BASSMASTER CLASSIC

Whopper puts angler from California at top

HOUSTON -- Brent Ehrler of Newport Beach, Calif., winner of the 2007 Forrest Wood Cup, seized the lead in the first round of the 47th Bassmaster Classic at Lake Conroe on Friday by catching five bass that weighed 23 pounds, 3 ounces.

All 52 anglers will fish today's second round. The top 25 will fish Sunday in the championship round. The champion will win $350,000.

Anchoring Ehrler's bag was one fish that weighed 9-12, the heaviest fish caught Friday. Ehrler said he considered it a blessing and a warning.

"That was nearly half my weight," Ehrler said. "Without that, I probably get one that's like the rest of them, and that puts me somewhere around 17 pounds, and that's not even in the top 10."

Ehrler, who also won an FLW Tour event on Lake Ouachita in 2010, said that he was "rattled" in his first Classic last year at Grand Lake in Oklahoma, and that he was rattled for the start of this tournament, as well.

"Being rattled is basically your nerves," Ehrler said. "You see it regardless of the size of the tournament. Your nerves get the best of you. Being able control contain it and contain it, and making right decisions is the key to doing well in the tournament."

Winning $500,000 in the Forrest Wood Cup did not immunize him from the pressure of being in the Classic.

"It's the Bassmaster Classic and all that goes with it, the prestige and the spotlight and all the publicity," Ehrler said.

First-time Classic participant Bradley Roy finished the first round in second place with five bass weighing 22-1. He said he is in a good position to fish Sunday.

"I've dreamt a lot about this day," said Roy, of Lancaster, Ky. "To be able to go out and catch 22 pounds is awesome, and I think I've got fish coming to me."

Cliff Crochet of Pierra Part, La. (5/21-8) is third, followed by Mike Iaconelli of Pitts Grove, N.J. (5/21-2).

Iaconelli, the 2003 winner, said bass at Lake Conroe, one of the nation's top trophy lakes, have seen every big bass bait under the sun, so he used light tackle to give them a different look. When asked about his baits, he dodged.

"My best bait was a live cricket on a drop shot," Iaconelli said. "Once it got through the bream and crappie, it was awesome."

"The way I fished today is a dangerous way to fish because I'm not getting a lot of bites. When I got a bite, it was generally a quality fish, but if I'm going to fish that style, this is a good place do it."

The minimum length limit for largemouth bass at Lake Conroe is 16 inches.

Rounding out the top 10: Cliff Pirch of Payson, Ariz. (5/20-11), Dave LeFebre of Erie, Pa. (5/20-6), James Elam of Tulsa (4/20-1), Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas (5/19-13), Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn. (5/19-9), and Matt Herren of Ashville, Ala. (5/19-7). Crochet and Herren were both penalized 4 ounces for weighing in one dead fish.

Tournament favorite Keith Combs of Huntington, Texas, finished the first round in 40th place, but Roy said that doesn't matter at Lake Conroe. All five of the leaders said that they believe at least one 30-pound limit will come to the scales, and Roy said Combs will probably catch one of them.

"I think somebody will get it tomorrow," Crochet said.

Sports on 03/25/2017

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