bass, 1-6).
Overall there were 34 bass weighing 53 pounds,
7 ounces caught in the Pro Division Saturday. The catch included four
five-bass limits.
Frank Divis Sr. of
Divis opened the tournament in 37th place
Thursday with four bass weighing 5-8 while fishing with pro Fred Cantaoi of
“It feels awesome,” said Divis, who is no
stranger to the weigh-in stage after winning a Stren Series Championship in
1999 as well as another tour victory in 2001. “I had an overwhelming feeling
coming into this event that I would win, but I barley made it into the top
10, and I was worried. I know what all these guys are capable of, and I knew
that I could not afford to make too many mistakes.
“This is going to help me buy my daughter a new car, pay some bills and keep fishing. I have already qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup, so now I’m just here fishing for fun,” he said.
Divis won the tournament using a drop-shot
rigged Bassmedics finesse worm in watermelon candy color. He qualified for
the final round, however, using a PJ’s Finesse Baits 3/4-ounce football head
jig – the same bait that has earned him more than $130,000 in his career.
Divis fished the jig with a Net Bait Paca chunk trailer.
Rounding out the top 10
Overall there were 21 bass weighing 28 pounds,
8 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included two
five-bass limits.
Anglers will take off at 7 Sunday morning from
Prior to the final weigh-in Sunday, FLW
Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the
Sunday’s festivities will also include the CBS 42 Celebrity Challenge
tournament featuring Austin area residents Linda Crelia,
Weldon Klenke, Bonifacio
Velasquez , Scott Morales and Ben Watkins fishing with FLW Tour pros and
local celebrities, including CBS anchors Ron Oliveirs and Kim Miller, Texas
Outdoor Zone host TJ Greaney and Spike from the Round Rock Express, to
benefit Lake Travis conservation efforts. Crelia, Klenke, Velasquez, Morales
and Watkins won a CBS 42 sweepstakes last week to participate in the event.
The winner of the Celebrity Challenge will receive $500 and have $5,000
donated in his or her honor to the FishAmerica Foundation. Takeoff for the
Celebrity Challenge is at 9 a.m. at
Coverage of 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 exceeding $43 million through 238
events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of