Photos
Courtesy of BBT
The second
tournament of the Central Valley Region of the Best Bass Tournament Trail was
held Saturday, February 7, 2015 at Pine Flat Lake with a field of 36 boats -
one in the small boat division.
Everyone was
so excited about the rain that even the steady showers did not dampen the spirits of the anglers that
showed up to fish.
THE DAY
BEGINS
Up at 2:30 a.m.,
gone by 2:50 a.m. and arriving at the lake by 3:45 a.m.
Looking for
a dry level place to park for registration was the first item on our agenda.
Finding a
place where we could hold registration and the weigh-in was the main thing on
tournament director Kevin Cheek's mind. A
decent place next to the water's edge made good for both activities. The trailer doors were opened and the rain
was falling. The pop-up was opened and
set-up, tarps placed over the wood trailer doors, tables for paperwork, coffee
and homemade goodies were set-up under the pop-up. We were on sand and mud; so another tarp was
laid down on the ground to help keep things as dry as possible.
REGISTRATION
By 4:00a.m.
we had anglers showing up to register.
There were
familiar faces, faces from prior years and new faces as well. Registration went well and before we realized,
it was time for the blast off.
BLAST OFF
Kevin took his bull horn and paperwork
and headed down to the boat for the blast off.
He went over BBT Rules, off-limits and set-up for two weigh-in
flights.
The first
boat out was the small boat followed by boat number 10 thru 25 with a weigh-in
time of 3 o'clock. Next went boats 26
thru 35 and 1 thru 9 with a weigh-in time of 3:15p.m. The anglers were on their way to a full day
of fishing.
By 9:00a.m.
the paperwork was balanced and the awards were ready for the afternoon. We were then ready to sit back and take a
snooze. Oh well, the thought was good; but there was other
things to do.
By noon it
was time to charge the scales and set up the weigh-in station. Because the wind was of big concern, we were
unable to put up banners. Earlier in the
morning during registration the pop-up tried to blow away twice. Kevin had to tie the pop-up to the trailer
and to an angler's pickup. No matter
what the weather the tournament must go on!!!
WEIGH-IN
Our small
boat was the first boat to return for the weigh-in. One by one the boats started to come in and
before long there were several boats waiting to bring their fish up to the
scales.
We had a
total of 72 anglers and they brought in 141 fish for a total combined weight of
220.48 pounds.
This only
confirms the anglers remarks on how hard the catch was. We had hoped to see a few big pigs, but there
is always next month.
AWARDS
The scales
were called closed by Kevin at 3:40p.m.
It was now
time to tear down and head up to the parking lot for the awards. When we arrived it was great to see so many
boats and anglers waiting for the awards.
The sportsmanship and support that these anglers showed each other was
admirable.
While we
were setting up for the awards Diamond Nuts and left over homemade cookies and
brownies were set out for the anglers and their families to eat and enjoy.
CHAMPIONS
Dean Miller and Darrell Masterson both from Tulare walked away with the first
place trophies. They brought in five
fish weighing 12.86 pounds. The second
place Big Fish was among the fish that they brought in. This fish weighed-in at 3.86 pounds. Dean and Darrel left the Lake with $1,630.00
in winnings. These anglers used plastics
and swim baits to catch their fish on and they fished the dam and river. As low as the lake was the river could have
been the whole Lake. Great job anglers!
RUNNERS-UP
Second place
went to the team of Rod Burns and Denny Bowlin both of
Fresno. These anglers weighed in five
fish for a total of 11.20 pounds. They
were in all the options and took home $785.00 for eight hours of fishing. Rod and Denny used Yamamoto twin tail lures
while fishing Windy Gap and the river. Methods fished were jigs, worms and swim
baits. These anglers would like to thank
their wives Kim and Juanita for all their support and allowing them to
fish. Way to go anglers!
THIRD PLACE
The team of Pete Rodriguez and Carlos Ariaza, both of
Visalia took third. Pete and Carlos
brought-in five fish for a total of 10.53 pounds. They were in all of the options and took home
$525.00. These anglers fished by the dam
with jigs and drop shots in 40 to 50 feet waters. Pete and Carlos would also like to thank their
wives Maria and Lupe for their support and understanding. Keep up the good work!
First place
Big Fish went to the team of Joseph Slavik and Ed
Hinojosa. Their winning fish came in
with a weight of 4.19 pounds and a received a paycheck in the amount of
$360.00. Great job.
We would
like to thank our weighmaster David Orange and his finance
Beth, Shawn Hilbert, Christopher Orange,
Mark Giusti, our staff boat and Mom for all their
support and help. We would like to thank
all of the anglers for all their support.
Without you anglers we wouldn't have a circuit.
Our next
tournament for the Central Region will be held at Pine Flat Lake on Saturday,
March 7, 2015. Again we look forward to
having all you anglers show up for a good day of fishing . Bring your friends out with you to enjoy in
the fun and sportsmanship.
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