LONGTON
& HARDRICK SIGHT FISH THEIR WAY TO DON PEDRO TITLE
Saturday, March 24, 2001
Lake Don Pedro, CA
By: Tim Paes 
The third stop on
our Pro-Am tournament trail took place under warm spring conditions and a
wide-open bite at Don Pedro. With nearly $8,000 in prize money up for grabs, the
eighty-six tournament anglers arrived anticipating the annual migration of bass
to the spawning areas of the lake, and they would not be disappointed. Although
we did not see any double-digit bass cross the scales, several anglers did
report seeing them on the beds, but were unable to get them to bite. Despite
this fact, there still were many solid limits brought to the scales.
All 43 boats
weighed in fish with 40 of them weighing in 6-fish limits. It took over 16 lbs
just to get into the top 15! The anglers brought 250 bass with a total weight of
616 lbs. to the scales, that’s a 2 ½ lb. average per fish!
For the second
year in a row, Pro Don Longton of Merced, CA, would be crowned champion at Don
Pedro. Longton along with partner, Ray Hardrick, of Modesto, CA brought in a
6-fish limit that weighed 22.04 lbs. Their limit was capped off with Longton’s
7.50 lb. bass that took big fish honors in the Pro Division, along with
Hardrick’s 4.52 lb. bass that tied for big fish in the Am Division. The pair
spent their day sight fishing the spawning areas in Big Creek, Rogers and Middle
Bay. Longton reported that their fish were all on beds and were caught on 6”
Keeper worms and Yamamoto gitzits. Longton’s big fish was hooked with a gitzit
tied to Silver Thread AN40 line on a Diawa reel and Browning rod. Longton took
home $2,170 while Hardrick earned $1,260 for a team total of $3,430.
Second place went
to Pro George Azevedo, of Turlock, CA and his partner Cris Vanclef, of Mountain
View, CA with their 6-fish limit that weighed 19.98 lbs. The team also spent
their day sight fishing and their fish were caught using the dropshot technique
on the beds with watermelon red Gator Dogs. Azevedo, who is sponsored by
Redington Rods & Reels, Yamamoto, Reaction Baits and Colorite, thanked his
partner, Vanclef, for turning him on to the areas that were holding the quality
fish that lead to their 2nd place finish. Azevedo took home $991
while Vanclef earned $610 for a team total of $1,601.
Pro Steve Greene,
of La Grand, CA and his partner Tom Powell, of Valley Springs, CA finished 3rd
with their 19.58 lb. 6-fish limit. Greene, who was using a Loomis rod and
Shimano reel spooled with 5lb Maxima line reported that the team keyed on steep
rock areas next to deep water and all of their fish came on 4” Keeper worms.
Greene went on to say they fished primarily in Rogers Creek, but caught fish in
several areas of the lake. All of their fish were caught in less the 10’ of
water. Greene, who also thanked his wife Vicki, for all her support, took home
$644 while Powell earned $200 for a team total of $844.
Rounding out the
top 5 in 4th place was Pro Don Kennedy, of Elk Grove, CA and partner
Ed Dickey, of Atwater, CA with 19.46 lbs. Kennedy and Dickey took home $881.
Dickey also shared big fish honors in the Am Division with his 4.52 bass. Fifth
place went to Pro Brian Rabith, of Merced, CA and partner Tom Gomez, of Merced,
CA with their 19.28 lb. limit. The pair took home $375.
Our official rod
sponsor, St Croix Rods, award the highest finishing pro and am out of the money
with an Avid and Premier Rod at each of our events in 2001. Pro angler John
Grissom, of Merced, CA, took home the Avid while Ben Brooks, of Atwater, CA,
took home the Premier. Thank you St Croix for contributing to our success.
Our 2001 Angler of
The Year point race in the Pro Division saw Don Kennedy stretch his 1st
place lead to 9 points over Steve Greene, who made his move into 2nd
place. The Am Division felt rumblings as Tom Gomez took over 1st
place with a 7-point lead over new 2nd place holder Ron Billings, of
Hughson, CA.
Nor-Cal would
like to thank our trophy sponsor for Don Pedro,
Joe Coelho & Sons, along with
our many product sponsors, Pradco, St. Croix Rods, Keeper Custom
Worms, Fishin Musician Worms, Super Pork, Bang, Autolife and Predator Worms. Also
thanks to Don Pedro Recreation for allowing us to use their grounds for check-in
in the morning and holding our awards ceremony in the afternoon.
Nor-Cal could
not afford to offer you the payback we offer without the help of our major
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. Please support them!
April
21st marks the 4th stop on our
Pro-Am Tournament Trail at Clear Lake.
Check-in will be from 3:30 a.m. to 4:30
a.m. at Library Park in Lakeport. Visit
nor-calbass.com or call for full schedule and information on this event.
Nor-Cal Bass
Tournament Trail sponsors are: Stratos & Javelin Boats, Evinrude
Outboards, Boats Unlimited, General Motors, Courtesy Automotive, Pradco, St
Croix Rods, E. Prouty & Sons Trucking, Joe Coelho & Sons, Central Valley
Propeller, Smooth as Glass, Bob’s Marine, Tracy Boat Sales, Auto Life Auto
Parts & Sporting Goods, Boat Country, C&C Marine, Ex-Cel Lures,
Fishermen's Warehouse, P&E Distributing, Super Pork, Keeper Custom Worms,
Predator Worms, Fishin Musician Worms, BANG, Thermo-Oil Batteries, Hildebrands
Auto Repair, McClure Painting & Plastering, Sipe’s Marine, J&H R.V.
Repair, Modesto Welding Products, Mickey Wall Painting, Winchester Farms
and Escalon Bait & Tackle.
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