BETHEL ISLAND – They caught them at a near-record pace and weight on opening day of FLW Series Western Division competition at the California Delta, and the mayhem will continue over the next two days. If anything, the fishing’s going to get even better.
The FLW Series field posted the third-heaviest day in FLW Outdoors history Wednesday, collectively weighing in well more than 2 tons of bass from the Delta. Only four anglers – three co-anglers and one pro – failed to weigh in a sack of fish. The majority of those sacks were filled with limits, and not just any limits. These were California Delta-sized limits, anchored by 7-, 8- and 9-pound kicker bass.
Still, despite all the big-bass action, anglers are saying the fishing will improve even more as the week wears on. The top fish yesterday was co-angler Kirk Beardsley’s 9-pound, 15-ounce kicker, but more than a few anglers reported losing fish over the 10-pound mark. Both Steve Sapp, a pro, and Tom Sawicki, a co-angler, are fishing here this week and serve as a reminder of what can be caught here. They each smashed the FLW Outdoors heaviest-bass record in Stren Series competition on the Delta last year, respectively catching a 14-1 and a 14-5 on the same day. If the bite continues to warm up as the bass move up to spawn throughout the week, don’t be surprised if those records fall sometime in the next two days. If anything, it would truly be a surprise if no one catches a 10-pounder or heavier today or tomorrow.
“I had (the record),” Sapp said this week about holding the record for about 45 minutes until Sawicki topped him, “but at least I had the honor of fishing with the guy who beat me the next day.”
With those kinds of fish filling out your tournament equation, the bottom line is that it’s going to take over a hundred pounds of fish caught in four days to win this thing. The cut weight after one day stands at an amazingly beefy 23 1/2 pounds – and that’s just to make the top 10.
Pro Jack Van Grouw caught a very nice limit weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces Wednesday, but still ended up in just 19th place.
“That’ll be good only if I can do the same thing each day,” he said.
So sit back, relax and prepare to watch the pigs roll in. This one’s just getting started.
FLW Series Western action continues at Thursday’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Pacific time at Russo’s Marina, located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif.
On the Web
For those who can’t catch the weigh-in action in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings fans real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.