Praise from anglers
Praise for the good bass fishing at Beaver Lake and the hospitality shown to tournament anglers rang from the FLW weigh-in stage Saturday at the Rogers Walmart store on West Walnut street.
"You could have any tournament in the world here," said Scott Canterbury, tournament leader. The bass fishing is good and Rogers is a great town, he told an enthusiastic weigh-in audience.
"Beaver Lake is on fire," said fifth-place angler Scott Martin. "The bigger bass are really coming on. Sunday has the potential for a 20-pound bag."
Forrest Wood, bass boat pioneer and Ranger Boats founder, chimed in.
"Fishing at this lake is better than it's ever been, and that's amazing because the fishing pressure has increased," Wood said.
They praised the conservation efforts of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at Beaver and other lakes around Arkansas.
A fish for a song
Excitement ramps up during the final two days of the tournament. Music plays as the anglers take the stage to weigh their fish. Each one is pumped about their chances to win the $125,000 first prize.
Fishermen get to pick the song they want to be played as they take the stage. Andy Morgan of Tennessee, in fourth-place chose Hank Jr.'s "Country Boy Can Survive" and even sang part of a verse for the crowd.
Journey and Billy Squire were among the rockers anglers chose.
Jimmy Houston said his song used to be "The Entertainer," but joked his wife, Chris, made him change it to "I Ain't As Good As I Once Was."
Houston is celebrating 50 years of tournament fishing this year. He caught most of his bass during the tournament on a spinner bait, he said.
Traveling band
The Walmart FLW Tour is like a traveling show that comes to town for a week. The stage, seating, electronics and fish tanks were set up at Prairie Creek park for Thursday and Friday. Then the whole shooting match was packed up and moved to Walmart on West Walnut in Rogers for the weigh-in Saturday and today.
It takes about 50 FLW staffers to put on the tournament, said Joe Opager with FLW Outdoors. Most of them live in Kentucky. A few live in Minnesota.
Fishing tip
Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C., has won the Beaver Lake FLW event the past two years. He offered some sage fishing advice for catching bass on Beaver Lake. Sunny skies and calm wind may be pleasant for fishing, but they make for tough catching. Cloudy, windy days are best.
"You know when it gets like that they're going to bite," he said. Arey had 12 pounds, 4 ounces on Saturday.
Keep on casting
Persistence pays at Beaver Lake, confirmed fourth-place angler Andy Morgan. Bass fishing can be a workout, especially at Beaver, he said.
"There were better conditions today, but you still gotta hustle. You have to grind and grind. If you want to lose 10 pounds, just come up here and fish for a week."
Morgan added he didn't have much luck catching bass where there were a lot of other fishermen. He doesn't bother much with crowded water, "even if it's the best place on the lake."
Gone catfishin'
Kids got into the FLW fishing act with a fishing derby Saturday at Lake Bentonville. Five of the FLW pros were on hand to help youngsters catch catfish at the lake. FLW angler Cody Kelley organized the derby.
Sports on 04/17/2016