Stren Western: Back for more
Following opening-round hog roast, top 20 boats hit Cal Delta to begin final round
BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – Pro Steve Sapp and co-angler Tom Sawicki rightfully received the accolades of their peers and fans Thursday at the California Delta after they each broke the FLW Outdoors record for biggest bass. The two 14-pounders they caught yesterday will be talked about for a long time to come.
At least, that is, until somebody brings in a 15-pounder Friday.
The top 20 boats took off to begin the two-day final-round assault of Stren Series Western Division competition on the Delta this morning. While it’s great to have all the records hoopla and backslapping, both Sapp and Sawicki – who, incidentally, are fishing together Friday in boat No. 3 – know their work on this monster factory has only begun.
“That was the biggest fish I’ve ever caught in competition,” Sapp said about his 14-pound, 1-ounce largemouth. “I just happened to put a jig in the right spot.”
The thing is, 19 other pros and 20 other co-anglers are also looking to zero in on a few “right spots” of their own, now that it’s the finals. Some of the top pros, like Sean Stafford, Matt Lowery and Mike Folkestad, admitted that they were sitting on fish in the opening round, saving them for the last two days. In short, all the stops are out now. Even though the odds are smaller with the fields pared down from 197 boats to 20, if these guys were saving fish bigger than the 8-, 9- and 10-pounders that many of them brought in during the first two days, it would be totally unsurprising to see a 15-pounder or more come in today and break the record again.
But it wouldn’t be any less amazing.
“I think I’ve probably got three of them that will go over 20 pounds together,” Lowery said.
For one angler, though, even if he only managed to catch a single guppy today – a near impossibility – he’d be satisfied. Heading out in boat No. 15 is Jimmy Reese, who made his fourth opening-round cut of the year and unofficially clinched the pro standings title in the Western Division. Reese, who won at Clear Lake in March, has made every cut this year except one, Friday’s final-round cut to the top 10 at Lake Shasta. His finishes: fifth at Lake Havasu, first at Clear Lake, 14th at Shasta and a guaranteed top 20 at the California Delta.
“Everything from here on out is gravy,” he said.
Day-three weigh-in festivities begin at 4 p.m. Pacific time at the Wal-Mart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif. Following today’s competition, both the pro and co-angler fields will be cut to the top 10 anglers for Saturday’s final round.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:06 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 54 degrees
Expected high temperature: 75 degrees
Water temperature: 61-68 degrees
Wind: WSW at 13 mph
Maximum humidity: 59 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny