(Feb. 23, 2013 - ROOSEVELT, AZ.)... John Fuqua of Oxnard, Calif., weighed in three bass totaling 9 pounds, 1 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Western Division event presented by Evinrude on Roosevelt Lake with a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 3 ounces. For his victory, Fuqua earned $27,912.
"This is surreal," said Fuqua, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. "I’ve won some good team tournaments and some weekend events, but this is the biggest win of my career."
Fuqua won by targeting areas that held both rocks and brush, located adjacent to lake channels. He fished shallow the first day, from 3 to 10 feet. As the snow began to clear, Fuqua moved deeper and fished depths of 8 to 18 feet.
"I found some bigger fish in practice," Fuqua said. "I decided that I was going to fish for big fish. I knew that if I could get the big bites I would win. I never expected to win with only 10 fish, though.
"I spent the last two days of the tournament cranking, non-stop," Fuqua continued. "A fire tiger-colored Norman Lures DD22 crankbait produced the most for me. I think the bright color was important in the dingy water. Eight of the 10 fish that I weighed in came on the crankbait. I also weighed in two bass on a custom brown and green-colored jig trailered with a Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw.
"The key for me this week was not giving up," Fuqua went on to say. "My arm is so sore from the constant casting. I knew that I was on the winning pattern, and if I could just get the right bites I would win."
The top 10 pros on Roosevelt Lake were:
| 1st: | John Fuqua, Oxnard | Calif. | 10 bass | 31-3 | $27,912 |
| 2nd: | Josh Bertrand | Gilbert, Ariz. | 13 bass | 25-13 | $10,467 |
| 3rd: | Ri Nay | Tucson, Ariz. | 15 bass | 24-10 | $6,978 |
| 4th: | Jeff Michels | Lakehead, Calif. | , 13 bass | 24-7, | $6,280 |
| 5th: | Tai Au, Gilbert | Ariz. | 15 bass | 22-12 | $5,582 |
| 6th: | Steve Foutch | Apache Junction, Ariz. | 13 bass | 22-11 | $4,885 |
| 7th: | Russ Barger | Boise, Idaho | 15 bass | 22-0 | $4,187 |
| 8th: | Joseph Caporuscio | Coto de Caza, Calif. | six bass | 19-0 | $3,489 |
| 9th: | Levi Armstrong | Payson, Ariz. | six bass | 18-14 | $2,791 |
| 10th: | Robert Lee | Angels Camp, Calif. | 11 bass | 17-7 | $2,093 |
Caporuscio caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro division Thursday - a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass - that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $186.
Todd Kline of San Clemente, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z117 with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Roosevelt Lake were:
| 1st: | Todd Kline | San Clemente, Calif. | 15 bass | 25-15 | Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower outboard |
| 2nd: | Jeff Grant | La Mirada, Calif. | 12 bass | 20-10 | $3,775 |
| 3rd: | David Avina | Sun City, Calif. | 12 bass | 20-4 | $3,020 |
| 4th: | Daniel Leue | Colusa, Calif. | nine bass | 19-6 | $2,642 |
| 5th: | Joseph Letsinger | Sacramento, Calif. | 13 bass | 19-4 | $2,265 |
| 6th: | Chris Trumball | Oakley, Calif. | eight bass | 18-4 | $1,887 |
| 7th: | Tony Zanotelli | Redding, Calif. | 11 bass | 18-0 | $1,510 |
| 8th: | Scott Bern | San Rafael, Calif. | 11 bass | 17-7 | $1,132 |
| 9th: | John Stewart Jr. | Glendale, Ariz. | eight bass | 15-10 | $755 |
| 10th: | Michael Smith | Temecula, Calif. | six bass | 11-10 | $604 |
Avina caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday - a bass weighing 6-pounds even to win the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $124.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions - Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title, which allows them to fish the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup.
The next EverStart Series Westerm Division tournament will be May 16-18 at the California Delta in Bethel Island, Calif., and is hosted by Hook, Line & Sinker Pro Shop.
For complete details and updated information visit the FLWOutdoors website. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter/FLWOutdoors.
ABOUT FLWFLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy - the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the "Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water." For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.
