One of the largest and richest professional bass tournaments in the West gets under way today at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa on Clear Lake. The FLW-Stren Western Series Pro/Am tournament will field as many as 400 fishermen (200 pros and 200 co-anglers or amateurs) from throughout the Western United States.
The four-day event kicks off today at daylight and concludes Saturday. The tournament will operate out of Konocti Harbor today, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the final day of the tournament, the weigh-in shifts to Clearlake and operates out of the Wal-Mart parking lot located on Dam Road. The weigh-in for the first three days starts at 3 p.m. The weigh-in Saturday begins at 4 p.m.
The full 200-boat field competes the first three days, but only the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers advance to final day based on their three-day accumulated weight. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight for all four days.
The tournament is a true pro/am format both the pros and co-anglers fish separately. Each fisherman will be allowed to weigh in five fish per day.
The pros supply the boats, get to fish from the front of the boat and compete only against other pros. The co-anglers fish from the back of the boat and compete only against other co-anglers.
Pros fish for a top award of $25,000 plus a $40,000 519VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries if contingency guidelines are met. Ranger will award another $3,000 to the winner if he or she is a participant in the Ranger Cup program.
If the winner is not a Ranger Cup participant, Ranger will award $1,500 to the highest-finishing participant in the contingency program. Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if “Powered by Yamaha” guidelines are met.
Co-anglers are competing for a top award of $5,000 plus a $30,000 Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are met. Competitors also will be vying for valuable points that could earn them a berth into the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Decatur, Ala., for a shot at $140,000 in the Pro Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division.
The highest finishing pro and the highest finishing co-angler from each division at the Stren Series Championship will qualify for the 2007 $2 million Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will have a shot at bass fishing”s first $1 million prize.
FLW is one of the largest professional bass tournament organizations in the nation. FLW also sponsors walleye tournaments in the Midwest as well as ocean fishing tournaments.
Local bass pro Jimmy Reese of Witter Springs is considered one of the favorites to win this year”s tournament at Clear Lake. He won last year”s FLW Clear Lake tournament with a four-day weight of more than 75 pounds.
Many of the fishermen are wondering if this tournament will produce as many records as the recent Bassmasters tournament, which saw a new national record of 122 pounds, 14 ounces set for a four-day, 20-fish event. The conditions for the Bassmasters tournament were ideal with warm and clear water.
The conditions have changed dramatically this past week. The water temperature has been holding at below 60 degrees, with a low of 54 degrees. The bass also have moved back off the spawning beds. The major factor in the tournament will be the weather. If the temperature rises as forecast, the fishing could explode.
Another major factor will be the number of boats on the water. The Bassmasters tournament had 108 boats and this tournament will have 200 boats, which is a huge difference. When you add in at least 60 recreational fishing boats, that makes the lake pretty crowded.
The good news is that the 400 fishermen in the tournament are expected to spend more than $300,000 at local motels, gas stations, tackle shops and restaurants.
