Berkley AC/WRL Northern Region Oroville Tournament

[Randy Pringle]

BOB MILLER’S BIG BASS ANCHORS THE TEAM WITH RON HOWE TO WIN OROVILLE

The site was Oroville, California, the second stop for the Northern Region for the AC/WRL. The weather proved to be unstable for awhile. My wife Sheri and I set up the Mercury tent and the weigh station then the wind decided to make an appearance lifting the 10 by 20 canopy so backing my truck up against it, tying it down on the trailer hitch, the other side was held down by 800 pounds of water in our bump tank. It held! Clouds started to appear and we crossed our fingers! That didn’t help and of course I opened my mouth and made the dumbest statement in the world, I hope it doesn’t rain! Of course, it started to rain and then a down pour, wouldn’t be the Northern division without rain during the weigh-in! I salute all of you anglers that continued to stick around, which was most of you.

Ninety- five boats hit the rising lake pre-spawn bite hoping to put some of those big pigs in the boat. When word came out that the day before on New Melones AC/WRL tournament with an 18.11 pound bass was caught, hope ran high as the pressure was on to see if another giant could be caught on this lake. Well, that didn’t occur. It was not like Berryessa, 11 pounders, 10 pounders, 8 pounders…you get the point. Oroville is just not known for that however and I do mean HOWEver the team of Ron Howe and Bob Miller put together a phenomenal Oroville limit. Typically 10 to 12 pounds wins Oroville at the AC/WRL level but when Bob Miller came to the scale with the big fish of the day, 3.41 pounds to anchor the limit of bass that weighed 14.47 pounds was impressive. This team has had peaks and valleys in tournament angling but they do a great job at promoting their sponsors. Talking to the crowd, they told everyone they caught their bass fishing wood, throwing Zipper worms. For their efforts they took home winnings of $3625.00. Great job guys!

Second Place was the team of Ryan Friend and Clint Isbell from Oroville came to the scales with a limit that weighed 13.15 pounds anchored by a 2.95 pounder. They told everyone that they were shaking worms from ten to 30 feet on the main lake. I handed them a check for $1625.00. I like to thank you guys for joining the AC/WRL and with that, congratulations for a good day on the water!

The team of Matt Ruggiero and Peter Blake take Third Place with the third big fish of the event weighing in at 3.33 pounds and a total weight of 11.97 pounds. Their payday added up to $1245.00. The caught their fish drop shotting and dart heading in the south fork and the middle fork in eight to 15 feet of water. Great job guys, keep up the good work!

Fourth Place, with $720.00, walking around money for 11.86 pounds, was the team of Kevin Evans and Doyle Mc Ewen. Congratulations team and we hope to see you at the next event.

Rounding out the top five, with 11.81 pounds was the team of Jim Richmond and Mark Mc Cord. They took home $390.00 for playing on Oroville.

BRIAN FRANK AND MATT HENDERSON TAKE OROVILLE BY STORM, LITTERALLY!

The team of Brian Frank and Matt Henderson of Woodland caught five nice bass weighing in at 8.71 pounds to take First Place in the Small Boat Division. Great job guys!

Second Place goes to the team of Jeremy and Brian Hightower with a limit of bass weighing 8.70 pounds.

The team of John Wiser and Brent Bradford of Gridley weighed a limit of bass of 7.81 pounds. They told everyone they threw dark heads on the middle fork to catch their Third Place finish. Thanks guys for sticking around and sharing with the crowd!

Richard Alcantar and Eric Castro won the 20/20 Eye Surrender Sunglasses award and Wes Stevener was there to shake their hand while handing them their sunglasses.

Thirtieth Place with a sponsor gift bag was given to the team of Jonathan Bradford and Kevin Cornwell who were proud to except that!

Forthieth Place went to the team of Brian Fesler and Ernie Haro who were present to win.

The Black Dog Baits award was given out as the anglers were present to win. Chad Hensley who had boat trouble on the lake and was not even sure if they would make it back for the weigh-in, was happy to receive one of the Lunker Plunkers. The other Lunker Plunker went to a Casa Verde store receipt drawing and Jamie Clifton took home his bait.

The Berserk Baits gift bag was described by the contents in it by some of their pro staff. When boat number 34 was called, all I could say was, the prize goes to the TOC.

Gills Tires in Stockton donated $30.00 gift certificates for their store. We gave out several in drawings and boat numbers. Thanks Gills Tires for your support.

We would like to thank A Tranquil Moments Wellness Spa for donating two messages and facials. You should have seen the male anglers pushing to the front to see if they won! If you would like to find out more about this spa, call 530-674-1200.

3-D Floor Covering, Inc. donated a vinyl floor make-over valued at $350.00 with installation included. For more information, call 530-821-2200.

For the Napa Auto Parts $175.00 gift certificate, we called boat #25, #60, #33 and finally boat # 50 was present to win this award. Remember, everyone must be present to win.

Last but not least, the Abu Garcia Vendetta Rod was claimed by Wes Stevener when his boat number 17 was drawn.

Congratulations to all the winners and double thanks to all these sponsors that are helping the success of the AC/WRL.

I would like to thank my staff for making these events run smooth and for going out of your way for the anglers; Kevin Ryan, Rich Reeser, Kyle Jacob and Kegan Charles. A special thanks goes to Christina
Mc Clain for taking photos so early in the morning at the ramp and helping with stats at this event. She has helped out two times and makes our job easier, thank you very much.

We would like to thank Don Reighley for supplying the Release Boat and the Fish & Game who took great care of the bass that were caught and gave some honest feedback on how well the tournament was run.

We would like to thank the following sponsors with the Angler’s Choice Western Rookie League for all your support. Remember to support your sponsors as they are supporting you and your sport!
Legend Boats, Mercury Marine, Motorguide Trolling Motors, Berkley Power Bait, Berkley Trilene, Bass West USA, Bass Tackle Depot, Western Bass.com, Swim Bait Nation, Eye Surrender Sunglasses, Abu Garcia Vendetta Rods, Black Dog Baits, Berserk Baits, Bass-N-Mor Fish taxidermy & replicas, Casa Verde Villa – Mexico trip and Napa Auto Parts

Sponsor Tackle Stores: Escalon/ Escalon Bait & Tackle, Waterford/ Bait Barn, Modesto/ C & C Marine, Oroville/ Oroville Outdoors, Berryessa/ Berryessa Sporting Goods, Clear lake North/ Clear Lake Outdoors, Clear Lake South/ Clear Lake Bait & Tackle, Delta/ Delta Outdoors, Melones/ Gloryhole Sports, Clovis/ Valley Rod & Gun