CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Pro Luke Clausen of Veradale, Wash., caught five bass weighing 25 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday on California’s Clear Lake to claim $7,500 cash plus an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 519VS Comanche bass boat equipped with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries. The four-day, $118,705 event was the third of four regular-season EverStart Series Western Division events.
Only 10 Pro Division anglers advanced to Saturday’s final round, and Clausen qualified via the very last position, finishing 10th on Friday, but he beat the field Saturday by more than a 5-pound margin. Clausen caught most of his tournament-winning bass on an Aaron’s Magic Roboworm and a 5-inch green pumpkin Clearwater tapeworm near retaining walls in 6 to 8 feet of water.
The sun came out on Clear Lake Saturday after three straight days of cold, driving rain. Clausen’s area fished conservatively but yielded Saturday’s heaviest weights. “I didn’t get many bites,” said Clausen, who was fishing his first EverStart Series event. “I got about a dozen keeper bites but only five good fish. I caught one that weighed between 8 and 9 pounds 10 minutes before weigh-in that saved me.”
Interestingly enough, Clausen happened upon the tournament by chance and decided to enter. “I happened to be in town, and there was a tournament,” he said. “I really didn’t have anything else to do.”
Rounding out the top five pros were Wayne Breazeale of Kelseyville (five bass, 19 pounds, $7,200); Brent Ehrler of Redlands (five bass, 16 pounds, 14 ounces, $6,400); Thanh Le of El Cajon (five bass, 16 pounds, 4 ounces, $5,600); and Rusty Salewske of Alpine (five bass, 13 pounds, 14 ounces, $5,100).
Co-angler Jim Wickham of Morristown, Ariz., cruised to his first EverStart Series win with a margin of more than 3 pounds. He caught five bass Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces to earn $3,500 cash as the Co-angler Division victor. Ranger Boats also awarded Wickham a new Ranger 519VS Comanche because he is the original owner of a Ranger Boat.
“I caught all my fish all four days drop-shotting,” said Wickham, who caught his bass on a 4.5-inch Margarita Mutilator Roboworm. “I think everyone was using that technique, but it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I think [Saturday’s] weather helped me. Since it was so warm, I could concentrate on fishing instead of staying warm and dry. I was so happy when we got to the lake today and it wasn’t raining!”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Jed Christensen of Ogden, Utah (five bass, 16 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,600); Bernie Gaunt of West Sacramento (four bass, 13 pounds, 14 ounces, $2,050); John Alimpic of Angwin (five bass, 11 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,740); and Ron Chambers of Phoenix, Ariz. (four bass, 10 pounds, $1,580).
A total of 78 bass were caught Saturday, including 10 five-bass limits. More than 98 percent were released alive.
One hundred and thirty-six pros and 136 co-anglers took off from Redbud Park in Clearlake Wednesday to kick-start the third event of the Western Division of the EverStart Series. Thanks to the tournament series’ western expansion, anglers from the West can now compete alongside Central, Northern and Eastern division competitors for a share of a $3.88 million EverStart Series purse. The field was cut to the top 20 pros and 20 co-anglers following Thursday’s competition, and anglers started at zero Friday and competed for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s final round. Weights were cleared again for Saturday’s competition, and anglers competed for position and prize money.
Four divisions – Eastern, Central, Northern and Western – comprise the 2003 EverStart Series. Each division stages four regular-season tournaments leading up to the no-entry-fee $335,975 EverStart Series Championship, which will be held on Old Hickory Lake near Gallatin, Tenn., Oct. 29-Nov. 1. The next Western Division tournament will be held May 28-31 on the California Delta near Oakley.
In EverStart Series competition, pros supply the boats, control boat movement and fish from the front of each boat against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back of each boat and compete against other co-anglers.
FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing, administers the EverStart Series. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League. FLW Outdoors will award as much as $20 million through 175 tournaments in 2003.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please explore FLWOutdoors.com.
FLW Outdoors is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.