Zaldain gains lead at Clear Lake
McAbee tandem also stays on top; co-angler Sanchez catches fourth-heaviest bass ever
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Series Western Division was another big day on Clear Lake. A confident young pro, Chris Zaldain popped his second massive limit in a row to take the lead. Not one, but two pros named Randy McAbee made the top five. And co-angler Andy Sanchez caught the fourth-heaviest bass in FLW Outdoors history: a 13-pound, 2-ounce largemouth.
The fish came fast and furious as usual at Clear Lake on Thursday. However, some of the leaders from day one stumbled a little bit, while others, like Zaldain, jumped on their miscues to move up the leaderboard. Still, while the total weight caught was down a little bit – the Pro Division caught about 120 pounds less today compared to yesterday – the limit count was still high – 183 out of 196 pros caught five keepers – and the big ones got bigger. Way bigger.
First, Kelly Kellogg was the first pro of the week to break the double-digit barrier in the big-bass competition. His kicker largemouth weighed in at 11 pounds, 8 ounces and made the top-25 list of heaviest FLW Outdoors bass. It ranked 22nd.
While that was impressive – even for Clear Lake – jaws dropped when co-angler Andy Sanchez heaved his kicker fish from its sack and showed it to the crowd at Konocti Harbor Resort on Thursday afternoon. Weighing in at 13 pounds, 2 ounces, Sanchez’ fish now stands as the heaviest bass caught in FLW Outdoors competition at Clear Lake and ranks fourth on the all-time list from all fisheries. Only three bass – Steve Sapp’s 14-1 and Tom Sawicki’s 14-5, both caught at the California Delta, and Rick Turner’s 14-8 caught at Lake Amistad – rank higher. (See today’s Quick Bites for the full story of Sanchez’ fish.)
Zaldain on the clock
The pro leader, Zaldain, didn’t catch any single bass nearly that big, but he didn’t have to. His limit Thursday, anchored by two 6 1/2-pound largemouths, weighed in at 25 pounds, 11 ounces and was the heaviest stringer of the day. Sitting in sixth place on day one, he vaulted into first place with a staunch two-day total of 47-11, more than 4 pounds ahead of second-place Brett Hite.
“I did pretty much the same thing as I did yesterday,” Zaldain said. “But today I caught more fish and had bigger bites. I think it’s picking up with the cloud cover.”
Many pros are saying the lake is fishing kind of small this week, with competitors jostling for position on the lake’s community humps and points, particularly from midlake down to the south end. Zaldain was no exception, but he seems to have found a way to manage the crowds.
“I’m just rotating through as many spots as I can throughout the day,” he said. “I have about 8 or 10 spots where I’ll stop to make three or four casts and then move on. I just rotate counterclockwise around the lake.”
A run-and-gun tactic isn’t all that revolutionary, but at Clear Lake it’s proving to be the difference for Zaldain so far. Many top anglers are taking a less active, fall-bite approach to their fishing, hole-sitting on a hot spot and trying to coax the big ones into biting with slower finesse baits.
Not Zaldain.
“I’m still keying on the main structure, like mainlake points and drop-offs, but I’m only going for those big, aggressive fish,” he said. “I caught all my fish on 6- to 9-inch swimbaits. Most of the other guys are fishing deeper, but I’m positioning the boat about 5 feet from the rocks and casting parallel to the bank. I’ll make three or four casts and I’m done. I’m catching them in about 10 to 15 feet of water, and clear water is definitely key for me. The light wind is helping me out, too. I think they’re schooling right now, big-time.”
For Zaldain, a rookie pro out of San Jose, Calif., the swimbait could be the ticket. He certainly seems to think so.
“I know I can (catch another leading limit Friday),” he said. “There are guys on my spots, but they’re not doing what I’m doing, from what I’ve seen. I feel really confident about tomorrow. I feel I can get another 22 or 23 pounds, easy.”
Hite sitting still, pounds out 25-5
Hite, who hails from Phoenix, muscled up the second-heaviest limit of the day – 25 pounds, 5 ounces – to move up into second place in the Pro Division with a two-day weight of 43-8. But he took a different approach from the leader.
“It’s kind of a slow bite,” he said. “I’ve been fishing the same spot both days, and every keeper I’ve caught came from the same 25- to 30-yard stretch. It’s a community hole, but there are certain key areas that have better fish.”
And Hite caught two of them Thursday. He had two bass weighing in at the 8-pound range.
He’s finesse-fishing, and he said the key to his big sack today was accuracy. He’s targeting schools of fish that are moving in and out around a ledge, and repetition is paying off there.
