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ROGERS, AR – Thanks to this season’s schedule shift, the customary fourth tournament of the year, the Wal-Mart Open, was moved back to May instead of the usual April slot it’s held for years. With each passing year, the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake is becoming a strategic game that involves knowing which species of bass to target on the 28,000-acre impoundment if they are to have any chance of walking away with the tournament title and $200,000 top prize.
Beaver has defined several anglers – both good and bad. Darrel Robertson, for example, has seemed to always excel at the crystal-clear northwest Arkansas impoundment. On the other hand, other pros have never been able to shake the seeming curse that Beaver holds for them.
This year – while largemouth’s have always been the cure-all for a lacking weigh-in bag – the lake’s growing smallmouth population are in more abundance and, thus, have held their spot in the tournament’s bag line more than ever before. Largemouth bass are, as always, the coveted must have, the runner-up contestant in most angler’s bags, the spotted bass, seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in between.
The first three days of the tournament it seemed to boil down to who was catching schooling fish first thing in the morning. However, most of the schoolers being weighed in were largemouths, but the rub is that the bite dies after about 9:00 and fishing got tough, making the smallmouth bite clutch.
Foggy conditions surrounded Prairie Creek Marina at launch Sunday, and seemed to serve as a precursor to the unpredictable finality of the contest. All week long anglers have attempted – and mostly failed – to unlock the mystery of the fickle bass bite on Beaver Lake, but Jay Yelas – who is as hot as anyone in the bass business right now – seemed to have the best hold on what was going on.
The FLW Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake came to a conclusion Sunday afternoon; a four day endurance test that culminated with the crowning of a champion and the delivery of $1.5 million in prize money. The final weigh-in was jump started with a color presentation by the Arkansas Army National Guard. Also on hand was FLW namesake Forrest L. Wood. Forrest was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation from the crowd at John Q. Hammons Center.
Once the final proceedings started, Alfred Williams was the first angler to the scales. Alfred put together the second heaviest stringer of the tournament on day two at 13-6. Over the next two days the Mississippi pro only managed four more fish and finished this event in 10th.
Several anglers made a run at the win including day one leader, And Montgomery. Andy finished the final rounds with a combined weight of 12-3 good enough for a 5th place payday.
A sleeper of sorts in this tournament was Bella Vista pro J R Beehler. J R never threatened the lead until the final day when he brought 9-6 to the scales. A two total of 14-14 gave the young angler an early lead. He survived a couple more anglers, but finally settled into third.
A behind the scenes battle was also going on this week in Arkansas. The Land-O’Lakes Angler of the Year race would see a changing of the guard once the final weights were tallied. Headed into this event, Michael Bennett of Roseville, CA was the leader, but Michael finished in 81st leaving the door wide open for Jay Yelas and/or Andy Morgan.
Jay was in 8th place prior to the Beaver Lake event and right behind him was Andy in 10th.
The high pressure system that had stymied anglers for three consecutive days didn’t seem to phase Andy Morgan who brought another limit to the scales Sunday weighing 8-0 to capture the Jacob’s Cup trophy and the $200,000 check with a total weight of 17-6. This was Morgan’s first FLW win, but based on the way he’s fishing it certainly won’t be his last.
The only thing lacking from Jay Yelas’ resume is a FLW tour victory. He led the Wal-Mart Open after three days of competition and needed just over five pounds to claim the win on Sunday. He could only manage three keeper bites on the last day and a weight of 3-15 left him in second with a combined weight of 15-12. Though he fell short of his first victory, the second-place finish did put him in the lead for Angler of Year.
Fourth place belonged to Jacob Powroznik, who brought a five-fish tournament limit to the stage weighing 8-1, with a two-day total weight of 14-1.
Note
As shown below, there were two ties on the final day. According to FLW tournament rules, day two standings will determine the angler’s position in the result of a tie. Both Andy Montgomery and Glenn Browne held more weight after Friday than did their counterparts.
Final Results
1. Andy Morgan 17-6
2. Jay Yelas 15-12
3. JR Beehler 14-14
4. Jacob Powroznik 14-1
5. Andy Montgomery 12-3
6. Chad Morgenthaler 12-3
7. Glenn Browne 11-8
8. Ray Scheide 11-8
9. Dwayne Horton 6-5
10. Alfred Williams 5-8
Morgan Schools the Field
Andy Morgan wanted nothing less than a win at Beaver Lake this week, “It’s all about getting that first W.” With a final day weight of eight pounds, the Duracell pro notched his first ever Tour level victory.
Like many of the competitors, Andy relied on schooling bass for the lion share of his weight this week. Andy suffered through the same frustrations as Yelas and others when his “shoolers” didn’t show up on the final day. “I would catch them on a Jackal wake bait and a Swarming Hornet while they schooling,” Andy said. “Today, I just had to put my head down and grind out a limit.”
Andy’s grinding tools consisted of a 1/8th ounce War Eagle Shaky head tipped with a watermelon/candy Zoom finesse worm and a Tiny E swim bait given to him by his good friend Luke Clausen.
“The first morning of the tournament, Luke threw this swim bait in my boat and said, ‘Try this.’ I didn’t throw it until today and I caught two keepers on it in some shallow grass.” Those two keepers were key for Andy as his winning margin was less than 2 pounds.
Morgan now sits second in t AOY race just a few points behind Yelas, but he is more concerned with winning the next event than where he sits in the point’s race. “I’ve got the monkey off my back as far as a win goes, but I’m just as hungry as I was before this event. If I can win or do well in a tournament the points will take care of themselves.”
Yelas Falls Short Again
Jay Yelas is the new leader in the Land-O’Lakes AOY race and possibly the hottest angler on the water. He combined 18 fish over four days to finish second at this week’s event on Beaver Lake. “It came down to just one fish,” Jay said. “I try to look at the bright side of things and not winning has just made me more determined.”
Jay revealed early in the week his concerns with sharing water with fellow top ten competitor Andy Montgomery, “The fact that we are both in there might prevent either one of us from winning.”
That indeed happened as the honey hole dried up on the final day for both anglers. “If Andy or I had that spot to ourselves then it would have been a runaway,” Jay lamented.
Jay’s equipment and lure selection for the week consisted of Team Diawa rods and reels, 17lb Trilene XT and 12lb Trilene Fluorocarbon lines. Of the 18 keepers Jay boated, 14 came off a 6 inch swim bait. “I would Texas rig the bait on the heavier line when skipping it under docks and run it on the smaller line in open water,” said the Skeeter pro.
When asked about his position atop the AOY race and the remaining season, Jay responded, “I love the Potomac River. I’ve won there and have a couple of second place finishes. Lake Erie is a different story. I can get rough and I have done very well there. I’m still going to fish for wins, but the points race will be on my mind for the rest of the season.”
Jacob Powers into 4th
Yamaha pro, Jacob Powroznik has a number of top ten finishes to his credit along with a Stren Series win. His fourth place finish a t Beaver Lake added another $40,000.00 to his career earnings pushing the Virginia pro up near the $400,000.00 mark. His primary baits for the week were a Lake Fork Magic Shad and Tru-Tungsten Shaky Head with an All Terrain worm. “I was catching schoolers each morning and today I had my limit by 9 a.m.,” he said. “Once the fish went down, I would start targeting rock piles and standing timber with the finesse worm.”
Jacob used a combination of 8 and 12 pound test Gamma Fluorocarbon line each spooled on seven foot Kistler Helium medium heavy action rods. The Ranger pro also wanted to thank his sponsors, Lowrance Electronics, Yamaha outboards and Chevy Trucks.
Montgomery on 5th
Rookie Tour angler, Andy Montgomery finished this event in style with a final day limit totaling 7-6. All week he shared his best spot with second place finisher, Jay Yelas. Andy milked the docks of a Beaver Lake marina with a white Shooter jig and an original Rad Lures Chatterbait. “I would make a pass with the jig and then turn around and go back with the chatterbait,” the South Carolina Pro said. “I’m happy with the way the tournament went and how I performed.”
Not only did his primary pattern fade on the last day, but his back-up plan also failed him. “I had to scramble today to catch five,” he said. “I caught one off a bed, 2 on finesse worms and another on a Carolina rig.”
With his $30,000.00 payday, Andy capped off a two week stretch where he earned more that $40,000.00 fishing FLW events.
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