Chilly in the morning and beautiful warm sunshine in the afternoon was the forecast for the third tournament of the Central Valley Region of the Best Bass Tournaments Circuit. Saturday, March 7, 2015 was the date and Pine Flat Lake was the location. The wind came up early in the morning but nothing like the wind from last month. The order for the day was bring your sunscreen and have a great day fishing.
EVENT PREP
Up at 2:00a.m. in the morning, to finish loading the trailer with the ice chest, scales and coffee pot, was how Kevin Cheek the Director for the Central Region started his day.
With the help of our staff, the 10 x 20 pop-up was setup. Tables were arranged around the pop-up and registration paperwork, clip boards, pens, coffee pot and homemade goodies were put out for the anglers. Homemade apple turnovers were the request for the morning and apple turnovers are what the anglers got, along with brownies, chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. Our anglers are not spoiled; we are all just one big family.
BLAST OFF
We were ready by 4:00a.m. for our anglers to come and register. And that they did. One by one the boats pulled in, registration paperwork was completed, boat numbers handed out, boat checks done and boats launched in the water made the next two hours fly by. Two small boats and thirty one large boats made up our thirty three boat field.
Blast off was set for safe light and Kevin was ready with his bullhorn at 6:10a.m. Out at the five M.P.H. buoys Kevin went over the rules and off limits for the tournament. Small boats were released with a return time of 3:00p.m. Two flights were scheduled for 3:00p.m. and 3:15p.m. Large boat number eighteen was the first large boat to be released. The anglers were off and running to their favorite spots to start fishing.
SCALES OPEN
At 2:30p.m. the scales were charged and setup for the weight-in to begin. We had a few of the angler’s family members and friends show up for the weight-in. It was a beautiful day and the support was greatly appreciated by the anglers. By 3:00p.m. the anglers started returning and the weigh-in was off and running. We didn't have any really big fish as the anglers stated that the bite was tough. One fish just over three pounds was the big fish for the day.
The scales were called closed by Kevin at 3:45p.m.Tables were setup and Diamond Nuts and leftover goodies were set out for the anglers to enjoy while the paperwork was tallied and readied. It was great to see all the boats in the parking lot for the awards. The support and sportsmanship that these anglers show each other needs to be commended.
CATCH DETAILS
In the field of thirty three boats today, our anglers brought in a total of 136 fish weighting-in at 197.95 pounds. The large fish for the day came in at 3.17 pounds. We had a total of 23 boats bring in a limit of five fish to the scales. Not one dead fish for the tournament and just think they will just keep growing and be bigger for next year. Congratulations to all the anglers for a job well done.
First place went to the Fresno team of Rod Burns and Denny Bowlin. Rod and Denny brought in a five fish bag that topped our scales at 10.92 pounds. They also had big fish for the day at 3.17 pounds. Their five fish landed them $1,585.00 in winnings for the day. Fishing in the Windy Gap area of the Lake, while using Tubes, Pro worms and jigs, and fishing VERY VERY slow in 15 to 35 feet in trees is how these anglers caught their fish. Rod would like to thank his wife Kim and Denny would like to thank his wife Juanita for all their support and putting up with them fishing as much as they do. Congratulations for a job well done.
Tom Mize and Michael Beasley, both from Visalia, was the team that took second place. These anglers brought in five fish that weighed in at 9.42 pounds. In this five fish bag the third place big fish was found and it weighted-in at 2.75 pounds. Tom and Michael were in all the options and took home $905.00. These anglers also fished in the Windy Gap area of the Lake using Dead Stick baits and worms. Their method fished was drop shot. Tom and Michael would like to thank their sponsors Dead Stick Baits and WT Baits. Great job anglers.
The father and son team from Fresno, Lee and James Miller, took third place in the tournament. Their five fish bag weighed in at 9.05 pounds and in their five fish bag the second place Big Fish for the tournament weighted-in at 2.79 pounds. The team of Lee and James took home $735.00 for their great day of fishing. These anglers fished the lower end of the Lake and used Jigs and worms. They would like to thank Cousin's Rods for their sponsorship. Lee and James would also like to thank Jamie, their wife and Mother for all her support and encouragement. Keep up the good work.
PRIZES
Sponsor giveaways went to the following anglers:
Big Pig Award - sponsored by Big-O-Pig - went to Denny Bowlin for his first place Big Fish
Life Jacket - sponsored by the Wear-It Campaign - went to the father and son team of Jay and Ryan Watson
Boat Cleaner Products - sponsored by Safe & Easy - went to the team of Jason and Joshua Sanchez
APPRECIATION
We would like to say thank you to our staff, Shawn Hilbert, Dave and Beth Orange, Mark Guisti and Brian Orange, for all their hard work to help make these tournaments what they are. Without all their help and dedication we would not be able to do the job we do for you anglers.
It is so hard to believe that our Central Valley Region is half over. We have enjoyed the first three tournaments and we look forward to the next three. The fourth tournament for the Central Valley will be held at Don Pedro Lake. So you anglers get ready and let's travel a little further this time to make this a great tournament. We look forward to seeing all of you on Saturday, April 11, 2015.
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