PAYSON, Ariz. – The Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) wraps up its Arizona Pro/Am circuit for the year with the Ranger Boats Rivalry on Roosevelt Mar 19–20. A full field of pro and co-anglers will compete for cash awards that will top $100,000.
Recent rains will again be a factor for anglers competing on the high desert lake.
“The lake has has come up about 15-ft so far this year,” said Super Clean pro Jimmy Savoini of Prescott, Ariz. “That doesn’t seem significant on a lot of lakes; but to Roosevelt it is. That is because it has been at about 38 percent capacity for the last five or six years and we’ve had the same kind of drought that California has. Now, the water coming up that much has allowed the lake to cover a lot of the brush that has grown up over the past several years. There will be a lot of fish up pushing bait with all of that new brush and weed cover.”
With a forecast of sunny days and temps in the mid to high 70’s, Savoini expects both pre spawn and spawning fish to be weighed in.
“Our spring happens a little sooner than it does in most places,” he shared. “Prior to the off-limits, water temps were already in the low 60’s and lot of the shad had moved shallow; so it is going to be a smorgasbord.”
Savoini suggested techniques that covered a range of depths, including a deep jig, Carolina rig, flippin’ bait, spinnerbait, Alabama-rig, swimbait and ChatterBait.
“It could be won structure fishing the pre spawners adjacent to the spawning flats or it could be won up shallow in the brush or it could be won in the parts of the lake that are clear, where guys can see down 8- or 10-ft and get ‘em off the beds,” he said. “It could be won in 30-ft and it could be won in the backs of the bays with a flippin’ stick. You can catch these fish on just about anything, if you can find them and there is a lot of fish in the lake.”
Savoini predicted it would take a minimum of 15-lbs a day to take home the trophy.
“That could change if someone gets a couple of big ones off the beds,” he added. “In 2011, I won a team tournament with 28-lbs and that limit had twin nine pounders. Just recently, someone got a nine off a bed; so if that happens, we could see some 20-plus limits come in as well. It’s really going to be wide-open and we’re going to be able to enjoy Roosevelt in one of the months that it fishes strongest throughout the year.”
WWBT anglers will blast off and weigh-in daily at the Cholla Boat Ramp, Roosevelt, AZ-188. Blast off time is safelight and weigh-ins will kick off at 3 p.m. MST daily. Both are free of charge and open to the public.
Spectators can observe the anglers each day at the weigh-in scales to cheer on their favorite fishermen and hometown heroes as part of the WWBT fully-televised event to air on Fox Sports and the Pursuit Channel.
The public is invited to the event.
The WWBT debuted in 2016 with 17 events that include two Pro/Am and two Teams circuits – one based in California and the other in Arizona. Each Pro/Am circuit consists of three tournaments and a combined, year-end qualifying championship event. The Teams circuit includes four tournaments and a year-end championship.
Following the Roosevelt event, the WWBT Arizona Pro/Am circuit qualifiers will have the chance to compete in the Lucas Oil Western Classic Pro/Am championship event Sept. 30-Oct. 2.
The WWBT Roosevelt Pro/Am is being hosted by the Mazatzal Hotel and Casino. Registration and banquet services will be held at the host lodging site – Mazatzal Hotel and Casino, AZ-87, Payson, Ariz.
Event registration will be held March 18, from 4-6 p.m. MST
More info on the Roosevelt event can be found in the Ranger Boats Rivalry on Roosevelt Guide.
For complete details and updated information, visit WildWestBassTrail.com.
For tournament news, event updates and more, follow the WWBT on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Wildwestbasstrail/
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