Weather clears for Clear Lake finals
Third EverStart Western Division tourney ends Saturday
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – As if on cue, at sunrise the clouds parted and the sun visibly rose above the hilly horizon for the first time all week as the final 10 boats took off onto Clear Lake for the last day of EverStart Series competition.
You can bet the sunshine was like manna from heaven for the waterlogged last 20 pros and co-anglers standing, but it’s anybody’s guess whether this weather will hold throughout the day. Temperatures haven’t yet climbed out of the unseasonably cold range between 40 and 50 degrees, and it remains to be seen if the furtive reemergence of the sun will improve that situation.
While some scattered showers are predicted for Saturday, one key change has been the drop in wind. Anglers who’ve been saving big, spawning fish in shallows all week might be able to go and get them now that they can see them – provided, that is, if it stays sunny and calm.
Now matter how they catch them, look for the finalists to pull out all the stops Saturday. The sandbagging’s over. Everybody started over with zero weight and it’s a one-day shootout for a top pro prize of $7,500 and a Ranger boat and top co-angler prize of $3,900.
Anglers say that 30 pounds of bass is a cakewalk at Clear Lake, especially when sun’s out. Today’s the day to prove it.
The final weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at Redbud Park in Clearlake.
As previously mentioned, the winning pro will take home a guaranteed cash award of $7,500 plus a new Ranger 519VS Comanche equipped with Garmin electronics and powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive an additional $10,000 cash bonus from Ranger for a total of $59,400 in cash and prizes. Ranger will also award an additional $3,000 to the winner if he is a Ranger Cup participant, and Garmin will award $1,000 to the winner if his boat is equipped with a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder.
The winning co-angler is guaranteed $3,900 cash. If the winning co-angler is a registered Ranger owner, he will also receive a new Ranger 519VS Comanche for a total of $26,700 in cash and prizes.
Saturday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:20 a.m.
Air temperature at takeoff: 43 degrees
Expected high temperature: 58 degrees
Water temperature at the ramp: 55 degrees
Wind: from the north at 3 mph
Relative humidity: 100 percent
Day’s outlook: showers
Day-four link: