In a field of 250 anglers from across the country, Pompano Beach’s Val Osinski grabbed the day 1 lead at the Rayovac FLW Series at Lake Okeechobee. Osinski, who owns Gambler Baits, set the bar with his 26-00, 5 bass limit. Osinski explained that he was flipping a Gambler Baits Why Not around isolated reeds, but with other competitors in the area, he’s not sure if he can duplicate his tournament leading bag on day 2.
Co-angler Daniel Beebe holds a commanding lead on Day 1 with 22-05.
Trevor Fitzgerald, whose namesake lies on the line of fishing rods that are popular amongst tournament anglers, finished the day in second place. Fitzgerald caught his 24-01 limit by flipping mats and other vegetation. Strong winds are forecast for tomorrow, as a front sets up to move through on Saturday, but Fitzgerald isn’t concerned tht the weather change will affect him very much.
Joe Holland is the only pro within the Top 5 that does not call Florida home. Holland caught a 22-03 limit, fishing the same area as Osinski. Mike Surman finished in fourth (20-12), legendary angler Roland Martin sits in fifth (20-10), his son Scott Martin is on his heels in sixth (19-14), followed by Hensley Powell (19-13), Robert Knobb (18-15), Ron Nelson (18-04), and Tim Frederick (18-2).
Daniel Beebe of Niota, TN took a commanding lead in the Co-angler division with a 22-05, 5 bass limit. Even after missing 5 of his first 7 bites of the day, Beebe still holds a 5 plus pound lead. Moses Wilson finished in seconds with 16-12, followed by Ken Crumpler (16-02), Cody Pinchin (14-08), and Michael Padgett (13-09).
Pinchin weighed the largest bass amongst the Co-angler field on day 1 with a 7-04 Big O kicker. Ryan Bowman boated a 9-05 lunker to claim the Big Bass award on the boater side.
Photos: FLW Outdoors, Curtis Niedermier, DW Reed II