“It’s just fishing slow and knowing where your big bites came from,” he said. “If I make a cast and catch a nice one, I’ll make the exact same cast there the next time. I’ll throw it the same way, with the same angle and everything. There are schools there, and I think they suspend just off the ledge. It’s a place where a lot of tournaments are won here.”
McAbee Jr. drops to third
Bakersfield, California’s Randy McAbee Jr., who led the pros on day one with 27 pounds, 11 ounces, faltered on day two by catching five bass weighing just 14-13 and slipped into third place with a two-day total of 42-8.
“It was a lot tougher today,” he said. “Timing is key here this time of year, and I just couldn’t get into that rhythm today. I caught 25 fish, but just no big ones.”
Still, McAbee might have taken consolation from the fact that his dad, Randy McAbee Sr., moved up into the top five with him today.
He might have, but don’t count on it.
“Yeah, he came in behind me and caught all those big ones,” he laughed.
Folkestad fourth
Veteran Mike Folkestad of Yorba Linda, Calif., worked near the same productive area as Hite and stayed in the pro top five with a two-day weight of 42 pounds even.
“I’m fishing slow and methodically,” said Folkestad, who caught a limit weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces Thursday. “In the morning I’ll fish in water 5 to 10 feet, but after the sun gets on the water, I’ll probably get down to 15 to 25 feet for the better fish. I think Brett has a little better area than me, though.”
McAbee Sr. stays consistent, moves up
The elder McAbee, who also hails from Bakersfield, caught 20 pounds, 6 ounces Thursday and moved up into fifth place for the pros with a two-day weight of 40-7. He caught 20-1 Wednesday and was ranked 11th.
“Yeah, we’re right on plan,” he said about the prospect of climbing the leaderboard to join his son in the top five. “You know, the last two years we’ve won five boats on this lake. I think we’ve kind of got it figured out, but so do a lot of other guys these days. This place is all about timing and presentation.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros in the National Guard Western Division after two days at Clear Lake:
6th: Jeff Billings of Clearlake, Calif., 40-4
7th: Sieg Taylor of Clearlake, Calif., 39-14
8th: Jay Yelas of Corvallis, Ore., 39-14
9th: Ronald Hobbs Jr. of Graham, Wash., 39-11
10th: Joe Uribe Jr. of Lake Forest, Calif., 39-9
Lucas refuses to relinquish co-angler lead
Justin Lucas took the lead over the FLW Series Western Division back at the Columbia River, and he hasn’t let go of it since. For three straight tournament days, going back to his win last month in Washington, the co-angler from Folsom, Calif., has led all comers from the back of the boat.
Thursday, Lucas caught a limit weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces and held on to his lead from Wednesday with a two-day total of 36-10.
“It was as good a day as yesterday, but there just wasn’t a big-fish bite today. That makes a big difference,” he said. “Right now, I’m happy with a 1 1/2-pound lead, but that could be made up in one cast here.”
Fontaine stays in second
Paul Fontaine of Brentwood, Calif., held on to second place for the co-anglers with a two-day total of 35 pounds even. He caught a limit worth 14-11 Thursday.
Fontaine fished with Kelly Kellogg today, who caught the 11-pound, 8-ounce pro big-bass winner.
“Man, that was something. All we had was this little net, and I was coaching him like a football coach: `Don’t rush it! Stay focused!’ I think I was more nervous than he was,” Fontaine said. “To think, I was only 7 feet away from catching that fish myself.”
Rest of the best
Third place for the co-anglers went to Hideki Maeda of Japan for a two-day total of 34 pounds, 1 ounce. With a last-minute catch, Maeda landed a limit weighing 16-0 Thursday.
Fourth place for the co-anglers went to Rodney Brinser of Brentwood, Calif., for a two-day weight of 33 pounds, 8 ounces. He caught 18-5 Thursday.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers was Anthony Klonowski of Eagle, Ida., with 33 pounds, 4 ounces. He caught 17-9 Thursday.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
6th: Ken Schmitt of Livermore, Calif., 33-3
7th: Duane Dunstone of Reno, Nev., 32-5
8th: Mike Iloski of Escondido, Calif., 31-12
9th: Kenny Williamson of Peoria, Ariz., 31-11
10th: J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif., 31-2
Day three of FLW Series Western Division competition at Clear Lake begins as the field of 196 boats takes off from Konocti Marina Resort at 7:30 a.m. Pacific time Thursday. Following tomorrow’s competition, a $25,000 co-angler champion will be crowned, and the pro field will be cut to the top 10 anglers, based on three-day cumulative weight, for Saturday’s final round.