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

Wal-Mart FLW Series National Guard Western Division

Clear Lake, Kelseyville, Calif.

Opening round, Wednesday

California burning … Although Clear Lake is a safe distance from the awful wildfires in Southern California, the devastation is not lost on the Western bass contingent. Pro Brent Ehrler lives in nearby Redlands, Calif. Thankfully, his home is not in immediate danger. But had he been home, he would have been able to witness some of the destruction from his residence. “The fire is on top of the mountain, and we’re on the bottom of the mountain, so we’re one of the lucky ones,” he said. Property damage from the fires has reached at least $1 billion in San Diego County alone, officials said Wednesday. At least 1,200 homes had been destroyed in the county, a number that is believed will rise. With some 375,000 acres, or 585 square miles, ablaze, President Bush declared a federal emergency for seven Southern California counties, a move that will speed disaster-relief efforts. He also scheduled a visit to the region on Thursday. In this tradegy, good news has been hard to come by, but an expected slackening of the fierce wind that has fanned the explosive blazes are in the forecast for the next few days.



Talk about perfect … The conditions in Northern California Wednesday couldn’t have been any better. The high temperature was in the upper 70s, the skies were mostly sunny, and there was just a light and variable breeze. Although the catches were strong for autumn fishing, imagine if these conditions were present during the spring. With sight-fishing in play, a 35- or even 40-pound bag would seem possible. Still, expect the top-10 cutoff weight at this tournament to be in the vicinity of 60 pounds.

Good luck, Jones family … Although the weather is beautiful and the fishing on Clear Lake is good, something isn’t quite right at the final Western Division qualifier. The missing ingredient is FLW Series Tournament Director Chris Jones. Jones’ commanding voice and passion for all things bass fishing are well known in the FLW Series and Stren Series. This is the first tournament Jones has missed in what seems like forever – and for good reason. Tomorrow his wife, Beth, will be induced into labor back in Kentucky. Good luck, and the thoughts and prayers of the FLW Outdoors family are with you.

Rare smallmouth … The lone smallmouth weighed in today was caught by pro Greg Hines of Lakeside, Ariz. While rare, smallmouths do exist in Clear Lake. However, they’re usually culled by the bigger largemouths and don’t get to make the trip to the stage. A crucial component of his 16-pound, 6-ounce stringer, both Hines and the brown bass were happy to meet and greet with FLW Outdoors CEO Charlie Evans.

Ladies Day … You’ve heard of Ladies Night, but day one on Clear Lake was Ladies Day. In a sport that is largely made up of men, Kellogg’s pro Kim Bain was paired up with co-angler Darlene Ferguson. With a random, computerized draw, what are the chances that the lone female pro would be paired with one of the four female co-anglers out of a possible 195? With chance on their side, the two ladies together caught eight keeper bass that weighed 23 pounds even.

AOY update … With one day in the books, the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race in the Western Division looks to be a tight one. Heading into the final qualifying event, Clayton Meyer held the lead with 571 points over three events. Trailing Meyer was Randy McAbee with 567 points, Ehrler with 564 points, Gary Dobyns with 548 points and Andre Moore with 543 points. Meyer caught 15-15 on day one for 55th place, McAbee leads the tournament with 27-11, Ehler is 33rd with 17-1, Dobyns is 17th with 19-5, and Moore is 23rd with 18-3. Unofficially, McAbee has taken the lead, while Ehler and Dobyns are tied for second. Moore has moved up to fourth, and Meyer has slipped to fifth. If the tournament were to end today, McAbee would have 767 points, Ehler and Dobyns would have 732, Moore would have 721, and Meyer would have 717. But with at least two days left on a lake where 10-pounders swim like shad, expect plenty of flip-flopping.

Quick numbers:

184: Number of limits registered by the field of 195 pros.

209: Duration, in minutes, of the day-one weigh-in.

10-7: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the heaviest bass caught today by Northridge, Calif., co-angler Christopher Dixon.

4: Number of bags needed to bring McAbee’s day-one limit to the scale. California regulations require that each fish over 5 pounds must have its own bag.

31: Weight, in pounds, of the heaviest object placed on the scale Wednesday. It wasn’t a bass, but it was a keeper. The 31 pounds belonged to Brooke Corrie, daughter of co-angler Bart Corrie.

2,754: Weight, in pounds, of the total day-one catch in the Pro Division.

Sound bites:

“I’ve fished all over the country, and there’s nothing better than Clear Lake.” – FLW Tour Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year Jay Yelas.

“It’s not even that good right now.” – Imodium EZ Chews pro Brett Hite, who caught 18 pounds, 3 ounces on opening day.

“It’s the greatest thing to ever happen to the West.” – pro Mike Goodwin, on the creation of the National Guard Western Division.

“Naturally, the West.” – Goodwin, on which division will qualify more anglers to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup through the East-West Fish-Off.

Thursday’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7:30 a.m. Pacific time from Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa located at 8727 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.