Clear and cool

Western finals in progress as some usual suspects battle for title

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – It was a chilly, 40-degree sendoff for the top 10 pros and co-anglers fishing in the final round of EverStart Series Western Division competition in the hills of Northern California. No matter. These well-traveled anglers have weathered worse, and a handful of them have felt the final-round heat before – and at Clear Lake, no less.

Young Brian Nixon of Grand Junction, Colo., an EverStart rookie, leads the Pro Division with 24 pounds, 14 ounces. But he would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about the fishing talent behind him.

Fishing out of boat No. 9 is Sean Minderman of Post Falls, Idaho, who won last year’s EverStart tournament at Lake Mead. He stands 12 pounds, 3 ounces off the lead.

In boat No. 6 is Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash., who busted a 25-pound limit on Saturday to win last year’s EverStart event at Clear Lake. He’s 9 pounds, 11 ounces behind Nixon.

The defending Western points champion – and currently sixth in the standings – Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., finished in third place an amazing three times last year, including at Clear Lake. He’s still red-hot, too, coming off a runner-up finish at Lake Havasu. He is fishing from boat No. 5 today. His deficit: 7 pounds, 8 ounces.

Then there’s boat No. 4, carrying Art Berry of Hemet, Calif., who might be on some of the biggest fish here. The current Western standings leader, he dropped jaws Thursday when he came in with a 29-pound, 4-ounce limit that included a near-record 12-pound kicker largemouth. Berry has a very reachable 6 pounds, 4 ounces to make up on Nixon.

If that’s not enough, the leader has to consider David Gliebe of Stockton, Calif., in boat No. 3. He, along with fellow Californian Dee Thomas, helped pioneer the art of flipping, which will obviously serve him well today in the Clear Lake shallows. Gliebe sits 5 pounds, 10 pounds back.

Nixon’s biggest threat, however, is Jared Lintner of Oceano, Calif., in boat No. 2, who sits just 2 pounds, 1 ounce behind the leader. Lintner is also fairly green on the EverStart Series, but he appears to be a Clear Lake specialist. The last two years in the Western Division, he has fished only in this tournament, and he finished in the top 30 here in 2003.

So will it be a hot-blooded rookie showdown, or will one of the cool-headed veterans rise again? Berry admittedly wants a win badly, and so does Ehrler. But don’t be surprised if Clausen pulls another Saturday rabbit out of his hat; he’s done it before.

For now, all eyes are on the wide-eyed Nixon, who acted yesterday like he’d found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with his tiny honey hole. Can he go back there and cash in on it?

Find out this afternoon

Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 15960 Dam Road in Clearlake beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific time. Friday’s weights carry over to Saturday, and each division’s winner will be determined by two-day combined weight.

The winning pro is guaranteed $8,500 cash plus an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 519 VS equipped with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart Batteries, based on a 150-boat field. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive a $10,000 bonus from Ranger for a top pro award worth $60,400. If he is a qualifying participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, Ranger will award another $3,000 cash (or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant if not the winner), and Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup winnings if the angler’s boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard. Garmin will award the winning pro $1,000 if he uses only Garmin electronics and at least one unit is a qualifying unit.

The winning co-angler is guaranteed $4,500 cash based on a 150-boat field, and if he is a Ranger boat owner, Ranger will award him a new Ranger 519 VS for a total prize package worth $34,500. Co-anglers who make the final round of each regular-season EverStart Series event and wear an EverStart/Evinrude shirt and cap on stage are awarded points toward the EverStart Batteries and Evinrude Outboard Engines Co-angler Award. The co-angler receiving the most points by the end of the season receives a 2004 Evinrude 225HO Direct Injection outboard engine rigged on a Ranger boat equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries.

Saturday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:30 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 40 degrees

Expected high temperature: 59 degrees

Wind: from the southwest at 15 mph

Maximum humidity: 62 percent

Day’s outlook: partly cloudy