As many as 350 boaters and co-anglers are set to compete on Clear Lake May 10-12 for the Costa FLW Series Western Division event at Clear Lake presented by Evinrude. The three-day tournament, hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina, will feature a top prize of up to $85,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard engine.
“This tournament is going to be a slugfest,” said Yamamoto Baits pro Jimmy Reese, of Witter Springs, California, who has 12 top-10 finishes on Clear Lake in FLW competition. “Aside from some clouds, which could change a few things, it’s supposed to be between 79 and 85 degrees just about every day leading up to the event. It’s going to be good.
“There has already been a wave of fish that have spawned, so anglers will be able to target them in all three phases – postspawn, spawners and even some prespawners,” continued Reese. “An underspin will play a big role for prespawners, as well as jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits like a Live Target Golden Shiner. For spawners, a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog or another light-colored grub will be good choices.”
Reese said the postspawn fish will prefer topwater lures like a Boing Topwater or a Heddon Super Spook.
“I’ll throw a Super Spook when I’m trying to cover a lot of water, and the Boing in tighter places because it walks – it has a noise to it and sends out a vibration,” said Reese. “Buzzbaits and frogs will be good postspawn lures as well.”
Reese said he thinks most of the lake will be utilized by anglers for this event, especially the north end.
“The water level is lower this year compared to the last few years, due to the lack of rain. Docks and tules will still be the deal for fish in all three phases, though,” said Reese.
The California veteran said that a three-day cumulative total of 72 pounds should be enough to take home top honors.
“Everything is lined up for this to be a great event,” said Reese. “Clear Lake hasn’t shined in the last eight months like it has in the past, but I think people will be surprised by what they see in this tournament.”
Anglers will take off from Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina, located at 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, in Lakeport, at 6:30 a.m. PDT each day. Weigh-ins will also take place at Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina, and will begin at 2:30 p.m. each day. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free to attend and open to the public.
In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Clear Lake, pros will fish for a top prize of up to $85,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a brand new Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard, and $5,000 if Ranger Cup qualified.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 1-3 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
