Posted April 29h, 2007  9:07pm CST

Yelas Second, Vatalaro Third

Story by Dru Smith

Concord, N.C. –Sunday was the final day of the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW tour series event on Lake Norman. With no fisherman distancing himself on Saturday, all ten competitors had a chance at the $200,000.00 first place money. 

This event, sponsored by the National Guard, started with a full 200 man field and was cut to the final ten after Friday’s round. Fans witnessed the rise and fall of local favorites Bryan Thrift and Hank Cherry. On Saturday, veteran angler Larry Nixon took over the lead with a 12-09 pound limit. He was followed closely by another Arkansas pro Scott Suggs. Scott trailed Larry by just over a pound headed into the final day. In fact, the entire 10 man field was separated by fewer 6 pounds.

Bright skies and brisk winds followed the remaining anglers across Lake Norman as they searched for the five fish that would lead to victory. Larry Nixon felt that at least 12 pounds on Sunday would give him a shot at the win. His final day weight of 14-7 gave the Bee Branch pro his third win on the on FLW tour and his first since 2002.

Skeeter pro, Jay Yelas made a strong run on Sunday bringing the day’s biggest limit to the scales at 16-6. Unfortunately with a two day total 23-07, Jay finished in second more.

Vic Vatalaro remained consistent all week at Lake Norman and on Sunday he went to the stage with a little over 12 pounds. However, his final round total of 23 pounds left him four pounds away from victory and in third place.

North Carolina rookie, Hank Cherry rebounded for a disappointing third day to weigh 16-5 on Sunday. With a combined weight of 22-07, Hank finished with his first top ten at 4th.

Rounding out the top five was Folgers pro Scott Suggs. After putting himself in second after Saturday’s round, Scott managed only 9 pounds on the final day for a total weight of 20-4. 

The remaining Top Ten
6. Jim Moynagh 20-00
7. Michael Bennett 19-14
8. Greg Pugh 19-06
9. Gabe Bolivar 17-08
10. Bryan Thrift 14-00

Angler of the Year Race 
Wih his 7th place finish, Michael Bennett takes over the lead in the Angler of the Year Race. Bryan Thrift moved to second and former leader, Dave Lefebre falls to seventh. 

Nixon by Himself at the Top
In 2006, Larry Nixon made the move to just fish the FLW Tour. At Lake Norman, the Chevy pro notched his third win on the FLW side and his 17th overall. During practice for this event, Larry found an area of Lake Norman that seemed to be holding better quality fish. “I caught several three pound bass and one over four before the tournament,” Larry said. “On the Thursday nobody else showed up in this spot and I decided to stay there all week.” That decision paid off as Larry went on to seine more than 50 pounds of bass from the area over the four day event.

A 1/16th ounce jig head and a Berkley Wacky Crawler accounted for the majority of Larry’s bites this week. He rigged the bait on 8 lb Trilene Fluorocarbon line and used a Fenwick medium action rod. “I think the fish I was catching were on beds but I couldn’t see them,” said. “I was just fishing ‘ugly banks’ and cover that no one else seemed to hitting.” Prior to the event, everyone thought the numerous docks that line the shores of Lake Norman would be the key to victory this week. That was not the case for Nixon. “I 25 keepers the first day and 10 to 15 each of the final three days,” Larry stated. “Out of all those fish, maybe 5 came off docks.”

Larry Nixon made more than $1.6 million fishing with BASS and with his $200,000.00 win this week he is knocking on the million dollar door with the FLW as well.

Jay entered this event with the mindset of winning. Most anglers begin a tournament with the hopes of winning, but once competition starts it becomes a matter of survival. Jay began and ended this event with a swim bait. “I caught some big fish on it in practice and had some nice ones follow it,” he said. “I only got five bites today, but they were the right size.” Of the 19 keepers Jay weighed at Lake Norman, 16 came on a six inch BassTrix swim bait. Jay rigged the lure on 17 Trilene XT and used a number 6 hook to rig the bait Texas style. “It had to be weed less to get back under the docks,” said Yelas. “I was skipped it around and under docks all week.”

Jay targeted post-spawn bass that had moved from the shallows to take refuge along the boat docks on Lake Norman. When asked about his catch on Sunday, Jay responded, “I t just goes to show you how timing plays a big part in fishing. I used the same bait and went to the same areas as yesterday. Today, I just switched my rotation up and it paid off. I started in an area that I had been fishing later in the day and caught three keepers early.”

Vic Powers into Third
Fishing some of the same type areas as the eventual winner Larry Nixon, Vic Vatalaro power fished a jig to get into the finals. Over the first three days of the tournament Vic used a homemade, green/pumpkin jig with a Mizmo, green/pumpkin lizard for a trailer. He was fishing the combination on 14lb Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line and targeting lay-downs near deeper water. “I would throw the jig into about 2 foot of water, work it slowly then swim it out to the ends of the tree,” he said. “I believe the key was having the deep water close by.”

Vic amassed almost 37 pound using this technique during the first three days, but on Sunday his bite faded. “I didn’t catch a fish on the jig today, said the Yamaha pro. “I caught a small limit off docks early and then wasted three hours trying to get a jig bite.”

Vic returned to the docks later in the day and culled his weight up to 12-3 giving him a final total of 23 pounds. 

“Hindsight is always 20/20, but I wish that I would have stayed with the dock fish longer today.”

Vic used a Gambler Giggy Stcick and a Fluke to catch fish off docks and he believes the location was again important. “I would only fish the docks that were at the openings of spawning coves. I think the better fish have moved out and were holding on the docks close to deeper water.”

This is Vatalaro’s fifth year on the FLW tour and his first top ten. He has 3 victories on the Stren Series and 2 with the BFL.
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Final Standings