BBT Coastal Division Saturday/ January 28, 2012 Lake Nacimiento
Mark Selbach & Ron Nagel of Bakersfield took top honors
What an awesome day on Lake Nacimiento. Plenty of Sunshine, gentle breezes, and cordial stall made for very pleasant inaugural opening for Best Bass Tournaments’ (BBT), new coastal division. 28 total teams participated in the derby, with 24 teams catching 5 bass limits and culling out a lot of spotted bass in the 1.5 pound range.
Mark Selbach & Ron Nagel of Bakersfield took top honors with a 13.19 pound sack. Mark secured their limit with a gorgeous 5.15 spot, which he took in the Snake Arm of Nacimiento. Mark said they spent most of the day in Snake, and then finished out the day throwing jigs and plastics in several other creek arms. Mark and Ron were rewarded with a $1,455.00 payday for their hard work. But, judging by Mark’s smile at the weigh in I think he was rewarded with a pretty healthy dose of adrenaline as well.
11.83 pounds is a great bag for Nacimiento, and with a 3.47 kicker spot, Jason Mc Ley & Ty Mc Cutcheon of Bakersfield flipped and fished deep with stick baits and jigs to secure the second place spot. Jason & Ty said the River was what worked for them. I caught up with these two at a Paso Robles local burger joint. They really only had one regret for the day, which was not getting into all the options.
Robert Duncan & Clark Poulsen drove up from San Juan Bautista & San Martin to catch a limit of spots weighing in at 9.91 pounds. That was enough weight to receive the third place win and a little envelope stuffed with $225.00; however, their confidence is a little higher and “all in” might be in their future. They stayed on the main lake tossing wacky rigged stickbait type baits to secure their cash. Matthew Clark & Johnny Beasley had a 9.85 pound bag which netted them 4th place & $615.00. Lee Johnson fished without his partner Jarrad Johnson and hooked the 5th spot with 9.54, since Lee was in all the options he took home $460.00.
Local Paso Robles Residence Rudy Rowlett & Paul Gates didn’t let all the prize money leave town. They secured the 6th spot with a 9.37 pound sack and took home $185.00 dollars for their effort. Ryan Spillers fished solo and got the 4th big fish spot which gave him $55.00 for his 2.85 pound fish. Ryan said he caught at least 30 fish and was culling before 10a.m.
Jaimie Rawson and Jaime Gutierez take the Small Boat Win
The Big Boats may have more horsepower; but, there was plenty of enthusiasm with team members Jaimie Rawson & Jaime Gutierez. They caught their limit of fish throwing spider grubs and crank baits along chunk rocks and docks in the south end of the lake.
We blasted of under clear skies at safe light and the last boat was well on their way to their “go to” spot at 0658 hours. The drive by weigh-in went smooth with all fish being released alive.
The Monterey Parks staff were extremely friendly and welcomed us with hospitable service. Randy Korsgaard, Lake Nacimiento/ San Antonio Lake General Manager helped make this event a success. Eric Batrum, the owner of Batrum’s Marine Service was present at this event and told us he was impressed with the event and donated a lower unit service to one of our anglers. Thank you Eric! Jim’s pro Bass Shop in Paso Robles was designated the trophy sponsor due to their award donation of a “Comfort Troll” which was actually won by a team member who needed it.
The Eye Surrender 20/20 Award for Twentieth Place was given to Eric Yarbrough and Jared Dominici.
The Optimum Cull Often Award was given to team of Ryan Brown and Trevor Brazelton. They won Optimums Top Of The Line, Double Diamond, Baby Line Through, Double A swim baits and Diamond Heads.
Boat # 19 was drawn for the Wacky Award, Danny Conatser and Dan Dostal walked away with Sinister Wacky worms, M & B Wacky Tool and Who - Be - Do Jigs.
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 send 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, Jim Spillers, Johnny McNally, Brian Kennemer and Ray Huff.
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, Sinister Wacky Worms, M & B Wacky Tool, Who-Be-Do Jigs, 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 event will be on March 3, 2012 at the South Shore of Lake San Antonio. The bite should be phenomenal. You might want to think about spooling a little bigger line. Don’t forget to call ahead to get reservations at the lake and let them know you’re with BBT. Remember you can always save yourself some time by registering for events on the BBT website. See you all in March.
Terry Greenwaldt
BBT Coastal Division Director