Kerr hangs on to lead FLW Series event at Lake Mead

Andrade wins co-angler title, Ranger 177TR Boat and Evinrude or Yamaha Outboard motor

HENDERSON, Nev. – Pro Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, Calif., caught a 5-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces Friday to maintain his lead in the FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Lake Mead. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 39-3, he holds a 2-pound lead over his closest competitor, National Guard pro Tim Klinger of Boulder City, Nev., heading into the final day of competition.

“I have been fishing flawlessly all week,” said Kerr, whose highest finish at Lake Mead in an FLW event was seventh back in 2005. “I haven’t really lost any fish this week, the ones I did miss I was able to re-catch. I was a little nervous today, my bite completely died so I had to go fishing for smallies and they say once you go brown you go down and that is exactly what happened to me today.

“I’m really hoping I can figure something out for tomorrow, everything that I was using is washed out. I really think that the water dropping is what has changed my bite. The wind that has really negatively impacted most of the field has actually been beneficial for me. I am not a sight fisherman and this wind has turned the water milky which is to my advantage. I just hope my luck holds out one more day!”

Kerr’s three smallies and two largemouth bass were caught using an evergreen crankbait, robo worms and he had one bite on a drop-shot jig. Kerr believes that it is going to take a 12-13 pound sack to win tomorrow.

Klinger caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37-3 using spinnerbaits running the banks to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.

“Once the wind calmed down today my bite really improved,” said Klinger, who started the day in seventh place. “I was pretty nervous though because I didn’t get my first fish until almost 11 o’clock this morning. But then the wind died and I went back to sight fishing and was able to bag my limit.

“I am really excited to go fishing tomorrow, I have never won on my home lake (Mead) and to put myself in this position is such a thrill for me. I have placed second a couple of times, but have never won; hopefully I will this year.”

The remaining top-5 pros who will fish the final day at Lake Mead are:

3rd: Joseph Caporuscio, Coto De Caza, Calif., 15 bass, 35-14

4th: Jason Hickey, Weiser, Idaho, 15 bass, 35-12

5th: National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 15 bass, 35-1

The remaining pro anglers in top-10 are:

6th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 15 bass, 33-8, $7,381

7th: Cody Meyer, Grass Valley, Calif., 15 bass, 32-12, $6,947

8th: Derek Yamamoto, Boulder City, Nev., 15 bass, 32-7, $6,513

9th: Chris Zaldain, San Jose, Calif., 15 bass, 31-8, $7,834

10th: Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., 15 bass, 31-6, $5,645

Tomorrow calls for more wind which could really impact the top-5 who are separated by only 4 pounds, 2 ounces from top to bottom.

Overall there were 361 bass weighing 660 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 93 pros Friday. The catch included 49 five-bass limits.

In FLW Series competition, pros are competing for a top award of up to $50,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.

Roland Andrade of Corona, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard motor Friday with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces followed by J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif. in second place with 13 bass weighing 23-4 worth $4,569.

Andrade opened the tournament in 12th place Wednesday with five bass weighing 8-12 while fishing with pro Brett Hite. On Thursday he fell to 16th place with only two-bass weighing 3-12 while fishing with pro Greg Hatleberg of Springfield, Ore. He came from behind to win Friday with a five-bass limit weighing 11-1 while fishing with pro Ben Willis of Lodi, Calif.

“We fished in local areas today around steep rock,” said Andrade, who was fishing his first FLW event. “We were in about 25-35 feet of water and I was using a Darter head Yamamoto Grub, robo worms, and osprey swimbaits. The fish seemed to be suspended as they were hitting the bait on the drop.

“This has just been a great week, my stomach is all knotted up, I can’t believe I won!”

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:

3rd: Jimmy Zanotelli, Redding, Calif., 13 bass, 21-11, $3,448

4th: Tim Dotson, Loomis, Calif., 12 bass, 21-4, $2,025

5th: Jeffrey Woods, Riverside, Calif., 10 bass, 20-3, $1,620

6th: Jesse Forthun, La Mesa, Calif., 10 bass, 20-1, $1,215

7th: Guy Williams, Menifee, Calif., nine bass, 18-9, $1,012

8th: Tracy Smart, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 11 bass, 18-8, $810

9th: Devin McDonald, Las Vegas, Nev., 10 bass, 18-7, $709

10th: Kirk Beardsley, Huntington Beach, Calif., 12 bass, 18-6, $953

Co-anglers are also competing for valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.

Overall there were 197 bass weighing 348 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 85 co-anglers Friday. The catch included only four five-bass limits.

The remaining five pros will take off at 7 Saturday morning from Callville Bay-Forever Resorts-Concessioners of NPS located in Las Vegas, Nev. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Henderson Civic Center located at 200 S. Water Street in Henderson, Nev., beginning at 4 p.m.

Fans will be treated to a Family Fun Zone at the Civic Center prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. There will be a drawing for a $300 Cabela’s gift card and drawings for rod and reel combos will be held every 30 minutes during the event. 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.

Coverage of the Lake Shasta tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors”, will air June 13 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.

About FLW Outdoors

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.