Tharp Continues To Lead Professional Bass Fishing's Forrest Wood Cup Presented By Walmart

SHREVEPORT, La., Aug. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Forty-six of the best professional bass anglers from across the country continued their four-day battle for a top cash award of $500,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of professional bass fishing, at the Red River in Shreveport/Bossier City on Friday.

Link to photo of EverStart pro Randall Tharp  
Link to video of co-angler Theo Corcoran winning moment

EverStart pro Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., crossed the stage with a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces for a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29-11 to maintain the lead for the second consecutive day. Tharp holds a 4-ounce lead over Chevy pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., who weighed five bass weighing 11-0 for a two-day total of 10 bass for 29-7.

"I started out today in a different area that I didn't fish in yesterday," said Tharp, who is seeking his first Tour-level win outside of the state of Florida. "I caught two decent fish right away and it really settled me down. It wasn't fast and furious, but I had my limit today by 9:15 a.m., and it was pretty close to what I weighed in today.

"I really struggled from 11:30 on," Tharp continued. "I culled twice this afternoon, but I only caught nine keeper fish throughout the day. I did see some good fish, though, and I had some good fish roll on my bait that I know will be there for me tomorrow."

Tharp said that he fished around 10 different areas in Pool No. 5 throughout the day on Friday, and that he was fishing some of the same water as 3M Scotch Tape & Peltor Brands pro Ray Scheide.

"I've still got a bunch of good areas that I have not fished in this tournament," said Tharp. "But, a lot of them are on the river. Fishing the river is like rolling the dice and trying to get a big bite. You can catch 50 bass and not get a big bite, and then pull up to a new spot and find a big one. There's no rhyme or reason to it. I feel like this tournament is going to be won in the backwaters, and that's where I need to stay to get those big bites.

"There are still two days to go, and 11 pounds a day won't win this tournament," Tharp continued. "I'll need at least one more day in the teens to get this thing done."

The top 20 pros that will continue to Saturday's competition are:

1^st:        EverStart pro Randall Tharp, Port St. Joe, Fla., 10 bass, 29-11
2^nd:       Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 29-7
3^rd:        Chevy pro Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10 bass, 27-9
4^th:        3M Scotch Tape & Peltor Brands pro Ray Scheide, Dover, Ark., 10 bass, 25-3
5^th:        Walmart pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 10 bass, 24-13
6^th:        Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 24-11
7^th:        John Cox, Debary, Fla., 10 bass, 23-15
8^th:        Robbie Dodson, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 23-7
9^th:        Mark Daniels Jr., Fairfield, Calif., 10 bass, 23-2
10^th:      Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 23-0
11^th:     Straight Talk pro J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 10 bass, 22-2
12^th:     Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 10 bass, 22-0
13^th:     Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 22-0
14^th:     Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 21-9
15^th:     Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., 10 bass, 21-3
16^th:     Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 21-0
17^th:     Keystone Light pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 20-12
18^th:     Jacob Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., 10 bass, 20-11
19^th:     Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 20-4
20^th:     Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 19-13

Final results for the remaining field can be found on FLWOutdoors.com.

Overall there were 223 bass weighing 435 pounds even caught by pros Friday. The catch included 43 five-bass limits.

Theo Corcoran of Kansas City, Mo., won the co-angler division and $50,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 10 ounces followed by Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., in second place with 10 bass weighing 19-1 worth $10,000.

"This is a dream come true, or at least the start of it," said Corcoran, who earned the first victory of his career. "I've been dreaming about this moment since I was five years old when I was watching Jimmy Houston on my television."

Corcoran said that eight of the 10 fish that he weighed in came on a Nemesis Baits Bullet Craw.

"I can put that bait on and go anywhere in the country," Corcoran said. "It's my confidence bait. From New York to Florida to Texas, that bait catches me fish.

"I'm going to have to fish at least one more year as a co-angler before trying to fish the Tour as a pro," Corcoran went on to say. "Some of these pros are so good with all of the new electronics and graphs and I still have to learn how to do that. Punching, flipping and power fishing – I can do that. But, if I fished on Kentucky Lake I would get my butt handed to me."

The top 10 co-anglers are:

1^st:        Theo Corcoran, Kansas City, Mo., 10 bass, 26-10, $50,000
2^nd:       Brock Mosley, Collinsville, Miss., 10 bass, 19-1, $10,000
3^rd:        Alan Woodford, Winslow, Ind., 10 bass, 17-8, $9,000
4^th:        Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., 10 bass, 17-5, $8,000
5^th:        Patrick Stines, Granger, Ind., 10 bass, 17-4, $7,000
6^th:        Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., 10 bass, 16-9, $6,000
7^th:        Mike Hardin Sr., Robertsdale, Ala., eight bass, 14-15, $5,500
8^th:        Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 10 bass, 14-14, $5,000
9^th:        Brett Preuett, Colfax, La., eight bass, 14-5, $4,500
10^th:      Richard Peek, Centre, Ala., nine bass, 14-2, $4,000

Final results for the remaining field can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

Overall there were 188 bass weighing 287 pounds even caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 26 five-bass limits.

The 2013 Forrest Wood Cup at the Red River presented by Walmart is being hosted by the Shreveport/Bossier City Sport's Commission.

Anglers will take off from Red River South Marina located at 250 Red River South Marina Road in Bossier City, La., at 7 a.m. each morning. Weigh-ins will be held at the CenturyLink Center located at 2000 CenturyLink Center Drive in Bossier City, La., beginning at 5 p.m. daily.

Fans will be treated to the FLW Expo at the Shreveport Convention Center located at 400 Caddo St. in Shreveport, La., on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. prior to the weigh-ins. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public. On Saturday and Sunday, 500 free rods and reels will be given away each day to the first 500 children 14 years and under who are accompanied by an adult. The rod and reel giveaways are courtesy of 1130 AM The Tiger. Also on Sunday, one lucky fishing fan will win a Ranger Z520C with a Mercury outboard. The Ranger boat giveaway is courtesy of KSLA News 12 and is free to enter, but the winner must be present at the conclusion of Sunday's final weigh-in to win.

Coverage of the Forrest Wood Cup will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC when "FLW" airs Sept. 29 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry's premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport's richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the "Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water." For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.                                                      

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