Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Pro Mike McClelland looks to Bounce Back on Lake Havasu

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (May 7) — Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat pro Mike McClelland was one of the happiest anglers to get out of the California Delta and its tides.

After struggling at last weekend’s Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on the Sacramento River, McClelland will head to Lake Havasu, a place more suited to his skills.

“Havasu is going to be more my style of fishing,” McClelland said. “Havasu is a reservoir and it’s not tidal. There is not a lot of history from anglers who have spent time on Havasu, other than a few select guys. This is going to be more of an even playing field, and I’m definitely looking forward to Havasu.”

McClelland missed the Friday cut in California, but he didn’t get any extra time on Lake Havasu after leaving Sacramento.

“I stayed another day and got my stuff organized and ready,” McClelland said. “I dove in hard for Havasu.”

The western swing of tournaments came on back-to-back weekends, meaning no pro anglers got more than two days on the water in Arizona. Adjusting quickly to Havasu will play a big role in who does well this weekend.

“They cut our practice down for that event to two days,” McClelland said. “None of us get but two days of practice due to the back-to-back scheduling. It’s going to be one of those deals where you’ve got to put your head down and try to figure it out as the tournament goes along.

“Three days of practice is a big deal, and being cut down to two is going to take some serious time on the water.”

The Elite Series tournament begins Thursday with the full field fishing two days. The field will then be cut in approximately half for Saturday, with the top 12 fishing on Sunday.

McClelland is currently 26th in the Toyota Angler of the Year standings.

Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat pro Mike McClelland is excited about fishing on Lake Havasu this weekend, a place more suited to his skills.