“After spending two days chasing fish working bait, I knew I had to change things up.”
“I was in a panic mode because I knew I was around fish.” Mata said, “I started to cycle through drop-shot baits.”
Mata found that the Robo worm in the 4.5” Aaron’s green pumpkin was the bait the fish wanted. He started to catch keepers compared to the 6-to-8-inch dinks.
“I tried the 6” worm in the exact color but the fish wanted the smaller profile.”
Mata slowly dragged this drop-shot bait 15-to-25 feet deep on points along the west walls.
“I would place my boat right on the tip of the point and cast all around the point.” Mata said, “I could see the bait balls all around the points I was fishing.”
“I used the Humminbird 360 to see the bait balls.” Mata said, “I would cast my drop-shot rig to the bait balls to catch fish.”
“The quicker I would work the worm the less bites I would get.” Mata said, “I would spot lock in about 25-feet of water and then I was able to cast shallow and deep while watching the bait balls under my boat – the key was to work the worm really slow.”
Day one Mata caught 10 keepers and on day two another 20 keepers. His pattern was more productive in the morning compared to the afternoon.
“The first 3 hours of the day was key to getting my bites.” Mata said, “I caught around 20 keepers on day two in the first 3 hours.”
“It is really nice to win one of these tournaments against this talented group of anglers.” Mata said, “It still doesn’t feel real to me just yet.”
“The biggest key for my win was to say focused and not take myself out of the tournament.” Mata said, “Normally, I am my own worst enemy when I lose fish or struggle.”
Mata thanked James Snyder for putting on such great events. My wife Lauren and baby Eleanor for letting me get out on the water and do what I like.
Max Lee finished in second place with a two-day total of 153.50” Lee found some fish during his two days of practice in grass. He ran to the back of pockets in search of grass and found only a few areas that had healthy grass. One very specific location he had found an area that had grass and fish that would move into feed. The fish would re-load in this area as the fish moved bait around.
“First thing on Saturday morning, I ran main lake points early and caught two fish, one spot on a rip bait and one smallmouth on a jig.”
After the morning bite, Lee ran to his main area where he found the grass bed. The bass were pushing bait along the grass and different schools would move in and out which re-loaded the area.
“I was using a Mega Bass plus 1 rip bait.” Lee said, “I would rip the bait out of the grass to trigger the bass to bite.”
Lee had found that the grass bite was better during the late morning and afternoon.
“The fish would set up in the grass in waves.” Lee said, “I was able to catch a few bass and then come back a little later and catch more.”
The schools of fish would circle around pushing bait in the area where Lee was fishing. Lee would fish the grass and then circle around fishing the middle of the arm with a tailspin to catch those suspended fish.
“On day two of practice, I saw the fish busting in the back of the arm.” Lee said, “I knew then that the afternoon was going to be good in that area.”
“I want to thank Greg Blanchard for being so considerate to share the water.” Lee said, “It was nice to share the water and cheer each other on when one of us caught fish.”
“I was grateful of Greg to open up the area we were fishing,” Lee said, “I know Greg had the AOY at stake and he was very willing to let me fish in the same area.”
“On Friday and Saturday, the fish in the grass were moving bait and would keep re-loading in the grass, but on Sunday with the cloud cover, the fish were not moving bait but instead they were setting up on a rock ledge near the grass.” Lee said, “The fish on the ledge would not bite until they would move to the grass.”
Lee showed his appreciation to Greg Blanchard for sharing the water. Bill Bukowatz for helping him during the tournament with a fish issue. Jame Snyder for running Yak-A-Bass for all his hard work running the circuit. Also, all the guys that spend the weekend together at the cabin.
Greg Blanchard finished in third with 145.00”. Blanchard put a few days of practice in before this event. He had found quality north but quantity where he was staying at Berryessa. Blanchard’s game plan was to catch a limit on day one because he not only had AOY at stake but also the TOC.
“Thursday it was 95 degrees, and, on the weekend, it was going to be much colder.” Blanchard said, “I knew that the weather was going to be a huge factor for this event.”
“Saturday during the tournament, I caught one random fish out of a tree.” Blanchard said, “At noon I still only had one fish.”
“I picked up a flat side crankbait and ripped it out of the grass and caught my second fish.” Blanchard said, “This fish got me motivated.”
Two hours passed by without a single bite.
“I fished back to the ramp where I had caught a few fish during practice.” Blanchard said, “I caught three keepers at 2:48 PM caught keeper number three, 4 minutes later caught keeper number 4 and then at 2:54 PM I caught keeper number 5.”
“The last-minute catches were the most fortunate last 12 minutes of my fishing tournaments career.” Blanchard said, “Especially during this tournament, one of the most important days of a tournament that would decide who was going to be AOY.”
Blanchard’s last-minute adjustment was the most important key to capturing AOY and catching a 5 fish limit on day one.
On day two, Blanchard knew what he needed to do to catch his 5 fish limit. He returned to the same area and ripped the flat side crankbait through the grass all day long.
“I ripped that crankbait through the grass the entire day.” Blanchard said, “My arm was killing me by the end of the day.”
“My game plan was to say in that area at least the first 4 hours of the day.” Blanchard said, “I checked the leader board to see how I was doing, I knew then, I was going to say in that area all day.”
Blanchard thanked Yak-A-Bass that runs the best kayak bass tournaments on the West Coat, one of the biggest in the country. Easly attracts the best anglers on the West. Blanchard said, “Personally, one of the most difficult trails that I have fished (I've fished many trails back east and, in our country) it is very diverse, one can fish very shallow and extremely deep as deep as 60 to 70 feet of water.” A big shout out to Yak-A-Bass for putting on such great events. A big shout out to the Dark Horse Crew, a crew that we stay up way too late drinking and hanging with each other. We have been fishing 4-5 years together, they are a great support group, it’s a great support system. A big shout out to the crew for all their support and the great times spent away from their families. It is amazing to see how much the kayak community has evolved in such a short time. It’s incredible! A big shout out to everyone in the kayak community.
Top Ten:
1.Paul Mata 155.25”
2. Max Lee 153.50”
3. Greg Blanchard 145.00”
4. John Heller 131.25”
5. Danny Miller 126.00”
6. Robert Yamamoto 11.00”
7.Daniel Balaba 102.75”
8. Kolton Kruzic 96.50”
9.AJ Ramirez 94.75”
10. Isiah West 93.25”
Day 1 Big Fish:
John Heller 19.00”
Joshua Bryant 19.25”
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