MERL
NUNES AND BILL WENTWORTH TOP THE FIELD AT CLEARLAKE IN THE NORTHERN REGION
Sign-ups started at 4 PM at Clearlake Bait & Tackle
on Friday afternoon for the BBT’s fifth tournament location in the Northern
Region. We had several anglers come to check in and make purchases in the store
of $20 or more and placed their receipts into the BBT bucket hoping to take
home one of the sponsor prizes at the Awards Ceremony the following afternoon.
We were back in Clearlake Bait & Tackle at 3:30 AM
the following morning taking sign-ups again. As teams came in and left to
launch their boats, and the start of the tournament was rapidly approaching as
the morning light was making an appearance, Don Frailey had come in and signed
his entry form then asked what the first boat number was drawn. Don was told
that we were just getting ready to draw so we asked Don to draw the number. He
drew boat number 26 as the first boat out. He was disappointed as he had boat
number 17 and was then in the last flight to check in. He said he was done
fishing as he was always in the last flight to weigh in.
Once the boats were out fishing, the paperwork and the
payout was completed, everything was set up for the event to commence long
before the boats were due in.
Throughout the morning the temperature was rising,
making fishing tough for many teams. We had several teams blank and leave early
as it was hot but the catching was not.
Merl Nunes from Vacaville and his partner Bill Wentworth
from Dixon came to the scales with a limit weighing 23.06 pounds. Their largest
bass weighed 4.91 pounds, not enough to place in the Big Fish winnings however
it weighed enough to give this team First Place! Merl and Bill told the crowd
they fished around Red Bud drop shotting swimbaits and dragging worms for their
bass. They took home $2,305.00 in winnings and two nice First Place trophies to
show their family and friends. Congratulations guys and it was great to see you
again Bill! Thank you for fishing the BBT as we missed seeing you at our events.
Second Place went to the team of Brian Richards from New
Castle and Bobby Burgess from El Dorado Hills who weighed in 22.79 pounds,
anchored by their kicker weighing 6.25 pounds caught by Brian and gave them
Fifth Big Fish at this event. They told the crowd they used Berkley worms
weighted and weightless worms in the south part of the lake and Rattlesnake
areas of the lake. They took home $1,355.00 in winnings. Nice teamwork guys!
Now getting back to Ron Rodgers from Willows and his
partner Don Frailey from Orland, Don was not happy in the early morning when he
drew boat number 26 to be the first boat out, which placed them in the last
flight, well this actually turned out to be a great advantage for this team.
They came to the scales with a limit weighing 22.09 pounds and took Third Place
and $820.00 in winnings! Their largest bass weighed 5.62 pounds, not enough to
place in the Big Fish money however helped them out with placing in the top
three! They fished top water frogs for their bass. Congratulations guys and we
will see you at the next BBT tournament!
Kenny Marthey from Oliverhurst and his partner Justin
Garner from Plumas Lake came to the scales with 21.36 pounds for their limit.
Their largest bass weighed 4.98 pounds, added to their weight, gave them Fourth
Place in this event. They took home $320.00 in winnings, not bad for a six hour
event on Clearlake when several teams had blanked today.
Rounding out the top five in the Big Boat Division,
Joseph Durling from Santa Rosa and Anthony Crivelli from Point Reyes Station
weighed in 20.46 pounds for Fifth Place. Their largest bass weighed 4.99
pounds, not enough to get any Big Fish money but helped with their weight to
give them $515.00 in winnings for Fifth Place and paying into the options.
Sweet!
GLENN
AND SHELLEY SARGENT TAKE FIRST PLACE IN THE SMALL BOAT DIVISION, GETTING THEM
CLOSER TO ANGLERS OF THEY YEAR
Glenn and Shelley Sargent from Janesville had a tough
day on Clearlake. They came to the weigh-in with two bass, their larger one
weighed 4.03 pounds and their total weight weighing 6.65 pounds. They fished
crank baits and jigs on docks and rocky areas of the lake. Even though fishing
was tough, they received the winning points for their division and are one
tournament away from possibly becoming Anglers of the Year!
Honorable mentions:
Big Fish winners were scattered throughout the field as
it was a very tough day for a lot of teams.
First Place Big Fish was caught by Jason Wigginton from
Yuba City. She weighed 7.38 pounds and placed Jason in the Lunker Club! Jason
and his partner Ryan Choplin from Olivehurst brought four bass to the scales
weighing 19.85 pounds for Seventh Place and $715.00 in winnings.
Second Place Big Fish was caught by Josh Kaneko from El
Dorado Hills that weighed 7.31 pounds. This team also had a tough day and only
landed three bass for a total weight of 13.55 pounds. They took home $305.00
for their big fish.
Third Place Big Fish was caught by Eric Stafford from El
Dorado Hills that weighed 6.85 pounds. Jon, Eric’s 10 year old son and bass
fishing partner helped land their four bass weighing 11.04 pounds. They took
home $185.00 in winnings for their largest bass. Nice teamwork guys!
Fourth Place Big Fish was caught by Tim Little from
Lakeport weighing 6.49 pounds. Tim and his partner Wes Stevener from Meadow
Vista weighed 20.14 pounds for their five bass, giving them Sixth Place in this
tournament and $465.00 in winnings.
We would like to
thank the anglers who made cash donations to the Todd Iwamoto Memorial Fund. The
money collected in the tackle boxes throughout the 2014 BBT season will be
given to Michelle, Todd's wife and their two children, their 9 year old son and
5 year old daughter after the TOC.
