Quick Bites: FLW Series Western, Lake Havasu, Day 1

Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division

Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Opening round, Wednesday

Quick number

8-2: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of Jason Borofka’s Snickers Big Bass winner on the pro side. It was, by a fair amount, the heaviest bass caught in FLW Outdoors competition at Lake Havasu to date. (Last year, Aaron Coleman landed a 7-5 on day two of Stren Western competition here, but this lake has historically coughed up big bass in the mere 5 1/2- to 6-pound range.) The lunker largemouth launched Borofka into 25th place – with only one fish in his sack. “Unfortunately, I’ve only got one, but it’s pretty big,” he said. “I just focused on one big fish and got him to go today. That was the only bite I had.”

January’s Havasu to anglers: Hooah! … Indeed, scenic Lake Havasu was almost militant in the wintry defense it put up against the best bass anglers in the West Wednesday. The cold-water conditions produced a mere 15 limits in the Pro Division and none in the Co-angler Division. “It’s actually a lot tougher out here right now,” said pro Gabe Bolivar, who eked out three keepers Wednesday for a weight of 4-7 and 59th place. “The last time we were here (at the 2004 Stren Western contest), we were here in March. The water was 80 to 90 degrees then and all the fish were spawning. Now it’s 50 degrees and it’s just tough. But it’s one of those tournaments where one good day gets you right back in the game.”

Statement sack … When the going gets tough at Havasu, Mike Goodwin gets going. His 13-13 leading weight on the pro side outdistanced second place R.J. Bennett by almost a pound and a half and topped the rest of the top pro contenders, who were in in the 10- to 11-pound range, by about 3 pounds. It might as well have been 30 pounds, given the stingy fishing and tight, low weights. Goodwin won the first FLW Outdoors tourney at Havasu, the Stren Western opener in 2004, but the local from Lake Havasu City has been a little snake-bitten the last couple of years on his home lake. “Last year I stunk, and the year before that I got 11th. I let everything get to my head in practice,” he said. “This year, I’m just happy to get bit because it’s really brutal fishing. As slow as the bite is, you’ve got to pay attention on each and every cast. If you lose focus for a single cast in this tournament, it could cost you thousands of dollars.” So how about that near-14-pound limit Wednesday? Was the local trying to show everybody how it’s done in a tough tournament? “No. I would have been happy with 7 or 8 pounds a day,” he said. “Just making it to Saturday is my top priority.”

Naming right … Lake Havasu City pro Jayson Kisselburg is one devoted bass fisherman. The proof? His kids. His 6-year-old son is named “Lake” and his 8-year-old daughter is named “Berklee.” How did he ever float that by his wife? “Oh, she goes out on the boat all the time,” Kisselburg said. “She’s sort of the backbone of this whole organization.”

Last but not least … Rookie co-angler Robert O’Donnell was the last competitor to weigh in Wednesday. It was worth the wait. His two stocky bass – including a 5-3 kicker, the Snickers Big Bass winner – weighed a collective 9-12 and launched him into first place by over 3 pounds. “I was the last number you called at registration last night, too,” he told tournament director Chris Jones. “I thought you forgot about me.”

Sound bites

“That might be the prettiest fish I’ve ever caught. It’s just big and brown.”

– Pro Gary Howell, admiring his sole keeper of the day, a nice smallmouth weighing 4-9.

“What a great opportunity to be able to fish for tour-level pay on some home lakes. It’s nice not to have to go all the way across the country to do it.”

– Arizona pro Clifford Pirch, echoing the prevailing sentiment among Western anglers about the welcome arrival of the FLW Series Western Division and its title sponsor, the National Guard.

For the record

The first angler ever to post a weight in the inaugural Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division was co-angler George Fedor of Yucaipa, Calif., who was the first competitor to the scales Wednesday. The first pro to weigh in was Keegan Graves of Meridian, Idaho.

Incidentally, they both caught good sacks. Fedor weighed in two fish for 3 pounds even – which was solid on the co-angler side – and placed 26th. Graves hooked into four bass worth 9-5 and placed 13th.