Good enough, almost great

Mcabee overcomes losses to keep Clear Lake lead

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – If Clear Lake was an amusement park, then Randy Mcabee Jr. spent all day on the roller coaster in his successful bid to retain his Walmart FLW Series lead at the National Guard Western Division event.

Recalling multiple heartbreaks, the Bakersfield, Calif., pro said: “This was probably the worst day of my life on the water. I lost two fish over 5 pounds and one that was well over 10.”

That’s what went wrong. Now, here’s what went right. Mcabee turned in his third consecutive limit of 20-plus pounds – today’s weighed 20-1. Combining that with 23-4 from day one and 23-3 from day two gave him a total of 66-8 and a 4-pound, 5-ounce lead.

Fishing deep-water rock points and islands in the midlake region, Mcabee returned to his day-one pattern of throwing 7-inch Osprey Tournament Talon swimbaits in dark-hitch and light-hitch colors. Bumping bottom in the 20- to 30-foot range was the key.

“Late this afternoon, we had a little bit of that jet stream and a little bit of wind picked up, and I caught four 4-pounders in the last 30 minutes,” he said. “I felt a lot better at that point.

“It seems like I have to get them by 9:30 and then from 1:30 on. Anything I catch in the middle is a bonus. I keep throwing that swimbait (during the slow period), because I know if I get a bite it’s going to be a good one.”

Slower day for Lintner yields second place

Jared Lintner of Arroyo Grande, Calif., trailed Mcabee by 5 pounds on day two. A day later, he remains in the second-place spot, but he trimmed the margin by 11 ounces. Lintner’s day-three limit weighed 20-12 and gave him a three-day total of 62-3.

Lintner tried to replicate his day-two success of flipping jigs and Texas-rigged lizards over submerged grass, but that pattern disappeared today. He ended up catching most of his weight fish on a Jackal lipless crankbait in the ghost-minnow color.

Targeting grass in 4 to 8 feet of water, Lintner fared best during the midmorning hours. Covering water to find active fish was essential to his success.

“I was just keeping baits moving and fishing fast.”

Pirch pounds his way into third

Starting day three in 16th place, National Guard pro Clifford Pirch knew he’d need to reach deep and pull out his best effort if he was to make the top-10 cut. File this one under “Mission Accomplished.” Pirch sacked up the day’s heaviest limit – 23-6 – rose 13 spots and finished the day in third place with an even 60 pounds.

“I had a great time today,” Pirch said. “I caught eight or nine keepers, so the numbers weren’t really high, but they were all good, quality fish.”

Pirch fished a variety of baits around docks and rocks and earned Folgers Big Bass honors and $290 for his 9-pound, 3-ounce whopper. Pirch caught the big fish on a Berkley jig in the peanut-butter-and-jelly color around midday.

Over the past three days, the Payson, Ariz., angler has had to shift his tactics. Pirch explains: “The first day, I caught the fish shallow. It took me about half the day to adjust. I started out deep and then I went shallow.

“The second day was the opposite – I started shallow and didn’t get `em, so I went deep and got `em. Today was kind of a mix. I cut out some bad stops and spent more time in good stops.”

Best of the rest

Michael C. Tuck of Antelope, Calif., finished day three fourth with 59-6. Gary Howell of Stockton, Calif., placed fifth with 59-4.

Rounding out the top 10 pro leaders at the FLW Series Clear Lake event:

6th: Jimmy Reese of Witter Springs, Calif., 58-10

7th: Sean Minderman of Spokane, Wash., 58-3

8th: William Gibbs of John Day, Ore., 57-15

9th: Brett Hite of Phoenix, 57-7

10th: Tommy Cardoza of Lakeport, Calif., 57-7

Notes & notables

With the Land O’Lakes FLW Series Angler of the Year race coming down to the final day of Clear Lake’s qualifying round, Zack Thompson of Orinda, Calif., finished 25th with 50-4 and completed his title quest with 573 points.

“Tournament fishing just comes down to fishing your strength,” Thompson said of his Western Division points title. “That’s what I did all year. I didn’t force anything, I just let it flow. You have to go out and have faith in yourself. If you lose a fish, you have to let it go and just fish the moment.”

Thompson’s wife Cassandra handed out bags of cookies and snacks to each boat at the morning checkout. That thoughtful gesture was well appreciated by the anglers, but it was an afternoon surprise from Cassandra and Zack’s mother, Michele, that took the cake – literally.

Showing up prior to the weigh-ins, this creative duo unveiled a specialty cake that would rival anything you see in a professional bakery. With an edible boat, angler and giant bass integrated into its lake design, the tasty treat was shared with anglers and spectators in celebration of the 2009 National Guard Western Division season.

In other family news, 15th-place pro R.J. Bennett had a special fan in attendance at the day-three weigh-in. His new son, Weston, has yet to celebrate his first birthday, but the young lad seems to understand the importance of sponsor promotion, as evidenced by his Berkley T-shirt imprinted with the message “My Daddy Catches More Fish.”

Day four of FLW Series action on Clear Lake continues at Saturday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7:30 a.m. at Redbud Park, located at 14655 Lakeshore Drive in Clear Lake, Calif.