JUSTIN GARNER AND KENNY MARTHEY

TAKE FIRST PLACE WITH 26.49 POUNDS ON CLEARLAKE IN THE BIG BOAT DIVISION

Sign-ups began at 4 PM on Friday afternoon in Clearlake Bait & Tackle. Several anglers signed up and received their boat numbers then were gone in a flash to eat dinner and relax before the early morning hours of the tournament were to be upon us. We were back at Clearlake Bait & Tackle at 3:30 AM and ready to start the morning taking the remaining anglers who arrived at "0 - dark - 30". Roger Tarin signed up and asked if the boat number for the first boat out was drawn, so with that being said, Roger was asked to draw that number and the answer was "boat number 15". Clearlake offered more bass having better weights than the previous week when the Northern Region was at the same location. Justin Garner from Plumas Lake and Kenny Marthey from Olivehurst did just that, they came to the scales with their limit that weighed 26.49 pounds and bumped the previous team that had held that position for about 30 minutes and took First Place. They had five nice bass with their largest one weighing 6.52 pounds. They fished the arm of Rattle Snake using chatter baits for their bass. They took home $2,245.00 in winnings and First Place trophies to show their family and friends. Congratulations guys!

Second Place went to the team of Travis Tate from Oakley and Matt Leverich from Brentwood fished black frogs in the north end of Clearlake to land their 24.28 pounds limit. They brought the Fourth Place Big Fish, caught by Matt weighing 7.17 pounds. They took home $1,390.00 in winnings and Second Place trophies. Nice team work guys!

Roger Tarin from Redwood Valley and his partner Kevin Ward from Fair Oaks came to the scales with a weight of 24.24 pounds anchored by their largest bass weighing 7.77 pounds, the Second Place Big Fish of the tournament, caught by Kevin in 3rd place. They fished Rattle Snake using dartheads and worms for their limit. They took home $1,105.00 in winnings. Sweet! Now go play your numbers "777"!!

Fourth Place went to the team of Nick Nourot and his partner Ryan Bottini, both from Benicia. They came to the scales with five bass all nearly the same size. They didn't weigh in a big fish but had a nice limit weighing 23.68 pounds. They took home $570.00 in winnings.

James Wardell from Los Gatos and John Fernandez from San Jose rounded out the top five with 23.23 pounds for their five bass. John caught the Fifth Big Fish of the tournament that weighed 5.93 pounds. They took home $450.00 in winnings. Not bad for a six hour tournament!

 Anthony Teitsworth from Fair Oaks and his partner Steve Budelli from Folsom

took

First Place in the Small Boat Division

with 7.14 pounds. They weighed in three bass with their largest bass weighing 2.82 pounds. They fished the south half of the lake and Kelseyville flippin' rodents and silver jerk baits for their bass.  

Honorable mentions: Jason Wigginton from Yuba City caught the lunker of the tournament weighing 8.43 pounds. Jason and his partner Jacob Jimerson from Sutter were not alone, they had a tough day and brought only three bass to the scales with their fish weighing 19.04 pounds. Jason took home the nice First Place Big Fish trophies and this team took home $660.00 in winnings for First Big Fish and 12th Place.

The Third Place Big Fish was caught by Mike Chen from Stockton weighing 7.71 pounds. He took home $185.00 in winnings. They weighed in 18.07 pounds for their bass. Nice team work to Mike and his partner Timothy Liu from Fremont.

We would like to thank the anglers who made donations to the Todd Iwamoto Memorial Fund. All the money collected in the tackle boxes will be given to Michelle, Todd's wife and two children, their 9 year old son and 5 year old daughter after the TOC.

Emerald Nuts snack size bags were tossed to the crowd, and many anglers enjoyed two new flavors at this tournament, Sweet & Salty Mixed Nut Blend and Cinnamon Roast Almonds.

Boat numbers 26, 3, then 14 were drawn and Troy Deguchi was present to take home the life jacket donated by the Wear It California Life Jacket Campaign. He doesn't have to share it as his partner Dustin Keen was sick at home so Troy fished this tournament without his "right hand man".  

Sponsor Gift Bag containing Yakima Baits, Timber Tiger, Poe's Ace in the Hole, Berkley Havoc and Berkley Power Baits was given to Marcus Sanders as he was present when his name was called from his Sponsor Tackle Store receipt that was pulled out of the box during the Awards Ceremony.

If you win money at the tournament and leave before the Awards Ceremony, you will receive you winnings at the next tournament you fish or you can meet up with your director to receive you money. Winnings will not be mailed to you.

Sponsor Tackle Store Receipts Program - If you purchase tackle valued at $20.00 OR MORE from our Sponsor Tackle Stores, listed below or go Online to make purchases through the Optimum Baits or ima websites, you will receive a discount from being a member of the BBT. Keep your receipt and write your name and phone number on the back of it then place it into 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 changes 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 on the Sponsors page of the Best Bass Tournaments website www.bestbasstournaments.com

Thank you for coming out and supporting Best Bass Tournaments. As always, 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.

Our final tournament for this season in the Delta Wine Region will be held on the Delta, launching out of Russo's Marina on August 16th. We will begin the early morning check-in at 3:30 AM in the Russo's office. We will not check in on Friday night, due to lack of anglers showing up on Friday's when we are on the Delta. We will see everyone on Saturday morning.

The Bass Fest will be held on August 24th and 25th at Russo's Marina. Sponsors will be there on Saturday to show off their products and talk to the anglers. Sunday they will also be there to talk to after the tournament is over. There is a 3 fish limit for the team and it is also a six hour tournament. Look for more details to follow on the website www.bestbasstournaments.com and also on The Bass Fest website, www.thebassfest.com Early entries will be taken up to August 1st for special prizes only for that group of anglers who sign up early.

The Tournament of Champions will be launching out of Russo's Marina. More details will follow once the BBT season is over.

I would like to thank my BBT Assistants for making this tournament a success. You all did a great job checking boats, helping anglers who needed your assistance, during the weigh-in: JD Mc Millian, Kevin Ryan, Peter Kaprielian, Kenny and Kody Cramer.

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, Cal West Concrete Cutting, Abu Garcia, Lowrance, Republic Electric, The Fishing Instructor, Cousins Rods, Yakima Baits, Technology Integrators, Hildebrandt, Poe's Plugs, Timber Tiger, Ima, Optimum Baits, Continental Tires, Out of Bounds Speed & Marine, Wear It California, AGS Apparel, Port of Subs, America's Best Value Inn & Suites - Oroville, 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's 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

If you or your company would like to be a sponsor of Best Bass Tournaments, please contact Randy Pringle at www.bestbasstournaments.com or call 209-543-6260.

Thank you for fishing Best Bass Tournaments,

Randy and Sheri Pringle