BILLINGTON & BROOKS BRING IN 16.94 LBS
TO TAKE CAMANCHE TITLE 

Saturday, May 11, 2002

Lake Camanche, CA
By: Tim Paes 

The 5^th stop of the year took place at Lake Camanche in the heart of the California foothills. Seventy anglers checked in to fish the event under a chilly morning that would turn into a bright warm afternoon. The fishing reports leading up to the event had been mixed. Many reported catching several fish while others complained about being able to catch a limit. 

The competitors brought 166 bass to the scales weighing 302 lbs. Big fish for the Pro and Am Divisions was nearly identical. Pro Big Fish went to Bob Haag, of Ione, CA with his 5.30 lb lunker. Andy Collins, of Merced, CA took Am Division Big Fish with his 5.20 lb toad. 

Ione, CA Pro Jack Billington and his partner Ben Brooks, of Atwater, CA took the title with their 6 fish limit that weighed 16.94 lbs. Billington, who recently started his own custom hand poured worm business, won the tournament with his Camanche Jack 5” Leech. Billington and Brooks splitshot and Carolina rigged the baits on Loomis rods, Shimano reels and Maxima line. The pair fished island tops on the main lake in 15-20 feet, keying on wood and rock. Billington thanked Camanche Marina and the Fishing Depot at Granite Bay as he accepted his winnings of $1,530, Brooks earned $940 for a team total of $2,470. 

Second place went to Pro Bob Haag, of Ione, CA and his partner, Ken Long, of Turlock, CA. Haag and Long brought in a 16.92 lb 6 fish limit. The pair also keyed on rocks and trees on island tops in 17 to 24 feet of water. Haag and Long fished the Dykes with Senko’s, Zoom worms and Roboworms that were splitshot and Carolina rigged on Shimano rods and reels with Trilene and Maxima line. Haag won $1,218 while Long earned $535 for a team total of $1,652. 

Denair, CA Pro Robin Lowe and his partner George Brewster, of Elk Grove, CA finished 3^rd with their 6 fish limit that tipped the scales at 13.50 lbs. Lowe and Brewster caught their fish with brown jigs tipped with green Super Pork along with Carolina rigged Yamamoto lizards. The pair fished dredge tailings in the river in 5 to 15 feet of water using Team Diawa rods, Shimano reels and 10 lb P-Line. Lowe, who owns Super Pork, thanked his wife, Ms. Super Pork along with Bill and Karen Hartung at Boats Unlimited for all their support. Lowe took home $572 and Brewster earned $190 for a combined total of $762. 

Rounding out the top 5 in 4^th place was Arnold, CA Pro Dan Perkins and his partner, Craig Handy, of Hilmar CA. Perkins and Handy brought in a 6 fish limit weighing 13.20 lbs earning the pair $531. Modesto CA Pro Norval Pimentel and Dave Wickstrom, of Atwater, CA finished 5^th with a 6 fish limit weighing 12.90. Pimentel and Wickstrom took home $300. 

We thank our official rod sponsor, St Croix Rods, for their continued support. St Croix awards an Avid and Premier rod to the highest finishing pro and am out of the money. Copperopolis, CA Pro Ira Eads took home the Avid valued at $150 while Curt Grissom, of La Grand, CA took home the Premier valued at $90. Also thanks goes to Auto Life Sporting Goods who awarded $20 gift certificates to the next highest finishing anglers. San Jose, CA Pro David McKenzie and his partner Chris Rains, of Soledad, CA took home the prize. 

In a seesaw battle in the Pro Division Angler of the Year Points race, Pro Ira Eads moved back into 1^st place over Modesto, CA Pro Ron Schultz. Eads holds a slim 4-point lead going into the last event of 2002. In the Am Division Curt Grissom jumped into 1^st place by 14 points as Fresno, CA angler David McEwen maintained his 2^nd place position. One tournament to go and the race will be to the very end. 

Special thanks goes to Stratos & Javelin Boats along with Boats Unlimited as our major corporate sponsors. Nor-Cal pays back 100% to their anglers each season because of their sponsor support. Visit nor-calbass.com to see all our sponsors and remember to thank and support them because they are supporting you! 

Special thanks goes to Chris Cantwell at Camanche Marina for hosting our event. Thanks also to our Trophy Sponsor at Camanche, T & T Trucking, along with all our Pro-Am Tournament Trail sponsors: Stratos & Javelin Boats, Boats Unlimited, St. Croix Rods, C&C Marine, Bob’s Marine, Auto Life Sporting Goods, Joe Coelho & Sons Trucking, Ron Rice Trucking, Fandick Trucking, E Prouty & Sons, Winchester Farms, Super Pork, Thermo Oil Batteries, BANG, Fishin Musician Worms, Keeper Custom Worms, Predator Worms, Ex-Cel Lures, Tom’s Truck Repair, Escalon Bait & Tackle and Hildebrands Auto Repair.      

The 6^th and final stop on our Pro-Am Tournament Trail takes place at the California Delta. The event date is September 21, 2002 and will be headquartered at Big Break Marina. Check in takes place from 4:30 to 5:30 a.m. on the morning of the tournament. Visit nor-calbass.com for more info on this and all our tournaments.