KELSEYVILLE — Sean Stafford of Fairfield is the leader in the pro division and Daniel Montes of Turlock is atop the co-angler division after round one of the Stren Series Western Division bass tournament held Wednesday at Clear Lake.
A field of 188 boats (376 fishermen) blasted off early Wednesday morning from the waters just off Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa in Kelseyville. Each boat holds one pro and one co-angler and the top 10 in each division — based on their cumulative weights after round three on Friday — will advance to Saturday”s final round.
The winning pro will receive $25,000 and a $40,000 519VX Ranger bass boat. The winning co-angler receives $5,000 and a $30,000 Ranger boat and trailer.
Stafford brought a five-fish limit of 31 pounds, 8 ounces to the official weigh scales on Wednesday at Konocti Harbor. The next-best weight in the pro division belonged to Gino Campiotti of Manteca (28-9), followed by Ken Sauret of Paso Robles at 27-5, Jason Borofka of Salina at 26-3 and Scott Nielsen of Salt Lake City at 24-9.
Among Lake County anglers, Jared Stone of Lakeport is 19th overall with 20-13; Randall Yeager of Clearlake Oaks is 27th at 20-1; Jimmy Reese of Witter Springs is 31st at 19-10; Sieg Taylor of Clearlake is tied for 34th at 18-12; and Wayne Breazeale of Kelseyville is 39th at 18-4.
In the co-angler division, Montes not only came with the first-day lead of 24-8, but he caught the big fish (9-13).
Kyle Clement of Anderson was the only other angler to crack 20 pounds on day one with 21-13. Quin Smith of Galt is third with 19-4, right behind in fourth is Paul Fontaine of Brentwood at 19-3, and Gary Evans of Basalt, Colorado, is fifth at 18-15.
