Russell rises to the occasion

Idaho pro grabs overall lead heading into Saturday’s finals at the FLW Series National Guard Western Division event on the Columbia River

UMATILLA, Ore. – Heading into the third day of FLW Series competition on the Columbia River, Neil Russell of Nampa, Idaho, really felt that he’d have to get lucky to even make Friday’s top-10 cut. Now, all he’s thinking about is winning a title.

As it turned out, Russell stormed all the way back from seventh place to grab the overall lead with a total catch of 37 pounds, 1 ounce, giving him the pole position heading into Saturday’s crucial final of round of competition.

“I thought I’d have to get really lucky to have a shot at the top-10,” said Russell. “But now I have a chance to win. I’m really surprised. It was just a wonderful day.”

Russell, who has two third-place finishes to his credit at each of the previous FLW Series Columbia River events, knows this waterway extremely well. However, unlike many of the pros who currently hold top spots on the leaderboard, Russell decided to eschew a long run upriver in return for extended fishing time in the lower pools. As it turned out, that strategy really paid off.

“Unlike some of the other guys, I’m staying downriver because I wanted more fishing time,” said Russell. “Even though the quality of fish aren’t quite as good down here, I decided I’d rather spend more time fishing than running all the way upriver.

“I also got kind of lucky,” Russell continued. “I wound up finding an area that’s holding bedding bass and I really didn’t expect to find that (scenario) down here. So things worked out really well for me today. It feels great.”

Russell said he’s targeting bass by patrolling a road bed, staying in 6 feet of water or less while throwing a variety of reaction baits and tubes to lure the fish to the boat. He also said he’s been able to do some sight-fishing as well.

“And tomorrow I’m going to be doing the same thing,” said Russell. “I’m going to stay down here and keep doing what I’ve been doing. It’s worked out well so far.”

Caporuscio continues amazing run

Although Joseph Caporuscio had never visited the Columbia River until this week, he finds himself in the thick of the hunt for a tournament title despite being surrounded on the leaderboard with a host of pros who have years of fishing experience on this waterway.

Not surprisingly, Caporuscio couldn’t have been happier with his performance to date.

“It was just another awesome day of fishing,” said Caporuscio, who boasts a total three day catch of 36 pounds, 8 ounces. “I caught about eight or nine keepers today and had a limit by 10:30 a.m. I still can’t believe I’ve had three good days like this in a row. Hopefully, I can keep it up for one more day.”

Caporuscio, who continues to target bass by drop-shotting worms in shallow water near grass, said that his prime fishing location only seems to get better with each passing day.

“I went back to my old spot and some new fish moved in,” said Caporuscio, who hails from Coto De Caza, Calif. “Obviously, that helped.”

No matter what happens in tomorrow’s finals, Caporuscio said that he will have nothing but great memories from this event.

“It was a lot of fun out there today and I’ve just had an awesome week of fishing,” he said. “Every day I’m learning something new. It’s been great.”

Hobbs drops to third

Although Ronald Hobbs, Jr., of Orting, Wash., had held at least a share of the lead each of the first two days of tournament action, today was a slightly different story as he finished today’s competition in third place. However, despite his slight drop in the standings, Hobbs only remains 1 pound, 2 ounces out of first place heading into Saturday’s finals.

But while he may have lost some ground on the tournament leaderboard, he hasn’t lost confidence in his strategy or his prime fishing locations.

“I had a little trouble getting to my fishing spots today because the water was really low,” said Hobbs, who boasts a three-day total weight of 35 pounds, 15 ounces. “But the fish are still there. I also found two new spots today so that will help. If I can just get five fish in the boat tomorrow, I know I can win this tournament. I’m definitely on the fish to win.”

Hobbs continues to make huge runs upriver (150 miles roundtrip) to target pre-spawn females near the Richland, Wash., area. The only trick is that by making such a long run, Hobbs is only giving himself a maximum of two hours of fishing time. But so far at least, that gamble continues to pay dividends.

“If I get the bites I think I can get, I should be able to come back with 15 to 17 pounds,” said Hobbs, who has been using a Sniper Snug magnum worm to land the majority of his catch. “The amount of quality fish in my area is mind-boggling. Today alone I saw three 5-pounders and a bunch of 3-pounders so I know that the fish are there to win this tournament. Honestly, I think if I catch five fish tomorrow this tournament will be over.”

Mace keeps leaders in his sights

Kennewick, Wash., native Ron Mace used a total catch of 35 pounds, 11 ounces to stay hot on the heels of the tournament leaders for the second day in a row. However, it wasn’t easy.

“I had to work hard today – the water levels really dropped,” said Mace, who finished the day in fourth place only 1 pound, 6 ounces behind Russell. “The fish were super spooky so it was definitely harder to catch them today than yesterday.”

Like Hobbs, Mace is also running great distances upriver, burning 80 gallons of gas while making 100-mile one-way runs. And that doesn’t even include the fact that he’s yet to head to his prime fishing location, which is another 25 to 30 miles further upriver.

“It’s pretty stressful,” said Hobbs. “But I’m heading to my No. 1 spot tomorrow. I’m not sure what’s going to happen (in the finals), but it’s a good feeling to make the top 10. Hopefully I can put some good fish in the boat tomorrow.”

Meanwhile Marc Lippincott of Spokane, Wash., used a three-day catch of 34 pounds, 10 ounces to finish the day in fifth place.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 pro finalists at the FLW Series Columbia River event:

6th: Cody King of Island City, Ore., 34-2

7th: Ken Wick of Star, Idaho, 33-10

8th: Cody Meyer of Redding, Calif., 30-14

9th: Randy McAbee Jr., of Bakersfield, Calif., 30-12

10th: Ishama Monroe of Hughson, Calif., 30-6

Sixth-place qualifier Cody King also won the day’s big bass competition in the Pro Division after landing a 5-pound, 9-ounce largemouth.

The final day of FLW Series Columbia River competition begins at 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time at Umatilla Marina, located at 1710 Quincy in Umatilla, Ore.