GILBERTSVILLE, Ky., May 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pro Randy Haynes of Ripley, Mississippi , caught a five-bass limit Friday weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces, to extend his lead at the FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake presented by Costa Sunglasses . Haynes’ two-day total of 10 bass weighing 46 pounds, 2 ounces, gives him a 2-pound, 4-ounce advantage heading into Saturday over second-place pro Jason Lambert of Michie, Tennessee, who has 10 bass weighing 43-14. The field is now cut to the final 30 pros, with only 10 anglers advancing to championship Sunday where the winner will take home the top prize of up to $125,000.
Haynes returned to the same area he fished Thursday, putting a couple of keepers in the boat right off the bat. Later in the morning he said he hit a flurry that produced five or six good bites to cap off a limit.
“It was a struggle out there today. I had to relocate my fish and catch them a totally different way,” said Haynes, who has two career wins on Kentucky Lake in Costa FLW Series competition and finished 14 th when the Tour last visited Kentucky Lake in 2016. “It was better in terms of numbers, but I didn’t catch the size.”
One of the key changes Haynes made Friday was switching from crankbaits to swimbaits.
“I caught them all, including a couple that upgraded me, on a Zoom Swimmer and a couple of other swimbaits,” said Haynes. “I slowed down, and that’s probably the reason I caught more fish today. I’m just blessed to have caught what I did and hopefully we can keep it going tomorrow.”
The top 30 pros that made the first cut and will fish Saturday on Kentucky Lake are:
1 st : Randy Haynes, Ripley, Miss., 10 bass, 46-2
2 nd : Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 10 bass, 43-14
3 rd : Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 37-14
4 th : Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., nine bass, 37-5
5 th : Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 37-2
6 th : Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury, Odenville, Ala., 10 bass, 36-13
7 th : Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-15
8 th : John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 32-1
9 th : Tyler Stewart, West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 32-1
10 th : Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., 10 bass, 31-15
11 th : John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 31-12
12 th : Jeff Gustafson, Keewatin, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 31-9
13 th : Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 31-7
14 th : Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., 10 bass, 31-5
15 th : Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., nine bass, 31-0
16 th : Costa pro Dylan Hays, Sheridan, Ark., 10 bass, 30-14
17 th : Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., eight bass, 30-11
18 th : Pennzoil Marine pro Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 30-10
19 th : General Tire pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., nine bass, 30-4
20 th : Abu Garcia pro Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., 10 bass, 30-4
21 st : Brandon Mosley, Choctaw, Okla., 10 bass, 10 bass, 30-2
22 nd : Timmy Thompkins, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 10 bass, 30-0
23 rd : Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, nine bass, 29-9
24 th : Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 29-5
25 th : Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., nine bass, 29-4
26 th : Kid Caster’s pro Charlie Evans, Berea, Ky., 10 bass, 28-9
27 th : Cabela’s pro Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 28-5
28 th : Koby Kreiger, Bokeelia, Fla., nine bass, 28-4
29 th : Jim Dillard, West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 28-2
30 th : Bill McDonald, Greenwood, Ind., nine bass, 28-1
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com .
Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pennsylvania, earned the $500 Simms Big Bass award in the Pro Division Friday after weighing a 7-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Overall there were 577 bass weighing 1,708 pounds, 11 ounces, caught by 165 pros Friday. The catch included 64 five-bass limits.
Ronny Webb of Dyersburg, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Friday with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 26 pounds, 14 ounces, followed by Stephen Crawley of Bush, Louisiana, who finished in second place with eight bass totaling 25-4, worth $7,600.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1 st : Ronny Webb, Dyersburg, Tenn., nine bass, 26-14, $25,000
2 nd : Stephen Crawley, Bush, La., eight bass, 25-4, $7,600
3 rd : Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., eight bass, 23-3, $5,000
4 th : Chatfield Smith, Minnetonka, Minn., nine bass, 22-9, $4,000
5 th : Rex Jaeger, Hamilton, Ohio, eight bass, 22-3, $3,050
6 th : Keith Gunsauls, El Cajon, Calif., seven bass, 21-5, $2,500
7 th : Bradley Smith, Saint Jacob, Ill., seven bass, 20-3, $2,000
8 th : B.J. Nelson, Louisa, Ky., eight bass, 19-14, $1,800
9 th : Craig Middleton, Harrodsburg, Ky., seven bass, 19-14, $1,700
10 th : Mike Gabel, Saint Charles, Ill., seven bass, 19-11, $1,600
Jim Hippensteel of Rochester, Indiana, earned $250 for the Simms Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division with a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Overall there were 282 bass weighing 761 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 136 co-anglers Friday. The catch included seven five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round. Co-angler competition concluded following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight now advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake presented by Costa Sunglasses is more than $930,000. The event is hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. CDT each day from Kentucky Dam State Park, located at 7792 U.S. Highway 641 N. in Gilbertsville. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins, May 19-20, will be held at the park beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Kentucky Dam State Park from noon to 4 p.m. The Expo is the perfect opportunity for fishing fans of all ages to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, meet characters from the “Paw Patrol” children’s television show, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at Kentucky Dam State Park on Saturday, May 19, from 9-11 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to youth (18 and under) and Special Olympics athletes (all ages). Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1 st and 2 nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake presented by Costa Sunglasses will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) June 27 from Noon-1 p.m. EST. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com . For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , YouTube and Snapchat .
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , YouTube and Snapchat .
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Brian Johnson Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) (218)-428-9641 brian.johnson@flwfishing.com
