Posted May 18th, 2007  8:14 pm CST

Friday Cut Goes Down........18-13 is the Number

Story by Dru Smith

Rogers, AR-- Friday was the final chance for 10 of the 201 professional anglers fishing the FLW Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake to qualify for the weekend finals. Day one witnessed a stingy bite with the overall weights being lower than expect. As the pros and their co-angler partners roared across the clear waters of Beaver on Friday morning, hopes of five good bites were on the minds of all 402 competitors.

The FLW tour enjoys an annual stop at Lake Beaver, but this event was pushed back from its usual early springtime start. The result of this later start was post-spawn, high-water and tough-bite conditions. With more than $1 million and 60 pro places being paid, every ounce brought to the scales could result in big money.

FLW tour regulations allow only the top 10 pros a chance to fish on the final two days and they all begin on equal footing. Their weights are zeroed after Friday so the FLW touring pros are required to employ the difficult strategy of managing their fish. With the stingy bite of Thursday fresh on their minds, many pros predicted the cut to around 20 pounds. However, the even tougher conditions on Friday forced the cut line down to 18-13.

Andy Montgomery accumulated the most ounces on day-one with a five fish limit worth 13-11. With just four fish on Friday, Andy managed 7-2 and made the cut in third place.

Accompanied by his daughters Hannah and Bethany, Skeeter pro Jay Yelas strolled onto stage with five quality fish. Jay’s two day weight of 23-10 gave the Texan an early lead and a spot in the finals. As the weigh-in progressed, several top ten names from Friday failed to hold on to their spot. Tom Monsoor, Mark Davis, John Sappington and Tony Couch failed to bring the required weight to the scales and fell below the cut line.

Mississippi pro, Alfred Williams made a valiant effort on Friday bringing in the best weight of the day at 13-6. His two day combined weight of 18-13 jumped him all the way up from 116th to 9th and a spot in the finals. Chad Morgenthaler moved from 35th to take the final spot with a combined weight of 18-13. Missing the cut by one ounce was the Lake Dardanelle Series champion, Matt Herren. The Skeeter pro amassed a two day weight of 18-12 and finished in 11th.

Top Ten Finalist
1.   Jay Yeals
2.   Andy Morgan
3.   Andy Montgomery
4.   Glenn Browne
5.   JR Beehler
6.   Dwayne Horton
7.   Ray Sheide
8.   Jacob Powroznik
9.   Alfred Williams
10. Chad Morgenthaler

Jay Swims to the Top
Skeeter pro, Jay Yelas finished second at Lake Norman behind legendary angler Larry Nixon. With a combined weight of 23-10, Jay finished the first two days of the Lake Beaver event in first. Catching all five of his fish within the first 45 minutes of day two, Jay is relying on the shad to help position the fish. “I had my limit off that first spot and didn’t catch another keeper all day,” said Yelas. “Once the shad quit spawning the bass are gone.”

Jay is a former AOY on the FLW tour and has 9 top ten finishes, but he is still looking for that illusive win. He is sharing his hot spot with fellow competitor and top ten qualifier, Andy Montgomery. “Yesterday we both started on that one dock and they were biting better on Andy’s side,” Jay revealed. “Today they bit better on my side.”

“Unfortunately, because Andy and I are both in there it might keep either one of us from winning. It is by far the best area on the lake.”

He used a BassTrix swim bait to garner his second place finish at Norman and speculation is he’s throwing it again on Beaver Lake. “Yeah, I’m using that and a few other baits. Really, I’m just trying to catch bigger fish and the spot right now is the key.”

Morgan Stays Put
Andy Morgan wanted ten pounds on Friday to ensure his place among the weekend finalist. After putting 8-3 in the boat within the first 40 minutes, he was well on his way. However, the bite got slower and he only managed a couple more fish throughout the rest of the day. “I landed three fish on my first 10 cast,” the Dayton, Tennessee pro said. “Around noon I hadn’t upgraded my catch any and I started to think the cut weight wouldn’t be as high.” Andy was right and with a two day total of 21-2 he finished the Friday’s round in second.

Switching from the run and gun style he employed on Thursday, Morgan stayed in one area most of the day. He plans to repeat that strategy on Saturday. 

“I’m going to spend all day in there tomorrow. The fish to win are there and without the boat traffic the bass should stay active longer.”

Andy is no stranger to the winner’s circle having notched five victories under the FLW flag already, but he is still looking for his first Tour win. “I think it will take 21 pounds to win,” he stated. “That’s what I caught on the first two days and that is what I hoping for on the weekend.” 


Rookie in his First Top Ten
Andy Montgomery led on Thursday with 13-11 and faced the daunting task of catching enough weight to make the weekend finale while saving a few fish to make a run at the title. With 7-2 on Friday and a combined weight 20-13 it would appear Andy managed his fish just right. 

Finishing the qualifying rounds in third, Andy said the fishing was tougher on day two. “I caught all four of my fish early,” he said. “I picked up a shaky head and tried to get number five.” He had his fifth fish on, but couldn’t get it to the boat.

Andy is sharing his starting area with fellow qualifier Jay Yelas, but believes there is enough fish for the both of them. “The shad are spawning around these docks and there are some quality fish around,” he stated. “Even with both of us in the finals, the fish to win are there.” 

For Saturday, Andy’s plan is to probe the docks early with a white Shooter jig and a white Chatter-bait. He will then go up river trying to find the heavier largemouth bass. “I didn’t go up there today so hopefully the fish didn’t get too much pressure,” said Andy. “One good bite up there can make a big difference.”

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