Kerr Leads FLW Series Bass Fishing event on Mead

5/7/2010 11:25:47 PM

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Justin Kerr weighed in both smallmouth and largemouth bass today to maintain his lead in the FLW Series fishing tournament on Lake Mead. He's catching his fish on an Evergreen crankbait, Roboworms and jigs.

Photo by Gary Mortenson / see FLWOutdoors.com for more photos and stories

Pro Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, Calif., caught a 5-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces Friday to maintain his lead in the FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Lake Mead. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 39-3, he holds a 2-pound lead over his closest competitor, National Guard pro Tim Klinger of Boulder City, Nev., heading into the final day of competition.

“I have been fishing flawlessly all week,” said Kerr, whose highest finish at Lake Mead in an FLW event was seventh back in 2005. “I haven’t really lost any fish this week, the ones I did miss I was able to re-catch. I was a little nervous today, my bite completely died so I had to go fishing for smallies and they say once you go brown you go down and that is exactly what happened to me today.

“I’m really hoping I can figure something out for tomorrow, everything that I was using is washed out. I really think that the water dropping is what has changed my bite. The wind that has really negatively impacted most of the field has actually been beneficial for me. I am not a sight fisherman and this wind has turned the water milky which is to my advantage. I just hope my luck holds out one more day!”

Kerr’s three smallies and two largemouth bass were caught using an Evergreen crankbait, Roboworms and he had one bite on a jig. Kerr believes that it is going to take 12-13 pounds to win tomorrow.

Klinger caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37-3 using spinnerbaits running the banks to advance to the final round as the No. 2 seed.

“Once the wind calmed down today my bite really improved,” said Klinger, who started the day in seventh place. “I was pretty nervous though because I didn’t get my first fish until almost 11 a.m. this morning. But then the wind died, and I went back to sight fishing and was able to bag my limit.

“I am really excited to go fishing tomorrow, I have never won on my home lake, and to put myself in this position is such a thrill for me. I have placed second a couple of times, but have never won. Hopefully I will this year.”

The remaining top-5 pros who will fish the final day at Lake Mead are:

      3rd:   Joseph Caporuscio, Coto De Caza, Calif., 15 bass, 35-14
      4th:   Jason Hickey, Weiser, Idaho, 15 bass, 35-12
      5th:   National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 15 bass, 35-1

The remaining pro anglers in top-10 are:

      6th:   Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 15 bass, 33-8, $7,381
      7th:   Cody Meyer, Grass Valley, Calif., 15 bass, 32-12, $6,947
      8th:   Derek Yamamoto, Boulder City, Nev., 15 bass, 32-7, $6,513
      9th:   Chris Zaldain, San Jose, Calif., 15 bass, 31-8, $7,834
      10th: Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., 15 bass, 31-6, $5,645

Tomorrow calls for more wind which could really impact the top-5 who are separated by only 4 pounds, 2 ounces from top to bottom.

Roland Andrade of Corona, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard motor Friday with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces followed by J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif. in second place with 13 bass weighing 23-4 worth $4,569.

Andrade opened the tournament in 12th place Wednesday with five bass weighing 8-12 while fishing with pro Brett Hite. On Thursday he fell to 16th place with only two-bass weighing 3-12 while fishing with pro Greg Hatleberg of Springfield, Ore. He came from behind to win Friday with a five-bass limit weighing 11-1 while fishing with pro Ben Willis of Lodi, Calif.

“We fished in local areas today around steep rock,” said Andrade, who was fishing his first FLW event. “We were in about 25-35 feet of water and I was using a Darter head Yamamoto Grub, robo worms, and osprey swimbaits. The fish seemed to be suspended as they were hitting the bait on the drop.

“This has just been a great week, my stomach is all knotted up, I can’t believe I won!”

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:

      3rd:   Jimmy Zanotelli, Redding, Calif., 13 bass, 21-11, $3,448
      4th:   Tim Dotson, Loomis, Calif., 12 bass, 21-4, $2,025
      5th:   Jeffrey Woods, Riverside, Calif., 10 bass, 20-3, $1,620
      6th:   Jesse Forthun, La Mesa, Calif., 10 bass, 20-1, $1,215
      7th:   Guy Williams, Menifee, Calif., nine bass, 18-9, $1,012
      8th:   Tracy Smart, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 11 bass, 18-8, $810
      9th:   Devin McDonald, Las Vegas, Nev., 10 bass, 18-7, $709
      10th: Kirk Beardsley, Huntington Beach, Calif., 12 bass, 18-6, $953