LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – Pro Mike Goodwin of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., caught two bass weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win $125,000 in the $1 million Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Lake Havasu with a four-day catch of 15 bass weighing 37-13.
The catch gave him the win by a solid 1-pound, 5-ounce margin over Mike Phua of Chino, Calif., who caught a total of 18 bass weighing 36-8 and earned $48,841.
“It is unbelievable to win here on my home lake in front of such a supportive crowd,” said Goodwin, who knows nothing about a home lake curse. With this historic victory, he has now won three FLW Outdoors events on Lake Havasu. “This is definitely a life changing experience for me and my family. The fishing was unbelievably tough this week but I just fished hard and never gave up. I kept telling myself this next cast is it, the big one is going to bite. I just tried to stay focused and thought only about fishing.”
“With some of this money, I am going to live out a dream of mine and treat my family and some friends with a trip to New York to see the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium. We have been Yankees fans for years and this would be a great way to repay them.”
Goodwin opened the tournament in first place Wednesday with five bass weighing 13-13 that he caught on a brown and purple finesse jig. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 11-1 using the same pattern to maintain his lead. He then caught three bass weighing 7-2 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut tied for first place with Phil Strader of Glide, Ore. On Saturday he sealed his victory using the same finesse jig and a swimbait.
Rounding out the top five pros are Phil Strader of Glide, Ore. (17 bass, 35-9, $39,073); Randy Mcabee of Bakersfield, Calif. (18 bass, 34-04, $29,305) and Eric McFarland of Meridian, Idaho (14 bass, 29-8, $19,536).
Jason Borofka of Salinas, Calif., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Wednesday – an 8-pound, 2-ounce largemouth – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $488.
Overall there were 20 bass weighing 40 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 10 pros Saturday. The catch included 1 five-bass limit.
Throughout this event, the anglers were able to keep up a 100 percent live release rate for the fish they caught this week. Every fish caught was healthy enough to be released back into the waters of Lake Havasu ready to be caught again.
Larry Weaver of Long Beach, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 Friday with a three-day total of eight bass weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces followed by Robert O’Donnell of Payson, Ariz., in second place with three bass weighing 12-1 worth $9,835.
Weaver opened the tournament in 40th place Wednesday with one bass weighing 2 pounds while fishing with pro Danny Locatis of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. On Thursday he jumped to first place on the strength of a five-bass limit weighing 10-8 while fishing with pro Andre Moore of Alabaster, Ala. He wrapped up the win Friday with a two-bass catch weighing 4-6 while fishing with pro Larry Hopper of Tustin, Calif.
“It’s amazing, I can’t even put it into words,” said Weaver, who said he couldn’t have done it without the help of the great pro partners he had all week. “I had a lot of things go my way this week and I am very grateful for that. To beat 194 of some of the greatest anglers in the sport is truly amazing.”
“I just talked to my wife a few minutes ago and she has already started shopping. What’s leftover will be used to ensure my fishing for a little while longer.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are David Schearrer of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (six bass, 11-12, $8,851); Rus Snyders of San Mateo, Calif. (seven bass, 11-2, $7,868) and Jacques Fleischmann of Valencia, Calif. (four bass, 10-9, $6,844).
Robert O’Donnell caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Wednesday – a 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $295.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.
Coverage of the Lake Havasu FLW Series tournament, which featured 390 anglers representing 19 states, Australia, Mexico and Japan, will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing March 11. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to approximately 350 million households in Europe, Africa and Asia, making it the most widely distributed weekly fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
The next FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament, hosted by the Oakley Chamber of Commerce, will be held March 14-17 on the California Delta in Bethel Island, Calif. Boats will launch from Russo’s Marina in Bethel Island and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif.
After four qualifying events are complete in the National Guard Western Division, the top 30 pros and 30 co-anglers will advance to the BP East-National Guard West Fishoff Jan. 17-19, 2008, where they will face the top 30 pros and 30 co-anglers from the BP Eastern Division for a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. The winning pro at the Forrest Wood Cup will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most-respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.