NAPA, Calif. – On April 2nd, Lake Berryessa will be the site of the 3rd stop of the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) California Teams division.
With a nod from Bassmaster in their Best Bass Lakes of 2015 and the latest Top 20 Largemouth Bass Lakes of Wired2Fish, Berryessa has become a notable double-digit largemouth fishery.
After witnessing a 17-pounder reeled in by a bank basser, a few years back, it is one of the favorite big bass ponds of the West’s all-time leading money winner Gary Dobyns and he expects the lake to live up to its potential as the Wild West anglers compete this weekend.
“Back when I saw that big one caught, it was tough fishing at Berryessa; because, there was no grass,” recalled Dobyns. “Now, the lake has a ton of grass and the fish just thrive in it. There are going to be some gigantic blacks weighed in; but, there will definitely be some big, big smallies and spots caught too.”
Dobyns believes the anglers will be able to find some bed fish, but the majority of bass to be in a pre-spawn phase. “There is no doubt a few moved up to spawn, but unless it gets really warm, I don’t think it will be won on that,” he said. “There will be some big ones on the flats, caught with a swimbait; but I think it will be won with those fish sitting out there in that 5- to 10-ft range. It might be a little bit deeper.”
Swimbaits and Senkos are the baits that he anticipates will be a key factor. “The biggest fish will be caught on a swimbait – a Hudd or a glide bait,” remarked Dobyns.
His advice for a two-man team was to have one of the partners concentrating on the swimbait fish. “I don’t think one big bite will do it,” he said. “The winner is going to have a couple of giant bites and still a couple more good bites. I’d have one guy standing on a swimbait all day and the other guy throwing around a nail-weighted Senko or a jig, which will also catch some big ones.”
He estimated that five or six bass over 10-lbs will be brought in. “It will take a lot of weight to win,” he said. “The lake has so many big ones that I feel it will take over 30; but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was a lot more. Berryessa is the best fishery in the northern part of the state. There are some big ones at the Delta and Clear Lake; but Berryessa kicks out more fish in that 12- to 13-lb range than any of our lakes do.”
Anglers can still sign up to be a part of this big bass shootout.
Registration will start 5 a.m. at the lake, prior to take off. Same day sign-ups will be taken at that time with a late fee of $20. Same day entries are only accepted for team events.
Anglers will blast off and weigh-in at Pleasure Cove Marina, 6100 Highway 128, Napa, Calif. Blast off time is safelight and weigh-in will kick off at 3 p.m. Both are free of charge and open to the public.
Host lodging for the event is America’s Best Value Inn, 1571 E. Monte Vista, Vacaville, Calif. 95688.
The WWBT debuted in 2016 with 17 events that include two Pro/Am and two Teams circuits – one based in California and the other in Arizona. Each Pro/Am circuit consists of three tournaments and a combined, year-end qualifying championship event. The Teams circuit includes four tournaments and a year-end championship.
For complete details and updated information, visit WildWestBassTrail.com. For tournament news, event updates and more, follow the WWBT on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Wildwestbasstrail/
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