California Angler Tops Pro Field, Takes Home $81,668 including New Ranger Boat
Boater Hunter Schlander of Modesto, California, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Western Division tournament on the California Delta presented by Power-Pole. Schlander’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 57 pounds, 1 ounce was enough to earn him $81,668, including a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
“I feel like I’m on top of the world right now – this is incredible,” said Schlander, who earned his first career-win in FLW Series competition. “Most of my fish this week were postspawn. They wanted to be in some grass and some current.”
Schlander said he had two primary patterns each day of the event. In the mornings, he worked a Delta Craw-colored Lucky Craft Silent Fat BDS Crankbait along riprap-filled banks, and in the afternoons he flipped a Yamamoto Senko worm near tule points.
“I had three banks where riprap would run down to the bottom and meet the hydrilla 5 to 6 feet offshore,” said Schlander. “I positioned my boat between the two and ran a crankbait as close as I could to the grass, in anywhere from 4 to 6 feet of water. Right where the two intersected on the bottom was where I wanted the crankbait – it’s what seemed to produce the most bites.”
Schlander said his first stretch of bank was mid-lake, while his other two were farther south as he followed the outgoing tide.
“Once the tide fell out, I couldn’t put my boat in the shallow water, so I headed back north to some tule island points,” said Schlander. “The points were near Franks Tract (Recreation Area), and I was just able to slow down with a Watermelon Red-colored Senko to catch my fish.”
Schlander said the Lucky Craft crankbait and the Yamamoto Senko were the only two lures that produced for him during the tournament.
“I probably caught 60 keepers this week, and only had two rods on my deck,” said Schlander.
The top 10 pros on California Delta finished:
1st: Hunter Schlander, Modesto, Calif., 15 bass, 57-1, $36,668 + Ranger Z518C w/ 200-hp Evinrude outboard
2nd: Robert Lee, Angels Camp, Calif., 15 bass, 50-2, $14,409
3rd: Beau Joudrey, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 49-3, $11,000
4th: Stephen Tosh Jr., Turlock, Calif., 15 bass, 45-11, $9,267
5th: Joe Uribe Jr., Surprise, Ariz., 15 bass, 45-4, $8,250
6th: Justin Kerr, Simi Valley, Calif., 15 bass, 44-3, $7,334
7th: Andy Scholz, Reno, Nev., 15 bass, 42-7, $6,675
8th: Patrick Whitaker, Gilbert, Ariz., 15 bass, 42-7, $5,500
9th: Dane Mitchell, Brookeland, Texas, 15 bass, 41-0, $4,584
10th: Shane Peirson, Roseville, Calif., 13 bass, 35-9, $3,667
Scholz caught a 9-pound, 12-ounce bass Thursday – the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, Scholz earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $258.
Jordan Pinasco of Galt, California, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard motor. Pinasco earned his win with a three-day total catch of 15 bass weighing 40 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on California Delta finished:
1st: Jordan Pinasco, Galt, Calif., 15 bass, 40-4, Ranger Z175 w/ a 90-hp Evinrude outboard motor
2nd: Blake Dyer, Moraga, Calif., 15 bass, 34-12, $4,621
3rd: Conrad DeMecs, Scottsdale, Ariz., 15 bass, 34-8, $3,827
4th: Carl Limbrick Jr., Bonita, Calif., 15 bass, 33-2, $3,200
5th: Jack Farage, Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 33-0, $2,743
6th: Aaron Agner, Redding, Calif., 14 bass, 32-10, $2,286
7th: Keith Adams, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 28-10, $1,829
8th: Bill Oshinn, Granite Bay, Calif., 10 bass, 25-6, $1,600
9th: Neil Sterud II, Antioch, Calif., 11 bass, 24-6, $1,541
10th: Raymond Tak, Los Angeles, Calif., 10 bass, 22-10, $1,143
DeMecs caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a fish weighing 9 pounds, 3 ounces that earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $170.
The Costa FLW Series on the California Delta presented by Power-Pole was hosted by Russo’s Marina and Sugar Barge RV Resort & Marina. It was the second Western Division tournament of the 2017 season. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be a Central Division tournament, held June 8-10 on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee.
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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. 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
