Columbia River crescendo

Top-10 pros search for tournament title on final day of FLW Series National Guard Western Division competition

UMATILLA, Ore. – With blue skies, a gorgeous sunrise and the lightest winds the area has seen all week serving as backdrop for Saturday’s competition, FLW Series finalists departed Umatilla Marina shortly after 6:30 a.m. carefully searching for the magic formula required to net a tournament title on the Columbia River.

Not surprisingly, the top of the leaderboard offers up some pretty stiff competition. Currently, Neil Russell of Nampa, Idaho, leads all pros with a three-day catch of 37 pounds, 1 ounce. However, not only is Russell coming into today’s event in the top overall spot, but the Idaho native also boasts a stellar track record on the Columbia River as well, recording two third-place finishes on the same body of water at FLW Series tournaments in 2007 and 2008.

Third-place competitor, Ronald Hobbs, Jr., of Orting, Wash., is only 1 pound, 2 ounces behind Russell. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Hobbs outdueled Russell at the FLW Series Columbia River event in 2008, finishing second overall.

Then there is local angling expert Ron Mace of Kennewick, Wash., a 30-year fishing veteran of the Columbia River. Mace is currently in fourth place overall with a total catch of 35 pounds, 11 ounces. During his first professional FLW Series season in 2008, Mace finished in 14th place on the Columbia River.

But perhaps the best storyline of the week resides with Joseph Caporuscio of Coto De Caza, Calif. Standing toe to toe with the aforementioned heavy hitters all week, Caporuscio – who is making his first-ever visit to the Columbia River – wowed spectators (and possibly even himself) with a three-day catch of 36 pounds, 8 ounces to grab second place overall heading into the finals.

In short, today’s tournament title is truly up for grabs.

“This tournament is wide open,” confirmed Russell. “I think I’m going to need about 14 pounds to win this. But then again, I could win with 12 pounds or lose with 15 pounds. These guys are all great fishermen. I’m just going to go out there and do what I’ve been doing.”

While the pros are going to give it their all in today’s competition, nobody is taking a greater risk than Mace – who plans to run a jaw-dropping 130 miles one-way upriver to get to his prime fishing location.

“I haven’t been able to get to this spot all week for one reason or another,” said Mace. “But today I’m going for it. It’s do or die now. I know I can’t do worse than 10th place. If I can get to my area, I should be able to catch a good limit pretty quickly. But everything has to go right for me to be able to make this run. If I lose 30 minutes (due to lock delays or mechanical issues) I won’t be able to get there. We’ll just have to see what happens.

Odds and ends

Anglers not only will be gunning for the tournament title this week but also their share of the lucrative $900,000 total purse. Throughout the week, pros will be battling for a top award of upwards of $80,000.

In addition to the Columbia River purse, the top-10 pros will be competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at advancing to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup in 2010, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.

Bass-fishing fans take note

Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 1350 N 1st Street in Hermiston, Ore., beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games.

All activities are free and open to the public.

Want to watch the weigh in live but can’t make it in person? Then tune into FLW Live on FLWOutdoors.com shortly before 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time to watch live streaming video and audio of today’s opening-round weigh in.

Vital statistics:

Sunrise: 5:09 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 53 degrees

Expected high temperature: 90 degrees

Water temperature: 62-65 degrees

Wind: From the south-southwest at 4 mph

Maximum humidity: 25 percent

Day’s outlook: Mostly sunny