BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – If records are truly meant to be broken, today was the day in sunny California. Stren Series Western Division pro Steve Sapp of Manteca, Calif., was the first to step up to the plate by breaking the FLW Outdoors all-time big-bass record with a largemouth bass that weighed a staggering 14 pounds, 1 ounce.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Sapp, who bested the previous record of 12 pounds, 14 ounces set on the California Delta by Chris Costello of Gilroy, Calif., During a Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event in 1999. “However, I’m truly surprised that bigger fish haven’t been caught.”
Sapp must have been looking into a crystal ball, because minutes later co-angler Tom Sawicki of Modesto, Calif., walked across the stage packing a 14-pound, 5-ounce bass, breaking Sapp’s newly set record by a mere 4 ounces.
“It’s awesome. It’s unbelievable,” said an excited Sawicki, who is fishing in just his third Stren Series tournament. “A 9-6 was my personal best up until now.”
Sawicki drop-shotted a Roboworm in 5 feet of water on 12-pound-test line and spinning tackle to land the monster fish.
“I have to credit my pro Shaun Bailey,” he said. “Normally when a pro is bed fishing, it can be a tough day on the back of the boat, but Shaun made sure that he positioned the boat so I could fish some pockets. I caught a 6-pound male and then about 25 to 30 casts later, the big one bit.”
Both anglers won the coveted Snickers Big Bass Award with Sapp taking home $725 on the pro side and Sawicki earning $245 on the co-angler side. In addition to money in their pockets and names in the record books, both men were vaulted into the final round by their heavy-weight bass. Sapp moved from 127th place to third place and Sawicki jumped from 98th to third in the Co-angler Division.
“That’s the California Delta,” said Sapp, who won this event last year. “You can do that stuff here.”
Sapp didn’t seem surprised or even disappointed that his short-lived record was broken. Maybe because he also set the heaviest five-bass limit in Stren Series competition with 35 pounds, 7 ounces.
How does Sapp’s one-day limit stack up against all of FLW Outdoors’ tournaments? He’s now officially listed as third behind Mike Terry of Obion, Tenn. (38-14 during a BFL event on Kentucky Lake in 1992) and Rob Vanderkooi of Mesa Arizona (35-10 during a BFL event on Lake Pleasant in Arizona in 1997).
Quietly waiting in the wings is Ranger pro Sean Stafford of Fairfield, Calif., who has led the first two days of competition with a near record catch of five bass weighing 33 pounds, 9 ounces on opening day and four bass weighing 15-pounds, 6-ounces on day two for a total of 48 pounds, 15 ounces.
“I went to a new spot this morning because I wanted to save my big fish,” Stafford said. “I had my weight by eight this morning, so I just went to check on that big fish.”
Stafford’s referring to an estimated 15-pound largemouth that he spotted in practice and has been keeping an eye on throughout the tournament.
“There were some guys in there catfishing, so I didn’t intrude on their water,” he said. “I found another big fish in the process that seems eager to bite. She’s probably around 12 pounds. I’ll go after her first in the morning and then maybe the real big one later.”
So the question is, will Sawicki’s new big-bass record last 24 hours?
Stafford says there are not a lot of 14-pound plus fish in the Delta, so the record has an excellent shot at remaining, unless of course, Stafford’s big bass is eager to bite and then tips the scales as much as she is estimated to.
There will be 20 pros gunning for the record Friday, and rounding out the top five are Matt Lowery of El Cajon, Calif. (nine bass, 47 pounds, 3 ounces); Sapp (10 bass, 46 pounds, 10 ounces) Mike Folkestad of Yorba Linda, Calif. (10 bass, 45 pounds, 6 ounces); and Donald Davis of Discovery Bay, Calif. (10 bass, 43 pounds, 13 ounces).
Pros are competing for as much as $64,500 and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the Stren Series Championship will also earn a spot in the new $2 million 2007 Forrest Wood Cup where they will compete against top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and Ranger owners’ tournaments for bass fishing’s first $1 million top award.
Roy Desmangles Jr. of Lincoln, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. His two-day total of 10 bass tipped the scale to 34 pounds, 13 ounces.
“I fished with Paul Cormany (of Riverside, Calif.) today,” said Desmangles, who also led the Co-angler Division on day one with five bass weighing 22 pounds, 12 ounces. “We went to a couple of his spots and things weren’t going well, so he asked if I knew of anything. Well, we went to one of my spots and they were biting. I caught some good fish and so did he.”
Desmangles caught the majority of his fish drop-shotting 7- and 8-inch worms with a larger than normal profile.
“I just tried to give the fish something different than what everyone else is doing,” he said.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Allen Vance of Mineral, Wash. (10 bass, 33 pounds, 15 ounces); Tom Sawicki (10 bass, 32 pounds, 14 ounces); Jack Kemper of Benicia, Calif. (10 bass, 31 pounds, 14 ounces) and Maeda Hideki of Japan (10 bass, 30 pounds, 5 ounces).
Anglers will take off from Russo’s Marina in Bethel Island at 6 each morning. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of three rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 20 pros and co-anglers – based on two-day accumulated weights – advance to day three. Anglers start at zero on day three and compete for 10 day-four spots. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.