On a day where conditions were changing by the hour, the Costa FLW Series Western Division anglers adapted well to the wants of Clear Lake bass. Jim Moulton, with 33 pounds, 2 ounces, leads the event, which is presented by Mercury and hosted by Konocti Vista Resort Casino & Marina.

After Moulton caught a 5-pound fish flipping first thing in the morning, it was all sight-fishing from then on.

“If I couldn’t see them, I couldn’t catch them,” says the Merced, Calif., resident. “I had a few fish marked in practice, but after that we were searching for them.”

Moulton was using jigs in the Southern Bay and had the area mostly to himself. Unlike many of the other competitors who took advantage of early scattered clouds, Moulton’s bite was not a morning deal.

“The fish I had marked weren’t there at first,” he recalls. “I kept checking but had to come back later to get them.”

At 11 a.m. Moulton had a limit and came upon a bed with two giant bass.

“The male was over 6. On the first cast he ate it, but I didn’t have the bail clicked. I set the hook and lost him,” Moulton says. “After five minutes I was able to get him to bite again, but this time I got him to the boat. On the very next cast, the female ate it on the fall.”

The female turned out to be a 10-pound, 15-ounce behemoth and was the second largest bass weighed in today.

“It was just one of those days where everything falls into place,” says Moulton. “Those bites don’t come very often, and when they come on game day you can’t ask for much more than that.”

Moulton is less optimistic about his fishing tomorrow and claims he might be in trouble. Wind, rain and more heavy cloud cover are forecast for tomorrow’s tournament hours.

“My sight-fishing deal may not work, but I know I’m around the right areas.”

 

Top 10 Pros

1. Jim Moulton – Merced, Calif. – 33-02 (5)

2. Todd Woods – San Dimas, Calif. – 32-12 (5)

3. Michael Caruso – Peoria, Ariz. – 29-13 (5)

4. Wayne Breazeale – Kelseyville, Calif. – 28-03 (5)

5. Kevin Stewart – Elk Grove, Calif. – 26-09 (5)

6. Wade Curtiss – Meadow Vista, Calif. – 25-03 (5)

7. Roy Hawk – Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – 24-12 (5)

8. Mark Rauenzahn – San Diego, Calif. – 24-09 (5)

9. Garrett Dixon – Durham, Calif. – 23-11(5) (5)

10. Hunter Schlander – Modesto, Calif. – 23-11 (5)

Complete Results

 

Farage Leads Co-anglers on Clear

Shasta Lake champ heads up the pack from the back of the boat with 24-1

Jack Farage from Discovery Bay, Calif., caught 24 pounds, 1 ounce to surge into the lead in the co-angler division by more than 3 pounds.

Fishing behind Ken Phillips, Farage caught bedding bass around tules and docks. He had a solid bag of fish thanks to an early 8-pound kicker.

Farage is paired with Roy Jones on the second day of competition and is ready to roll with the punches that Mother Nature is predicted to throw.

“Tomorrow is going to be a different deal with the weather coming in,” he says. “I caught some reaction fish today, but the quality wasn’t there”.

He hopes to cover a lot of water tomorrow to work his way up to another solid bag.

 

Top 10 Co-anglers

1. Jack Farage – Discovery Bay, Calif. – 24-1 (5)

2. Michael Tauscher – Blackfoot, Idaho – 20-10 (5)

3 .Jake Stephens – Carmel, Calif. – 19-11 (5)

4. Sergio Arguello – North Hollywood, Calif. – 18-10 (5)

5. Nick Klein – Oroville, Calif. – 16-14 (5)

6.  Justin Bolen – Paradise, Calif. – 16-14 (5)

7. Stanley Beebe – San Luis Obispo, Calif. – 16-01 (5)

8. Blake Dyer – Tempe, Ariz. – 15-14 (5)

9. Raymond Tak – Los Angeles, Calif. – 15-07 (5)

10. Douglas Grant – Lancaster, Calif. – 15-04 (5)