Pro Wayne Brezeale of Kelseyville, California, won the Costa FLW Series at Clear Lake presented by Evinrude Saturday after bringing a limit of bass weighing 14 pounds, 6 ounces to the scale. Brezeale’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 60-7 gave him the win by a 2-pound, 15-ounce margin and earned him the top prize of $82,338, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
“This is the biggest win of my career,” Brezeale said about his first career victory in FLW competition. “I live on the lake and have been fishing it for 40 years. I had to pull a few tricks out of my hat this week, but I had a phenomenal tournament and I really needed this win.”
Brezeale estimated that he caught around 100 keepers throughout the week, with the majority coming on Thursday and Friday and around 20 keepers on Saturday. He targeted docks and the thick tule shorelines on the south end of the lake with a Margarita Mutilator-colored Roboworm on a drop-shot rig, a wacky-rigged watermelon and purple flake-colored Yamamoto Senko and a white Yamamoto Grub on a dart head jig.
“About half of my fish came from the tules, half from the docks,” Brezeale said. “I was catching a couple of sight fish as well – I caught two on each of the first two days and one on Saturday on the Senko.
“I really think that there were two keys to my win this week,” Brezeale went on to say. “First was my experience on the lake. I had to try some tricks – real light line. The 6-pound (Seaguar InvisX) fluorocarbon was key. Also, I was fishing the new Powell Endurance rods along with the Max 3D series and they were crucial to feeling those light bites and keeping them buttoned up.”
The top 10 pros on Clear Lake finished:
1st: Wayne Breazeale, Kelseyville, Calif., 15 bass, 60-7, $82,338
2nd: Nick Nourot, Benicia, Calif., 15 bass, 57-8, $13,810
3rd: Joe Uribe Jr., Surprise, Ariz., 15 bass, 56-8, $10,792
4th: Richard Dobyns, Marysville, Calif., 15 bass, 51-14, $9,158
5th: Benjamin Byrd, Moab, Utah, 15 bass, 51-14, $8,019
6th: Scott MacKenzie, Hercules, Calif., 15 bass, 51-0, $7,128
7th: Vince Hurtado, Turlock, Calif., 15 bass, 49-3, $6,237
8th: Matt Dal Porto, Sutter, Calif., 15 bass, 45-12, $5,346
9th: Paul Bailey, Kelseyville, Calif., 15 bass, 45-2, $4,455
10th: Stephen Tosh Jr., Modesto, Calif., 15 bass, 43-2, $3,564
Dobyns caught an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass Friday – the biggest of the tournament – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $248.
Rick Grover of Trabuco Canyon, California, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower outboard motor and a $5,000 Ranger Cup bonus with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 42 pounds, 1 ounce. Geoff Peterson of Huntington Beach, California, finished runner-up with 15 bass weighing 41-6, good for $4,532.
The top 10 Co-anglers on Clear Lake finished:
1st: Rick Grover, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., 15 bass, 42-1, Ranger Z175 boat with 90-horsepower outboard + $5,000 Ranger Cup
2nd: Geoff Peterson, Huntington Beach, Calif., 15 bass, 41-6, $4,532
3rd: Derek Gray, LaFayette, Calif., 15 bass, 40-8, $3,751
4th: Jose Juarez, Kelseyville, Calif., 14 bass, 38-7, $3,137
5th: Txawjtas Tas Moua, Fresno, Calif., 15 bass, 38-1, $2,689
6th: Aaron Echternkamp, Moses Lake, Wash., 14 bass, 37-6, $2,241
7th: Bruce Harris, Oakdale, Calif., 15 bass, 34-13, $1,793
8th: David Swendseid, Bend, Ore., 14 bass, 34-12, $1,569
9th: Matthew Diaz, Pomona, Calif., 14 bass, 30-15, $1,510
10th: Travis Williams, Stockton, Calif., 11 bass, 27-13, $1,120
Diaz caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a bass weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces that earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $165.
The Costa FLW Series on Clear Lake presented by Evinrude was hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina. It was the second of three FLW Series Western Division tournaments in the 2018 season. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be a Central Division tournament, held June 7-9 on Lake Barkley in Cadiz, Kentucky presented by T-H Marine. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.
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: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
