LEFEBRE LEADS WAL-MART FLW SERIES ON LAKE OF THE OZARKS

[JimDicken]

LEFEBRE LEADS WAL-MART FLW SERIES ON LAKE OF THE OZARKS

$900,000 on the line for world's top bass anglers

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Oct. 11, 2006) - Kellogg's pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., landed five bass weighing 22 pounds, 2 ounces Wednesday on Lake of the Ozarks to open the fourth Wal-Mart FLW Series tournament of the season with a 9-ounce lead over pretournament favorite Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo.
"I've never been here on a bad day," said Lefebre, who has earned 25 top-10s in FLW Outdoors competition since 2001. "Today was windy and cold at times, so it was a bit of a curve ball. I didn't catch a fish doing what I've been practicing the last four days, so I tried something different and it paid off big."
Conditions across the region have been fairly warm and stable, but a cold front passing through the area is changing all of that. In fact, Thursday's forecast calls for high winds and overnight lows in the 30s, which could force anglers to continue adjusting their patterns as they compete for top awards of $100,000 in the Pro Division and $20,000 in the Co-angler Division.
After a slow start Wednesday, Lefebre switched tactics and boated his first bass at 11:45 a.m. Within an hour, he put his fifth fish in the boat, and by mid afternoon, he says he was shaking off 4 1/2-pounders for later in the tournament. "It got ridiculous at one point, but that doesn't mean it's going to work tomorrow," Lefebre said. "But if it does, I'm going to start the day off with two 4 1/2-pounders."
Lefebre is keeping his productive technique under wraps for now, other than to say he is fishing a Mizmo jig with a custom skirt near creeks.
Fishing for Team Chevy, Hibdon trails Lefebre in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 21-9. Hibdon is fishing his home water, however, so fans can expect to see him at or near the top of the leaderboard throughout the week. Even Lefebre was a bit surprised to have hauled in a heavier limit than the veteran pro. "Dion is the man here," Lefebre said. "He can go out and catch 22 pounds every day."
Rounding out the top five pros are Ozark Trails pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. (five bass, 21-2); Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas (five bass, 17-3) and Jim Eakins of Nixa, Mo. (five bass, 17-1).
Art Ferguson of St. Clair Shores, Mich., landed the day's biggest bass in the Pro Division, a 7-pound largemouth that could earn him the tournament's Snickers Big Bass Award of $1,500 if it holds up through Friday.
Gayle Julian of Bakersfield, Mo., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 19 pounds followed by Gilbert Herald of Pittsburg, Texas, in second place with five bass weighing 15-2.
Julian caught his bass while fishing with pro Paul Driskell of Jefferson, Ga., who is currently in 51st with three bass weighing 12-1.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Brad Friloux of Luling, La. (five bass, 13-12); David Lawson of Richmond, Ky. (five bass, 12-3) and Tony Lain of Greentop, Mo. (five bass, 11-0).
David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., caught the day's biggest bass in the Co-angler Division. The largemouth weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and could be worth $500 as the Co-angler Division Snickers Big Bass of the tournament if it holds up through Friday.
Overall, 919 bass weighing 2,262 pounds, 2 ounces were caught Wednesday, including 86 five-bass limits.
The new $6.5 million FLW Series features five $900,000 qualifying tournaments, each with a top award of $100,000, that advance anglers to the $2 million, 2007 Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million cash.
Anglers fishing the FLW Series tournament on Lake of the Ozarks will take off each morning at 7 from PB II-Grand Glaize Beach. Thursday and Friday's weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4252 Highway 54 in Osage Beach beginning at 4 p.m. Children will be treated to the Fujifilm trout pond and rides in the Kellogg's Ranger boat simulator beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday prior to the final weigh-in at Wal-Mart. All events are free and open to the public.
The entire field competes for the first three days of FLW Series events. Co-angler competition concludes on day three with standings determined by the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
In FLW Series 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.
Coverage of the Lake of the Ozarks FLW Series tournament will be broadcast to 80 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the "FLW Outdoors" television program airing Nov. 12. "FLW Outdoors" airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. "FLW Outdoors" is also broadcast internationally to approximately 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely viewed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.

[topwater]

According to a report this morning on Bassfan.com, Leon Williams (Co-Angler)from Fairdale, KY was injured in a boating accident with (Angler) Tim Horton yesterday. Does anyone have an update on his condition?