McAbee leads Clear Lake FLW Series...

10/22/2009 9:51:06 AM

Randy McAbee, Jr., of Bakersfield, Calif., landed 5 bass weighing 23 pounds, 4 ounces Wednesday to lead day one of the Walmart FLW Series® National Guard Western Division tournament on Clear Lake. He now holds a 1-pound, 12-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 88 pros and 88 co-anglers.

      “I’m runnin’ and gunnin’,” said McAbee, Jr., who is currently in 26th place in the points standing. “The fish have been very aggressive for me today. I burned two full tanks of gas in my Ranger boat, hitting 25 – 30 spots. I only stayed at each spot for 5 – 10 casts and then moved on.”
                                                                                                             
McAbee, Jr., fished on feeding stations: rock points, ledges, and ridges using big swimbaits. He indicated that he caught about 20 fish that were all under 3 pounds in hopes of getting the big kicker fish; his largest fish bagged today was over 6 pounds.
 
A top 10 finish could push McAbee, Jr., into the top 20 in the points standing, securing him a spot in the 2010 Forest Wood Cup.
 
John Alimpic of Angwin, Calif., trails McAbee, Jr., in the No. 2 spot with 5 bass weighing 21-8.
 
Alimpic was topwater fishing using large swimbaits. He too was fishing the entire area of the lake and had about 20 spots to fish.
 
“It helps if you live here,” said Alimpic. “The fish are spread out right now and you won’t catch two fish in the same spot.
 
Rounding out the top 10 pros after day one at Clear Lake are:
 
3rd: Team Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee pro Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 5 bass, 21-3
4th: Cameron Smith, Dana Point, Calif., 5 bass, 20-15
5th: Tommy Cardoza, Lakeport, Calif., 5 bass, 20-11
6th: Rob Riehl, Tracy, Calif., 5 bass, 20-9
7th: Kazuki Kodama, Torrance, Calif., 5 bass, 20-8
8th: Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 5 bass, 20-6
9th: Team National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 5 bass, 19-10
10th: Roy Hawk, Salt Lake City, Utah, 5 bass, 19-9
 
Cameron Smith earned the day’s $290 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass he caught on a headspin hornet.
 
Overall there were 397 bass weighing 1346 pounds caught by 88 pros Wednesday. The catch included 73 five-bass limits.
 
Pros are competing this week for a top award of over $105,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.
 
Mark Smith of Dana Point, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division with an impressive 5 bass weighing 27-10 followed by John Wick of San Diego, Calif., in second place with 5 bass weighing 18-15.
 
“We fished very slow today,” said Smith, whose son Cameron is currently in 4th place in the pro division. “We fished in three areas today and I caught my two big boys on a bank within 100 yards of each other.” 
 
Smith caught his bass using a texas rig while fishing with pro Rick Correa of Sherwood, Ore., who is currently in 28 place with 5 bass weighing 17-15.
 
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Taylor of Shingle Springs, Calif. (5 bass, 18-5); Joseph Smink of Modesto, Calif. (5 bass, 18-2) and Rus Snyder of San Bruno, Calif. (5 bass, 17-14).
 
Mark Smith also earned $193 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to an 8-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught on a texas rig.
 
Overall there were 254 bass weighing 766 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 88 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included only 26 five-bass limits.
 
Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of over $19,000 as well as a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.

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