Salewske leads Walmart FLW Series event on Cal Delta

J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif., retains lead in the Co-angler Division

OAKLEY, Calif. – Pro Rusty Salewske of Alpine, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 14 ounces Thursday to capture the lead in the Walmart FLW Series National Guard

Division tournament on the California Delta with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 40-11.

“I was punching all day long,” said Salewske, who started the day in eighth place. “It was a very tough day of fishing, but you just have to keep fishing, never quit.”

Salewske found an area of moving water and got most of his fish between 11 a.m. and noon using beavers. He indicated that by 11 a.m. he only had one bite.

Salewske now holds a 3-pound, 5-ounce lead over second place pro Dee Thomas, of Brentwood, Calif. In a tournament where anything can happen, including a 30-pound bag, this is still anybody’s tournament for the taking. Thomas, who is known as the father of the Flipping technique, managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 37-6 during the first two days of competition.

Rounding out the top five pros are Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz. (10 bass, 36-8); Charlie Weyer of West Hills, Calif. (10 bass, 36) and Ricky Shabazz of Rialto, Calif. (10 bass, 34-15).

“I found something that is working for me,” said Team Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee pro Brett Hite, who moved from 15th to 3rd place today. “The tide doesn’t really seem to be a factor for me. I am fishing in grassy, shallow water with very little movement using beavers.

“I came into this tournament thinking that I had a good shot at winning and I’m just going to keep doing what I am doing and hopefully come out on top,” Hite added.

Jason Cordiale of Orinda, Calif., earned the day’s $293 Folgers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 9-pound bass he caught on a peanut butter & jelly beaver.

The remaining top ten pros are: 6th- Ken Mah of Elk Grove, Calif., 7th- Brian Carpenter of Livermore, Calif., 8th-Chris Zaldain of San Jose, Calif., 9th-Ronald Hobbs, Jr. of Orting, Wash., and in 10th- Ishama Monroe of Hughson, Calif.

Overall there were 373 bass weighing 922 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 89 pros Thursday. The catch included 58 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing this week for a top award of $125,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

JR Wright of Truckee, Calif., remains in the lead in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31-9 followed by Dean Ziemer of Tracy, Calif., in second place with 10 bass weighing 26-1.

“What a thrill it was to fish with Dee Thomas today,” said Wright who was able to hold on to his lead. “It was just a great day on the water. Both Dee and I caught big bags today; he left me a lot of water to fish and it was just thrilling. I did have to do some adapting to his style of fishing, but he helped me out and I learned a lot.”

Wright was using a Margarita Mutilator 4″ worm purple. He had six bites but unfortunately lost one which would have made his bag even heavier.

Wright caught 5 bass weighing 13-13 while fishing with pro Rusty Salewske of Alpine, Calif., Wednesday and 5 bass weighing 17-12 while fishing with pro Dee Thomas of Brentwood, Calif., Thursday.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Faaborg of Ramona, Calif. (9 bass, 25-7); Tracy Patton of Oakdale, Calif. (7 bass, 21-1) and Hideki Maeda of Osaka, Japan (9 bass, 20-15).

Jack Farage of Discovery Bay, Calif., earned $195 for the Folgers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught on a spray grass beaver while fishing with pro Tomohiro Usui of Gifu, Japan.

Overall there were 225 bass weighing 463 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 89 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 20 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of $25,000 as well as a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Russo’s Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday’s 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 Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games.

All activities are free and open to the public.

In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The total purse for the California Delta tournament is nearly $900,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro Division.

Top point earners from the Walmart FLW Tour, Walmart FLW Series, Stren Series, Walmart BFL, and the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Champion will advance to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta, Ga., which will be held at Lake Lanier.

Coverage of the California tournament, hosted by the City of Oakley, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air Oct. 25 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world

Total awards are based on a full field of 150 boats in every tournament.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.

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.