WWBT TOP-3 CO STRATEGIES | FISHING SHASTA FROM THE BACK OF THE BOAT

Wild West Bass Trail Co-Angler Reports From Shasta

Winning $7,000 Chris Rains of Soledad, Calif. was crowned  the 2017 Wild West Bass Trail co-angler champion of the 2017 Lake Shasta Pro/Am for his three-day weight of 30.94.

 

In a ground-breaking move for co-anglers on the West Coast, the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) launched an innovative format for their competing Pro/Am anglers for the 2017 tournament season and kicked off the new concept at their first event the Super Clean Showdown on Shasta this past month.

The WWBT welcomed 167 boats to the NorCal fishery for the year’s Pro/Am season-opener. Every pro and co competed for the first two days of the event. The field was narrowed to the top-10 on each respective side, with pros and cos being separated to fish from their own individual boats for the third and final day.

A move to the pointy-end of the boat was a game-changing experience for the cos that earned the chance to fish on day three.

WWBT Lake Shasta Co-Angler Champion Chris Rains

By event’s end, Chris Rains of Soledad, Calif. topped the co-angler field with a tournament total of 30.94 for three days of fishing. Rains credited his finish to his familiarity with fishing situations.

“On the first two days, both of my pros fished a main body near the Sacramento arm and the water was clear; so I caught my fish on a small swimbait,” he said. “We were fishing as deep as 15- to 20-feet. I was looking for openings in the water, where my pros didn’t hit and tried to get my bait in at different angles.”

Rains described his swimbait as a single, pro blue/red pearl Keitech on a 3/16-ounce darter head with 6-pound-test. He also noted one of his better weigh fish came on a bladed version of the G-Funk G-rig, rigged with ¼-ounce jigheads and the same Keitech swimbaits.

“Since I was in the Squaw/Jones Valley area on Day 3 and the water was more off-color, I didn’t have the same confidence in that bait and I changed to a green pumpkin tube,” he said. “Here, I found most of the active fish where on the bottom at about 20- to 25-feet.”

Rains racked up $7,000 for his efforts, which included contingency dollars from P-Line, Yamamoto Baits and Dobyns Rods. He plans to parlay his winnings into more WWBT events.

“I loved the opportunity to fish the front of the boat and challenge myself to make these decisions for the final day,” he said. “This type of format was the reason that I fished the WWBT, rather than another option. I would highly recommend it as an awesome platform for cos to step up.”

Although his fate was in his own hands on the final day, Rains didn’t find a lack of practice time on the water was a hindrance to him.

“I did get out on the water with my travel partner for one day; but you get knowledge and experience from what you do on the first two days with your pros,” he said. “Then you just go in on Day 3 without preconceived thoughts, being open-minded and making decisions based on what’s in front of you and that is how you learn.

 “It was such an awesome experience and format and so professionally run. You pay your entry fee as a co and get to fish with some of the best guys there are. Winning the check is only one angle, what you learn is priceless.”

WWBT SHASTA Co-Angler 2nd Nicholas Day

The runner-up position went to local, Nicholas Day from Redding, Calif. for a three-day total of 29.58. Day was paired with the pro champion Ryan Friend on Day 1 and felt that the fish that Friend had him near was a contributing factor to his success.

“He set me up with a good weight and that was a big help,” said Day. “Ryan Friend was the boon of the tournament. He was helpful, nice and pleasant to fish with.”

Day reported changing his baits behind each pro over the first two days.

“They each fished different areas. in different ways,” he said. “Day 1, I used a small Keitech in 10- to 20-feet of water, working them really slow – just enough to get the tails moving.”

He described his Keitech as silver flash minnow, rigged on a 1/8-ounce jighead.

“Day 2 there was a little more wind and my pro was in deeper water; so I was fishing blades and an underspin with a little bit bigger paddle tails,” he said. “I tried several different colors and changed them as the water clarity changed. We fished points and picked up some suspended fish.”

With his final day in the Squaw, Day noted the change in water conditions at the co-angler designated area.

