OAKLEY, Calif. – Pro Ishama Monroe of Hughson, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces Friday to capture the lead in the $1 million Walmart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on the California Delta. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 53-04, he holds an 3-pound, 10-ounce lead over his closest competitor, Mike Reynolds of Modesto, Calif., heading into the final day of competition.
“I have had three consistent days on the water,” said Monroe, who is looking to claim his first FLW Series victory. “What I am doing is no secret. I am playing the numbers game and covering a lot of water.”
Monroe is flipping a Reaction Innovations Sweat Beaver using a 1- 1 1/2- ounce weight.
“I am doing a lot of casting and catching a lot of fish,” he added. “Not necessarily the better fish that I have been catching but lots of fish.
“Tomorrow, my plan is to relax and just go fishing. Hopefully, when it’s all said and done I will come out on top.”
Reynolds caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 50-10 using a Reaction Innovations Sweat Beaver to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.
Rounding out the top five pros are Mark Tyler of Vian, Okla. (15 bass, 46-12); Robert Lee of Angels Camp, Calif. (15 bass, 45-11) and Bobby Barrack of Oakley, Calif. (15 bass, 45-11).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 43 pounds, 15 ounces in the Pro Division are Chris Raza of Roseville, Calif.; Scott Nielsen of Salt Lake City, Utah; Charlie Weyer of West Hills, Calif.; Richard Smith of Kelseyville, Calif.; and Gary Howell of Stockton, Calif.
Jason Borofka of Salinas, Calif., earned the day’s $329 Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 10-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught on a Senko.
Overall there were 410 bass weighing 863 pounds caught by 106 pros Friday. The catch included 56 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing this week for a top award of $125,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the BP East-National Guard West Fish-Off and a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2009 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW Outdoors® offered anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players could become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, which provided them with exclusive insider information that could have guided them to a $100,000 victory at every Walmart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage gave them an edge over the competition and increased their shot for the $1 million cash grand prize awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Visit FantasyFishing.com today to find out more information and to register for next season.
Team National Guard co-angler Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Friday with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 35 pounds, 8 ounces followed by Carl Limbrick Jr. of San Diego, Calif., in second place with 14 bass weighing 29-00 worth $7,030.
Lucas opened the tournament in first place Wednesday with five bass weighing 15-10 while fishing with pro David Kromm of Kennewick, Wash. On Thursday he stayed in first place on the strength of four bass weighing 24-05 while fishing with pro Hal Zimmerman of Boise, Idaho. He wrapped up the win Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 11-03 while fishing with pro Michael Pellagrini of Santa Rose, Calif.
“I didn’t think that I would win this tournament,” said Lucas, who has won four FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournaments as a co-angler in two years. “I came into this tournament thinking about the points race and just hoping for a top-10. I always fish hard and this week it paid off and worked out in my favor.”
Lucas, who won the FLW Series events in 2007 at the Columbia River and at Clear Lake, became the first co-angler to post the first back-to-back wins in FLW Series competition. At this year’s Columbia River event Lucas won yet again taking home his third co-angler title. He now has four co-angler trophies and as announced today, he will be fishing as a professional on the FLW Series National Guard Western Division circuit in 2009 for Team National Guard.
“Next year, I will be fishing as a pro on this circuit and as a co-angler on the Walmart FLW Tour back east,” Lucas added. “It’s a totally different side of tournament fishing. I am looking forward to improving my skills and working hard to represent the National Guard as a boater.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Toshitada Suzuki of La Jolla, Calif. (15 bass, 28-08, $6,325); Michael Bryant of Discovery Bay, Calif. (13 bass, 27-07, $5,624) and Tony Pratt of Paso Robles, Calif. (13 bass, 25-06, $4,920).
Jason Crawford of Laguna Niguel, Calif., earned $212 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Overall there were 232 bass weighing 399 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 91 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 14 five-bass limits.
The 10 remaining pros will take off at 7:15 Saturday morning from Russo’s Marina located at 3995 Willow Rd. in Bethel Island, Calif. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the California Delta FLW Series tournament will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program airing Dec. 14. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits. FLW Outdoors also took fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.