Posted -  August 15th, 2008 10:45pm CST

Michael Bennett Brings In Over 15 Pounds to Lead. . .Weights Zeroed For Weekend  

Story by Brent Conway - Photos by  Matt Pangrac and Dan O'Sullivan

Columbia, SC – The $2 million Forrest Wood Cup, being held this week at South Carolina’s legendary Lake Murray, is as big a tournament as big-time professional bass fishing has to offer. In terms of payback, the winner will walk away a millionaire. And with regards to an angler’s career …well, there’s really no end to the impact there.

With all the money and glory at stake, it’s not at all surprising that prior to the tournament’s start there was an unending amount of angler speculation about fishing conditions at the popular southeastern impoundment. For starters, it’s summer and though Murray has served as a popular tournament hotspot it’s usually spring when they are held. Secondly, the plentiful vegetation that once lined Murray’s shores is largely gone making the shallow bite tough to pinpoint.

Lastly, and likely most important, is the weather. The hot August sun shone brightly throughout practice making shallow bites hard to come by and even more difficult to figure out what was holding them there. However, a strong front crushed the area Wednesday dumping two inches of rain and leaving the temperatures unusually cool. This signaled a rush to Murray’s banks by both the bass and the bass fishermen.

The heavy rains that fell across the area didn’t have a noticeable effect on Murray’s level or overall clarity, and the low-hanging clouds from Thursday were scattered Friday allowing the sun to pop through. However, the shallow-water guys weren’t really looking for the rain’s immediate effects to improve conditions. Instead, they were looking for the impact to be felt well into the weekend once the runoff begins to enter the lake.

All but a handful of anglers in Thursday’s Top 10 were up shallow, and each of them agreed that the shallow bite could go silent just as quickly as it had appeared. From a strategy standpoint, Friday is “moving day” on the FLW Tour and Series events where you do everything possible to ensure you’re your two-day combined total weight is enough to make the day-ending cut to the Top 10.

Michael Bennett, from Lincoln, CA, started the day in 10th place and did what needed to be done in order to secure a 1 in 10 shot at a million dollars. The 15-pound, 5-ounce five-fish sack of bass he brought to the scales was enough to cruise into Saturday’s third quarter with ease as the tournament’s second leader.

Marion, AR pro Mark Rose ended the day in second place with a two-day combined weight of 28 pounds and 6 ounces after bringing a 6-pound, 4-ounce four-fish sack to the scales. Moving into the third place from 11th was Redland, CA pro Brent Ehrler with a combined total weight of 26 pounds, 6 ounces after weighing a 14-pound, 12-ounce tournament limit.

Terry Bolton, from Jonesboro, AR, came from 18th place to secure the fourth-place position after weighing 15 pounds 12 ounces to boost his two-day total weight to 25 pounds 10 ounces. TBF representative Brian Travis, from Conover, NC, was in fifth after placing 9 pounds and 2 ounces on the scales to maintain his firm grasp in the Top 10 with a two-day combined weight of 23 pounds and 1 ounce.

With the weights zeroed to start the day on Saturday, it’s a brand new tournament. 

Bennett Junks His Way to the Top
Coming into the day, Michael Bennett knew that his Top 10 spot was far from secure. He junk-fished his way into contention Thursday, and he knew that his shallow-water bite was going to have to hold some magic Friday for him to have a shot. Fortunately, he made the right decisions and the stingy shallow-water areas he’s targeting reluctantly gave up the weight.

“It’s a little shocking, to be honest,” he said. “I just got on the right stretch of bank today.”
The shallower “stretch of bank” Bennett refers two gave up three keepers in a row, but he admits that it was as much about timing and luck as it was anything else. “I’m learning that each time I catch one the spot is done,” he said. “That’s kind of the story with the shallow bite, so I’m real happy that I picked the right stretch of bank today.”

