At the Wheeler FLW, the threat of wind loomed in the minds of every Top 10 angler. A few wanted it, most dreaded it, but it came just the same. FLW Tour veteran Alvin Shaw weathered the wind better than anybody and delivered an 11-05 limit to the scales. Rookie Michael Bennett came close with his 9-01 sack, but Shaw squeaked past Bennett with 24-08 total and won by a 4-ounce margin.

Bennett finished 2nd with 11-05 today (24-08 total). Kelly Jordon, who led days 2 and 3, weighed just

one fish today (5-08) and finished 3rd with 23-03. Greg Hackney finished 4th with 9-11 today (22-08 total) and Toshinari Namiki finished 5th (5-11 today, 18-09 total).

Here's how the rest of the Top 10 finished:

6. Scott Suggs: 13-15
7. Chad Grigsby: 13-13
8. Lendell Martin, Jr.: 13-03
9. Chip Harrison: 10-03
10. Mike Hawkes: 7-12

Weights were considerably lower today and two factors contributed. One, an early weigh-in time meant anglers who made the long run to Guntersville had roughly 3 hours to fish. But more importantly, after 3 calm, clear days, rain and 20 mph winds swept across the lake in the early afternoon. That hurt the sight-bite, and without enough time to adjust, most were forced to stick with their fish, no matter how bad the wind got.

Shaw Relieved

Shaw has fished the FLW Tour since its inception in 1996. He's made every FLW Tour Championship and has finished in the Top 10 seven times. This was his first tour-level win, and it's a big one.

"I feel relieved," he said. "Relieved in that I sort of had this goal for a long time. It finally came true.

"It's a big stepping-stone in my career. I feel like I've proven something, I guess."

Yesterday, he said he might change today. "I tried something different for a little while. It wasn't working. Something inside me said go back to what you were doing. It's no use to leave fish to find fish."

He was sight-fishing, but said the wind and rain helped him. "The weather really played in my favor. It really hurt the rest of the guys. I was sight-fishing, like a lot of the others, but I was doing a little different technique.

"When I first started this thing (tour-level fishing), I set goals. I always wanted to compete against these guys – Clunn, Nixon, the Hibdons, the list goes. So my first year, I just wanted to be able to compete.

"After the first year, I felt like I could do that. Then I set the goal of a Top 10.

"I've had the goal of winning one of these things for some while now. It's really a relief to get one under my belt."

He said he couldn't have done it alone. "I'll tell you though, with the level of cost involved with this, I couldn't have done it if not for my sponsors. I have to thank Kellogg's, Ranger, Evinrude, Minn Kota.

"It's a team effort. I'm glad I can finally pay back a little of that."

(Editor's note: Details of his winning pattern, and patterns for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.")

2nd: Bennett Bittersweet

"You know, it's a little bittersweet," Bennett said. He's a rookie and finished 4 ounces behind Shaw.

"It's fine though. At first, I was hoping that if I lost, I'd lose by a lot. Four ounces is kind of close.

"But I never lost a fish the last couple of days. I never missed one. I caught what bit, so I'm ecstatic to be in the Top 10, and I'm ecstatic to be 2nd.

"It's great. I feel awesome."

He weighed three fish today, and one more 15-incher would have put him over the top. "If I had one more I would've made it – would've won it.

"Today, the conditions changed big-time. It was windy and cloudy. Even if we had more time, I don't know if I could've found any more fish.

"(Shaw's) the nicest guy. I talked to him a lot the last 2 days. He's totally cool. It's great for him. He's a great fisherman. He deserves it a lot more than I do."

3rd: Jordon a Little Bummed

Jordon weighed only one fish today, but it was a big one (5-08). He finished 1-05 behind Shaw.

"I feel real good and I feel real bad – both," he said. "I thought I'd really have to catch them today. If the wind would've died for just 30 minutes, I could have. But that front came through and it rained a ton."

He was sight-fishing, and said his spot got blown out. "The wind blew right in off the main-lake area. I had whitecaps and rollers in my area. I tried to go to blind-fishing them, but they were real deep beds.

"I could get to within 10 feet of them – the mottled spots – but I couldn't be sure which spots were the right ones.

"I tried and tried until it became ridiculous. I caught one – I'd saved it all tournament – and I couldn't even see it. It was a 5-08. I had about five or six more in same stretch that were 3-pounds-plus to his size.

"They were locked on hard, and about tried to run my boat off yesterday."

