This weekend at Oroville was definitely a challenge. Normally the Spotted Bass are fairly easy to locate and catch this time of year, but with recent weather conditions also being a challenge, it made this tournament a totally new experience for many. It started with 27 teams checking in at Oroville Outdoors, (special thanks to my friend Phil Torres for opening up a 4:30 am and giving us a warm place to start the day) and ended at the spillway with barely half the field weighing in a 5 fish limit. While most of the top weights were caught on Jigs there was also a little worm bite. Most fish came in 15-25 feet and it seamed 27 boats fished in 27 different parts of the lake. It wasn’t the usual south fork and main body bite.
Finishing on top were the current Anglers of the Year, Bill McLaughlin and Jason Sherman of Redding. The two weighed in a 5 fish limit of 11.96 that included the “PERSUADER JIGS” Big bass of the day, a 3.26 pound Spotted Bass. Bill has been known as a very good jig fisherman for many years, and today he and Jason showed their skills. Sherman said at the awards, they focused on a run and gun style, but fished SLOW, SLOW, SLOW once they put the trolling motor down. The weapon of choice was a Purple Jig or a Purple worm in a quarter once size. Congratulations to Bill and Jason. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the $2645 you received and keep the nice plaques sponsored by Phil’s Props in a good place to remember your win by.
Second place went to Brett Shepherd of Marysville and Dave Mayo of Sacramento. These two have only been fishing together for a short while, but are proving to be a formidable team. Their 5 fish limit came in at 11.19 pounds and included a very nice 2.89 Spot. Dave told us at the award how they also did the run and gun, fish Slow pattern, focusing on 20 feet of water using brown jigs. It obviously paid off as they took home a pair of the nice plaques and $1510.
Third place kept it in the family as Chris and Tom Flesuras of Redding and Sacramento brought in 10.82 pounds. New to 100% BASS they are showing they can hang with the best and have moved into 5th place in the angler of the year race. They told us during an interview they focused on a couple of small areas and kept their lures in the water as much as possible. Jigs again were their choice and brown was the right color for this day. The two split $520 and also received plaques to remember the day.
Rounding out the top of the field were 4th place finishers JR Wright of Truckee and Cody Meyer of Redding. The two also had a bag over 10 pounds, with 10.23 being the exact weight. This marks the 4th bag that would have won the previous days tournament, showing how the bite at Oroville in slowly improving. JR and Cody received $835 while a 5th place check in the amount of $360 went to Chris Fancelli and Jeff Pyles of Redding, Keeping them atop the Angler of the Year race.
100% BASS would like to thank the fine sponsors that make the difference between fishing and the quality events we are able to provide as a result of their support. BassCat Boats, Mercury Outboards, Mossdale boats in Tracy,Berkley Frenzy Hard Baits, Trilene, Spiderwire Braid, Persuader Bass Baits, Walton’s Pond in San Leandro, Hook, Line & Sinker in Oakley, Phil’s Props in Redding, MF Finesse Custom Worms, Comfortroll, Comfort Suites of Oakley, Jims Pro Bass Tackle in Paso Robles, Cal West Concrete Cutting, Kosich & Callahan Insurance Services, Black Dog Baits, CoverLure, Castillo Badillo, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Angels Inn Motel of Angles Camp and Russo’s Marina on Bethel Island.
For complete details please see our website at www.100percentbass.com
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