TRI-CITIES, Wash. (Sept. 19, 2008) - Pro David Kromm of Kennewick, Wash., caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces Friday to capture the lead in the FLW Series bass fishing tournament on the Columbia River. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 44-13, he holds a 3-pound, 3-ounce lead over his closest competitor, Day 2 leader Neil Russell of Nampa, Idaho, heading into the final day of competition.
"I did the same thing as yesterday," said Kromm, who is currently fifth in the Angler of the Year standings in the FLW Series Western Division. "They were pumping some current and it made the fish bite a little bit better.
"I start out shallow and catch what I can shallow, and when that dies, I go deep," Kromm added. "The deep fish are really tough to catch right now. They're not where they're supposed to be."
For the second consecutive day, Kromm employed a variety of baits to scratch out his limit, including shad-colored jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits for the shallow bites and green pumpkin lizards and tubes deep.
"The moving current positions the fish on the leading edge of the structure, and that's what I fished," Kromm said. "I fished the leading edge and then went to the next piece of structure. I probably fished 20 spots today."
Rounding out the top five pros are R.J. Bennett of Roseville, Calif. (15 bass, 39-11); Paul Hall of Soap Lake, Wash. (15 bass, 39-8) and Ronald Hobbs Jr. of Graham, Wash. (15 bass, 39-5).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 34 pounds, 0 ounces in the Pro Division are Clint Johanson of Benton City, Wash.; Ken Wick of Star, Idaho; Cameron Smith of Dana Point, Calif.; Wade Headrick of Draper, Utah; and Roy Hawk of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Cody Meyer of Redding, Calif., earned the day's $329 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught.
Overall there were 482 bass weighing 879 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 116 pros Friday. The catch included 72 five-bass limits.
Co-angler Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and $25,000 Friday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 27 pounds, 13 ounces followed by Robert Flowers of Roy, Wash., in second place with 14 bass weighing 26-13 worth $7,030.
Lucas opened the tournament in fifth place Wednesday with five bass weighing 18-08 while fishing with pro Duane Dunstone of Reno, Nev. On Thursday he slipped to sixth place with a five-bass catch weighing 6-08 while fishing with pro Ken Mah of Elk Grove, Calif. He wrapped up the win Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 10-13 while fishing with pro William Gibbs of John Day, Ore.
"I never thought I would win today," said Lucas, who now has four career victories as a co-angler. "I had a bad morning and caught some 12-inchers, but I just tried to fish hard. Every day I tried to make as many good casts as I could."
On the first two days of competition, Lucas threw a Carolina rig to land his limits. On the final day of competition, Lucas said he switched to a green pumpkin finesse worm on a drop-shot rig and enhanced it with Berkley Gulp! Alive! spray attractant.
"The Gulp! makes a difference on the smallmouth," Lucas said. "When you fish for smallmouth up here or anywhere else, it works."
Lucas, the Co-angler of the Year points leader, also won the Columbia River event in 2007.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jason Bryan of Spokane, Wash. (12 bass, 26-02, $6,325); Gary Haraguchi of Brentwood, Calif. (13 bass, 25-06, $5,624) and J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif. (15 bass, 24-03, $4,920).
Marvin Hawkes of Mesa, Ariz., earned $212 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 5-ounce bass he caught while fishing with pro Johanson.
Overall there were 327 bass weighing 488 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 105 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 27 five-bass limits.
The 10 remaining pros will take off at 6:30 Saturday morning from Columbia Point Marina located at 660 Columbia Point Drive in Richland, Wash. Saturday's final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2801 Duportail Street in Richland beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday's weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.