LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz.—Veteran team tournament angler Murph McBride of Pinoche, Nev. led wire-to-wire in winning the Aim Marine/WON Bass open at Lake Havasu on Sunday, Feb. 27. His two-day total of 33.11 pounds topped a field of 242 anglers including 131 pro boaters.
McBride, who weighed in 17.33 pounds on Saturday, won the top prize of a Triton bass boat, Mercury Optimax outboard, Lowrance electronics, MotorGuide trolling motor and Trojan batteries, plus option cash that swelled his earnings to better than $41,000.
The winner reported catching 60 percent of his bass while sight fishing in the mid lake reaches. His catch was dominated by smallmouth bass, as was the total catch for the entire field. McBride relied on Senkos, Brush Hogs and Zipper grubs to sack his fish.
Craig McCoy of Lake Havasu City, who thanked his parents for staking his entry fee, was runner-up with 29.20 pounds. McCoy, who has been on call for Southern California Gas Company because of storm damage, was unable to practice, but caught most of his fish from areas he has fished over the years.
Greg Garman of Prescott Valley, Arizona was third among the pros with 29.25 pounds, while Scott Mascadri of Sacramento took fourth with 28.55 pounds and Jim Wickham of Morristown, Ariz. finished fifth with 28.25 pounds.
The top spot among the AAA’s went to Mark Snitow of Lake Havasu City who finished with 28.77 pounds, while Justin Campbell of Las Vegas was second with 27.98 pounds and Thayne Ferguson of Salt Lake City took third with 27.98 pounds.
Fourth place in the AAA ranks went to David Elms of Bakersfield with 27.37 pounds while Joe Drake of Wofford Heights took fifth with 26.31 pounds.
The fishing was exceptional with sunny weather and calm winds all weekend long. The biggest bass of the contest was a 7.62-pound largemouth taken by Paul Reutlinger of West Jordan, Utah on the first day. There were several other largemouths 5 pounds as well as smallmouth bass over 4 pounds taken.
Despite the outstanding action, Mike Goodwin, a top pro from Lake Havasu City said, “The lake hasn’t even kicked in. It’s just getting’ started.”
The big field drew pro anglers from all over the West, including Gary Dobyns of Yuba City and winner of the Lake Oroville Open earlier in the month. Dobyns finished in 8th place at Havasu with 27.21 pounds and was already qualified for the Western Classic/U.S. Open in September on Lake Mead.
Complete pro and AAA standings currently posted on wonbass.com.
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