Joseph Silva wins Central Valley Kayak Fishing at McClure with a total of 86.00”. He used the Neko rig to catch most of his fish off rock piles.
“I had a bad practice, so I decided to change locations during the tournament.” stated Silva, “I fished completely new water.”
“I started to fish humps in 30 to 40-feet of water with the Neko rig.” exclaimed Silva, “I was just dragging the Neko rig on the rock.”
“I moved to a steeper bank and worked the Neko rig down the steep walls.” remarked Silva, “I managed to pick up a 19” fish.”
“I saw a fish guarding fry on my Garmin FF unit. I dropped my Neko rig down to the fish, and it ate my bait, the fish was an 18.00” fish.” said Silva.
“After 10 AM I had my limit and only culled up one more time.” mentioned Silva, “It was definitely a rock deal.”
Silva thanked James and Donaven for hosting these events. They both ran the events well and I like the hourly big fish that CVKF has.
Damian Thao came in second place with a total of 83.25”. During practice he caught several fish on topwater and jigs. However, the weather change and strong wind he had to make a few adjustments to gather his second-place finish.
“I had found a good topwater bite but soon found out that the fish were not coming up to eat the topwater, so I started with a jig in deeper water.” declared Thao, “I caught fish immediately on the jig in deeper water.”
“The top of the break was in 20-feet of water while I had my boat in 50-feet of water casting to the top of the break.” pronounced Thao, “I would drag the ½ ounce Keitech football jig paired with a small beaver style trailer and then pop it.”
“I would drag the jig and then pop it to get my bites.” insisted Thao, “The fish wanted the jig popped more than dragged on the bottom.”
“Most of my bites would come just after I snapped the jig off the bottom.” replied Thao, “The majority of the day I caught my better fish on the jig, but the tube and spoon helped me upgrade.”
Thao thanked Kayak City, Pline, 1st. Gen Fishing, 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle and Dranc Krazy.
Pia Xiong finished in third place with a total of 81.00”. He used topwater and a minnow to gather his 81.00”
“I started fishing across from the South Barrett launch site heading East.” replied Xiong, “I was throwing a Choppo in the 90 size to catch a quick limit.”
“At this time, I only had a small limit with a 15” as my biggest.” voiced Xiong, “I moved to the house boats North from my location and caught a 16” fish on a OSP Mylar Minnow in Dying Wakasagi color on an anchor cable that was anchoring the house boats.”
“I found a rock pile with brush that was in 17-feet of water.” expressed Xiong, “I would cast out to about 35-feet of water and bring my ½ ounce Green Tackel Box football jig in peanut butter and jelly color paired with a cinnamon black with purple flake Yamamoto twin tail trailer.”
“I culled my last fish with a 17.50” fish that came off a buoy anchor with rock nearby.” spoken Xiong, “I had 81.00” by 11:40 AM and never culled up after that.”
Xiong thanked his wife and kid for their patience at home. Xiong is grateful for the support of his sponsors and team; Keitech USA, Major Craft America, Spearpoint Hooks, The Green Tackle Box, Ballzy Bait, MGMarineTech and Go Pro.
Top Ten:
1. Joseph Silva 86.00”
2. Damian Thao 83.25”
3. Xiong 81.00”
4. Andre Ly 79.75”
5. Max Lee 77.25”
6. Paul Mata 75.00”
7. Jorge Mosqueda 72.75”
8. Robert Yamamoto 71.75”
9. AJ Ramirez 70.25”
10. John Myers 69.00”
Big Fish
Joseph Silva 19.50”
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