BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – Only two anglers have ever broken the 100-pound barrier in total weight at an FLW Outdoors bass tournament, and both of those happened at the same event: the vaunted Stren Series slugfest at Lake Amistad last year. Today, that mark could be reached again. Three – maybe even four or five – pro finalists have a realistic shot at busting triple digits when all is said and done at the FLW Series Western Division competition on the California Delta.
The leader of the pack, of course, is Bobby Barrack, who led the last two days and is carrying an astonishing 73 pounds, 13 ounces into the final round. If he is somehow able to maintain momentum Saturday and catch them again like he did on Wednesday, where he caught 31-3, he would easily top the century mark.
“It could happen. I’m definitely going to fish for it,” Barrack said Saturday morning. “But no lead is safe out here, and you’ve got to fish like that. I’ve got to keep swinging for the fences; hopefully, I don’t pop out to the catcher.”
A little less than 4 pounds behind Barrack is Ken Mah (70-2) in second place, and Michael Rooke (68-7) is third just behind Mah. With the Delta already having demonstrated that it will yield 30- to 35-pound limits this week, those three represent the best hopes for 100 pounds total.
Still, there’s some big fish in this fishery, obviously, so even the guys in the 63- to 65-pound range could conceivably break a hundred – and that encompasses just about the rest of the field.
The top 10 finalists were visibly anxious to get out and go fishing Saturday with the rest of the field off the water. Who can blame them? With nobody else to worry about Saturday, they have a whole delta full of some of the world’s biggest bass at their disposal. Whoever catches the biggest wins the most money.
What can be more fun than that?
The stakes
Pros are competing this week for a top award of $125,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the BP East-National Guard West Fishoff and a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific time. There is also a Family Fun Zone for the kids prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Wal-Mart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the Fujifilm trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
Ranger boat test rides, powered by Yamaha and Evinrude, will be given at Russo’s Marina Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The test rides allow the public to experience a Ranger boat ride with a professional angler. Test riders will receive a certificate for free accessories valued at $2,000 when they purchase a Ranger boat powered by Yamaha or Evinrude.
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.