McAbee leads Walmart FLW Series event on Clear Lake

Smith wins co-angler title, $14,000

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Pro Randy McAbee, Jr. of Bakersfield, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce Friday to maintain his lead in the Walmart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Clear Lake. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 66-8, he holds a 4-pound, 5-ounce lead over his closest competitor, Jared Lintner of Arroyo Grande, Calif., heading into the final day of competition.

“I had my worst day ever on the water,” said McAbee, Jr. who, despite obvious frustration, held on to his first place lead. “I lost three fish today; two over 5-pounds and one that was at least 10-pounds. It was just one of those days where nothing went right.”

Lintner caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 62-3 using reaction baits to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.

“I fished the same areas I have the past two days but couldn’t get the fish to bite as well today,” said Linter, now in second place. “I covered a lot of water, kept my baits moving, and flipped fast.”

Thanks to calm winds the bite was slow during the early hours of fishing. Most of the anglers experienced greater success late in the day, once a nice breeze picked up over the water. Many of the anglers didn’t get their limit until minutes before heading to weigh-in.

“I can sleep until 10 tomorrow and it won’t effect my fishing,” said Gary Howell currently in 5th place going into the final round. “At 2 p.m. I only had 4 fish that weighed about 9 pounds and then within a half hour I landed 18 pounds of fish.”

Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 57 pounds, 7 ounces in the Pro Division are:

3rd: Clifford Pirch, Payson, Ariz., 15 bass, 60

4th: Michael Tuck, Antelope, Calif., 15 bass, 59-6

5th: Gary Howell, Stockton, Calif., 15 bass, 59-4

6th: Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., 15 bass, 58-10

7th: Sean Minderman, Spokane, Wash., 15 bass, 58-3

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

9th: Team Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee pro Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 15 bass, 57-7

10th: Tommy Cardoza, Lakeport, Calif., 15 bass, 57-7

Pirch also earned the day’s $290 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 9-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a Berkley Gripper Jig.

Overall there were 356 bass weighing 1189 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 88 pros Friday. The catch included 59 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., won the Co-angler Division and $14,178 Friday with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 56 pounds, 12 ounces followed by Rus Snyders of San Bruno, Calif., in second place with 15 bass weighing 52-6 worth $7,089.

Smith opened the tournament in first place Wednesday and didn’t look back. He caught 5 bass weighing 27-10 while fishing with pro Rick Correa of Sherwood, Ore. On Thursday he stretched his lead on the strength of a 5-bass catch weighing 19-14 while fishing with pro Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore. He held on to the win Friday with a 4-bass catch weighing 9-4 while fishing with pro Nick Young of Nampa, Idaho.

“When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” said Smith, who caught the heaviest bag of the tournament so far, 27-10, on both the pro and co side Wednesday. “I was very lucky this tournament and drew some great boaters who gave me the time and water to fish my way. The secret to my success was slow fishing, very slow fishing. Luckily none of the boaters used reaction baits or that would have really thrown my game off.”

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Taylor of Shingle Springs, Calif. (15 bass, 50-2, $5,317); Toshitada Suzuki of La Jolla, Calif. (15 bass, 48-14, $3,544) and Stacy Gee of Sacramento, Calif. (15 bass, 47-8, $2,836).

Kevin Tucker earned $193 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass he caught while fishing with pro Cameron Smith of Dana Point, Calif.

Overall there were 271 bass weighing 818 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 88 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 29 five-bass limits.

Taylor Parsons of Sutter Creek, Calif., ended the year in first place in the co-angler points standings for the National Guard Western Division circuit. His points earned him a trip to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup which is being held in Atlanta, Ga., on Lake Lanier. Top point earners from the Walmart FLW Tour, Walmart FLW Series, Stren Series, Walmart BFL, and the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Champion all advance to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

The 10 remaining pros will take off at 7:30 Saturday morning from Redbud Park Marina located at14655 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, Calif. Saturday’s final 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.

Coverage of the Clear Lake tournament, hosted by 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 a field of 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.