Quick Bites: FLW Series Western, Cal Delta, Day 1
Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division
California Delta, Bethel Island, Calif.
Opening round, Wednesday
Hog march … In an effort to somehow document the large bass that came out of the Delta Wednesday, I attempted to keep count of each fish weighing 8 pounds or more. It was a futile effort. It wasn’t just the sheer size of the fish, it was the number of them. So many anglers pulled out lunker 8-pounders for the big-bass award that it became impossible to keep track of them about halfway through the weigh-in. In fact, it was difficult even to count the 9-pounders after a while. We know for certain that big-bass awards went to pro leader Jim Opalecky for his 9-5 kicker and co-angler Kirk Beardsley for the biggest fish of the day, a 9-15. An unofficial tally of other 9-pound-plus catches included Shawn McConville (9-4), Ronald Hobbs Jr. (9-3), Rob Riehl (9-3) and Brett Davies (9-0). And those are just the ones that were weighed. Who knows how many slipped under the radar after Opalecky and Beardsley established their massive big-bass weights? Apologies in advance to anybody else I missed. (Click here to view the full parade of pigs from day one.)
Verdict in: New daylight-saving time a huge plus … Wednesday’s weigh-in began at 3 p.m. and ended at 6:47 p.m. Pacific time, and that’s solely a credit to this unbelievable bass fishery. There were no technical glitches; it simply takes nearly four hours to weigh in 396 anglers – most having limits – and check countless 7-, 8- and 9-pound fish for the big-bass award. A total of 181 pros caught limits and 114 co-anglers did the same. Just a single pro failed to weigh in Wednesday. It was such a marathon day that even tournament director Chris Jones, as tireless and enthusiastic a host as they come in tournament fishing, had trouble keeping up. “We have used 480 (weigh-in) bags up to this point,” Jones said about three-quarters of the way through Wednesday. “This is absolutely unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” In order to save his voice, Jones ultimately passed the mic to fellow tournament director Robert Vannerson later in the weigh-in. It was a wise move; after all, there’s only three more days to go on the unbelievable Delta.
This just in from the You’ve Got To Be Kidding Department … Despite all the eye-popping catches, a number of anglers actually said the fishing could be better. The bass aren’t quite into full-on spawning mode, and shallow cruisers seem to be the target of choice for many pros. “I really enjoyed being back here and getting to jerk on some real fish. We don’t get to do that much back East,” said pro Andre Moore, who caught 19-11. “And the sad thing is, we’re probably here at the worst part of the moon cycle. Next week it’s going to be just silly.” Additionally, a number of top pros – i.e. guys who caught 20 pounds or more – reported losing a lot of fish Wednesday thanks to a lighter bite and inferior hookups. Pro leader Opalecky claimed he lost a 12-pound fish, second-place Bobby Barrack actually broke a rod and lost a monster of undetermined weight, and 75th-place Matt Newman (15-0) said he lost two that he wish he hadn’t. “Oh yeah, they were 10 pounds each, easy,” Newman said. “Oh well, maybe I’ll get them tomorrow.” There’s no overstating it: It’s all relative on the California Delta. Relatively huge, that is.
D’oh! … There are those who lost fish, and then there’s Tim Edington. He placed 98th for the pros with just four bass weighing 14-1, but not because he didn’t catch enough for a limit. “I miscounted and started culling at four,” he lamented. “I should have had 20 pounds.”
Sighted … Dee Thomas, venerated pioneer of the flipping technique, who caught a nice limit weighing 16-6 to open FLW Series competition this week on his home water. Asked if he was flipping and pitching today, he laughed, “You think so?”
Missed … Sgt. Frank O’Laughlan, the boisterous man behind the machine that brought the National Guard-sponsored FLW Series Western Division to the West Coast this season. O’Laughlan is out with illness and has been unable to attend this week’s event, but that didn’t stop him from calling in with a shout-out to everyone as he watched Wednesday afternoon’s weigh-in on FLW Live. A number of grateful West Coast anglers returned the sentiment. “I just want to say hi to Sgt. Frank,” Jay Yelas told the camera. “Get well, buddy. We’ll see you soon.”
Quick numbers
4,693-11: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of all the fish that crossed the scale at the California Delta Wednesday. FLW Series staffer Todd Guenthart, who bumped every single one of the 1,751 bass, said, “Is that all? It felt like 20,000 pounds.”
3: Wednesday’s rank in the FLW Outdoors record book for collective single-day weight. Only a 5,071-8 at Lake Amistad and a 4,874-5 at Lake Champlain have been heavier.
23-7: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the 10th-place cut weight in the Pro Division after day one at the Delta. It was caught by Hal Zimmerman.
27-0: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the fifth-place weight in the Pro Division. It was caught by Chris Raza.
22: Place earned by a 20-pound sack of fish on day one at the Delta. It was caught by Ken Schmitt.
1: Rank of Jim Opalecky’s 32-12 one-day weight in FLW Series history. It also ranks as the 15th heaviest in overall FLW Outdoors history. Bobby Barrack’s 31-3 ranks as the 20th-heaviest catch in FLW Outdoors history.
Sound bite
“Hello, California! Yeah!”
– Pro Paul Hodges, verbalizing a sentiment felt by many Western Division anglers upon reaching the amazing California Delta.