Feeling the heat
Mere pounds separate final round contenders as a brutal sun beats down on Lake Oroville
OROVILLE, Calif. – Catch one largemouth bass that weighs more than 3 pounds. That would be a simple proposition for an angler at most bass tournaments, but for today’s final round of the Stren Series Western Division tournament on Lake Oroville it looms as a monumental task.
And it must be achieved on a day when the temperature is expected to reach a near-record 100 degrees.
Not many big bass have been weighed so far in either the pro or co-angler divisions. Thursday’s big bass on the pro side weighed 4 pounds, 1 ounce and on Friday it was 5 pounds, 11 ounces. Among co-anglers the biggest bass over the first two days have weighed 3 pounds, 1 ounce and 3 pounds, 5 ounces.
Safe to say the 20 anglers left in this competition are strategizing how to get one of those bigger bucketmouths while at the same time balancing that mission with the equally important task of bringing a five-fish limit to the scales. Nobody expects to get five largemouths, which would be akin to winning the lottery. But nobody expects to win with five spots either.
Rick Walters, a rookie pro from Grand Junction, Colo., knew that yesterday as he headed out in 38th place. At this tournament to make the top 10 from that position was not an impossible task, which Walters proved by leaping into the no. 9 spot with a day two bag weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces, the second heaviest weight among pros.
“I knew I had to catch some bigger fish so I targeted those right away,” Walters said of his day two strategy. “I got two bigger largemouths and that helped quite a bit.”
Indeed, one of those fish weighed over 3 pounds and the other was over 2 pounds. To find the bigger largemouths, Walters believes it’s necessary to cover a lot of water.
“Normally I’d go for a limit of spots and hope to get a largemouth or two in between,” he said. “But I probably won’t go for the limit today. I’ll try to get a couple spots right away and then go for the largemouths.”
Last year as a co-angler Walters made the top 10 at Clear Lake, but this is his first time he’s achieved that distinction as a pro. In the first two Western Division tournaments this season at Clear Lake and Lake Roosevelt he placed 42nd and 115th, respectively.
His co-angler partner today, Cal Long of Lompoc, Calif., was 16th after day one with 8 pounds, 3 ounces before making the top 10 yesterday with a 8 pound, 9 ounce sack. He said he found a good pattern while fishing from the back of a friend’s boat during practice and that he’s been fortunate to be able to keep fishing that way during the tournament.
“At the first tournament on Clear Lake I zeroed both days,” Long said. “At Lake Roosevelt I was 105th, or something like that. So this has been quite an experience.”
In the pro division, 1 pound, 9 ounces separates first from 10th places while on the co-angler side it’s 2 pounds, 3 ounces. One big bass by any angler in either field might be all it takes to make one last big leap to a big pay day.
Weigh-in is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Walmart in Oroville.
Today’s weather
Temperature at takeoff: 62 degrees
Sky: clear
Wind: northeast at 3 mph
Barometric pressure: 29.88 inches and rising
Sunrise: 5:51 a.m.
Forecast: Sunny with a near-record high temperature of 100 degrees. Wind northwest at 5-10 mph.