Posted -  August 16th, 2008 9:30pm CST

Michael Bennett Bags Over 16 Pounds to Lead Lefebre by Nearly 3 Pounds  

Story by Brent Conway - Photos by  Matt Pangrac  

Columbia, SC  – Professional bass fishing is all about taking the conditions you’re faced with on a given day and making the needed adjustments in order to catch five that are bigger than anyone else’s. Coming into $2 million Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray, catching five keepers a day wasn’t a guarantee for the 77 anglers who qualified. 

Those who could manage five fish a day in practice said that size was an issue, but Friday’s cut showed that Murray is indeed capable of coughing up the goods when is matters most as Michael Bennett amassed over 27 pounds of bass over the first two days of the contest. 

How he did so, however, was the wildcard that Wednesday’s front forced the field to play given that at Murray in August, the shallow bite is supposed to be null. In fact, conventional wisdom coming in was that deep structure fishing is the way to go. At best, a win would require an adequate mixture of both shallow and deep techniques to compete.

With two inches of rain and cooler temperatures coming with the front, however, the deepwater bite went to the bench. Sallow-water junkers like Michael Bennett, Mark Rose, and Kevin Vida emerged as the contenders over local deepwater heroes like Anthony Gagliardi – who was an early odds-on favorite to win.

By the time Saturday rolled around the weather had stabilized, though clouds and the threat of isolated thunderstorms still plagued the area. The 10 remaining pros had a fresh start with weights being zeroed after the cut, but the grind of trying to catch five keepers was just as evident as it was during practice as only four pros managed a limit Saturday.

One of them was Michael Bennett, of Lincoln, CA who took a giant step closer to claiming the million-dollar first-place prize by holding onto the lead with a five-fish tournament limit of bass weighing 16 pounds and 1 ounce.

In second place heading to the tournament’s conclusion is David Lefebre, of Union City, PA. Lefebre was able to take advantage of the overcast conditions on Saturday and catch a tournament limit of bass weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces.

Terry Bolton of Jonesboro, AR brought a 10-pound, 15-ounce five-bass limit to the scales to take over third, and Chris Baumgardner, from Gastonia, NC, weighed four bass at 10 pounds and 9 ounces to claim the fourth-place spot heading to Sunday.

Brent Ehrler, from Redlands, CA, rounded out the Top 5 with a third day weight of 8 pounds, 8 ounces.

Michael Bennett
With an FLW Tour win this year at Lewis Smith Lake, young California pro Michael Bennett knows what’s required to close out the week at Murray. With each keeper that he puts in the box, he knows that he’s one step closer to the biggest payday of his career. “I’m fishing for five good bites a day,” he said.

“It gives me a lot of confidence with each bite that I get because I’m not planning on getting a lot of bites. That’s the biggest thing – just getting one or two early.”

Bennett has been junk fishing all week; however, as he told The BASS ZONE Friday, he’s been learning more each day. “Today I caught fish on two different baits,” he explained. 

“The areas I’m targeting are driving my bait selection, and I’m really getting dialed in as each day progresses. Thursday I caught my fish on four different baits, Friday I caught then on three baits. Today I was down to only two baits, and I’m going to say that 80% of my efforts are going to be on only one bait tomorrow.”

Bennett is now to the point where he can no longer say that he’s junk fishing – he’s running a pattern and it seems to be getting stronger each day. “I’ve been upgrading my weight pretty much every day, so I feel really good about what I’ve got going,” he said, while cautioning that each day presents a new set of circumstances. “I just pray that I’ll be able to get the five bites I need again tomorrow.”

With a three-pound advantage over his closest competitor, at this point Bennett is in the driver’s seat. Being the tournament’s leader, he points out, can weigh on you if the early bite doesn’t happen. “Tomorrow is going to be a mental game for me,” he revealed. “If I struggle for the first few hours of the day without a bite, it’s going to be hard to stay focused because I am getting so few bites each day.”

Dave Lefebre
“Today started out a little different that it has been,” he said. “I’ve pretty much been able to get five keepers real quick in the morning and then spend the day upgrading. Today, I didn’t get a fish in my best spot. That made it a little more nerve-wracking.”

Dave estimates that he caught 13 keepers over the day, although it took him much longer than he’d planned to get to the first five. “I didn’t have a limit until 12:30, and I’m used to have one by 8:00,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that the conditions are back to the way that they were in practice, but overall the bite was a little tougher today for sure.”

Going out with a three-pound deficit, Lefebre knows that he’s got a proverbial mountain ahead of him on the final day. “I need a big monster day tomorrow,” he said. “I know that they’re there, and I’m getting better everyday. It’s all about making the right decisions and sticking with my instincts. I need to get a couple of kickers tomorrow.”

Lefebre is one of the few in the Top 10 that isn’t at all stressed about the possibilities that lay ahead of him on Sunday. “I’ve got an area that I’ve spent four days in,” he said. “I just know where everything is at in it, and each day the fish change a little and I’ve been making the right adjustments. That gives me a great deal of confidence.”

Fishing as well as he has all season, Lefebre is looking forward to Sunday’s finale. “This is the way that I like to fish…it’s what I do,” he said. “It’s very rare in tournament fishing that you’re able to do exactly what you want to and be in contention to win a million dollars.”

