CINCO DE MAYO WAS A DAY OF CELEBRATION
FOR JARED BIDDLE AND MIKE RYCHARD AT CLEARLAKE  

Check in for the Northern Region Clearlake tournament was held at Clearlake Outdoors on Friday afternoon. Many anglers who were already up at Clearlake pre-fishing came into the store to sign up and to hear the shop talk of what baits were recommended for the following day’s event. Wind was the major topic discussed as winds on Friday were howling and predictions indicated Saturday’s forecast was to include strong winds again.   Saturday when we left Konocti Vista to go back to Clearlake Outdoors for the check in from 4 to 5:30 AM, we were welcomed by no wind! Anglers came into the store and made final purchases as they enjoyed doughnuts that Dave purchased for our anglers as they drank their coffee during the check in. As we arrived back to the launch ramp at Konocti Vista, there was no wind! Mother Nature was cooperating for our tournament! What a relief to the anglers and us alike! While the anglers were out fishing, we were able to set up all our pop-ups, banners and equipment. Even though there was some wind on the lake, it was nothing like the forecast had predicted. Many anglers said the amount of wind was an added bonus to catching their limits.   As anglers came to the scales, bags of bass ranged in weights as low as 1.21 pounds, to the winning weight of the tournament, 26.19 pounds. Jared Biddle of Cotati and his partner Mike Rychard of Anderson had a nice limit anchored by their largest bass of 6.98 pounds, the second place big fish of the tournament. They told the crowd they saw most of the lake as they fished in many, many areas which included the main part of the lake, where they had most of their success around the pointed tulles with rock banks. The techniques that worked for them were flippin’; whacky style Berkley Havoc worms, Berkely Pit Boss and “Monster Shad” colored worms. For their efforts, they took home $2310.00. Congratulations guys! Now the question is, did they stop for Mexican food on their drive home to celebrate their win at Clearlake on the 5th of May?!   Second Place went to one of our teams from Oroville, Shane Robertson and Matt Hunt who had a nice limit weighing 21.76 pounds. They fished weightless worms in the south end of Clearlake for their win. They did not weigh in a large bass as their bag contained “cookie cutter” bass, all nearly the same size, giving them a consistent weigh. They took home $1190.00 for their efforts. Sweet!   Jose Juarez from Kelseyville and his partner Chad Jividen from Fair Oaks also had a “cookie cutter” size limit of bass. They also didn’t have a kicker as they were all very close in weight. The weight of their bag was 21.74 pounds. They said they fished the north end of the lake, “real slow” for their limit and took home $740.00 in winnings.   The father/ son team of John and Travis Bounds came in Fourth Place with their limit weighing 21.68 pounds. Their largest bass weighed in at 4.82 pounds. For their efforts, they took home $540.00 for their day on the water. Nice teamwork guys! Out of Bounds, owned by John Bounds is one of the sponsors of the Best Bass Tournaments. His company covers many aspects of boating needs, motor repair and detailing. Please check out Out of Bounds link on our website for all your boating needs.   Kevin Cornwell from Sacramento and Aaron Brit from Yuba City came to the scales with the Third Place Big Fish, weighing 6.23 pounds, added to their bag she gave them 21.51 pounds overall to take Fifth Place and $560.00 in cash. Congratulations guys!   Honorable mentions:   First Place Big Fish was caught by Tom Richards from Hughson and weighed 7.84 pounds, giving him the beautiful trophy and $505.00. Their five bass weighed 19.37 pounds.   Fourth Big Fish was caught by Randy Walker that weighed 5.75 pounds and gave the team $110.00 in winnings. Their total weight was 17.77 pounds. Fifth Place Big Fish was caught by the team of Jordan Pinasco and Jordan Simunich giving them $195.00 in winnings for the weight of 5.66 pounds for that one bass. Their limit weighed 19.89 pounds.  

