HENDERSON, Nev. – With extraordinarily windy conditions tamping weights down across the board and frustrating FLW Series anglers at nearly every turn, Sean Minderman of Spokane, Wash., managed to keep his composure while fending off a constant deluge of 25-mph wind gusts to grab the overall lead at Lake Mead.
“This morning the wind was blowing pretty hard,” said Minderman. “But it was nothing compared to this afternoon.”
Luckily for Minderman, by mid-morning he had already landed a solid limit – a feat which allowed him to shorten his day and limit the punishment that many other anglers endured throughout the latter part of the afternoon.
“I was culling fish by 8:30 a.m. and the very first fish I caught was that big one,” said Minderman, referring to the 4-pound, 1-ounce fish that gave him a share of the day’s Big Bass award in the Pro Division. “I caught another big one around 9:30 a.m. and I almost decided to go back in right then and there. On this lake, you really want to conserve your fish. (Netting) a couple of big ones each day here is going to be the key.”
Ultimately, Minderman opted to continue fishing for a while longer, searching for more spots in an effort to better his chances at procuring the elusive Lake Mead tournament title – which will be awarded to the top pro on Saturday afternoon.
“I wound up catching about 15 total fish and was able to do some scouting for new areas in the early afternoon,” said Minderman, who produced a total weight of 13 pounds, 9 ounces during the first day of competition. “I actually fished two cuts that I didn’t even practice in and was able to get some more fish out of there as well. It was just an awesome day.”
Although Minderman wouldn’t divulge his primary bait of choice, he did say that he targeted bass in about 3 to 15 feet of water.
“I had one thing that was working this morning and I didn’t set it down all day,” said Minderman. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I did use one other (technique), but for the most part, I stuck with one thing.”
According to Minderman, both largemouth and smallmouth bass are very in play this week on Lake Mead. However, he said they are behaving very differently.
“I’m definitely on a good smallmouth pattern right now but the largemouth are a little spotty,” said Minderman, who produced a mixed bag at weigh-in. “For whatever reason, the largemouth bass are a lot harder to pattern right now.”
Heading into today’s competition, Minderman said his main goal was to produce a 12-pound limit. Not only did he beat that, but he has already put some significant distance between himself and his fellow competitors and signaled that he is the angler to beat until further notice.
“I’m very happy with the way the day turned out,” said Minderman. “I’m definitely going to go back and do the same thing tomorrow. If I can catch another 12 or 13 pounds Thursday, I’ll be a great day.”
Best of the rest
Second place belonged to Roy Hawk of Salt Lake City, Utah. Hawk ultimately turned in a stringer weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces.
Michael Free of Milton, Wash., used a 12-pound, 1-ounce catch to finish the day in third place.
Meanwhile, Jason Hickey of Weiser, Idaho, and Sean Stafford of Fairfield, Calif., finished the day tied for fourth place after posting identical catches weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces.
Jim Hawkes of Apache Junction, Ariz., split Big Bass honors with Minderman after weighing in a 4-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Bozarth nets co-angler lead
Fishing in the very first FLW Outdoors event of his career, Chris Bozarth of Henderson, Nev., surely didn’t act like a rookie in today’s event – landing a 9-pound stringer to grab the overall lead in the Co-angler Division during the opening round of action on Lake Mead.
“It feels great,” said Bozarth. “This is my very first FLW tournament so I was just hoping to have five fish today. Man, I’ll tell you what, as far as I’m concerned, I feel like I’ve already won.”
Bozarth said his successful outing occurred after making a 30-mile run with his pro partner.
“We targeted windy points and I managed to cull four times today,” said Bozarth. “I wound up catching my better fish in the afternoon. I actually don’t want it to be calm tomorrow. I really want the wind.”
Browning snares second place
Using a catch of 8 pounds, 8 ounces, John Browning of Payson, Ariz., tied for second place overall.
“It was extremely windy and wet out there today,” said Browning. “I still haven’t dried off yet.”
Not surprisingly, Browning said he was pleased by his performance in today’s competition.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been to Lake Mead so I’m pretty excited,” said Browning. “My partner put me on fish and my drop-shot was working really well for me today. I’m as excited as heck right now.”
Best of the rest
Like Browning, Matthew Thompson of Newhall, Calif., also landed a catch of 8 pounds, 8 ounces to grab a share of second place.
Rounding out the top-five co-angler leaders at the FLW Series Lake Mead event:
4th: Tommy Cardoza of Lakeport, Calif., 8-7
5th: JR Wright of Truckee, Calif., 8-5
Wes Carey of Highland, Calif., and Mike Iloski of Escondido, Calif., split Big Bass honors in the Co-angler Division after both landed identical fish weighing 3 pounds, 9 ounces.
Day two of FLW Series Western Division action at Lake Mead continues at Thursday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. (Pacific Time) at Callville Bay Resort and Marina, located in the Lake Mead Recreation Area in Las Vegas, Nev.