Big Fred enters Day 3 of FLW-Wal Mart tournament on Lake Okeechobee
January 25, 2007
Our budding bass star, Big Fred Contaoi, entered the first tournament of his pro career as a memeber of the Orange County Chopper team on Wednesday on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee.
WIth low, tough water conditions and only a few days of fishing the lake in his life, Fred battled through Day 1 with 3 fish for just over 4 pounds. He missed a couple others and lost a really big one that popped the line like a .22 shot. He ended the day in 187th place.
On Thursday, he hit the water again and conditions were worse — the wind was ripping and the temp was dropping dramatically. Like usual, our boy fought the good fight and came away with 3 fish for a total of 3 pounds, 14 ounces. Though not (yet) tearing up the tournament, that was enough to allow him to jump 17 places to 170th.
The biggest catch of the day was a 7-foot gator Fred’s partner hooked on a jig…in the tail, which Fred called “awesome!”
The tournament leader sits on some 27 pounds after the first two days but a Texas pro named Bud Pruit should hav been in the lead by miles. On Day 2, Pruit had a 25-pound limit in the livewell but got stuck on a sandbar and missed the weigh-in, resulting in a DQ. WIthout getting stuck, Pruit would have had a 2-day total of over 40 pounds and a massive lead.
I’m guessing he had a rough night after all that…
So, on Day 3, our man Big Fred needs to make up some serious ground to make the cut. As he says, “I’m just gonna have to go out there and catch a big sack of fish…”
Fred was in good spirits Thursday evening and sounded like he was having a great time with his first tourney. Hopefully, he has a good day on Friday and finds a bunch of biters!
Things look like they’ll be tough for everybody, however, as a cold front had moved in and usually sunny Florida was potentially see some overnight lows in the 30’s. That should make fishing tough, but that really could work in Fred’s favor. Keep your fingers crossed!
Comments
Got something to say?