One of the endearing tendrils of tournament fishing is the sportsmanship shared among competitors. Carver – a past All-American winner and this event’s top boater for days one and two on Lake Hamilton – capped a truly dramatic weigh-in with the kind of showmanship you just can’t script.
Here’s the scene: Berlo had just squeaked past second-place boater Kevin Snider by 3 ounces, so when cool-hand Carver walks his bag to the scale with a classic poker face, Berlo’s thinking his short time in the hot seat is about to end.
“I really thought he had me,” Berlo said. “I definitely thought he had the tournament wrapped up.”
Carver pulls out three small fish that totaled 3 pounds. He needed only another pound, and Berlo looked like he needed a glass of cold water.
At this point, Carver suggested that Berlo’s 5-year-old daughter Alana join her dad on the stage. That’s when Carver drilled in the drama by joking with tournament host and FLW President and CEO Charlie Evans, who a day earlier stated that Carver would need more on the final day to win than he had just weighed.
“Remember what you told me yesterday?” Carver queried. “You said I’d need more than I caught yesterday. That’s what I went fishing for.”
Well, it turned out that fishing and catching would not coincide this day. Carver reached in his bag, paused and asked: “Do you know what I have to say?”
Evans, Berlo and pretty much everyone in the Summit Arena held their breath until the cagey veteran pulled out an empty hand, which he extended to his competitor and said, “Congratulations!”
Alana seemed preoccupied with the confetti that suddenly filled the air, but someday she’ll hear this story and understand how Carver enhanced her daddy’s victory with one classy performance.
Hailing from Vienna, Va., Berlo caught a final-round limit of 4-11, which gave him a tournament total of 20-12 and earned a $100,000 top prize. He caught his fish on a 1/2 ounce Gold Cheeseburger jig with a Berkley craw trailer of the same color. Berlo helped design the jig for Hunter Creek Bait, so he had plenty of confidence in the bait.
“I really believe in this bait,” Berlo said. “I caught fish on it in practice, on day one of the tournament and day two of the tournament, so I knew I needed that bait in my hand on the last day, no matter what.”
Berlo fished pockets and coves in the midlake area, near the Route 70 Bridge. Targeting docks, willow grass lines and bluff banks, he ended up swimming the jig on day three. Pitching his jig deep under cover and working it out proved highly effective.