“The water was more stained, colder and there was more current,” he said. “That changed things for me the last day.”

He targeted areas in 10- to 20-feet with a nail-weighted, five-inch, green pumpkin, wacky-rigged Senko.

He earned $4,045 for the event, including the Big Fish award for his 4.05.

Day also found the separate pro/co boat competition as a plus to the circuit.

“It was the most enjoyable format that I’ve fished,” he said. “Fishing with two pros first gave me the opportunity to put together patterns and techniques that I’d experienced throughout the weekend and then try to make my own pattern work from that. It was exciting and challenging and a lot of fun. I got to fish with the best pros and then I got to run my own boat on Day 3. It was a unique experience, worth every penny and second to none.”

WWBT SHASTA Co-Angler 3rd  Seth Myers

The top-3 spot went to a competitive bass fishing newcomer, Seth Myers of Martinez, Calif.

Fishing his very-first tournament ever, Myers weighed in 29.13, over the course of the three days.

Myers attributed his finish to the help of his travel partner, Jason Cordiale.

“Going out with Jason definitely helped me a lot,” he said. “I learned how he was fishing. I picked his brain for the two days of practice as well as the few times that he had taken me out for leisure fishing before the event. I asked him what fish were thinking about this lure or that lure, where do they hide out, what’s their behavior, feeding response – etc. etc. I think that info really helped me a lot.”

Myers kept his lure selection minimal rotating only two baits over the event.

“I started out with a wacky-rigged, plastic worm (pink-colored) with a split-shot and after that I went to a Senko on a jighead,” he said. “It was pumpkin-colored with watermelon (flake).”

On the final day of his first-ever tournament, Meyers moved to the front of the boat, throwing the Senko for the majority of the day.

He described his first event being “somewhat nerve-wracking”.

“It was just because I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “But, on the third day to actually be the captain was pretty exciting. I had a great pro that took me on the boat – Ken Mah. He took me wherever I wanted to go.

“It was my first time navigating the trolling motor. I had no idea how to steer it, how to power it on and off and Ken showed me what to do. I also learned to interpret what I was seeing on the fish finders. I figured, if you’re going to do it, just jump right in and do it. Don’t be scared.

“Everyone gave me a lot of support. My friend Jason was behind me 100 percent and Ken Mah (my pro that ran me around on Day 3) was totally supportive and gave me a lot of encouragement. It was good vibes.”

For Myers’ first event, he netted $2,500. He plans to recoup some money that he spent on rods, reels and foul-weather gear that he invested in his new found bass fishing hobby and also to use a chunk to head out to the next WWBT Pro/Am at Mohave.

“Even if I didn’t win the check, the money I used to do this was so well-spent,” he said. “It was so much fun. It was worth it just to get up there and fish for the five days (two days of practice and three tournament days); winning the money was just icing on the cake.”

The total WWBT Shasta payout for the co-anglers was $34,925.

The following contingency dollars were paid:

$200 Costa Carl Keller (4th)

$500 Run and Win with Lucas Jason Lazzerini (55th)

$500 Run and Win with Lucas Tara Borofka (88th)

WWBT Shasta co-angler Big Fish awards of $545 were paid to:

4.05 Nicholas Day

3.98 Chris Vanclef

3.87 Richard Alcantar

3.28 John Gibbons

3.27 Robert Matsura

More info on the 2017 WWBT Shasta Pro/Am

A special thanks to all of the WWBT sponsors – A & M Graphics, Dobyns Rods, Evinrude, Gator Guards, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, General Tire, Guards, Hydro Force Marine, Lowrance Electronics, Lucas Oil, Power-Pole, Protect the Harvest and Ranger Boats, Super Clean.

For 2017, the WWBT will conduct 16 events that include a Pro/Am circuit and two Teams circuits – one based in California and the other in Arizona. The Pro/Am circuit consists of five tournaments throughout California and Arizona and a year-end qualifying championship event. Each Teams circuit includes four tournaments and a year-end championship. For more information visit WildWestBassTrail.com and follow WWBT at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.