Ehrler wins West Series at Havasu...

3/29/2009 8:08:25 AM

Wired2Fish andTeam National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win $114,361 in the Walmart FLW Series® National Guard Western Division tournament on Lake Havasu with a four-day catch of 20 bass weighing 57-11. With this win Ehrler reached over $1 million in career earnings with FLW Outdoors.
 
The catch gave him the win by a slim 2-ounce margin over Zack Thompson of Orinda, Calif., who caught a total of 20 bass weighing 57-9 and earned $44,680.
 
“I can’t believe this,” Ehrler said. “I want to dedicate this to my friends who passed away last week. It was a tough week.”
 
During practice last Sunday Ehrler received a phone call from his father saying that several of his friends were killed in a plane crash. According to the Federal Aviation Administration a total of 14 people, including seven children, were killed early Sunday when a small plane crashed near an airport in Butte, Mont. The plane was attempting to land at the airport when it crashed.
 
“It was hard to go out there and fish this week with so much on my mind,” he said. “I wanted to win this tournament in honor of my friends.”
 
Ehrler opened the tournament in 10th place Wednesday with five bass weighing 15-10. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 13-3. He then caught five bass weighing 14-1Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in fourth place. 
 
“Coming into this tournament I knew the fish would be up on beds because the spawn started a few weeks ago,” he said. “I really concentrated on sight-fishing this week.
 
“Everyday, I had to go out and look for new fish. I started on fish that I found in practice and after that every bass I weighed-in I found during the tournament.”
 
The key for Ehrler this week was finding new water each day. “As soon as I would get my limits each day I would go looking for new water that I could fish the next day,” he said. “Some of the fish I caught today, I found today. My last fish of the day took me 40 minutes to catch and after I caught that one I knew I had a chance at winning.”
 
Ehrler caught most of his fish this week on a Berkley Chigger Craw and a Texas rig.
 
Rounding out the top five pros are Cody Meyer of Redding, Calif. (20 bass, 56-9, $35,744); Mike Folkestad of Orange, Calif. (20 bass, 56-7, $26,808) and Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, Calif. (20 bass, 55-14, $17,872).
 
Dewayne Bonham of Brentwood, Calif., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – an 6-pound, 4-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $370.
 
Overall there were 49 bass weighing 130 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 10 pros Saturday. The catch included nine five-bass limits. 
 

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