Pro Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, Calif., caught a 5-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 4 ounces Thursday to capture the lead in the FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Lake Mead with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 27-10.
“I had a great day today, but this is Lake Mead and I could come in with two fish tomorrow,” said Kerr, who was afraid to show any emotion after he weighed in. “This lake is so finicky you just never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Today I fished flawlessly and hope I can do the same tomorrow.”
Kerr was fishing shallow water, less than 5 feet, and indicated that he was using a drop-shot with robo worms, crankbaits, and jigs to bag his limit both yesterday and today. He caught his limit of one smallmouth and four largemouths by 11 a.m. today.
He is expecting the wind to be a big factor tomorrow and believes it will dictate where he is able to fish; right now he plans to run along the shoreline and work his way back hoping to bring in another good stringer.
Kerr holds an ever so slight lead of 6-ounces over second place pro Cameron Smith of Dana Point, Calif., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 27-4 during the first two days of competition.
Smith also believes that the wind will play a big factor in tomorrow’s competition. He indicated that he beat up his one productive area today and doesn’t know if there will be anything left for tomorrow so will try fresh water and hopes for calmer conditions.
“I’m cruisin’fish,” said Smith who uses this self proclaimed technique in his home water near San Diego. “I’m just playing the game, throwing my line out there and hoping it will entice them to swim over and take the bait.”
Smith, who is essentially sight fishing off of beds, was using 4″ worms and minnow baits to bag his limit; anything that looks natural he added.
Rounding out the top-10 pros at Lake Mead are:
| 3rd: | Kevin Johnson | Valencia, Calif. | 10 bass | 24-9 |
| 4th: | Joseph Caporuscio | Coto De Caza, Calif. | 10 bass | 24-7 |
| 5th: | Chris Zaldain | San Jose, Calif. | 10 bass | 24-6 |
| 6th: | Todd Woods | Murrieta, Calif. | 10 bass | 24-5 |
| 7th: | National Guard pro Tim Klinger | Boulder City, Nev. | 9 bass | 23-15 |
| 8th: | National Guard pro Brent Ehrler | Redlands, Calif. | 10 bass | 23-13 |
| 9th: | Jason Hickey | Weiser, Idaho | 10 bass | 23-9 |
| 10th: | Yamaha pro Derek Yamamoto | Boulder City, Nev. | 10 bass | 23-7 |
It will be a fight to the finish and a game anyone can still win. Most of the anglers struggled today with the wind and “brutal fishing” was a common sentiment amongst the anglers. Tomorrow, anything can happen.
Overall there were 391 bass weighing 742 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 95 pros Thursday. The catch included 60 five-bass limits.
In FLW Series competition, pros are competing for a top award of up to $56,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.
Jeffrey Woods of Riverside, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division by only one ounce, a mere spit of the fish, with a two-day total of 8 bass weighing 16-9. He is followed by brothers Jimmy and Tony Zanotelli of Redding, Calif., in second and third places. Jimmy crossed the stage with five bass weighing 8-12 for a two day total of ten bass weighing 16-8 while brother Tony missed the limit by one with only four bass weighing 6-9 for a two day total of nine bass weighing16-5.
Woods caught four bass weighing 8-2 while fishing with pro Bobby Lanham of Cave Creek, Ariz., Wednesday and four bass weighing 8-7 while fishing with pro Bret Govea of Redding, Calif., Thursday.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
| 4th: | Don Hilton | Las Vegas, Nev. | 8 bass | 15-8 |
| 5th: | Devin McDonald | Las Vegas, Nev. | 8 bass | 15-1 |
| 6th: | Roy Desmangles, Jr. | Lincoln, Calif. | 8 bass | 14-15 |
| 7th: | Sean Kimble | San Ramon, Calif. | 8 bass | 14-15 |
| 8th: | Justin Arellano | Isleton, Calif. | 10 bass | 14-15 |
| 9th: | Jesse Forthun | La Mesa, Calif. | 7 bass | 14-9 |
| 10th: | J.R. Wright | Truckee, Calif. | 8 bass | 14-4 |
Overall there were 179 bass weighing 322 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 83 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included only seven five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are competing this week for a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard motor as well as valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off from Callville Bay-Forever Resorts-Concessioners of NPS located in Las Vegas at 7 each morning. Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. The final weigh-in on Saturday will be held at the Henderson Civic Center located at 200 Water Street in Henderson beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to a Family Fun Zone at the Henderson Civic Center prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. There will be a drawing for a $300 Cabela’s gift card and drawings for rod and reel combos will be held every 30 minutes during the event. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
Coverage of the Lake Mead tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors”, will air June 13 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.By: Julie Huber,
