OAKLEY, Calif. (May 16, 2008) - Pro Mike Andrews of Oakley, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce Friday to widen his lead in the Stren Series Western bass fishing tournament on the California Delta. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 75-04, he holds a 1-pound, 8-ounce lead over his closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
"Today wasn't my ideal day," Andrews said. "The wind didn't blow and it was 105 degrees. With these conditions I couldn't catch the fish on a crankbait or a Chatterbait. I tried for two hours this morning and didn't get a bite."
Andrews then turned to flipping a Senko and caught 20 fish. He said that the quality of the fish wasn't what it was the last two days throwing reaction baits.
"I had a consistent bite after I changed baits. The reaction bite just wasn't there," Andrews added. "I fished the same area that I have fished all week. It is only a mile from the marina but I am covering a lot of water trying to find quality fish."
Rounding out the top five pros are Jeremy Zipton of Discovery Bay, Calif. (15 bass, 73-12); Kyle Porter of Acampo, Calif. (15 bass, 69-01); Timothy Venkus of Wilton, Calif. (15 bass, 66-14); and Hunter Schlander of Modesto, Calif. (15 bass, 66-05).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 61 pounds, 15 ounces in the Pro Division are Zack Thompson of Orinda, Calif.; Chris Raza of Roseville, Calif.; Jeff Michels of Lakehead, Calif.; Beau Joudrey of Oakley, Calif.; and Sean Stafford of Fairfield, Calif.
"Right now the wind is blowing so I hope that it continues. The tide will be later so I will have higher water in the morning so I am banking on my reaction bite to pick up," Andrews said. "I am hoping to catch a big bag. If not I will have to resort to flipping and take my chances using a Senko."
Venkus earned $280 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 10-pound bass.
Overall there were 871 bass weighing 2,502 pounds caught by 179 pros Friday. The catch included 166 five-bass limits.
Charles Peak of San Jose, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met, thanks to a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 54-02.
"This has been a long three days," Peak said. "The name of the game is watching the pro and adjusting to what they are doing."
Peak said that each day he has had to adjust with the pro he is paired with. He explained that each pro has used a different technique.
"The first day we were flipping, so I fished from the outside to keep my distance from the pro," Peak said. "The second day I had to adjust to what my new partner was doing and we fished slow and deep throwing a crankbait.
"Today, the third day of competition, I fished tules and found fish in pockets that the pro didn't find. I caught a total of 15 keepers today fishing three different key areas.
Peak said that if he can get at least 20 pounds tomorrow he will stay on top of the leader board.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Hughes of Orangevale, Calif. (15 bass, 52-14); Aaron Reitz of Soda Springs, Calif. (15 bass, 48-02); Kyle Baker of Lancaster, Calif. (15 bass, 46-04); and Joseph Smink of Modesto, Calif. (15 bass, 45-12).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 43 pounds, 8 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Wayne Antoine of San Francisco, Calif.; Roy Desmangles Jr. of Lincoln, Calif.; Joseph Bricker of Pleasanton, Calif.; Paul Fontaine of Brentwood, Calif.; and Pat Leiser of Antioch, Calif.
Chuck Wood of Fairfield, Calif., earned $142 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 9-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Overall there were 756 bass weighing 1,861 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 173 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 122 five-bass limits.
The top 40 co-anglers from each Stren Series division will also advance to the championship, where they will fish for as much as $70,000. The highest-finishing co-angler from each division at the championship will then advance to the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 Saturday morning from Russo's Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island. Saturday's final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. At the conclusion of Friday's weigh-in, the field is cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weights. These anglers continue competition Saturday, with the winners determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.