JOHN GARRETT AND TONY VAUGHN LAND THE WINNING LIMIT ON THE DELTA
 
Friday before the BBT Delta tournament, sign-ups began at 4 PM at Russo’s Marina for the anglers who were there for the convenient check in. There were several teams who took advantage of this to allow more time on Saturday morning to get a little more sleep or have breakfast before getting their boat checked by the staff and into their staging position before the start of “blast off”. With the weather being a little unstable, we had wind with scattered showers and even some hail in the afternoon on Friday. Rain was not predicted for Saturday however at 3:10 AM, as we were driving to back up to Russo’s and the rain was falling. You just never know what Mother Nature will throw at you! As we began the Saturday morning sign-ups, the rain dissipated and the few we stars we saw were a welcomed sight! Even thought there was some dampness in the air and some wind blowing, the morning turned out to be more pleasant than we had anticipated. The weigh-in began at 3 PM under the patio covering at Russo’s Marina picnic area. Many anglers caught limits while only a few teams blanked. The First Place team walked up to the scales with their bags containing the winning weight of 27.94 pounds! John Garrett from Elk Grove and his partner Tony Vaughn from Sacramento were all smiles when their five bass were weighed in. Their kicker weighed 9.58 pounds, the Fifth Big Fish of the tournament. They told everyone that they struggled in the morning and had about 20 fish all day long. They culled at 1:30 and picked up two pounds in Dead End Slough. Their bass were caught on 10” Berkley Robo worms in the Junebug color, near islands in current down 8 to 12 feet. They also had tried black & blue chatter baits and crank baits but found they had more success with the 10” Berkley Robo worm. They took home $3175 for their battle with the Delta. Congratulations guys! Second Place went to the team of Jared Frantzich of Sacramento and James Matsuoka from Roseville who had the Fourth Place Big Fish of this event, weighing in at 9.80 pounds. Her weighed anchored the other four bass in their bags gave them a total weight of 27.21 pounds. They used the dead stick technique fishing weightless worms in the west and central Delta for their limit. They took home $940 for their time on the water. Nice team work guys! Tom Fereria and his partner Ed Ortman, both from Brentwood fished in Franks Tract and Mildred Island areas for their nice limit of bass. They said they used Berkley Robo worms to catch their bass on. Their weight was 24.34 pounds and even though they didn’t have any huge bass, their bag had a few close in weight. They took home $1485 for Third Place, as they had paid in all the options. The team of Claudio Silva of Riverbank and his partner Juan Velazquez of Turlock took the Fourth Place win. They had a nice 7.05 pound bass which anchored their limit giving them 23.57 pounds for the day. They took home $945 in winnings for their efforts. Sweet! Fifth Place was the team of Randy Walker and Erik Hornbaker both from Roseville who had a consistent bag of bass. Their weight was 23.40 pounds and for their time on the water, they took home $330. The First Place Big Fish of this tournament was caught by Steve Wilson of Rhonert Park that weighed a whopping 12.01 pounds – and the crowd went wild when this bass was lifted out of the weigh-in tub! Steve and his partner CT Beach landed a nice limit weighing 21.59 pounds giving them $1005 in winnings for both the Big Fish of the tournament and Ninth Place. Steve too home the nice trophy for his big fish to show friends and family! The Second Place Big Fish was caught by Eric Anson of Orangevale. His partner Scott Norton of Rancho Cordova helped net this beauty! This bass weighed 11.98 pounds and made a nice payday of $455 for this team. Their total weighed was 15.15 pounds and tied with the team of Robert Juarez and Steve Perez with the same total weight. The Third Place Big Fish went to the team of Matt Latino from Stockton and his partner Nick Welton from Galt. Their big bass weighed 9.92 pounds and their total weight came to 23.32 pounds, giving this team a total of $895 in winnings for Sixth Place and the big fish money!