Finally establishing a small pattern midway through the morning, Bennett was able to put his box his five keepers – the only five bites he had all day – and spend some time looking for areas to fish over the weekend. “I found a few areas that I will fish,” he revealed. “I have no idea if they’ve been hit or not but they look good and have the right ingredients.”

“I was finally able to figure out a little more of what I needed,” Michael added. “Yesterday it was just total junk fishing, but today – and hopefully through the weekend – I was able to figure out the kind of stuff I need to be targeting.”

Rose Didn't Find Big Bite
Mark Rose came crossed the weigh-in stage the first day with the biggest stringer of the tournament. His plan Friday was to go back to his big-fish area for two key bites and call it good. Unfortunately things didn’t work out quite as planned, although his four-fish bag was enough to keep him in the hunt.

"I went into my primary water today just looking for one or two big bites,” the Arkansas pro said. “I fished in there for over an hour before I got a bite, and when I did it was just a little guy.”

Knowing that he was going to have to have some weight to stay in the race, Rose went into scramble mode. “I had some places up the river that I figured I could scratch out a few bites,” he said. “I figured that if I was having trouble so was everyone else, and I was pretty sure that I could go up there and catch five pounds.”

“Fortunately, I was able to pick up two more fish in the river and save my day,” Rose added. “My day just basically boiled down to junk fishing – I caught my last fish on a shaky head, in fact.”
For Saturday, Rose is convinced that if he keeps his head down his primary water will produce.

“I’m going to fish for three bites in the same general area tomorrow,” he said of his third-day plans. “Bud (Pruitt) and I were sharing the same general area, and he didn’t make the cut.

“I didn’t know it until today that Jay (Yelas) had found my best spot up the river, so I’m pretty much committed to my primary water. Fortunately, it’s the best looking spot that I’ve found on the lake.”

Ehrler in Familiar Waters
Brent Ehrler has been in this exact position before – heading into the weekend with a clean slate and the opportunity to win a championship. This time around, however, the stakes are much higher and he’s not as confident in what he’s doing. “When I won two years ago, I did it off of docks,” he said.

“I’m fishing some docks this year, that look like they should be holding fish, but I’m not getting the bites. It’s not at all like it was at (Logan) Martin.”

Ehrler estimates that he had seven or eight keepers Friday on his junk-fishing pattern from a variety of depths; however, if given his preference, he’d rather settle up shallow. “I’m doing a little bit of both (shallow and deep), although I’d rather be catching them shallow because I feel like they’re a little bigger,” he said.

“I have a few areas that I’m hoping if I can catch them shallow they’ll be quality. If not, within the same area there’s some deeper fish there that I can at least fill out my limit.”

Running 20 to 30 spots over the course of the day, Ehrler explained that his fishing style this week is a numbers game – hit enough spots and make enough casts, and good things will happen. “Going out, I don’t know if I’m going to get bit or not,” he suggested.

“I don’t really know where exactly a bite will happen, or if it will. I’m just making a ton of casts through some areas that look like they should hold fish and hoping for the best.”

Heading into the weekend, Brent is open to the possibility that he could be a zero just as easily as he could hero. “I could go out and not catch a fish, or have another good limit,” he said. “I went through three days of practice without catching a limit, but it’s worked out pretty good for the last two days – so you just cant’ know for sure.”

Bolton Gambled on New Water
The emerging pattern thus far in the week is that of junk fishing. Terry Bolton is no exception as he gambled on new water after boxing a few keepers and was able to come to the stage with an impressive limit for his efforts. “I started in an area that I fished yesterday and caught a few small fish, you know…just keepers,” he said.

“I told my partner then that it was time to just try and run some water. I had caught a number of fish yesterday on top water, and today around 12:00 or 12:30 they started eating it again.”
Terry admits that while he was running new water Friday, it wasn’t a by-the-seat-of-his-pants approach entirely. “My co-angler got a bite around 12:30 that keyed me in on something,” he said. “I made a slight change and caught that big fish.”

