Steve steps up

Pedigree pro Steve Kennedy returns to the FLW Tour top 10, while co-angler Bob Bjorklund stages an impressive comeback

CLEWISTON, Fla. - Lake Okeechobee has been quite the snobby fishery this week at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour season opener, delivering monstrous limits to some and puny fish - or no fish at all - to others. Although all 200 pros managed to catch at least one keeper over the course of the two-day opening round, the weight range between first place and 200th fell just short of a staggering 35 pounds.

The big lake didn't give up much to Pedigree pro Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., on day one, surrendering five fish that weighed 9 pounds, 15 ounces that landed him in 39th place heading into day two. His day-one numbers resembled his unremarkable 7-pound, 15-ounce opening-day catch at the EverStart Series event on Lake Okeechobee just two weeks ago, although Kennedy stepped it up on day two of that tournament and caught 27-plus-pounds to make the top-10 cut.

He apparently pulled the same rabbit out of his hat Thursday on day two of the FLW Tour event, hauling in a limit of bass weighing 25 pounds, 15 ounces to take the lead. His two-day weight of 35 pounds, 14 ounces landed him more than 5 pounds ahead of his closest competitor.

Critical changes

When Kennedy returned to Lake Okeechobee to fish the FLW Tour event, he found his EverStart honeyhole covered in mud, so he moved to the Monkey Box area and began to utilize a typical Okeechobee flipping pattern. Not satisfied with the results, Kennedy opted to make a bait change on day two and reaped the rewards - a stringer that included an 8-pounder, a 7-pounder and a 6-pounder.

Kennedy said he plans to remain in the crowded Monkey Box area tomorrow, though with 190 pros eliminated, he should face considerably less fishing pressure.

“I’m going to go to Monkey Box and stay, and if I don’t catch them, then I’ll go back south and take a gamble,” he said. “And I won’t quit at 1 o’clock tomorrow.”

Kennedy had his two largest bass by noon and figured that would be enough to make the top-10 cut. He decided to find another kicker fish, however, and stumbled upon another big Okeechobee largemouth.

“I didn’t realize they weighed quite that much,” Kennedy said. “They’re in there, but it’s amazing how many boats are circling the same area.”

Jordon makes a splash

Also fishing the Monkey Box area today was Yamaha/Skeeter pro Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas, who earned his first-ever FLW Tour top-10 berth with a two-day weight of 30 pounds, 8 ounces. Jordon also relied on a flipping pattern to catch his limit of bass.

“I caught a lot of fish today, but I only had one good one, a 7-pounder,” Jordon said. “I think there are a lot of fish in there, but they bite early. You better get your big one in the morning - in the first 10 minutes. There are good ones in there; it’s just a matter of catching them.”

Grigsby hangs on

Also making his first FLW Tour top-10 appearance is BFGoodrich Tires pro Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich., who tied Jordon’s two-day weight of 30 pounds, 8 ounces. Grigsby took a different route than many pros and caught his bass in an area he has all to himself - a rarity on Okeechobee this week.

“I’m just slowing down and fishing my area as hard as I can,” said Grigsby, who caught his bass flipping in hydrilla with a Venom craw. “It’s clear water. There were a lot of guys in my area in practice, but apparently they didn’t catch them. I’ve probably only seen three boats there all week.”

Best of the rest

Yamaha/Skeeter pro Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas, will compete tomorrow after finishing fourth today with a two-day weight of 30 pounds. Rounding out the top five pros are Toshinari Namiki of Mineola, Texas, with a combined weight of 29 pounds, 7 ounces. Day-one leader Bobby Lane squeaked into the finals in 10th place after catching only 2 pounds, 11 ounces Thursday.

Bjorklund makes a comeback

After an opening-day catch of 1 pound, 1 ounce, co-angler Bob Bjorklund of Aurora, Colo., barely registered on the radar. The FLW Tour rookie came back in a big way on day two, however, weighing in five bass that totaled 20 pounds, 7 ounces to lead the Co-angler Division into its final day of competition. His two-day weight of 21 pounds, 8 ounces gave him the lead by a short 6-ounce margin.

Bjorklund credited his pro partner, Allen Cauthen, with his remarkable turnaround, including his whopping 8-pound, 14-ounce bass. The two fished in Moonshine Bay on the north end of the lake Thursday.

“I’ve never been to Okeechobee,” Bjorklund said. “I like it a lot today - I didn’t like it too much yesterday. I’m twitching a little Zoom Fluke in watermelon, finessing it through the grass on 8-pound-test line with a spinning rod. Everybody else was throwing the bigger baits.”

The top five co-anglers heading into tomorrow’s final co-angler round are as follows:
･ Nick Hamra of Chesterfield, Mo. - 21 pounds, 2 ounces.
･ Bill Rogers of Jasper, Texas - 20 pounds, 2 ounces.
･ William Bridges of Tallapoosa, Ga. - 18 pounds, 5 ounces.
･ Jimmey Shelton of Wellington, Fla. - 17 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 pros and co-anglers will take off tomorrow from Roland Martin’s Marina, located at 920 E. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston, at 8 a.m.

Posted by DODGE at January 20, 2005 06:38 PM in Tournament (FLW)