REDDING, Calif. (Jan. 16, 2010) - Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win $57,283 in the FLW Series Western Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Shasta with a four-day catch of 20 bass weighing 42-12.
The catch gave him the win by a solid 1-pound, 8-ounce margin over Chris Zaldain of San Jose, Calif., who caught a total of 20 bass weighing 41-4 and earned $19,475.
"Lake Shasta is such a great fishery," said Ehrler, who had only fished here one other time. "The lake is full of fish and when you are catching fish its always fun! Fishing is really tough this time of year, but the fish were really biting here. I was lucky enough to find an amazing spot; I fished there all week and was fortunate enough to haul in some quality fish."
"I was fishing over by the Shasta Dam in about 40 feet of water. The water was so clear and that really made a difference in my bite. I was using a whaky rig sinko the first two days of the tournament and then changed it up the last two days. I was actually drop shotting yesterday and today with robo worms."
"This is just awesome, I am so excited to be here!"
Ehrler opened the tournament in 5th place Wednesday with 5 bass weighing 11-5 that he caught on a whacky rig sinko while fishing near the dam. On Thursday he added another 5 bass weighing 9-12 to climb one spot into 4th place. He then caught 5 bass weighing 11-7 on Friday to make the crucial top five cut in 2nd place. On Saturday he sealed his victory with 10-4 using robo worms.
Rounding out the top five pros are:
3rd: KC Harris, Shasta Lake, Calif., 20 bass, 40, $14,606
4th: Bryan McDermott, Cottonwood, Calif., 20 bass, 38-12, $9,737
5th: Jeff Michels, Lakehead, Calif., 20 bass, 37-11, $8,764
Ehrler and Co-angler Johnathan Walker each won a $1000 gift card as part of the new Cabela's Angler Cash program. Beginning in 2010, Cabela's will be offering pro and co-anglers the opportunity to register and win a $1000 gift card for being the highest qualified finisher in each division at all FLW Series events, making the stakes even higher in an already rich award package. Anglers can visit FLWOutdoors.com for a complete list of rules and to register.
Overall there were 25 bass weighing 40 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 5 pros Saturday. The catch included 5 five-bass limits.
National Guard team member Johnathan Walker of Tacoma, Wash., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower engine Friday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 28 pounds, 15 ounces followed by Max Bauer of San Diego, Calif., in second place with 15 bass weighing 26-9 worth $4,816.
The Lake Shasta event was the first of four Western Division tournaments that will be held in 2010. The next FLW Series tournament will be held May 5-8 on Lake Mead in Las Vegas, Nev. The event will be hosted by the City of Henderson Department of Cultural Arts and Tourism and boats will launch from Callville Bay-Forever Resorts-Concessioners of NPS in Las Vegas, Nev.
The remaining tournaments are scheduled for:
June 9-12 California Delta Stockton, Calif.
Sept. 22-25 Roosevelt Lake Payson, Ariz.
In FLW Series competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points to qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.
Coverage of the Lake Shasta tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. "FLW Outdoors", will air April 11 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET.