Posted May 17th, 2007  807pm CST

20th Place.......10 Pounds

Story by Dru Smith

Rogers, AR – The FLW Tour series made its annual trek to Beaver Lake for the Wal-Mart Open. The pristine waters of Beaver Lake house an outstanding fishery that includes largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. The reclusive, yet ornery mean-mouth may also make a visit to the weigh-in stage located at Prairie Creek Marina.

Upon arrival, the 200 pros faced several different conditions than in the past. As noted, this event is being held a month or so later than usual. That means it will take a different strategy to win than what was employed by past winners like Rick Clunn in ’00, Clark Wendlant in ’99, ’01, Andre Moore in ’02 and again in ’05. Also, Dan Morehead (’03), Tim Klinger (’04) and reigning champion Shinichi Fukae went on to win under differing circumstances. Rick Clunn will be the only one of these past champions not on the water this weekend.

The bass have spawned, the water is higher and warmer and the weather conditions are more stable. This leads one to believe the top-water action will be the dominating pattern this week. However, bright skies and boat traffic could keep the fish down deep in the crystal waters of Beaver. The forecast calls for partly clouding skies today and intermittent clouds through out the weekend. 

Regardless of the conditions, when 200 anglers of this caliber land on fertile waters like this, a lot of fish will be in for a boat ride. 

The 3 p.m. weigh-in was kicked off with a one fish bag by pro Robert Pearson and his weight of 1-13 set an ominous tone for the rest festivities. Several anglers crossed the stage before the first limit was recorded. Mike Boyles brought in the first of 95 total limits giving the Missouri pro a one day weight of 6-8. 

Two-time Champion, Andre Moore came to the stage with five fish, but his limit only weighed 7-3 putting him more than six pounds back of the current leader. As Charlie Evans of FLW Outdoors, ushered the anglers across the stage, limits became more common but the weights were far from impressive. Tennessee pro, Andy Morgan finally raised the bar up to 12-15 and held the lead for most of the weigh-in. 

Skeeeter pro, Mark Davis followed closely behind Morgan, but his 11 pound limit left him in 8th after day-one. Mid-way through the proceedings Alvin Shaw made a run at the leader, but fell short with 11-11. Red Hot, Arkansas angler, Larry Nixon came in with 7-13 and will start Friday’s round in 41st.

When the scales closed on Thursday, Andy Montgomery held a slim lead over the field with 13-11. Less than 5 pounds separates the top 25 with one day left to make the final cut to ten. Pete Bridges held the lead on the co-angler side with a total of 9-11.

Top Ten
1. Andy Montgomery 13-11
2. Andy Morgan 12-15
3. Dwayne Horton 12-3
4. Tom Monsoor 11-12
5. Alvin Shaw 11-11
6. John Sappington 11-9
7. Tony Couch 11-1
8. Mark Davis 11-0
9. Ray Scheide 10-12
10. Glenn Browne 10-11

Rookie Rises to the Top
Andy Montgomery is no rookie when it comes to cashing an FLW check. In fact the first year pro won over $40,000.00 as a co-angler prior to moving to the front of the boat. The South Carolina angler is in just his fourth tournament as a pro and he is leading. “I cashed a check at Lake Norman, but I really want to make the cut here,” Andy said. “I had a limit early and that settled me down.”

Andy caught to keeper bass over the course of the day with his best weighing in at 13 pounds, 11 ounces. Putting five early fish in the well allowed Andy to make a move. “After I got my limit, I went up the river to flip,” he said. “I was able to cull three fish up there.”

He ended the day with four largemouths and one spotted bass. His success today came as a surprise after the practice he suffered through. “It was the worst practice I’ve ever had,” he commented. “Luckily, I figured something out early this morning and hopefully I can do it again tomorrow.” 

No Stone Un-turned
Andy Morgan held the lead most of the day with his 12-15 limit, ultimately settled into 2nd. He waded through fifteen keepers on Thursday to put his five best on the stage and sit within a pound of the leader. “Man, I just ran a bunch of water today,” Andy said. “I hit pretty much everything that got in my way. I left no stone un-turned.”

Andy also put an early limit in the boat and was able to cull the smaller ones from that quintet. He started with the schooling bass, but quickly moved to the banks and cover. “Without all the boat traffic, a guy could probably put together a solid limit on top-water,” he said. “Right now they just aren’t staying up long enough.”

Morgan only plans to change his location on Friday while he searches for the 9 pounds he believes it will take to make the cut. “I burned my area pretty good today so I’ll start on a different spot tomorrow. If I can get 9 pounds in the boat then I’ll start practicing a little and try to find something new.”

Monsoor in Fourth
Tom Monsoor finished third at the FLW Beaver Lake event in 2004 after leading that tournament on day three. His day-one limit of 11-12 has put the Wisconsin angler within striking distance of at least repeating that ’04 accomplishment. “I had a decent practice and felt pretty good about my chances,” Tom shared. “I was in a late flight and most of my spots had guys on them so I just went looking for new areas.”

Tom culled through ten keeper bites and eventually settled on three smallies and two spotted bass for the weigh-in journey. He is optimistic about his chance on Friday, but wants to remain focused as he tries to catch another 11 pound limit on the way to the finals. “These fish are here today and gone tomorrow,” Tom said. “The guys that didn’t catch them today will probably sack them up on Friday.”

Tom caught one keeper on a Senko and the rest fell victim to his trade-mark swimming jig. “When they start biting that (jig), I’m in heaven.”

Day One Top 50