THE WOOD FAMILY, CHUCK AND AARON TAKE THE WIN FOR THE
SMALL BOAT DIVISON
 
Chuck and Aaron Wood from Fairfield not only took First Place in the Small Boat Division but also 19th Place overall, which gave them $90 for their win! Their largest bass was 6.09 pounds caught by Chuck with Aaron being their net man added to their bag they had a total weight of 18.63 pounds for their limit. This team had left before the Awards Ceremony so where they fished, the techniques used to land their bass and how they fished is unknown. Congratulations guys! Your trophies and winnings will be handed to you at the next tournament you fish. I would like to thank all the dads who are taking their sons or daughters out fishing at the BBT tournaments. Not only is it fun and rewarding, it creates memories that will stay with your child throughout his/ her lifetime. Thank you for sharing your sport of bass fishing with them! 51-Fifty Energy Drinks were available for the anglers and Emerald Premium Snacks for the packages of Breakfast on the Go and Emerald Nuts that were tossed to the crowd before and during the Awards Ceremony and were enjoyed by all who had them. Thank you to our two sponsors who donated the 51- Fifty Energy Drinks and Emerald Premium Snacks packages to the Best Bass Tournaments anglers! We appreciate what you are doing for the BBT and our anglers alike. To receive the Irwin- Lenox Tools Award, a weight of 11.54 was drawn so the team with the weight of that drawn or less, without going over for this win went to the team of John and Travis Bounds, a father and son team from Roseville. Their winning weight was 11.34 pounds. When John Bounds came up to accept this award, he told Randy and the crowd he wanted to donate this prize to the TOC. What a generous offer to another team who will win this prize at our TOC in October! Wear It Campaign – boat number 32 was drawn however they were not present so another number was drawn. Boat number 56, the team of Bill Vernon and Jason Hopper received this live vest valued at $130. Boat number 36 was drawn for the Wacky Award and Claudio Silva was present to win this sponsor gift bag containing Sinister Wacky Worms, M & B Tool and Who-Be-Do Jigs. A receipt was drawn for the Cull Often Award and Kevin Ryan was present to win the Optimum Baits Swim Bait Package that included Top Of The Line, Baby Line Through, Double Diamonds, Diamond Heads and AA Swim Tails. This team was not present to receive this nice sponsor bag so it will be donated to the TOC. Just to let you know, Kevin Ryan has made several purchases of $20 from our Sponsor Tackle Stores and has placed them in our BBT bucket so he has won several prizes for doing so. Sponsor Tackle Store Receipts Program – If you purchase tackle valued at $20 or more from our Sponsor Tackle Stores or go online to make purchases through the Bait Barn website, Optimum Baits and ima websites, you will receive a discount for being a member of the BBT. Keep your receipt and write your name and phone number on the back of it then place it in the bucket, which is at every tournament check-in. You will have opportunities to win prizes during the Awards Ceremony after each weigh-in. You MUST be present to win. At the close of the Awards Ceremony, all receipts drawn are placed back into the bucket for more chances 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. If you happen to win money during a tournament and you leave before receiving it, you will have to meet up with your tournament director as winnings are not sent through 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 is also located on the Sponsors page of the Best Bass Tournaments website www.bestbasstournaments.com  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. 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. I would like to thank the Russo’s, Lisa and their staff for doing an outstanding job for our anglers. I know they enjoyed the ride up the hill in the golf carts after fishing all day to release their bass in the tube. Chuck and Lisa, thank you for opening the office early for our Saturday morning sign-ups. As always, it is a pleasure to work with you and your staff. I would like to thank my staff for a job well done at this tournament JD Mc Millian, Jon DeVries, Matt Moreau, Kevin Ryan, Rich Reeser, Peter Kaprielian and Steve Morh. You made this tournament run like a well oiled machine! 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, Irwin – Lenox and Helly Hansen, Eye Surrender Sunglasses, Out of Bounds, Gowans Printing, AGS Apparel, Sinister Wacky Worms, M & B Wacky Tool, Who-Be-Do Jigs, Port of Subs, Fish Hound, 51- Fifty Energy Drinks,  Adelaide Inn, 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.   Our next tournament in the Delta/ Wine Region is at Clearlake – launching out of Red Bud on May 12th. We will be holding our check in from 4 PM to 6 PM on Friday evening in the garage at Clearlake Bait & Tackle for anyone who wishes to sign up the night before or again on Saturday morning from 4 AM. We look forward to seeing you there.   Thank you, Randy and Sheri Pringle