Ryan Friend of Oroville, Calif. wins $20,000 for the victory at the 2017 Wild West Bass Trail Super Clean Showdown at Shasta.
REDDING, Calif. – Ryan Friend of Oroville, Calif. threw a single type of lure for three straight days as he went wire-to-wire for today’s win of the 2017 Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) season-opener – the Super Clean Showdown on Shasta.
“I’m feeling blessed and I’m feeling good,” he said as he hoisted his trophy.
Friend kicked off the three-day event with a three-pound lead, hauling up 18.55, anchored by a 5.76 spotted bass that would hold up over the course of the event as one of the five Big Fish awards. His lead narrowed when he struggled on Day Two, weighing in with 10.14. He capped off Day Three with 11.85. His five-fish limits each day racked up a combined tournament total of 40.54 to claim the top prize of the event.
For the victory, Friend earned $20,000. The winnings included a payout of $18,000 for first place and contingency dollars for Big Fish #4, Costa Sunglasses, P-Line, Yamamoto Baits and Dobyns Rods.
Friend relied on a float-n-fly as his only lure each day of the event. “That’s something that I’ve got a ton of confidence in,” he said. “I did it from daybreak until the bell rang. Boy, it was a grind yesterday. It was really a struggle. I tried to bounce around. I knew I had to catch 10-pounds. The first day was unbelievable. Today was a pretty good day. It started off real good. I caught a big one and it kind of settled my nerves."
Nick Salvucci of Paso Robles, Calif. made a run at Friend with back-to-back 13-plus limits on the first two days of competition. Coming to the scales on the final day with 10.85 put Salvucci’s three-day total at 38.24, claiming the runner-up position. He earned $10,000 for his three days on the Northern California fishery.
Salvucci caught all of his fish on a G-rig, an umbrella-style lure made by G Funk Baits. He completed his G-rig with Keitech swimbaits.
Sharing water and using the same G Funk Baits G-Rig and Keitechs, Dusty Kahler, also from Paso Robles, secured third place, pocketing $7,000 for the event. Kahler claimed a total weight of 38.01.
WWBT Super Clean Showdown at Shasta top-10 pros:
- 40.54 Ryan Friend
- 38.24 Nick Salvucci
- 38.01 Dusty Kahler
- 35.38 Roy Hawk
- 34.63 Dan Wells
- 33.77 Jason Bradshaw
- 33.40 John McClellan
- 32.24 Jason Haley
- 31.49 Sage Baker
- 29.77 Ryan Tripp
Complete WWBT Shasta pro results and payout here.
A three-day weight of 30.94 gave Chris Rains of Soledad, Calif. the co-angler championship. Rains racked up earnings of $7,000, including the $6,000 payout and contingency dollars from P-Line, Yamamoto Baits and Dobyns Rods.
WWBT Super Clean Showdown at Shasta top-10 co-anglers:
- 30.94 Chris Rains
- 29.58 Nicholas Day
- 29.13 Seth Myers
- 28.99 Carl Keller
- 28.54 Roy Desmangles
- 28.43 Reece Wells
- 28.36 Joseph Cunningham
- 28.27 Tony Botelho
- 26.45 Cody Murray
- 25.42 Chris Vanclef
Complete WWBT Shasta co results and payout here:
New for 2017, the WWBT offers an innovative format for pros as well as co-anglers. Their three-day Pro/Am event allows two days of fishing for the full field and a third and final day on the water only available for the top-10 pros and cos.
A third day of fishing in the WWBT, moves the co-anglers to the front of a boat to make their own decisions, control their own destiny and get the first (and only) shot at the best cast.
The daily weights for all three competition days are combined for each angler’s tournament total to determine both a WWBT pro and co-angler champion. Weights are compared against their respective sides – pros against pros and cos against cos.
A special thanks to all of the 2017 WWBT sponsors – A & M Graphics, Costa, Dobyns Rods, Evinrude, E3 Spark Plugs, Gator Guards, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, General Tire, Hydro Force, Lowrance Electronics, Lucas Oil, P-Line, Power-Pole, Protect the Harvest, Ranger Boats and Super Clean.
###
Offering professional-level competition throughout the west, the Wild West Bass Trail provides its anglers the opportunity to further develop and advance their fishing careers. Additionally, the WWBT offers its corporate partners the opportunity to expand sales through comprehensive national and regional television coverage, exclusive on-the-water demonstrations and various tournament incentive programs.
For 2017, the WWBT will conduct 16 events that include one Pro/Am circuit and two Teams circuits – one based in California and the other in Arizona. The Pro/Am circuit consists of five tournaments throughout California and Arizona and a year-end, qualifying championship event. Each Teams circuit includes four tournaments and a year-end, qualifying championship. For more information visit WildWestBassTrail.com and follow WWBT at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.
Advertising