Underwatertimes.com News Service - July 9, 2011 19:10 EST
robert pearson bass fish geico

Robert Pearson finished strong, bagging a full five-fish limit of 11 pounds, 14 ounces, for a 34th place finish

teddy carr bass geico

Teddy Carr faded with 3 pounds, 12 ounces, and a 50th place finish

GEICO pro anglers Robert Pearson and Teddy Carr had solid showings on the James River in the first of three Bassmaster Northern Opens on the 2011 schedule.

After a sluggish start Thursday where he boated just three bass weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces, Pearson came to life on Day 2 and reeled in a full five-fish limit of 11 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch, which included a couple of four-plus pound bass, lifted him from 79th to 34th place in the overall rankings with a grand total of 17-5. It wasn't quite enough to make the 12-man cut for Saturday's finals, but Pearson was pleased nonetheless.

"We finished in the money and had a great day on the water," Pearson said. "It was an awesome showing for Team GEICO.

"I ran out 72 miles, all the way down to the Chick (Chickahominy River), and at first the fish weren't biting at all," Pearson said. "I pulled up and found one of my fishing holes and the first one I pulled out of the water weighed four and a half pounds. I mean it was a hog. The tide went down and I pulled another four-pounder out and I started thinking it was going to be one of those days where everything went my way."

Pearson, of Herndon, Va., caught his limit fairly early in the day and managed to cull one out with a bigger fish in the early afternoon. But time ran out on the affable angler, and he had to settle for 34th place.

"One more four-pounder and we'd be telling a different story right now, but hey, I'm not complaining about a thing," he said. "This was a great event for us."

It was a different story for Carr, a professional guide from Locust Grove, Va., as he followed up a stellar Day 1 where he caught five fish weighing 11-5, with a disheartening two-fish bag weighing just 3 pounds, 12 ounces. His 15-1 total placed him 50th in the standings.

"Today was a train wreck," said Carr, who was a lofty 16th after Day 1. "As soon as I got out on the water and got to where I wanted to be it got very cloudy. I needed sunshine. I had so much success yesterday fishing under brush piles that I wanted to do that again today. When it's sunny the bass will bunch up under the piles to get out of the sun and you can get 'em, but when it turns cloudy they spread out. That's what happened.

"It's disappointing because we started so well, but finishing 50th puts us in a better spot than we were a year ago after the first Northern Open so we'll take that and move on."

Both men have a little time off before their next tournaments. Pearson next fishes in the FLW's Forrest Wood Cup, Aug. 11-14, on Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, Ark. Carr returns to the familiar waters of the Potomac River on Aug. 13 for a Bassmaster Weekend Series event.