Bolton said that his fish are oriented to bait. As a result, timing is critical. “I started noticing yesterday that my fish were keying on bait up in the shallows,” he said. “In the mornings, I haven’t been seeing the bait on the banks at all. After the sun got up today, I started seeing them around the grass and cover on the banks. I think I’ve figured out a little timing finally.”

Though he’s solved a few parts of the Murray puzzle, Bolton said that he’s performed well this week just fishing and sees no reason to change. “The last two days have really been more practice than anything else,” he said. “The practice thing has worked pretty well for the last two days so I might as well just stick with it and see what happens.”

“My saving grace this week has been that I fished deep all during practice,” Bolton added. “After not catching a thing I decided to go to the bank. Now I wish I had been doing it all along.”

Travis Learning from His Past
Brian Travis qualified for the championship through the TBF. It’s an extremely difficult path to follow, and for that reason alone he’s making the most of his appearance this week. “For two days straight I’ve fished as hard as I know how to fish,” he said, adding that until the weigh-in was over he was certain a lost fish would be his undoing.

“I had a fish halfway to the boat that just came unbuttoned. I was sure that it was going to cost me. I was on pins and needles just waiting for the (weigh-in) to end.”

With the majority of the field pounding the banks, the shallow fish are seeing incredible pressure – as is Travis about the position that he finds himself in heading for a 1 and 10 shot at a million-dollar payday. “I wasn’t really nervous about fishing as much as I was about not blanking,” he allowed. 

“I knew that it would be incredibly easy for me not to catch a single fish today, but once I kind of figured out what they were doing and I caught a fish I kind of got the monkey off my back.”

Travis estimates that he ran from one end of Murray to the other over the course of the day, which was fairly easy for him considering his vast knowledge of Murray. However, his past knowledge of the lake isn’t really helping him this week given that much of his past was from the spring. “I’ve learned more about Murray over the last five days than I have in my entire life,” he said. “This lake can humble you pretty quick, so tomorrow I’m just going to take it one bite at a time and fish as hard as I can.”

Notes on the Field:
Chris Baumgardner
“Today was pretty good – at least it started out that way. I made a move with about two hours to go and was able to cull two smaller fish that gave me what I brought to the scales.

“I’m throwing a Zoom Horny Toad and covering water and just trying to get bites. I’m having to make long casts and just cover water. That’s the whole deal for me. Practice didn’t really tell me much, so I’m sort of making it up as I go.

“I’m going to just keep doing what I’ve been doing and see what happens.”

Dave Lefebre
“Waiting back in the holding area prior to weigh-in, I was just sure that I didn’t have enough (to make the cut). If you look at my season though, I feel like I’ve been setting myself up for something special.

“It’s real rare to be able to fishing a tournament at this level and do what you want to do. I’m in a position this week where I can fish to my strengths, which is awesome. I caught a bunch of fish today, and feel real good with what I’m doing.

“I’m really just keeping my head down, and was actually able to catch some fish behind some really good fishermen today. That only boosted my confidence, you know?”

Jay Yelas
“My day went about like it did yesterday, only I was able to get some better bites. I actually went into some new spots and caught two three-pound fish in back-to-back flips. That’ll make your day in a hurry.

“The scary part is that these fish up the river have just been beat to death. I know that there are still some big fish in the area, so we’ll see. It would be nice if they continued to bite because I feel sure that the tournament could be won up there.”

Kevin Vida
“I am sight-fishing in August. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m actually able to watch these fish cruise the shallows in wolf packs and fish for them just like I would in the spring of the year. It’s awesome!

“If I can get a bait in the water before they see me, and hit it just right, I can usually get one of them to commit. If they see me first though, they’re out of there lightening fast.”

Dion Hibdon
“I’m in some areas that I had a real good practice in, so yesterday just blew me away that I wasn’t able to have a decent bite all day. Everything was just two pounders.

“I had a five- and a three-pounder today, so the two pounders from yesterday wouldn’t help me a bit. It’s kind of a weird deal.