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FLW Tour National Guard Open
2010
2009
FLW Norman Winner Brings Hope To Young Anglers
April 23 – 26, 2009
Information and Pix Courtesy of FLW Outdoors
Complete story at: http://flw.flwoutdoors.com/tournament.cfm?cid=1&did=25&t=news&tday=4
If you are young and just beginning what you hope to be a career of fishing, the recent winner of the Walmart FLW Tour National Guard Open at Lake Norman had to get you excited about your prospects. The youngest ever winner, a 21 year old from Benton, Arkansas stunned veteran pros this past weekend by capturing top honors in the $1.1 million dollar event.
Team Berkley pro Stetson Blaylock began his tromp through the competition on Thursday, April 23 in 21st place, making cuts each day, until he found himself one of ten remaining competitors for the final day. Blaylock rocketed from his initial position to fifth place with a nothing short of spectacular performance Friday. That effort earned him a starting position in Blast Off on Saturday, a day where all previous weights are thrown out and everyone starts from scratch again. His finish Saturday vaulted him into second place going into Sunday's final round.
A critical decision to re-fish a bed where he had lost a large female made the difference at weigh in. He had caught the male and had the female within five feet of the net before losing her. “I thought right then, ‘That fish is the $200,000 fish,’” Blaylock said. “I knew that. So I went on down the bank and got to thinking, ‘That fish is worth spending my remaining hour and a half on.’ So I went back to her and she was swimming around, and I pitched my bait back in the bed and she came right over and sat on the bed. I could not believe it. It took me about 30 more minutes to catch her.”
Blaylock finished a pound ahead of second place finisher, Andy Morgan or Dayton, Tennessee. Morgan's veteran finish carried him past the one million dollar earnings mark on Sunday at $1,043,976 in FLW Outdoors events and holds the record of most top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events with 42.
“I started off pretty good,” said Morgan, “I caught a couple of pretty good keepers this morning, you know, 16-inch fish. I caught a 3 ½-pounder a few minutes later and then it slowed down a little bit. And that was 9:30.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were Team Iams pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla. (10 bass, 21-11, $45,000); Team Snickers/M&Ms pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala. (10 bass, 19-4, $35,000); Sean Hoernke of The Woodlands, Texas (10 bass, 17-14, $30,000); Team BP pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn. (nine bass, 16-12, $28,000); Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va. (10 bass, 16-3, $26,000); Eric Ambort of Mabelvale, Ark. (nine bass, 13-10, $24,000); Dale Evans of Summerville, S.C. (nine bass, 12-6, $22,000) and Keith Williams of Conway, Ark. (six bass, 10-9, $20,000).
The total purse for the National Guard Open event at Lake Norman was more than $1.1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division. Coverage of the tournament, hosted by the Charlotte Sports Commission, Visit Lake Norman, Visit Charlotte and Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast on Versus, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air May 31 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is also broadcast internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to more than 429 million households in such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.
The FLW Tour will award more than $8 million cash to the world’s top bass anglers in 2009. Regular season competition includes three qualifiers and three opens. Each event takes anglers a step closer to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol, which will be held July 30-Aug. 2 on the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. The prestigious championship and outdoor show hosted by Visit Pittsburgh will feature 77 pros, 77 co-anglers and bass fishing’s largest cash award – a potential $1 million first-place prize for the winning pro.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.