SPORTS

ORTING ANGLER WINS $15,309 IN FLW WEST

By: Rhonda Madison July 1, 2009

Pro angler Ron Hobbs Jr. of Orting finished out the FLW West Series Pro finals held in the Columbia River at Umatilla (Ore.) Marina, 8-10, 44-9, winning $15,309 in 6th place.

On the second day of competition he was hanging on to the lead with a catch of three bass weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces for a two-day catch of eight bass weighing 25-10.

"I wish I hadn't stumbled that hard," Hobbs, who has won more than $108,000 in FLW Outdoors events, said in an FLW news release. "I wish I could have caught a limit. I got five bites today. I saw a ton of fish and a ton of big ones. There's plenty of fish in the area. Things could have gone the other way and I could have had 17 pounds," Hobbs added. "It was a matter of two bites. If I would have set the hook two more times and hooked up, you would have seen another 15 pounds at least."

Hobbs said he made a 75-mile one-way run and fished with a drop-shot rig in 3 to 5 feet of clear water with a Sniper Lures Snub, which is a 4 1/2-inch soft plastic bait.

Just 85 boats were in the water for the competition compared to 123 last year and 173 in 2007. Fewer entries means smaller paydays: In 2007, the tournament paid through 63rd place, and paid $8,571 through 50th.

Last year, the tourney paid $6,569 through 43rd. This year, the top 28 received prize money, starting at $8,863. The winner's check took a big hit, dropping from $100,000 to $80,576.

You can see Hobb's stats and photo at

http://flw.flwoutdoors.com/community/profile/home.cfm?uid=34659