Todd Kline of San Clemente, Calif., brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces to win the Toyota Series event at Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. He earned the top prize of $29,392.
Over the three days of competition Kline weighed in 15 bass totaling 60-14 to win by a 3 1/2-pound margin over local angler Mike Williams of Lake Havasu City, who weighed a three-day total of 57-06 to finish second and earn $11,614.
Kline entered the final day with a near 7-pound lead over Williams in second place, but with a largemouth-based primary pattern that seemed to be dissipating by the hour. After nearly three hours of fishing with just one strike that he didn’t connect with, Kline stowed the heavy casting gear, broke out a 7-foot, 6-inch Okuma Dead Eye Pro Series rod and Helios reel spooled with 5-pound-test line and went to work with a 1/4-ounce Coolbaits Lure Co. The Down Under Underspin, with green-pumpkin and shad-colored swimbait trailers.
“I ran at least 10 spots and put in the time on my primary pattern, but it just wasn’t happening,” Kline said. “At the time I was thinking to myself ‘Man, you have a good lead, but you can’t go in [to weigh-in] with nothing and end up finishing 10th’. I was planning in the back of my mind to make that change, but by around 9:30, 10 o’clock, it was obvious that it was time to make a move.”
Kline continued to plink away with the underspin, gradually building a 15-plus-pound bag and maintaining his composure when he lost at least one more giant while his co-angler (and eventual winner) Todd Woods piled up 14-06 on four fish fishing behind Kline.
“I had maybe eight keepers on the underspin by the end of the day and lost a couple of really big ones – I’m not going to lie, I was worried that I might’ve left the door open with those two big misses,” Kline admitted. “You don’t have any other choice but to stay focused. I’m a religious guy, so I know the outcome was already determined and that I was just along for the ride, but it was pretty stressful.”
Kline’s stress spiked during weigh-in, as first-time Toyota Series pro Jason Marquez brought 24-06 to the scale and Williams held serve with 19-01 – “I always small-eye my fish, I didn’t think I had enough,” Kline admitted.
“I’ve been in second place going into the final day and came in second to one of the Williams brothers. I didn’t want to squander this opportunity. To have that trophy now is pretty cool. I have four on the home mantle with FLW as a co-angler and now this one as a pro with MLF, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Here's how the Top 10 finiushed:
1st: Todd Kline, San Clemente, Calif., 15 bass, 60-14, $29,392
2nd: Mike Williams, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 15 bass, 57-06, $11,614
3rd: Jason Marquez, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 14 bass, 56-05, $8,218
4th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 15 bass, 55-02, $6,848
5th: Chris Kinley, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 15 bass, 52-07, $6,163
6th: Kyle Grover, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., 15 bass, 51-09, $5,478
7th: David Valdivia, Riverside, Calif., 15 bass, 50-12, $4,794
8th: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, 15 bass, 49-00, $4,109
9th: Justin Kerr, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 14 bass, 45-10, $3,424
10th: Mark Williams, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 12 bass, 44-00, $2,739
Nick Salvucci of Atascadero, Calif., won the $500 Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Thursday with a bass weighing 5-12. On Friday, Kline earned the award after bringing a 7-02 largemouth to the scale.
For complete final results, click here.
