Mother Lode Region - Don Pedro - Apr 21, 2012
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Tournament Director
Scott Lops
2947 W Buena Vista Ave
Visalia, CA 93291
(559) 378-2807
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scottlops@gmail.com
Watch Director's Video
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The third tournament of the Mother Lode Region, of the Best Bass Tournament Circuit was held at Don Pedro Lake on Saturday, April 21, 2012. It is hard to believe that the tournament circuit for the Mother Lode Region is half over. Where is the time going? Three tournaments down and three more to go. The first half of the Circuit has been great, but it seems that the best half is yet to come. This being the first year of the Best Bass Tournament Circuit means that every tournament is a new adventure for the anglers, sponsors and us. As our tournaments grow we have the opportunity to work with our loyal anglers and meet new anglers and sponsors every month. The last three tournaments for the Mother Lode Region should prove to be pretty exciting. Our next three tournaments are to be held at Don Pedro Lake in May, than McClure in June and our final one at the Delta in July. This schedule should give each and every one of our anglers a run for their money and a chance to show off their fishing talents. Well, let’s get back to business, Don Pedro, Saturday, April 21, 2012, started with clear skies, warn weather and rumors that the fishing was going to be good. The weekend started with pre-signs held at the Bait Barn in Waterford from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Then we loaded up and headed for the lake. A quick stop at the ranger booth and then setup for the night was the order of events. It was great to see some of the anglers pre-fishing and stopping by to say that they were looking forward to Saturday being a day of good fishing and large limits. Getting up at 4:00 a.m. always seems to be a bit of a challenge, but we were up and ready for the first anglers arrival at 4:30 a.m. Kevin Cheek, the Region Director, is up and running at 3:30 a.m. because he wants everything to go smoothly and problem free. Sometimes we just wish that he would sleep a little bit longer. He is like a bear in the woods. Once he gets up you might as well get up too. One by one the boats came in for registration and before we knew it, it was time for blast off. Kevin grabbed the megaphone, clipboard, official time clock and headed down to the water. Safe light was called at 6:00 a.m. and the fun began. A special thank you goes to Tom Richards for drawing boat number 19 to be the first boat out. Kevin instructed the anglers on off limit areas and check in times. The anglers were also told that it was going to be a drive by weigh-in and to make sure that the fish are bagged and ready to be weighed when they pulled up to the scales. Because of the warm weather the bump tanks were filled with water for the safety of the fish. It was 6:06 a.m. when the last boat was sent out. Fifty five boats in all and our biggest tournament yet for the Mother Lode Region was on its way to making history. Pop-ups were opened and sponsor banners were hung up and displays were put out so that we would be ready for the first anglers to weigh-in at 3:00 p.m. At about 1:15 p.m. Kevin’s phone rang. It was one of the anglers. They had caught a large fish and were afraid of her condition. They didn’t want to keep the fish in the live well because they were afraid that she might die. They were asking Kevin for their options. Kevin told them that they could take their chances on her condition or they could come and weigh-in early, but that if they decided to weigh-in early their day was over, no more fishing. It was a hard decision to make but we feel that the team did the right thing and called their day early. Their fish were weighed-in and taken back out to the Lake. There was a lot of worry about fish dying at this tournament and rightly so. It turned out to be an unseasonably hot day. All in all the anglers brought in 250 fish and we had a loss of ten fish. We had a total weight of 638.30 pounds of fish. The Department of Fish and Game, Scott Moss was at the weigh-in from start to finish. Scott stated that we did a good job handling the fish and was impressed with the professionalism and concern for the fish that he saw with each of the anglers and staff. The scales were called closed at 4:33 p.m. While Kevin and his staff put the winnings in order, some of the other staff handed out Diamond Nuts and 51/50 energy drinks. Thanks to our sponsors for the handouts. With a weight of 28.24 pounds for five fish the team of Matt Frazier of Denair and Sam Sawyer of Turlock went away with first place. They were in all of the options and also had the 5th place big fish at 7.80 pounds. Their check for the day was a whopping $2,100.00. Matt and Sam said that they fished all over the lake using umbrella rigs. It was a harder catch then they had anticipated. Matt and Sam would like to thank Berserk Baits for their sponsorship. Way to go guys, keep up the good work. Second place went to the team of Greg Cox of LeGrange and Robert Travis of Ripon. They weighted-in five fish at 24.30 pounds and second place big fish at 12.65 pounds, and what a beauty she was. This team was in on all the options and took a check home in the amount of $1,470.00. Greg and Robert fished the East end of the lake and used soft plastic lures. You can’t ask for a better day than that, congratulations guys. The team of Mike Sanders and Matt Lindsey of Hughson came in at third place with their five fish weighing-in at 21.48 pounds. They had fourth place big fish at 8.17 pounds and were all in on the options. $845.00 was the amount of their winnings for the day. Mike and Matt fished up river and used drop shot and worms. Big fish first place went to the team of Trevor Gray and Mike Ploharz. This beautiful fish weighted-in at 12.95 pounds. They also took fifth place in the tournament and took home winnings in the amount of $865.00. My only question to them is, Did you kiss the fish before you released her? Great job to the two of you. The 20/20 Eye Surrender award went to boat #32. Sorry to say this boat went home and the sunglasses are now going to the T.O.C. The target weight for the Lenox award was 11.19 pounds. This award went to the team of Brian Sasaki and Dennis Papike with a weight of 11.07 pounds. The Wear-it-Campain award went to Robbie Stanford. Receipt draws were done for the Cull-Often award, Greg Cox and the Wacky award, Kyle DeKelve. Terry Wheley received the Snake Bite Rigs and John Gentry took home the tackle bag award. Beat the Lenox Boat Award went to the team of Tom and Mark Fishburn. The Lenox boat came in at 10.86 pounds. This was a great tournament and we can’t wait to see what will happen at our next Mother Lode Tournament to be held at Don Pedro Lake on Saturday, May 19, 2012. We hope to see all of you great anglers there. To all of the female anglers out there we wish each of you a wonderful Mother’s Day. You must be PRESENT to win any prizes during the Awards Ceremony at every BBT event you fish or your prizes will be forfeited and given out at the TOC. If you happen to win cash and are not present to receive it, you must meet up with your tournament director as money is not sent in the mail. Remember to support the sponsors who are supporting you in bass fishing whenever you can. A list of our sponsors is below and also located on the Sponsors page of the Best Bass Tournaments website. Thank you for coming out and supporting the Best Bass Tournaments. We appreciate each one of you and look forward to seeing you again at our next tournament. I would like to thank my staff for a job well done at this tournament, directing this event Kevin Cheek and my staff Ancilla, Chelby, Dave Orange, Brian Orange, Mario Ramirez, Shawn Hilbert, Mike Martinez and Duane Goudy. Best Bass Tournaments would like to personally thank the sponsors who are supporting us and the anglers alike: Emerald Premium Snacks, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Lowrance, Bait Barn, The Fishing Instructor, Yakima Baits, Technology Integrators, Hildebrandt, Poe’s Plugs, Timber Tiger, Ima, Optimum Baits, Hooked on Adventures, General Tires, Eye Surrender Sunglasses, Out of Bounds, Gowans Printing, AGS Apparel, Wear it-Campaign, Irwin-Lenox, Sinister Wacky Worms, M & B Wacky Tool, Adelaide Inn, Helly Hansen, 51 Fifty Energy Drinks, Oroville’s Best Value Inn & Suites, Central Valley Sportsmen’s Boat & RV Show. Best Bass Tournaments sponsor tackle stores: Bait Barn/ Waterford, Mel Cotton’s Sporting Goods/ San Jose, Walton Pond/ San Leandro, Escalon Bait & Tackle/ Escalon, Guns, Fishing & Other Stuff/ Dixon, Coyote Bait & Tackle/ Coyote, CA, Clear Lake Bait & Tackle/ Lakeport, C & C Marine/ Modesto and Sacramento, Jim’s Pro Tackle/ Paso Robles. If your company would like to be a sponsor of the Best Bass Tournaments, please contact Randy Pringle at www.bestbasstournaments.com or call 209-543-6260.
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Results:
Big Boat
| 1 | Matt Frazier | Sam Sawyer | 5 | 7.80 | 28.24 | $2,100.00 |
| 2 | Greg S Cox | Robert T Travis | 5 | 12.65 | 24.30 | $1,470.00 |
| 3 | Mike S Sanders | Matt Lindsey | 5 | 8.17 | 21.48 | $845.00 |
| 4 | Steve Black | Andy Logan | 5 | 7.49 | 20.86 | $535.00 |
| 5 | Trevor Gray | Mike Ploharz | 5 | 12.95 | 20.53 | $865.00 |
| 6 | David Homen | Scott Summers | 5 | 7.08 | 20.49 | $200.00 |
| 7 | Scott Burke | Garrett Maddex | 5 | 8.45 | 18.14 | $335.00 |
| 8 | Wade Chapman | Blake Chapman | 5 | 6.21 | 16.89 | $160.00 |
| 9 | John Gentry | Donald Buie | 5 | 6.83 | 15.71 | $185.00 |
| 10 | Will Cook | Terry Whaley | 5 | 4.57 | 15.61 | $135.00 |
| 11 | Dan Kerber | Stephanie Kerber | 5 | 0.00 | 15.03 | $120.00 |
| 12 | Terry Flowers | John Sherak | 5 | 0.00 | 14.53 | $0.00 |
| 13 | Gerry Johnson | Bryan Hamby | 5 | 0.00 | 14.33 | $0.00 |
| 14 | Tracy Patton | Ed Larsen | 5 | 0.00 | 14.16 | $0.00 |
| 15 | Robert Ryans | Terry M Matthews | 5 | 0.00 | 13.96 | $0.00 |
| 16 | Kyle Dekleva | Daniel Sexton | 5 | 4.08 | 13.91 | $0.00 |
| 17 | Harry Markarian | Joey A Verna Jr | 5 | 0.00 | 13.75 | $0.00 |
| 18 | Kip Kingsland | Lance Lemings | 5 | 0.00 | 13.44 | $0.00 |
| 19 | Vince Vella | Robert Becker | 5 | 0.00 | 13.42 | $0.00 |
| 20 | Aaron Walker | Robert Robertson | 5 | 0.00 | 13.41 | $0.00 |
| 21 | Rich A Hale | Jim P Henry | 5 | 4.96 | 12.81 | $0.00 |
| 22 | Jeffrey R Horn | Dave Sarginson | 5 | 0.00 | 12.29 | $0.00 |
| 23 | Michael L Armas | Sal Guzman | 5 | 0.00 | 12.07 | $0.00 |
| 24 | Mike Jackson | Steve Flower | 5 | 0.00 | 11.83 | $0.00 |
| 25 | Bruce Gowans | Ed Babb | 5 | 4.06 | 11.61 | $0.00 |
| 26 | A j Frank | Mike Frank | 5 | 0.00 | 11.23 | $0.00 |
| 27 | Brian Sasaki | Dennis E Papike | 5 | 0.00 | 11.07 | $0.00 |
| 28 | Mike Martinez | Duane C Goudy | 5 | 0.00 | 10.92 | $0.00 |
| 29 | Terry Odom | Dennis Wainwright | 5 | 0.00 | 10.86 | $0.00 |
| 30 | Matt R Silveira | Kenny Keys | 5 | 0.00 | 10.48 | $0.00 |
| 31 | Jared Harris | Bruce Harris | 5 | 0.00 | 10.47 | $0.00 |
| 32 | Zac Azevedo | Albert Azevedo | 5 | 0.00 | 10.35 | $0.00 |
| 33 | Eric Souza | Rodney Regert | 5 | 0.00 | 10.20 | $0.00 |
| 34 | Tom W Richards | John Walker | 5 | 0.00 | 9.97 | $0.00 |
| 35 | Mario Ramirez | Brian Orange | 5 | 0.00 | 9.90 | $0.00 |
| 36 | John Donnelly | Billy Dehart | 5 | 0.00 | 9.81 | $0.00 |
| 37 | David Cole | Ron Selk | 5 | 0.00 | 9.75 | $0.00 |
| 38 | Robbie Stanford | Raul V Barajas | 5 | 0.00 | 8.91 | $0.00 |
| 39 | Mike Gomez | Victor Gomez | 5 | 0.00 | 8.85 | $0.00 |
| 40 | Don Varney | Scott Skinner | 5 | 0.00 | 8.64 | $0.00 |
| 41 | Brian S Burton | David L Frates | 5 | 0.00 | 8.58 | $0.00 |
| 42 | Art Romero | Brandon Diamond | 5 | 0.00 | 8.57 | $0.00 |
| 43 | Adam Shasky | Don Bays | 5 | 0.00 | 8.48 | $0.00 |
| 44 | Jeremy W Hackett | Dale W Hackett | 5 | 0.00 | 8.30 | $0.00 |
| 45 | Bruce Able | Mike Callahan | 5 | 0.00 | 8.24 | $0.00 |
| 46 | Jonathan Myers | Moses Mix | 5 | 0.00 | 8.03 | $0.00 |
| 47 | Steve Riggs | Robert Mansor | 5 | 0.00 | 7.84 | $0.00 |
| 48 | Ron Rushing | Nevada Bretz | 5 | 0.00 | 7.75 | $0.00 |
| 49 | Mark Pollard | Gadelyn C Pollard | 5 | 0.00 | 7.61 | $0.00 |
| 50 | Michael J Beevers | Nick Beevers | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
| 50 | Casy Case | Carlin Doty | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
| 50 | Carey Edwards | Victoria Johnson | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
| 50 | Nick Barse | | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
| 50 | Kyle R Lemings | Troy A Ulrich | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
Small Boat
| 1 | Tom Fishburn | Mark Fishburn | 5 | 3.00 | 10.69 | $0.00 |
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