Final day of Western competition begins at the delta

Saso leads by more than 5 pounds

OAKLEY, Calif. – The top 10 pros and co-anglers took off onto the California Delta Saturday morning for the final round of the 2004 EverStart Series Western Division season. There’s no reason that the last day should be any different from much of the rest of the Western season thus far: Expect to see a majority of limits and some big California lunkers.

Local pro Mike Saso of Elk Grove, Calif., is carrying a 5 1/2-pound lead in the Pro Division, but don’t be surprised if someone comes in with a 25- to 30-pound sack to overtake him for the title. Everyone in the top 10 is pretty bunched up, weight-wise, and virtually all of them have at least an outside shot to make a comeback, especially considering the potential for big catches here.

Co-angler Reese Randall of Payson, Ariz., is leading from the back of the boat, also by 5 pounds. It will be harder for him to lose ground since co-anglers typically have a rougher go of it on day four.

Much will depend on the tide, timing and anglers’ abilities to adjust Saturday. Many pros this week have admitted to catching their fish in the afternoon, which has been nerve-wracking for some who would prefer to have at least a couple quality bass in their livewell by noon.

“The last two days, I’ve been fishing by the seat of my pants and getting lucky late in the day,” said pro Gary Dobyns of Yuba City, Calif., who won this event last year.

Saturday’s final 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. Friday’s weights carry over to Saturday, and each division’s winner will be determined by two-day combined weight.

The winning pro is guaranteed $8,000 cash plus an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 519 VS equipped with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart Batteries, based on a 150-boat field. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive a $10,000 bonus from Ranger for a top pro award worth $59,900. If he is a qualifying participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, Ranger will award another $3,000 cash (or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant if not the winner), and Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup winnings if the angler’s boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard. Garmin will award the winning pro $1,000 if he uses only Garmin electronics and at least one unit is a qualifying unit.

The winning co-angler is guaranteed $4,200 cash based on a 145-boat field, and if he is a Ranger boat owner, Ranger will award him a new Ranger 519 VS for a total prize package worth $34,200. Co-anglers who make the final round of each regular-season EverStart Series event and wear an EverStart/Evinrude shirt and cap on stage are awarded points toward the EverStart Batteries and Evinrude Outboard Engines Co-angler Award. The co-angler receiving the most points by the end of the season receives a 2004 Evinrude 225HO Direct Injection outboard engine rigged on a Ranger boat equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries.

Saturday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:03 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 56 degrees

Expected high temperature: 75 degrees

Water temperature: 67 degrees

Wind: from the west-southwest at 15 mph

Maximum humidity: 62 percent

Day’s outlook: mostly sunny