OSU duo gets second bass-tourney win

The two Zachs, MacDonald and Martinez, combined for a win Saturday for the Oregon State University Bass Team at the FLW College Fishing Western Conference Championship tournament at Lake Havasu, Ariz.

MacDonald, of Willits, Calif., and Martinez of Linden, Calif., caught a limit of five bass weighing a total of 12 pounds, 9 ounces to top Chas Brannon and Michael Woods of California State University Chico, who caught a five-bass limit weighing 11-15.

The win earned $2,000 for the Oregon State team, while Brannon and Woods got $1,000 for the Chico State team.

It was the second FLW tournament win for the Beavers duo of MacDonald, a junior majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife, and Martinez, a junior majoring in Agricultural Business Management. The pair took first at a May 2014 tournament on the California Delta.

Saturday's win took away some of the angst caused by two discouraging days of practice fishing on Havasu.

"We were feeling really down after our practice on the lake," Martinez is quoted as saying in the press release announcing their win. "We didn't catch a keeper fish in two days.

"But Zach (MacDonald) is a really, really good angler, and we work well together. We made some adjustments today and were able to put together a pretty good day."

MacDonald added: "We definitely feed off of each other. We communicate well, throwing different baits and try to learn and expand on each other's pattern."

The University of Oregon Bass Club team of Ryan Habenicht, a junior business major from Auburn, Calif., and Riley Russen, a freshman from Redding, Calif., finished sixth in their first FLW tournament, weighing three bass tipping the scales at 7-1.

The top 15 teams from each regular-season tournament qualify for one of five Conference Championship tournaments. The top 10 teams from each of the five Conference Championship tournaments advance to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

The next event for Western Conference collegiate anglers is May 9 at the California Delta in Bethel Island, Calif.

FLW stands for Forrest L. Wood, the founder/president of Ranger Bass Boats.