WIND HAS JOINED THE BBT ONCE AGAIN -
HELPING THOMAS VUE AND THOMAS VANG
WIN AT CLEARLAKE IN THE DELTA WINE REGION
Check-In began at 4 PM at Clearlake Outdoors in Lakeport, CA on Friday afternoon. Windy conditions were present again on Friday and there was talk again that it was to “die down” on Saturday with only a slight breeze forecasted once again. We were thinking this time perhaps, the weather reports were going to be in our favor and the wind would be behind us. Many anglers showed up to make purchases during the time they were in Clearlake Outdoors and enter into the tournament. There was a lot of talk about how cold Friday morning was, temperatures in the 40’s however it was to “climb up into the 50’s on Saturday morning and no chance of wind are predicted”. A few minutes after 6 PM we “closed up shop” and drove over to Konocti Vista Hotel to get settled in for the night.
Saturday morning we were back at Clearlake Outdoors until 5:30 AM taking sign-ups again. Then we left to go to the launch site at Konocti Vista to take any last minute anglers. The morning started out cold, close to 50 degrees perhaps but it felt cooler than that! The good news was at that time of morning there was no wind! We just had a feeling that for some odd reason the wind had become a member of the BBT and would make an unannounced appearance but we were hopeful once again that the news media’s predictions were correct. As the morning progressed, the breeze picked up but nothing like we have had to deal with in the past tournaments – so we thought! As the time approached 2 PM, wind became an unwelcomed guest and the gusts were back.
The wind did not hinder Thomas Vue of Elk Grove and Thomas Vang of Sacramento. They managed to weigh in a nice limit with their kicker at 6.50 pounds, which turned out to be the Third Big Fish of the tournament. They were pleased to announce they started out their morning using Blade Runner Spinner baits, drop shotted and used weightless worms fishing points in the south end of the lake for their bass. They mentioned they “lost a couple of big fish in the morning” but were able to make a comeback before having to weigh in and managed to bring the winning weight of 23.73 pounds to the scales! They took home $1065.00 in winnings for their efforts. They did not understand how the $10, $20 and $30 options work so they didn’t want to get into them, which is understandable however after talking to us, they can appreciate how they had the opportunity to win more money if they had paid into those options too. They were extremely happy with how the day of fishing played out for them and were anxious to take home their First Place trophies to show their families and friends. Congratulations guys with your win on Clearlake!
Coming to the scales with 22.86 pounds for their limit of bass and taking Second Place, was the team of Moises Martinez and Frank Castillo, both from San Jose. Their largest bass weighed 5.12 pounds, not enough weight for any big fish money at this event however they were pleased to tell everyone they had a blast fishing Clearlake. They told the crowd they fished the north end of the lake “Junk Fishing” using crank baits, frogs and weightless worms for their limit. They took home $785.00 for their efforts. Congratulations guys for your day of catching bass on Clearlake and we will see you at the next tournament.
The father and son team, Jesse L and Jesse M Roach from San Pablo fished the south end of the lake using weightless worms, jigs and grubs down three feet to fifteen feet, fished docks and bed fish for their limit. Their largest bass weighed 7.27 pounds caught by Jesse L Roach and their total weight was 22.18 pounds for Third Place. They took home $1640.00 in cash – not a bad day dealing with the wind that Mother Nature felt the need to blow upon us!
Dan Sweat from Pleasant Hill and his partner Jeff Asturias from Livermore, our BBT inaugural season Anglers of the Year in the Northern Region came to the scales with 22.10 pounds for their limit and their largest bass weighed 5.30 pounds. They took home $1005.00 for finishing in Fourth Place for their day of fishing Clearlake. Nice!!
Fifth Place went to the Central Region Anglers of the Year in 2012 team of Joe Alanis from Fresno and Ricardo Hernandez from Madera who wanted to add Clearlake to their list of tournaments fished in 2013! They weighed in 21.72 pounds which was anchored by their largest bass weighing 7.23 pounds, caught by Joe giving him First Place Big Fish and the Big Fish trophy. They took home $1255.00 for paying into all the options, Big Fish, $10, $20 and $30. Great Job guys and thank you for driving the distance to fish Clearlake with the BBT!
NEW ANGLER TO THE BBT, DEAN MCMILLIAN
TAKES THE WIN IN THE SMALL BOAT DIVISION
Dean Mcmillian joined the BBT to fish the Clearlake tournament out of Lakeport, CA in the Small Boat Division by himself as his partner had to work. Dean came to the scales with 16.38 pounds for his limit of five bass. He mentioned he had “lost a five pounder towards the end” of his day before he had to be at the scales for the weigh-in. He told everyone he bed fished the south end of the lake using long casts to get his worms and lizards in the strike zone. He was pleased to walk away with his First Place Small Boat Division trophies for his efforts and a pair of Eye Surrender sunglasses. Congratulations and welcome to the Best Bass Tournaments!
