PIMENTEL & HARTUNG TAKE 1^ST ANNUAL BOATS UNLIMITED OPEN TEAM AT CLEAR LAKE

May 12 & 13, 2001
Lakeport, CA 

By: Tim Paes 

Although the turnout was light on this Mother’s Day weekend it was still another fantastic event put on by the folks at Boats Unlimited. Bill & Karen Hartung, owners of Boats Unlimited in Riverbank, CA, have for the past 3 years given the owners of Stratos & Javelin bass boats a tournament that has become a world class event on the west coast. They are now experimenting with that concept in this tournament open to the whole fishing community.  

This weekend’s tournament had been originally slated for the Stratos/Javelin World Championship Regional. Due to the bankruptcy of OMC and the subsequent change in ownership the World Championship was cancelled. Instead of letting this prime date go to waste, Boats Unlimited teamed with Nor-Cal Bass to unveil the 1^st Annual Boats Unlimited Stratos/Javelin Open Team Tournament. 

Although the Regional had been cancelled, this event took place to let the fishing community know that Stratos & Javelin is still here and will be even stronger under the ownership of Genmar Corporation. It also was an opportunity for Karen Hartung to proudly announce that Stratos & Javelin Boats was reinstating the World Championship Tournament Trail and that information on this event would be out shortly. This should be a strong indicator that Stratos & Javelin Boats is heading in an upward direction. 

In addition to all the excitement surrounding the future of Stratos & Javelin Boats, there was a tournament taking place under perfect conditions. The weather had been hovering in the low 90’s all week with temperatures expected to cool into the 80’s for the weekend. The weather didn’t disappoint and Clear Lake was primed for some huge weights to be brought to the scales. The tournament didn’t see any double digit bass cross the scales but saw several nice bags of fish make there way to the basket. The tournament anglers brought 173 bass to the scales that weighed 586 lbs., that’s over a 3-¼ lb. average per fish! 

After the completion of day 1, Modesto, CA anglers Anthony Pimentel and Jeff Hartung held 1^st place with an awesome 5 fish limit that weighed 27.52 lbs. The event’s big fish, an 8.94 lb. beauty, capped the team’s weight. The anglers would go into day 2 with a 3-½ lb. lead. 

Second place on day 1 belonged to John Brossard and Stuart Minugh, of Kelseyville, CA with their 5 fish limit that tipped the scales at 23.94 lbs. Brossard and Minugh, local favorites to win this event, would be gunning for Pimentel and Hartung going into the 2^nd day of competition. 

George Goodman and Art Lackey, of Waterford, CA held the 3^rd place position with their 5 fish limit that weighed 23.40 lbs. 

Day 2 would start out with a slight wind that made for a little rougher ride for the top teams, who were all fishing the south part of Clear Lake. With a 2:00 p.m. weigh-in scheduled for day 2, the competitors knew they would have to maximize their fishing time. Many of the teams reported tougher fishing conditions on day 2 and the weights slipped slightly, however many solid bags of fish were caught. 

Anthony Pimentel and Jeff Hartung’s 20.26 lb. 5 fish limit on day 2 wasn’t the largest of the day, but was enough to give the pair a 2 lb. margin of victory in the 1^st Annual Boats Unlimited Stratos/Javelin Open Team. The team’s 47.78 lb. 2 day total topped the field and took home the $1,765 1^st place prize. Pimentel, who thanked Boats Unlimited and Ocean Wave Sunglasses, told the crowd that they started each day by catching a limit of bed fish that gave them about 12 to 15 lbs. and the confidence to target the bigger fish that were staged near the spawning flats. Their better fish, including their 8.94 lb. big fish, came on watermelon red Senko’s on docks in 5 to 8 feet of water. The team fished several areas around Rattlesnake, Monitor and Anderson islands. 

Second place went to Kirk Hill and Lance Robinson, of Ione, CA with a 2-day total of 45.82 lbs. Hill and Robinson, who had 22.30 lbs. on day 1, added the second day’s largest stringer of 23.52 lbs. to move the pair from 5^th place to their 2^nd place finish. Hill, owner of Bassbros Guide Service, thanked his sponsors Coyote Bait & Tackle, G Loomis, P-Line, Big Poly Jigs and Boats Unlimited as he told the crowd how they caught their fish. The pair drifted Senko’s, tied to 12 lb. P-Line on Shimano Reels and Loomis Rods, over rock flats and points in 10 feet of water in the Rattlesnake area of the lake.  Hill and Robinson took home $853 for their great finish. 

John Brossard and Stuart Minugh finished 3^rd with their 45.14 lb 2 day total. Brossard, who thanked North Lake Ford, Mendo Lake Honda and Phil’s Props, told the crowd that all of their fish came off of beds. The team keyed on rock and pea gravel banks in the spawning areas in the south part of the lake in 2 to 10 feet of water. The pair used Zoom Grubs and Senko’s on Sugoi and P-Line tied to Shimano Reels and Loomis Rods. Brossard and Minugh took home $502 for their efforts. 

Rounding out the top 5 in 4^th place was Gary Mullins and Lee Tatro with a 2-day total of 39.32 lbs. Fifth place went to George Goodman and Art Lackey with their 38.48 lb. 2-day total. 

Boats Unlimited and Nor-Cal Bass would like to give a very special thank you to the City of Lakeport and the Skylark Motel for hosting this event. 

Bill & Karen Hartung would like to invite all Stratos & Javelin owners to fish their 4^th annual Stratos/Javelin owners tournament which will take place September 15 & 16, 2001 on Clear Lake. The Skylark Motel in Lakeport, CA will be the host facility. Information on this exciting event will be available very soon.