Taking second place and collecting $36,000 was 21-year-old FLW Tour rookie Michael Bennett of Roseville, Calif. He caught three bass Saturday – weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce – and finished with a final weight of 24 pounds, 4 ounces.
“I was hoping that, if I was going to lose, it was going to be by a lot,” Bennett said about his first experience in the FLW finals. “It took me about an hour to catch my first fish, but I caught every fish I had a shot at.”
Bennett managed to catch two bedding bass, but also used some West Coast savvy to combat the wind and land his third fish.
“I caught one on a swimbait,” he said.