TROY AND BASCAL DAVENPORT PROVE FISHING FROM A SMALLER BOAT WAS NO DISADVANTAVGE ON THE LAKE  

The father and son team of Troy and Bascal Davenport, who fish in a smaller boat with less horsepower than most of the anglers were proud to have caught a limit weighing 17.35 pounds caught a Clearlake. Their largest bass weighed 4.03 pounds, not enough to give them winning however they enjoy spending time on the water to fishing together. Bascal told the crowd they drop shotted weightless worms in pumpkin and watermelon colors in very shallow water near tulles in the north and south end of the lake for their limit. He told everyone they had “no bite feelings so they needed to watch their lines for the strikes and the wind added the fun!” For their efforts, they took home a variety of items from our Tackle Store Sponsors Gift bag. Nice teamwork guys!   Twentieth Place was the team of Troy Deguchi and Casey Dunn and they each walked away with a pair of Eye Surrender Sunglasses, a sponsor of Best Bass Tournaments. They were present to accept their nice prize and had their “Kodak Moment” with their sunglasses.   Thirtieth Place went to the husband and wife team of Kevin and Lisa Moore who drive out from Nevada to fish our tournaments. They own Port of Subs, two locations in Nevada and are a sponsor of the BBT staff. They won a $25.00 Gift Certificate for being present to win their prize.   Throughout the weigh-in and during the Awards Ceremony many anglers enjoyed drinking 51-Fifty Energy Drinks and snacked on Emerald Nuts, two of our fine sponsors supporting Best Bass Tournaments! Compliments were heard from the anglers who were pleased to receive the refreshments while sitting on the bleachers as other anglers were awarded their prizes! One angler who just missed catching his bag of Emerald Nuts, was not happy when he was so close but just a bit too far away to catch them and was thankful when Randy tossed him a bag, which he then caught and enjoyed snacking on!   Boat Number 35 was drawn for the Wacky Award however they had left before the awards ceremony so their prize will be donated to the TOC in October.   Boat number 3 Small was drawn and the team of Barry Johnson and Ried Bridges were present to accept their Boomerang tool awarded to them.   Boat number 18 was drawn for the Irwin – Lenox Tools Award AND Wear It Campagn as they stuck around during the Awards Ceremony and were pleased their boat number was drawn twice for both of these nice sponsor prizes!   Sponsor Tackle Store receipts were drawn by two different anglers during the Awards Ceremony and two of Kevin Ryan’s receipts were drawn from the bucket. Kevin was present to win both the Cull Often Award and a Sponsor Tackle Store Gift Bag.The Cull Often Award contained Optimum Baits Swim Bait Package that included Top Of The Line, Baby Line Through, Double Diamonds, Diamond Heads and AA Swim Tails. The Sponsor Gift Bag contained several items from our Sponsor Tackle Stores.   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 Dave from Clearlake Outdoors for allowing us to hold the BBT check in at his store and purchasing doughnuts for our anglers to enjoy in the early morning hours during the check in. That was extremely thoughtful and enjoyed by all! I would like to thank my staff for a job well done at this tournament JD Mc Millian, Patrick Mateo, Zane Wiley, Rich Reeser and Kevin Ryan. You all are an asset to the BBT and we could not run efficiently without each and every one of you!

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,  Boomerang Fishing Tools, 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 Northern Region is at Lake Oroville on June 2nd – launching out of the Spillway. We will be holding our check in from 4 PM to 6 PM on Friday evening inside the BBT trailer in the parking lot of Oroville’s Best Value Inn & Suites from 4 PM to 6 PM for anyone who wishes to sign up the night before. Check in on Saturday morning will be held at the Spillway in the BBT trailer starting at 4 AM. We look forward to seeing you there. If you need to make reservations, Oroville’s Best Value Inn & Suites is offering discounted rates to our BBT anglers so just mention you are fishing our event when you make your reservations. Location: 580 Oro Dam Blvd. Oroville, CA 95965 Reservations: 530-533-7070 You can visit their website by clicking on their link below – or copy and paste the link to your browser for all the information. http://www.americasbestvalueinn.com/bestv.cfm?idp=481  

Thank you, Randy and Sheri Pringle