McAbee maintains overall lead at Walmart FLW Series event on Clear Lake

Mark Smith of Dana Point, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Pro Randy McAbee, Jr., of Bakersfield, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 4 ounces Thursday to retain the lead in the Walmart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Clear Lake with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 46-7.

“Fishing was a little tougher for me today,” said McAbee, Jr., who caught a bounty of fish yesterday. “I had seven bites today and only managed to get five in the boat. The fish were very lethargic; I switched and used deep reaction baits and kept moving.”

A calm wind rolled in around mid-day and many anglers seemed to struggle until then including McAbee, Jr. Three of McAbee Jr.’s fish were caught in the last hour, after the wind kicked in.

McAbee, Jr., now holds a 5-pound lead over second place pro Jared Lintner of Arroyo Grande, Calif., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 41-7 during the first two days of competition.

Lintner had a much slower day today than yesterday as well; he had 10 keepers today compared to his 20 yesterday.

“The fished moved out,” said Lintner, who fished in less than a foot of water yesterday. “Today I fished in 5 – 9 feet deep grassy water; it was like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros are:

3rd: Michael Tuck, Antelope, Calif., 10 bass, 40-12

4th: Gary Howell, Stockton, Calif., 10 bass, 40-11

5th: Mike Folkestad, Orange, Calif., 10 bass, 39-14

6th: Team National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 39-12

7th: Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., 10 bass, 39-10

8th: Team Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee pro Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 10 bass, 39

9th: Tommy Cardoza, Lakeport, Calif., 10 bass, 38-5

10th: Mike Reynolds, Modesto, Calif., 10 bass, 38

Folkestad earned the day’s $290 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 9-pound, 10-ounce bass.

“The great thing about Clear Lake,” said Team Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee pro Brett Hite, “is that it is not unheard of to bring in a 44 pound bag. So even if you think you are out of this tournament, two or three casts later you can be right back in it. I am catching a lot of 3 pound fish, I just can’t seem to get that 5 – 6-pounder, but it can happen and I am just excited to be going back out there tomorrow!”

Overall there were 371 bass weighing 1256 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 88 pros Thursday. The catch included 60 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing this week for a top award of over $105,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

Mark Smith of Dana Point, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing a whopping 47-8 followed by Rus Snyders of San Bruno, Calif., in second place with 10 bass weighing 35-14.

“The key to fishing in the back of the boat is to have pros that give you time and space,” said Smith, who added another limit to his commanding lead. “I have been very fortunate this tournament to have drawn two great pros that have given me time and plenty of water to fish the way I like.”

Smith caught 5 bass weighing 27-10 while fishing with pro Rick Correa of Sherwood, Ore., Wednesday and 5 bass weighing 19-14 while fishing with Team Chevy pro Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore., Thursday.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Taylor or Shingle Springs, Calif. (10 bass, 35-2); Toshitada Suzuki of La Jolla, Calif. (10 bass, 34-2); and Stacy Gee (10 bass, 33-6).

Tim Edington of Molalla, Ore., earned $193 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a beaver while fishing with pro Ken Mah of Elk Grove, Calif.

Overall there were 241 bass weighing 716 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 88 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included a mere 24 five-bass limits.

Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of over $19,000 as well as a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

Friday anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. from Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa located at 8727 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville, Calif., Friday weigh-in will be held at 3 p.m. at Konocti. Saturday’s take off will take place at 7:30 a.m. from Redbud Park located at 14655 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, Calif. and weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 15960 Dam Road in Clearlake, 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 National Guard 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 Clear Lake tournament is nearly $900,000, including nearly $9,000 through 29th 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 Clear Lake tournament, hosted by the Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, 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 Nov. 22 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 for this tournament are based on 88 boats.

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.

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.