Terry Bolton
Terry Bolton is ready for his tournament to officially start Sunday. After spending three days practicing, he said that he’s be able to refine his water to the most productive areas.. “My day was pretty normal, except that I wasn’t able to catch them how I thought that I would,” he said. 

“I was still able to spend about 40% of my day practicing. That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing since I got here.”

Boating six of seven bites, Bolton said that though he’s been fishing topwater plugs all week, the lost fish was his first. “I lost a big bass, and it really would’ve helped I think,” he said. “I haven’t been losing any, but I parted ways with this one for some reason.”

Bolton wouldn’t reveal what change he made to boat his limit, although he did point out that with the cloud cover Saturday he would’ve thought that top water would rule. “It didn’t make any sense to me at all,” he said. “The only thing that I can think of is that with the clouds, the bait didn’t come up to the banks like they have been.”

With a strong back up to his practice pattern, Bolton now knows that he’s down to two techniques. All that has to happen now is for the fish to cooperate when it matters most. “The way that this lake is fishing right now, it’s kind of a grind,” he said. “Just fishing is what’s gotten me this far, so why change it now. 

“I will tell you though that it’s not just ‘drop the trolling motor and hope for the best’ because I know exactly what I’m looking for. Tomorrow is the day that it counts, so I’m going to do everything I can.”

Chris Baumgardner
Chris Baumgardner was the only angler inside the top five that didn’t weigh five fish – a surprise considering how his day began. “My day started out real well,” he said. “I had three pretty quick, with one of them being a five pounder. I had the world by the tail, or so I thought, because I only caught one other little fish for the rest of the day.”

Chris explained that he ran all over the lake trying everything he knew in an attempt to put that one last keeper in his live well. “I tried to switch areas and try different techniques,” he said. “I did everything I knew to do, but just wasn’t able to get that fifth fish. In these deals, you’ve gotta have five. That’s going to hurt me.”

Baumgardner is undecided on exactly how, but he’s absolutely certain that he must have the biggest stringer of his week Sunday to have a chance at winning a million dollars. “I’m not real sure just yet what I’m going to do exactly,” he said. “I just know that I’m going to need a big bag to have a chance, so I’m going to fish that way all day tomorrow.”

Brent Ehrler
Brent Ehrler has been fishing by the seat of his pants this week, covering water and trying to put a solid limit in the boat. He’s been successful enough at it to be in the hunt Sunday, but feels like Saturday was a let down that might have left too big a hill to overcome. “I had a real tough day today,” he said. 

“I just didn’t get any big bites, and that’s just crucial to have any kind of a chance. I’m kind of disappointed to tell you the truth. I was pretty sure I could pull out 11 or 12 pounds today.”

Figuring it out as he goes along, Ehrler revealed that he’s yet to rehash an area he’s visited – though he suggests that Sunday might be the time to test it. “I’ve been running new water everyday,” he said. “I haven’t gone back to a spot that I found in practice yet, which might be something that I do tomorrow.”

Like Baumgardner before him, Ehrler’s not entirely certain of where he’ll be fishing in Sunday’s final round. He is certain, however, that he’s going to swing for the fences. “I’ve haven’t really decided exactly what I’m going to do tomorrow,” he said. 

“I don’t think that I’ve got any 20-pound water because those bites are just so few and far between. I can tell you for sure that I’m going to give it all I’ve got tomorrow to find out though.”

Brian Travis
“I caught my biggest fish of the day on my third cast, but it went downhill from there. I think that the cloud cover really hurt me today because the way that I’ve been fishing I need the sun to position the fish.

“I’m praying for sun tomorrow, for sure. But really, win, lose, or draw this week has been a huge momentum booster for next year. I just want to make a name for myself and prove that I can compete with the best in the world.”

Dion Hibdon
“I probably stuck with the top water a little bit too much today. I thought that with the heavy cloud cover it would work for me. I’m still excited about the possibilities though.

“I’ve been around big fish all week, and I know that in order for me to have a realistic shot at winning, Michael’s going to have to faulter. Do I think that’s a real possibility? No, because he’s been the most consistent all week.”

Kevin Vida
“Something’s changed, and I still haven’t figured it out. I went into one of my small areas where I’ve been seeing quite a few fish, and I only saw one. For some reason, the bait is pulling off.

“I was able to pull off onto a little point this afternoon and I found some fish. I think that the cruisers have followed the herring out and they’re just set up on points now. I’m going to try that tomorrow and see for sure.”

Jay Yelas
“My day was largely a disappointment. I had two good days to start the tournament, but it just wasn’t on today. My co-angler caught some good fish behind me, but they were roaming.

“It’s a disappointment, because I feel like I’m largely out of it. But you never really know. We’ll regroup and try it again tomorrow.”

Mark Rose
“I started out being right on the sweetest spot this morning, and then here came the ski boats and stuff. That’s really just an excuse because at the end of the day, I just didn’t catch them today.

“If the spot that I’m in didn’t look as good as it does, and have the kind of ingredients that are there, I would just say that I’m hard-headed. But I know that it’s possible for me to catch a huge sack – I’ve done it already. I’ve got to be in there waiting for them if they do turn on again. The possibilities are just too great to try and do something else.”