GIROUX & LEE TAKE NOR-CAL KICKOFF
EVENT AT LAKE McCLURE 

Saturday, January 5,2002

Lake McClure, CA 
By: Tim Paes 

Nor-Cal Bass kicked off its 2002 season at Lake McClure, in the California Foothills. One hundred and one anglers from Northern California came out to fish for the more then $9,000 in prize money that would be awarded at the end of the day. This was the first of six one-day pro-am events in 2002 that would culminate in a two day Tournament of Champions at the California Delta. 

Catching fish at McClure wasn’t the problem, but finding quality fish was a different story. Anglers reported catching fish from the bank to more then 50 feet deep on everything from spinnerbaits to jigs and worms. Nearly every team brought in a limit of fish and many reported culling fish all day. The Competitors brought 284 bass to the scales weighing 455 lbs, with each bass averaging 1.6 lbs. Big fish were hard to come by, but Atwater, Ca angler Curt Grissom managed to muster up a 4.48 lb spotted bass to take Big Fish honors in the Am Division and for the tournament. Grissom used a shad pattern Hildebrandt spinnerbait to catch the huge spot suspended in a tree 10 feet deep over 60 feet of water. Grissom hooked the fish on 12 lb Maxima line and landed the lunker on a Loomis rod teamed with a Lew’s reel. 

After a two-year absence from Nor-Cal, Turlock, CA pro Loren Giroux, made his return to the trail with a huge victory at McClure. Giroux along with his partner, Ben Lee of Escalon, CA brought in a 6 fish limit that tipped the scales at 12.66 lbs. Giroux reported catching fish on dartheads with 6” Keeper 101B worms tied to 8 lb Trilene XL line, a Diawa Emblem Z spinning reel and a Loomis spinning rod. The pair’s fish were suspended in 3 to 4 feet of water on rocky pinnacles that were 20 feet deep. The majority of their limit came from McClure point and Temperance. For their solid 2 lb plus limit, Giroux took home $1,950 while Lee earned $650 for a team total of $2,600. 

Finishing 2^nd was Livermore, CA pro Ray Clark and his partner Curt Grissom. Clark and Grissom weighed in a 12.40 lb. 6 fish limit. The team fished plain banks with rock in the narrows from Barretts to Horseshoe. Most of their fish came on dartheads and splitshotting with St. Croix rods, Quantum spinning reels and 6 lb Excalibur line in 6 to 12 feet of water. Grissom’s tournament Big Fish capped the pair’s limit and sealed up their 2^nd place finish. Clark took home $1,110 while Grissom’s winnings, which included Am Division Big Fish, totaled $1,385. Their combined total was an awesome $2,495. 

Third place went to Pro Ron Schultz, of Modesto, CA and his partner, Bob Arpoika, of Oakdale, CA. Schultz and Arpoika brought in a 6 fish limit that tipped the scales at 12.24 lbs. The pair used brown jigs tipped with purple Super Pork Leech’s along with Waterdog paddle tail grubs that were fished dropshot style with P-Line, Shimano reels, St Croix and Loomis rods. Schultz reported keying on breaks in rocky creek channels in water 20 to 30 feet deep in the river. Schultz, who thanked Super Pork, Waterdog Lures and Thermo Batteries, earned $745 while Arpoika took home $594, for a team total of $1,339. 

Fourth place went to Pro Ira Eads, of Copperopolis, CA and partner David McEwen, of Fresno, CA. Eads and McEwen weighed in 6 fish at 11.60 lbs. The pair took home $834. Denair, CA pro Rudy Linn and Joe Bruce, of Copperopolis, CA finished 5^th with a 6 fish limit weighing 11.58 lbs, earning the anglers $420. Big Fish in the Pro Division went to John Grissom, of Merced, CA. Grissom’s 2.62 lb spotted bass earned the Merced pro $640, which included his 7^th place finish. 

Nor-Cal is proud to welcome back St. Croix as our official rod sponsor. St. Croix awards an Avid and Premier rod to the highest finishing pro and am out of the money. Taking home the rods at McClure was Pleasanton CA pro Tom Coss and John Benidix, of Oakdale, CA. The anglers were awarded two light, sensitive and quality made rods for their 10.22 lb 6 fish limit. 

McClure was the 1^st of six stops on our Pro-Am Tournament Trail. This year’s race will include a throw out that will intensify the Angler of the Year point’s race as well as the qualification into the Tournament of Champions. With a throw out it’s not to late to join Nor-Cal and fish one of the most cost effective exciting Pro-Am’s in Northern California. 

Nor-Cal thanks our trophy sponsor for McClure, Joe Coelho & Son’s Trucking, along with all our Tournament Trail sponsors. Thanks also goes to Lake McClure Recreation and Marina for hosting our event. Our success is due to the support of our sponsors; it’s with pride that we once again welcome Stratos & Javelin Boats and Boats Unlimited as our major Tournament Trail sponsors. We pay back 100% every year because of their support, so please support all our sponsors. Visit our website, www.nor-calbass.com, to see all our sponsors. 

The 2^nd stop on our Pro-Am Tournament Trail takes place at Lake Don Pedro. The event date is February 16, 2002 and will be headquartered at Flemming Meadows. Check in takes place from 4:30 to 5:30 a.m. on the morning of the tournament. Visit our website for more info on this and all our tournaments. 

Nor-Cal Bass Tournament Trail sponsors are: Stratos & Javelin Boats, Boats Unlimited, St. Croix Rods, C&C Marine, Bob’s Marine, Auto Life Sporting Goods, Joe Coelho & Sons Trucking, Winchester Farms, Super Pork, Thermo Oil Batteries, BANG, Fishin Musician Worms, Keeper Custom Worms, Predator Worms, Ex-Cel Lures, Tom’s Truck Repair and Hildebrands Auto Repair.