Thanh Le hits for the cycle

Bertolero maintains stranglehold on Co-angler Division, top-10 cut announced

BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – To be sure, Thursday’s weigh-in couldn’t have gone any better for Thanh Le of El Cajon, Calif. Not only did Le produce a staggering two-day stringer weighing 39 pounds, 8 ounces to grab first place overall in the Pro Division, but he also locked up the prestigious EverStart Series Western Division Angler of the Year honors – all in one fell swoop.

But perhaps even more amazing was the fact that Le had struggled mightily on the California Delta for as long as he could remember.

“This feels great,” said Le. “I usually do terribly on this lake. The California Delta has just killed me the last few years.

“Two years ago I came into this same tournament in seventh place (in the standings), and I was trying to qualify for the FLW Tour. All I needed to do was finish the year in 10th place or better to qualify. But I had a lot of problems and dropped into 20th place and missed my chance at getting (an automatic berth) into the FLW Tour. My whole goal this year was to qualify for the FLW Tour. So today I’m very happy.”

However, Le acknowledged that it took a lot of hard work and perseverance.

“This year I really wanted to do well here, so I came two and a half weeks early to practice,” he said. “The first week it was terrible. But then I fished a BASS pro-am on this lake the next week and did as well as I’d ever done before. And that gave me a lot of confidence. For the first time fishing this lake, I was able to catch one solid fish every single day.”

For the past two days, Le has targeted largemouth bass in 1 to 10 feet of water using a combination of Senkos, Reaction Innovation Sweet Beaver baits and Bobby Barrick Special snag-proof tournament frogs.

To win the year-end standings points title, an angler has to be consistent all season long. And, not surprisingly, Le turned in one of the most dominating performances ever recorded in the history of the Western Division. Le started the season by placing 17th at the Lake Havasu event, then turned right around and captured the tournament title on Lake Mead. On Clear Lake, Le managed a gutsy 21st-place performance. And now, on the Delta, Le can do no worse than 10th.

“I’ve really been fortunate this year,” said Le. “Now, I finally have a chance to fish the FLW Tour as a boater. As far as I’m concerned, the FLW Tour is the major leagues. The only thing that could top these results today would be to win this tournament. I’m very happy.”

California shuffle

Standing in second place with a total catch of 37 pounds, 3 ounces was none other than Bobby Barrack – the original creator of one of Le’s favorite baits. Barrack, who hails from Oakley, Calif., leapfrogged from 14th place in yesterday’s competition straight into the top 10 on the strength of an 18-pound, 13-ounce catch in today’s events.

Day-one leader Dewayne Bonham of Brentwood, Calif., qualified for the finals in third place with a total catch of 36 pounds, 7 ounces.

Best of the rest

Fourth place belonged to Steve Sapp of Manteca, Calif. Sapp recorded a total catch of 36 pounds, 4 ounces.

In fifth place was Ron Colby of Page, Ariz. Colby, who turned in a two-day catch of 36 pounds, 1 ounce, was one of only two pros not hailing from California to make the finals.

Rounding out the top 10 pro finalists at the EverStart California Delta event:

6th: James Scott of Carson, Calif., 35-9

7th: Sean Stafford of Fairfield, Calif., 35-6

8th: Rob Riehl of Tracy, Calif., 33-15

9th: David Kromm of Kennewick, Wash., 33-11

10th: Jon Strelic of Alpine, Calif., 33-8

Riehl also won the day’s big-bass award in the Pro Division after landing a 9-pound, 15-ounce largemouth. For his efforts, Riehl won $525.

Bertolero holds off competition … again

For the second straight day, Leroy Bertolero of El Macero, Calif., dominated his fellow co-anglers. With an impressive two-day catch weighing 33 pounds, 3 ounces, Bertolero easily made the cut, despite only landing 10 pounds, 9 ounces in today’s competition.

“It feels great,” said Bertolero. “I used to fish as a pro, but two years ago I realized that it was taking a toll on me. So I decided that my main goal this year was to qualify for the EverStart Championship. I figured as a co-angler, I had a pretty good chance at making the `Big Show.’ I’ll be 66 years old by then. So it’s definitely nice to be in this position.”

Bertolero, who posted another EverStart Series top-10 finish on Clear Lake this past March, said he really had no expectations heading into the California Delta event.

“I really had no idea how this tournament was going to turn out,” said Bertolero. “I’ve fished probably 600 tournaments since 1990, and all I really wanted to do this year was qualify for that championship. Whatever else happens at this tournament is just a bonus.”

To qualify for the top 10, Bertolero said he targeted largemouth bass in 1 foot of water or less with a Heddon Super Spook topwater bait as well as Osprey and Mega swimbaits.

“Today, the bite was definitely a lot tougher,” he said. “So we’ll just have to see how tomorrow goes.”

Brown demonstrates rare rookie prowess

Fishing in the very first EverStart tournament of his career, Ryan Brown of Orting, Wash., proved that years of fishing experience aren’t always necessary to turn in a stellar performance. Using a two-day catch of 31 pounds, 6 ounces, Brown held onto second place for the second day in a row in one of the biggest tournaments of his life.

“This is just awesome,” said Brown. “The day started out pretty tough. I didn’t get my first bite until 10 a.m. But then we pulled up on a spot and just lit it up. We probably caught 15 fish in 30 minutes. Obviously, I’m really excited right now.”

With the help of a monstrous 10-pound, 8-ounce largemouth, Steve Sepulveda of Modesto, Calif., claimed third place overall with a total catch of 29 pounds, 5 ounces.

Fourth place belonged to Lance Dudley of Phoenix, who turned in a two-day catch of 27 pounds, 5 ounces.

Gary Haraguchi of Half Moon Bay, Calif., qualified in fifth place with a catch of 26 pounds, 8 ounces.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists at the EverStart California Delta event:

6th: Tom Schutz of Foster City, Calif., 25-13

7th: Shane Morgan of Palmdale, Calif., 25-12

8th: Lewis Milligan of Roseville, Calif., 25-2

9th: Tony Pratt of Paso Robles, Calif., 24-6

10th: James Rios of Brentwood, Calif., 22-11

Morgan also won the day’s big-bass award in the Co-angler Division after netting a humongous 11-pound, 5-ounce largemouth.

Friday’s semifinal takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. at Russo’s Marina, located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif.