Some of the best bass anglers in the country will descend on Lake Shasta this week as the Costa FLW Western Series presented by Minn-Kota begins Thursday 2-18. This 3-day event which will draw up to 150 boats and 300 anglers is the first of 3 Western Series events to be held in California. The other events will be in the big bass factories of Clear Lake in April and on the California Delta in May.

Bridge Bay will be the host of the morning take-off and the afternoon weigh-ins all of which will be open to the public. The pro anglers will be all vying for the top prize of $40,000 and will also win a Ranger 2518C boat coupled with either a 200hp Mercury or Evinrude outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met by the winner. Each pro angler will be joined by a co-angler who will be chasing a $5,000 top prize and the potential of also winning a 2175 Ranger with either a 90hp Evinrude or Mercury outboard. Again the winner must meet Ranger Cup guidelines to qualify for the boat and engine prize.

Anglers can be expected to catch a lot of bass with most targeting the lakes prolific spotted bass population. Expect the larger spots to be taken with swimbaits and those using Alabama rigs,although numbers often come from drop shots, soft jigs and other soft bait presentations. A local angler is reported as taking an 8 pound plus spot recently on a drop shot, so finesse techniques often equated with “numbers fishing” also has the potential of kicking out large Shasta spots.

On Saturday the pros will also be joined on the lake by teams of College Bass clubs fishing in the FLW College Fishing Series. These teams will fish on Saturday taking off at Bridge Bay at 7:15am and weighing in at 1:30pm. Both take off and weigh-in are open to the public.

The pros will take of at 7:00am each morning from Bridge Bay and the sight of 150 high powered boats roaring off into the distance is a sight to see. The weigh-ins also open to the public will be held at 3:00 pm on Thursday and Friday, with the final weigh-in on Saturday at 3:30p. The final weigh-in with the drama of the prestige, cash and potential of a new Ranger boat in the balance being awarded to the winner is a great in-person experience.

Good luck to all the participants.