Longton
& Humphres Take Don Pedro Crown
with 25.14 lb. Limit
by
Tim Paes
Saturday,
March 18, 2000 - Lake Don Pedro, CA .... Nor-Cal Bass held their 3rd Pro-Am
event of the 2000 season this past Saturday at Lake Don Pedro. As the 96 anglers
began checking in that morning, the question was, how was the fishing going to
be? The previous week's heading into the off-limits period, anglers reported
that they had been catching fish in water as deep as 70 feet. However, this was
before spring-like weather hit the Central Valley. Temperatures were in the 70's
during the week leading up to the tournament. This had anglers wondering if the
fish would make their move to the shallow spawning areas of the lake. The
anglers that made the decision to go after the shallow fish were rewarded with
some huge limits and a share of the more then $7,800 in prize money.
Although,
not all of the notoriously huge Don Pedro bass had made their way to the
shallows, several nice bass were weighed in and one 11.92 lb. monster stole the
show. Thirty of the 48 teams brought in 6 fish limits. A total of 238 bass were
brought to the scales that weighed 470 lbs.
Pro
Don Longton, of Atwater, CA, and his partner Chris Humphres, of Ceres, CA took
the Don Pedro title with a 6 fish limit of 25.14 lbs. The pairs weight was
anchored by Humphres 11.92 lb. bass that took Big Fish honors in the Amateur
Division and for the tournament. Longton, who took Big Fish honors in the Pro
Division with his 5.74 lb. bass, reported that the team fished all day in
Moccasin Creek and had a limit by 8:00 a.m. Longton went on to say they caught
their first fish on a jerkbaits, then the rest came on Keeper Worms and Brushogs
in shallow water. The key for the team was staying shallow fishing for the wave
of bed fish that were moving up. The awesome day had by the pair earned Longton
a check for $2,095 while Humphres took home $1,495 for a team total of $3,590
and two beautiful burl trophies.
 Second
place went to Pro Gary Thomas, of Tracy, CA, and his partner Jeff Hartung, of
Riverbank, CA. Thomas and Hartung brought a 6 fish limit to the scales that
weighed 18.30 lbs. Thomas, who wished to thank Outdoor Sportsmen, Bobby D Jigs
and Stratos Boats, also spent the day in Moccasin Creek fishing water less then
10 feet deep. Thomas reported that the pair keyed on gravel points and cuts in
shallow water. The team used Keeper Worms, jigs and Brushogs in order to bring
in their solid limit of fish. For their day on the water, Thomas took home $937
while Hartung earned $626 for a team total of $1,563 and two trophies.
Pro
John Grissom, of Merced, CA, and his partner Ken Doran, of Oakdale, CA took 3rd
place with their 6 fish limit that tipped the scales at 16.92 lbs. Grissom
reported that the team caught their fish early on ripbaits and Fluke‚s and
then spent the rest of the day dragging 6 inch worms and Baby Brushogs in
shallow water in Big Creek. Grissom went on to say that the key to their day was
fishing areas with rock and wood. Grissom took home $618 while Duran earned $210
for a team total of $828 and two trophies.
Rounding
out the money winners in the Pro Division was 4th place finisher Mickey Armas,
who earned $350 for his 13.92 lb. limit. Fifth place went to Richard Wages with
13.88 lbs. and earnings of $260. Jeff Frey took 6th place and $150
with his 13.28 lb. limit. Seventh place went to Brian Rabith with 12.94 lbs
earning him $120. Angelo Koundourakis took 8th place with 12.92 lbs.,
winning $110. Ninth place went to Dan Perkins with 12.86 lbs. taking home $100.
In
the Amateur Division, Tom Gomez took 4th place with 13.88 lbs that earned him
$379. Fifth place went to Ron Henry with 13.28 lbs. and winnings of $130. Randy
Krigbaum finished 6th with 12.94 lbs. taking home $75. Seventh place went to
Butch Bray with 12.92 lbs. and earnings of $60. Jason Remmers finished in 8th
place with 12.86 lbs. winning $55. Ninth place and $50 went to Marvin Vaughn
with 12.78 lbs.
Nor-Cal
would like to thank our trophy sponsor for Don Pedro, ExCel Lures, along with
our many product sponsors, Keeper Custom Worms, V&V Custom Baits, Fishin
Musician Worms, P&E Distributors, ExCel Lures, Super Pork, Predator Worms,
Malibu Boats and Outwest Marketing. Also a very special thank you to
Fishermen’s Warehouse who donated a rod and reel combo for our product
giveaway and Universal Telescopic who gave 2 bags of product that were valued
over $50 and a rod to the 1st place Amateur Division champion Chris Humphres. We
would also like to thank Don Pedro Recreation for hosting our event and allowing
us to use the store area for check-in and our awards ceremony.
Nor-Cal
could not afford to offer you the payback we offer without the help of our
corporate sponsors. We would like to offer a very special thank you to Stratos
Boats, Evinrude Outboards and Boats Unlimited along with General Motors and
Courtesy Automotive. These fine businesses are supporting Nor-Cal and it's
anglers. When it's time for your next boat, give Stratos a test drive and pull
it with your new Chevy Truck!
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