Second Place Big Fish was caught by John Kalafatich that weighed 6.63 pounds giving him and his partner Rob Hodges $320.00. They weighed in 20.20 pounds for their limit. Congratulations and Happy Birthday to John – what a special birthday gift to help you celebrate your Special Day!
Fourth Place Big Fish was caught by the team of Mike Angel and Evan Attaway giving them $615.00 for their efforts and Sixth Place. Congratulations guys for your day of fishing Clearlake!
Fifth Big Fish was caught by Vijay Malhotra from Sacramento and his partner Fidel Campos from Elk Grove that weighed 6.16 pounds, giving them $65.00 and their total limit weighed 19.20, which also tied the team of Dustin Keen from Fair Oaks and his partner Deguchi from Rancho Cordova for Twentieth Place, giving them the 20/20 Eye Surrender Sunglasses Award. Dustin and Troy were present to receive their sunglasses however the two remaining pair will be donated to the TOC as Vijay and Fidel were not present to receive them or their winnings, which they will get their cash as the next tournament they fish.
Troy and Dave from Clearlake Outdoors donated a $50.00 Gift Certificate from the store. A Sponsor Tackle Store receipt was drawn for this prize. Mike Henry happened to be there and was honored to receive it!
Irwin- Lenox Mystery Weight drawn was 13.13 pounds. The team closest without going over was the Ruiz brothers, Fred and Emilio from Patterson who were present to receive these great tools.
Wear It California campaign had Boat numbers 27, 3 Small then 50 was drawn and Jesse L Roach was pleased to accept this nice life vest. With the two drowning at Clearlake recently, remember how important life vests are and how wearing one can save your life or the people you love so remember to buckle one on when in your vessel or on your child when they are playing in and around water.
Sponsor Tackle Bag – Kevin Ryan (receipt) and Boat # 39 – Darren Vieira and his partner Andrew Stanz were present to receive their Sponsor Tackle Gift Bags containing Optimum Swim Baits, Berkley Power Baits and Berkley Havoc’s, Timber Tiger and Poe’s crankbaits.
Alabama A-Rig – Boat #4, Boat #6 not present however boat # 26 – Joe Alanis and Richardo Hernandez were present to receive this nice gift.
Congratulations to all the winners of this tournament and thank you to all the anglers who stayed for the Awards Ceremony to support your fellow anglers.
If you are not present when your boat number is drawn or your name is called, you forfeit your prize and it is donated to the TOC as you MUST be there to win prizes. 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.
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 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. 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 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.
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. 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. 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, Abu Garcia, Lowrance, The Fishing Instructor, Yakima Baits, Technology Integrators, Hildebrandt, Poe’s Plugs, Timber Tiger, Ima, Optimum Baits, KLGD Graphics, Hooked on Adventures, Continental Tires, Irwin – Lenox and Helly Hansen, Eye Surrender Sunglasses, Out of Bounds Speed & Marine, AGS Apparel, Port of Subs, Oroville’s Best Value Inn & Suites, 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 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, C & C Marine/ Modesto and Sacramento, Jim’s Pro Tackle/ Paso Robles, Bait Barn/ Waterford
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.
We would like to thank our Northern Regions Staff - JD Mc Millian, Rich Reeser and Kevin Ryan and Kenny Cramer for a great job helping the anglers in the morning, at the weigh-in, Awards Ceremony and placing all the BBT merchandise back into the trailer once the Awards Ceremony was completed. You all are an asset to the BBT and our tournaments could not run efficiently without each and every one of you!
We will be launching out of Russo’s Marina for our next event on June 15th. If you boat over from another launch site, we will have BBT staff on the dock for you to get your boat compartments checked AFTER you check in on Saturday morning. If you check in on Friday afternoon from 4PM to 6 PM at Russo’s Marina, you will receive your boat number and you will not need to come back up into the office to check in on Saturday – just have your boat number present to show our BBT staff. All your boat compartments, not just your live wells must be opened.
Also, June 15th is the first day of 2013 for 6 hour tournaments, Department of Fish and Wildlife Regulations to keep more bass alive in the hottest part of the year. These dates are the same every year- begins on June 15th and ends on September 15th. All tournaments taking place during this time frame must follow these regulations. With this in mind, weigh in times for the first flight at every BBT tournament will start at 12:00 PM, NOT 3 PM as we have had in these past few months. This will not affect the TOC as it takes place in October.
We look forward to seeing you at our next event!
Thank you,
Randy and Sheri Pringle