OAKLEY, Calif. (Aug. 21, 2020) – Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour angler Ish Monroe of Oakdale, California, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 21 pounds even to win the three-day Toyota Series at the California Delta tournament in Oakley, California. Monroe’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 65-13 earned him the win by a 16-pound, 7-ounce margin – the third-largest margin of victory in Toyota Series history – over second-place angler Beau Joudrey of Oakley, California, and earned Monroe the top payout of $23,420 in the second tournament of the 2020 Toyota Series Western Division.
“The first day, we had a slack tide in my best area, so I started on a different spot just because the tide was running,” said Monroe, who earned his third career FLW victory on the California Delta. “There was some current there, and I started punching and caught them right away. I had over 20 pounds in the first hour.”
Monroe fished a Missile Baits D Bomb in the PB&J color on a 5/0 or 6/0 River2Sea Ish Monroe New Jack Flippin hook and had two different weight sizes depending on where he was punching.
He punched with his signature series 8-foot heavy Daiwa Tatula Elite Series rod that he paired with an 8.1:1 Daiwa Tatula Elite Pitch/Flip reel spooled with 70-pound-test Daiwa Samurai braided line.
After sacking 21 pounds, 4 ounces on the first day, Monroe found himself in third place, and when the second day rolled around, he went right back to where he started the first day.
“Obviously, if you catch 20 pounds somewhere so fast, you’ll go back and check it out,” Monroe said. “I went to that same stretch and caught one good one and a few decent ones to get me started. From there, I went to the area I wanted to fish the first day and started throwing a frog.”
Monroe is known for his prowess with a frog, and he proved why again on the California Delta with some key fish, including a 7-pounder on the second day.
“I got to my spot and missed a giant,” Monroe said. “About 30 feet further down the stretch, I caught that 7-pounder. I already had a 4- and 6-pounder boxed, and that’s how I got that bag.”
His frog this week was yet another product that bears his name, the River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Mat Daddy Frog in the yellow head color. He fished it on his signature series 7-foot, 4-inch heavy Daiwa Tatula Elite rod with a 7.1:1 Daiwa Tatula Elite reel spooled with 55-pound-test Daiwa Samurai braided line.
Going into the final day, Monroe had a lead of 7 pounds, but on a fishery with plenty of 10-pounders swimming around, he knew he would have to catch them again to secure the win.
“I started the day in the same general area I’d been fishing all week,” said Monroe, who revealed he was in what locals refer to as the “Middle Delta” area. “I didn’t fish the same exact areas, but I was close by all three days.”
On the final day, he started fast and quickly caught a limit punching in water that was between 1 and 6 feet, the critical depth he targeted all week.
“Right off the bat, I had a limit,” he said. “After that, I ran to my frog area and never got bit. I made another little move and caught one about 4 pounds punching and then caught one over 8 pounds and that did it.”
The top 10 pros on the California Delta finished:
1st: Ish Monroe of Oakdale, Calif.., 15 bass, 65-13, $23,420
2nd: Beau Joudrey of Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 49-6, $9,075
3rd: Mark Lassagne of Dixon, Calif., 15 bass, 46-14, $7,026
4th: Michael Caruso of Peoria, Ariz., 15 bass, 45-2, $5,855
5th: Bryant Smith of Roseville, Calif., 15 bass, 44-14, $5,269
6th: Ken Mah of Elk Grove, Calif., 14 bass, 44-7, $4,747
7th: Jon Strelic of El Cajon, Calif., 15 bass, 43-2, $4,298
8th: Logan Huntze of Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 42-0, $3,513
9th: Joe Uribe Jr. of Surprise, Ariz., 15 bass, 41-14, $2,927
10th: Tai Au of Glendale, Ariz., 15 bass, 39-15, $2,342
A complete list of results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Ryan Diatte of Gilroy, California, took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Michael Walsh of El Cajon, California, won the Co-angler Division Friday with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 36 pounds, 7 ounces. Walsh took home the top prize package of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.
The top 10 co-anglers on the California Delta finished:
1st: Michael Walsh of El Cajon, Calif., 14 bass, 36-7, Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat w/115-hp outboard
2nd: Rick Grover of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., 15 bass, 34-12, $3,063
3rd: Colby Huntze of Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 34-7, $2,451
4th: Rachel Uribe of Long Beach, Calif., 15 bass, 33-2, $2,144
5th: Casey Dunn of North Highlands, Calif., 15 bass, 32-12, $1,838
6th: Dominick Mohameds of Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 31-11, $1,532
7th: Rommel Bagay of Concord, Calif., 15 bass, 31-8, $1,225
8th: Jacob Traba of Pacifica, Calif., 15 bass, 30-5, $1,114
9th: Troy Diatte of Salinas, Calif., 15 bass, 30-1, $919
10th: Keith Hurney of Oakley, Calif., 14 bass, 28-12, $808
The Toyota Series at the California Delta was hosted by the City of Oakley. It was the second of three regular-season tournaments in 2020 for Western Division anglers. The next events for Toyota Series anglers will take place on Sept. 2-4 – the Toyota Series at Fort Gibson Lake in Wagoner, Oklahoma, and the Toyota Series at Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden, Alabama. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.
The Toyota Series consists of eight divisions – Central, Eastern, Northern, Plains, Southeastern, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. Anglers who fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 cash, including a $35,000 FLW PHOENIX Bonus for qualified anglers. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2020 Toyota Series Championship will be held Dec. 3-5 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky, and is hosted by the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission and the Burnside Tourism Commission.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).