As the Awards Ceremony began, Emerald Premium Snacks –
Sea Salt and Pepper Cashews and Roasted Almonds were tossed to the anglers to
enjoy while waiting to hear the results from the day of fishing.
Boat numbers 19, 50 then 49 was drawn and Ryan Choplin
was present to win the Wear It California Campaign and walked away with the
Life Jacket.
Jon Stafford was present to win the Sponsor Tackle Bag
containing Yakima Baits, Timber Tiger, Poe’s Ace in the Hole, Berkley Havoc and
Berkley Power Baits when his name was drawn from the BBT bucket with his tackle
store receipt.
If you win money at
the tournament and leave before the Awards Ceremony, you will receive you
winnings at the next tournament you fish or you can meet up with your director
to receive you money. Winnings will not be mailed to you.
Sponsor Tackle Store
Receipts Program - If you purchase tackle valued at $20.00 OR MORE from our
Sponsor Tackle Stores, listed below or go Online to make purchases through the
Optimum Baits or ima websites, you will receive a discount from being a member
of the BBT. Keep your receipt and write your name and phone number on the back
of it then place it into the bucket, which is at every tournament check-in. You
will have opportunities to win prizes during the Awards Ceremony after each
weigh-in. Remember, you MUST be present to win. At the close of the Awards
Ceremony, all receipts drawn are placed back into the bucket for more changes
to have them drawn at future events in addition at the TOC. If you are not
present and your name is called, you forfeit your prize and it is donated to
the TOC.
Remember to support the sponsors who are supporting you in bass
fishing whenever you can. A list of our sponsors is below and is also on the
Sponsors page of the Best Bass Tournaments website www.bestbasstournaments.com
Thank you for coming out and supporting Best Bass Tournaments. As always, it
was great to see familiar faces and meet new anglers who will be fishing the
BBT this season! We appreciate each one of you.
Our final tournament
for this season in the Northern Region will be held on Lake Oroville, launching
out of BIDWELL CANYON on August 9TH. Make a note of the change as we cannot
launch from the Spillway as it has been closed. We will be doing sign-ups in
our room at Best Value Inn & Suites from 4 PM to 6PM so look for the orange
BBT cones outside our room to sign up on Friday if you are up there at
Oroville. We will begin the early morning check-in at 3:30 AM in the BBT
trailer at BIDWELL CANYON in the upper parking area by the bathrooms.
The Bass Fest will
be held on August 24th and 25th at Russo's Marina. Sponsors will be there on
Saturday to show off their products and talk to the anglers. Sunday they will
also be there to talk to after the tournament is over. There is a 3 fish limit
for the team and it is also a six hour tournament. The entry fee for this event
is $50.00 for the team. Look for more details to follow on the website
www.bestbasstournaments.com and also on The Bass Fest website,
www.thebassfest.com Early entries will
be taken up to August 1st for special prizes only for that group of anglers who
sign up early. If you are a sponsor or wish to set up a booth for your
business, the cost is $180.00 and a flat of bottled waters for the anglers.
Contact Grant at The Bass Fest website above.
The Tournament of
Champions will be launching out of Russo's Marina. More information on the TOC
will follow after the BBT season is completed. If you want to fish the Delta
prior to the TOC, we have one more tournament in the Delta Wine Region,
launching out of Russo’s Marina on August 16th. Sign-ups for that
tournament will be on Saturday morning in the Russo’s office. (We will not be
doing sign-ups on Friday afternoon for this tournament.)
We would like to
thank Jimmy and Jan Ghiorso for having Best Bass Tournaments sign-ups take
place in Clearlake Bait & Tackle this season and for your hospitality. We
appreciate everything you have done for us and the BBT anglers.
I would like to
thank my BBT Assistants for making this tournament run smoothly. You all did a
great job checking boats and helping anglers who needed your assistance: JD Mc
Millian, Kevin Ryan, Patrick Mateo, Zane Wiley and Clint Winger.
If every angler
would ask one friend to join and fish the BBT, you will have additional anglers
to compete against and have more opportunities to win larger paybacks. Let your
friends know that they will also be eligible to win prizes in addition to
saving money on fishing tackle when making purchases through our Sponsor Tackle
Stores.
Best Bass
Tournaments would like to personally thank the sponsors who are supporting us
and the anglers alike: Emerald Premium Snacks, Berkley, Cal West Concrete
Cutting, Abu Garcia, Lowrance, Republic Electric, The Fishing Instructor, Cousins
Rods, Yakima Baits, Technology Integrators, Hildebrandt, Poe's Plugs, Timber
Tiger, Cousins Rods, Ima, Optimum Baits, Continental Tires, Out of Bounds Speed
& Marine, Wear It California, AGS Apparel, Port of Subs, America's Best
Value Inn & Suites - Oroville, Clearlake Cottages, Applebee's - Oroville,
Central Valley Sportsmen's Boat & RV Show
Best Bass Tournaments
Sponsor Tackle Stores: Mel Cotton's Sporting Goods/ San Jose; Walton's Pond/
San Leandro; Guns, Fishing & Other Stuff/ Dixon; Coyote Bait & Tackle/
Coyote, CA; Clearlake Bait & Tackle/ Clearlake; Clearlake Outdoors/
Lakeport; Tracy Oasis Marina/ Tracy, CA
If you or your
company would like to be a sponsor of Best Bass Tournaments, please contact
Randy Pringle at www.bestbasstournaments.com or call 209-543-6260.
Thank you for
fishing Best Bass Tournaments,
Randy and Sheri
Pringle