| John Mackey’s massive 13.56-pound day-two limit launches him past the competition at Lake Mead 
JOHN MACKEY won this
past weekend’s WON BASS Lake Mead Pro/Am thanks to a massive 13.56-pound
bag of fish on the second day of the tournament. His total two-day
weight of 22.89 pounds was not only enough to best the field of 32
boats, but also earn him a check for over six grand!
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Two years ago he won a boat in the WON BASS Western Classic at Lake Mead. This past Saturday, Sept. 22, he found himself in the middle of the pack in the WON BASS Lake Mead Pro/Am. On Sunday, however, Pro John Mackey stood holding another first-place trophy for a victory in yet another tournament at what is arguably one of his best lakes.
TAKING
FIRST PLACE in the Pro Division at the WON BASS Lake Mead Pro/Am was
John Mackey, right. Fishing with Mackey on day two was first-place AAA
angler Geoff Peterson.
On Saturday, along with his AAA, Daniel Mayoral, Mackey had 9.33 pounds to his credit; a respectable bag for Mead, but a far cry from the 12.36 pounds weighed in by Mike Folkestad and AAA Gabriel Romero. In fact, it was even quite the distance from Pro Kevin Stewart and John D. Helm’s 11.84 pounds, Derek Yamamoto and Carl Limbrick, Jr’s 11.43 pounds, Justin Kerr and AAA Tami Cutis’s 11.09 pounds, and the 11.08-pound limit weighed by Pro Klayton Belden and his co, Tom DiGiulio. In short, Mackey was certainly in contention, but by no means a “contender,” if you will.
“Ten pounds a day will get you in the money at Mead,” is the general rule, however, and Mackey and his AAA, Geoff Peterson, shattered that daily average on Sunday when they brought a whopping 13.56-pound limit (including the second best Pro big fish of 4.13 pounds) to the scales; bringing Mackey’s two-day total to 22.89 pounds.
Another quality bag of 11.69 pounds for Ernie Stumpf and AAA Scott Dipman was good enough to bump Stumpf up the leaderboard to second place overall with 21.42 pounds. Rick Mason’s 10.06-pound day-two bag helped a bit, but proved to be only good enough for ninth place. And the final double-digit bag of the second, and final, day was Jeff Klicka’s 10.03 pounds, which landed him in 15th overall. The bigger day-one weights did indeed prove to withstand the numerous 8- and 9-pound limits of day two, as Klayton Belden managed a third-place finish for 20.65 pounds, Derek Yamamoto took fourth with 20.63 pounds overall, and Justin Kerr rounded out the top five with a total of 20.52 pounds.
The biggest bass of the tournament was Folkestad’s day-one 4.97-pound largemouth; worth $800, a pair of Costa sunglasses, a Global Fish Mounts mount of the catch and, of course, the Costa Big Fish Trophy.
On the AAA side, first thru fifth were as follows: Geoff Peterson, 23.18 pounds; Scott Dipman, 21.91 pounds; Tami Curtis, 19.04 pounds; Carl Limbrick, Jr., 18.89 pounds; and Daniel Mayoral, 18.60 pounds.
Day two of the WON BASS Mead Pro/Am off to a good start. 
ANOTHER GLORIOUS
MORNING greeted anglers on the second, and final, day of the WON BASS
Lake Mead Pro/Am. The first flight of boats is due back in the marina
and at the scales at 2 p.m., and today’s weigh-in should make for an
exciting finish LAS VEGAS, Nev. — It was another gorgeous morning greeting anglers on the second, and final, day of the WON BASS Lake Mead Pro/Am, as the grease calm conditions and light winds that seem to have prevailed for the past week or so were again present for this morning’s launch and blast off.
Anglers headed out of the Callville Bay Marina in two flights around 6 a.m. and most boats headed north, while only a handful ventured southward towards the Vegas Wash.
Everyone’s still on the water putting their respective bags together, but the first flight of boats is due back in the marina and at the scales at 2 p.m.
Stay tuned…
End of Day 1
The first day of the WON BASS Lake Mead Pro/Am went off without a hitch, and anglers scored quality bags of fish, in addition to more than a few solid large and smallmouth bass.
IN SECOND PLACE AFTER DAY ONE was the team of Kevin Stewart, right, and his AAA John D. Helm. Their 5 fish tipped the scale at 11.84 pounds.
There were a number of familiar faces fishing the event, and, not surprisingly, those anglers also happened to land atop the leaderboard.
Nine-plus-pound bags were abundant, however, the first double-digit limit of the day belonged to the team of Pro Derek Yamamoto and his AAA, Carl Limbrick, Jr. Their bag tipped the scale at 11.43 pounds.
Pro Kevin Stewart and his co-angler, John D. Helm, managed a solid 11.84-pound bag, topped by a 3.64-pound big fish; the second biggest bass of the day.
The biggest bass, and bag, however, belonged to none other than Mike Folkestad and AAA Gabriel Romero. Folkestad had a solid 4.97-pound largemouth to take big-fish honors for the day and amchor he and Romero’s 5-fish, 12.36-pound bag.
BIG BASS OF DAY ONE went to Mike Folkestad and this 4.97-pound largemouth. He and his AAA Gabriel Romero also landed in first place for the day with 5 fish weighing 12.36 pounds.
In fourth place were Justin Kerr and AAA Tami Curtis with 11.09 pounds, and Pro Klayton Belden and Tom DiGiulio bagged an impressive limit of all smallmouth weighing 11.08 pounds and good for fifth. Included in their bag was a gorgeous 3.38-pound smallie caught by Belden.
Also in the top 10 were Chris Bozarth (who finished fifth in the recent U.S. Open) and Dick Watson (who took third in the Open), so expect tomorrow’s competition to be something fierce.
Blast-off is right around 6 a.m., so keep your browser pointed here for updated conditions and photos.
Friday Update 9-28-2012
WON BASS Lake Mead Pro/Am
LAS VEGAS, Nev. —
Drawing a 32-boat field after hosting almost back-to-back tournaments on the
same body of water is arguably an impressive feat; but nonetheless an
accomplishment WON BASS achieved this weekend at the Lake Mead Pro/Am. Two
weeks after the U.S. Open, and exactly one week following the Tournament of
Champions (TOC), WON BASSers again found themselves chomping at the bit to take
on Mead’s large and smallmouth bass.
THE LAKE MEAD PRO/AM kicked
off in idyllic conditions, with flat clam conditions and air temps in the
mid-70s greeting the 32-boat field.
As was the case last weekend for the
TOC, conditions have thus far been idyllic. This morning’s launch took place in
flat calm conditions with air temps hovering in the mid-70s.
Today’s weigh-in begins at 2 p.m., and
there will certainly be more than a few familiar faces arriving at the scales.
Talent the likes of Chris Bozarth, Billy Skinner, Moses Mokuahi, Justin Kerr,
Mike Folkestad and many more should ensure an exciting weigh-in, as there are a
number of past Mead champions competing in this weekend’s Pro/Am.
We will have the day-one results posted
shortly after the scales close around 3 p.m.
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