But the wind was just too much, he said. "The wind got stronger and stronger and stronger. I was fishing an east bank, and the wind was from exactly the wrong direction. It had an 8-mile run straight into me."

He eventually pulled the plug and ran some offshore stuff, which didn't work either. "I thought I'd need at least 13 to 15 pounds. I wasn't fishing for 2nd. If I'd caught anything that was 15 inches, I could've won. That's what hurts. But I have a Texas hold 'em mentality. I was all in on those fish."

But he said he's happy with 3rd. "At the same time, I'm tickled to death to finish 3rd. It was nice to see (Shaw) win."

6th: Suggs Learned Too Late

This is Scott Suggs' sophomore year as a tour pro, and his first year of FLW competition. Today marked his second Top 10 finish. He weighed three fish today (7-01) and was one of the few who relied on an offshore bite for the entire tournament.

"I'm happy with it (6th), but I learned something big-time," he said. "The hydrilla grows pretty fast here. From the time I found them a week ago, I bet it's grown nearly a foot. That put the grass 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall.

"They went and buried up in it. It took me losing to figure it out."

He didn't have a fish at 11:00 today and had to leave at 12:15. "I figured out what they were doing, and I didn't have that stuff with me. I wound up casting a (Zoom) Brush Hog and a 3/4-ounce sinker.

"I was fishing outside, and they were inside. It was a bad mistake. And the worst part of all that is my favorite way of fishing is dropping into that grass. I always keep four or five rods braided for it all the time. I didn't have them with me."

> His main pattern involved throwing a Hart spinnerbait, a Rapala DT6 crankbait and a Texas-rigged Mister Twister Exude worm on offshore ledges and humps. "I didn't fish all the way around them. I keyed on places where it changed, like a channel swing."

7th: Grigsby Frustrated

Chad Grigsby was 3rd yesterday, but zeroed today and fell four spots to finish 7th.

"I'm just frustrated," he said.

"I was never really catching them that great. On the first day, I knew where I'd go. After that, I wasn't sure what I'd do. I just went fishing, found more, and I'd catch those.

"The next day, it was the same thing. Today, we had 3 hours to fish and the wind blew 20 mph. I tried doing something a little different. I was blind-casting – not an easy way to catch them.

"If the wind didn't blow, I'm not sure I would've found any more. I was just junk-fishing my way through it."

With so little each day to go to, he said he was happy with his overall finish. "I was happy with making the Top 10. But after yesterday, if I'd caught the same amount, I could've won. I only needed 11 pounds.

"That's why it's frustrating. And I lost two today – two good ones. I think it was because of my weight yesterday – 13-13 must be bad luck."

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 1 limit, 1 zero.

> Shaw has qualified for every Championship since 1996 except one. He missed qualifying in 2001, but the Championship was cancelled that year.

> If Jordon won today, it would have been his second FLW Tour win this year. He won the season-opener at Okeechobee.

> JHAckney's 4th-place finish moved him to 3rd in the FLW Angler of the Yeat race. He's 23 points behind leader J.T. Kenney. The Top 5 in the points are now: Kenney (856), Anthony Gagliardi (844), Hackney (830), Toshinari Namiki (823) and Matt Herren (794).

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Alvin Shaw -- State Road, Nc -- 5, 13-03 -- 5, 11-05 -- 10, 24-08 -- $100,000

2. Michael Bennett -- Roseville, Ca -- 5, 15-03 -- 3, 9-01 -- 8, 24-04 -- $36,000

3. Kelly Jordon -- Mineola, Tx -- 5, 17-11 -- 1, 5-08 -- 6, 23-03 -- $25,000

4. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, La -- 4, 12-13 -- 3, 9-11 -- 7, 22-08 -- $20,000

5. Toshinari Namiki -- Hachioji- City, To -- 3, 12-14 -- 2, 5-11 -- 5, 18-09 -- $18,000

6. Scott Suggs -- Bryant, Ar -- 3, 6-14 -- 3, 7-01 -- 6, 13-15 -- $17,000

7. Chad Grigsby -- Colon, Mi -- 5, 13-13 -- 0, 0-00 -- 5, 13-13 -- $16,000

8. Lendell Martin Jr -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 4, 7-10 -- 3, 5-09 -- 7, 13-03 -- $15,000

9. Chip Harrison -- Bremen, In -- 3, 7-05 -- 1, 2-14 -- 4, 10-03 -- $14,000

10. Mike Hawkes -- Sabinal, Tx -- 1, 2-01 -- 2, 5-11 -- 3, 7-12 -- $13,000