Mark Courts leading with 19.70 pounds takes an "emotional" lead

The field of 50 Championship Qualifiers hit the waters of Saginaw Bay this morning under clear skies and a gentle breeze, hoping to find the right fish to bring to the scales this afternoon.

The consensus of most of the fishermen was that there is no shortage of fish in the Bay right now, but it's hard to find any big fish. "There are very small pods holding bigger fish, and the angler that manages to set down on top of one of those pods is going to be the winner", said Pro Bill Oritz.

Well, it appears that is exactly what happened to Mark Courts, of Harris, MN today.  He brought in the largest basket of 4 fish weighing in at 19.70 pounds, almost 5 pounds over the second place angler, Mark Christianson of Walker, MN, who weighed in 4 fish for 15.13 today.

The third place spot belongs to Dave Van Oss of Appleton, WI, who brought 14.95 pounds to the scales, while Minneapolis, MN Pro Karyl Walcher brought in 14.18 pounds.

Rounding out the top 5 is Bobby Crow of Paterson, WA who with a nice basket weighing in at 13.97 pounds is only 5.73 pounds behind the leader; a gap that can be closed if he can get one of those "lucky bites" tomorrow.

It was clearly an emotional day for Mark Courts, who after learning he had taken over the number one spot said, "This is great, this is where I asked my wife to marry me. He couldn't finish his sentence, and wiped away a tear.

It"s been a hard spring for Mark and his wife, Nicki, who recently experienced two freak fires that destroyed their house and barn respectively.

A great start to this event is evidence that Mark is the type of guy who always stays positive and never gives up, even when life is testing him.  His cheerful demeanor and attitude is something that helps keep him focused on the job at hand, and today that focus proved to be successful.

49 of the 50 anglers brought in a 4 fish limit today, only ounces separate most of the field. Tomorrow morning the field of anglers will go out and try one more time to find the "right fish", but are expected to be greeted with the following weather conditions:

Saturday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms.

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Breezy, with a

west northwest wind between 13 and 22 mph, with

gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Waves: 2-4 feet

The PWT, along with the city of Saginaw/Bay City, have set up a small sport show arena under a couple of ?big tents? for everyone?s enjoyment. There are manufacturer reps here to talk to about products of all kinds, and several local boat dealers have brought in some of their stock for the public to look over too.

A "Beer Tent" is also here, set up with live entertainment, so come on down and share in some of the good times being had by all!

Tomorrow, the field of 50 anglers will be cut down to the top 25 after the weigh in is complete. Only the top 25 anglers will fish on Sunday, and only ONE angler will be crowned the  "2008 PWT Champion"!

Join us again tomorrow, at http://www.liveleaderboard.com , for more coverage of the Mercury PWT Championship!