HENDERSON, Nev. – What a difference a day makes. Instead of worrying about the severe wind gusts that dominated Wednesday’s action, FLW Series anglers were able to depart the Lake Mead National Recreational area shortly after 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning focusing solely on their drive for a tournament title.
In short – no wind, no worries about getting to and from the marina. No wind, no worries about making long runs to prime fishing locations. No wind, no worries about soaking wet clothes, slippery deck conditions and general travel misery.
As the full field of 105 boats departed Callville Bay Resort and Marina, Mother Nature treated anglers to a second consecutive day of stunning visuals – brilliant sunshine, bright blue skies and majestic vistas abound. However, despite the impressive views and lack of 25-mph wind gusts, anglers will have little time to sit back and soak up the scenery. With anglers bunched up in the standings due to a combination of the weather conditions and dearth of large bass, there is plenty of opportunity for significant movement up or down the standings today.
And with the change of conditions comes a change of focus as well.
“It’ll be a different bite today,” said day-one pro leader Sean Minderman of Spokane, Wash. “It’ll be a sight-fishing day for sure.”
With the lack of wind and bass continuing their spawn, the Lake Mead event could very well turn into a sight-fishing spectacle during today’s competition.
“There are a lot of spawning fish right now,” said Minderman. “It’s harder to sight-fish in the morning but as soon as that sun gets up high enough your going to be looking in the water. In some places you can see as far down in the water as 15 to 20 feet. Around here, the bass started spawning at the end of March and they’ll continue to spawn through the end of May. And right now, the smallmouth bass are really starting to move up.”
Currently, Minderman leads all pros with a total weight of 13 pounds, 9 ounces, while Chris Bozarth of Henderson, Nev., leads all co-anglers with a one-day catch of 9 pounds.
Lake Mead competition
With a total purse of $1 million on the line during this week’s FLW Series event -scheduled to run from May 7-10 – pros will be shooting for a top award of $125,000 while co-anglers will be angling for the first-place prize of $25,000.
Per FLW Series rules, the entire field will compete each of the first three days of the event. At the end of Friday’s competition, a co-angler champion will be crowned and the top-10 pro cut will be announced. Pros will then advance to Saturday’s final day of competition. The pro champion will be determined by the angler who brings in the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days of competition while the co-angler title will be awarded to the amateur who has the heaviest combined weight over the first three days of competition.
In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The total purse for the Lake Mead tournament is $1 million, including $10,000 through 50th place and $2,000 through 75th place in the Pro Division. Ultimately, all anglers in the tournament will also be competing for valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the BP East-National Guard West Fish-Off and a shot at advancing to the $2 million, 2009 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million – the sport’s biggest award.
Anglers will take off from Callville Bay-Forever Resorts in Lake Mead National Recreation Area at 6:30 each morning. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 300 E. Lake Mead Drive in Henderson 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 Wal-Mart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the Kellogg’s trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
FLW Series Western Division action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. Pacific Time at Callville Bay Resort and Marina, located at the Lake Mead National Recreational Area in Las Vegas, Nev.
Can `t make the weigh-in in person, then watch it on FLW Live on FLWOutdoors.com beginning at 3 p.m. Pacific Time.
Vital statistics:
Sunrise: 5:40 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 67 degrees
Expected high temperature: 87 degrees
Water temperature: 62-67 degrees
Wind: From ESE at 5-10 mph
Maximum humidity: 17 percent
Day’s outlook: Sunny