https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — He made it look easy, but Ken Mah was quick to clarify that his dominant wire-to-wire victory at the inaugural DiscountTackle.com Western Bass Shootout on the California Delta was anything but. Nevertheless, a 3-day total of 61.54 pounds earned the local pro what he termed the biggest win of his career.
“In my opinion, this place, along with Lake Mead, is one of the hardest places to put together three successful days,” the accomplished pro from Elk Grove, Calif. said. “It’s so hard to win and the reason I get emotional is it’s not just the work we angers do; it’s the families, it’s the wives, it’s their sacrifices. That’s why we’re able to do what we do.”
Mah took the Day-1 lead by sacking up the event’s heaviest limit — 27.58 — and establishing a margin of 4.63. He’d expand his advantage to 8.79 in the second round with a limit of 20.59.
A tougher final round marked by a hard, cold wind yielded only 13.37, but that was more than enough for Mah to edge Beau Joudrey by a margin of 7.01. For his efforts, Mah won a $127,500 prize package comprising a Bass Cat Cougar FTD, Mercury motor, Garmin electronics, Power-Pole package, Next Gen Lithium contingency and cash.
Beyond the tangibles, Mah will forever hold the honor of winning the first Western Bass Shootout trophy. Most meaningful, he said, was the tournament’s prestigious format which assembled a 50-boat field comprising anglers who qualified through the APEX Pro Tour, MLF Toyota Series, WON BASS Events, and the Wild West Bass Trail Pro/Am series.
“You only have one chance to win the first one,” he said. “This was the top 50 anglers who qualified; you can’t just enter this tournament. That’s what makes it so special and to come out on top is just unbelievable.”
Mah based his tournament strategy on his belief that the week’s warming weather would trigger the spawning movement that had been drastically delayed by an extremely cold winter and recent voluminous rains. Making long runs from takeoff, Mah sought secluded spawning habitat with a mix of shallow hard cover, tules, matted vegetation, and close proximity to deep water.
Mah’s huge Day-1 bag bolstered his premise and a strong Day 2 further supported the notion. However, after two fairly mild days, Championship Sunday’s big winds brought an unavoidable impact that forced adjustment.
“I went to my primary spot where I wanted to be and the water had muddied up,” Mah said. “I made two presentations and I said ‘This ain’t it.’ I trusted my gut, my instinct and I went to where the conditions were right.”
Mah punched the heavy cover with a Big Bite Baits Yo Mama in the confusion color and a Big Bite College Craw in spicy purple on 4/0 and 3/0 Gamakatsu hooks with G-Money punch skirts and a 1- to 1 1/4-ounce weight. He fished the open banks and tule edges with a Bill Lewis SB-57 squarebill in Ozark craw. Imparting occasional pauses was essential to his crankbait’s appeal.
FULL STORY: https://westernbassshootout.com/a-truly ... rformance/
Advertising