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STEWART
& REYNOLDS TAKE SEASON FINALE
MATHEWS & CLAYTON
TAKE ANGLER OF THE YEAR TITLES
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Angels Camp, CA
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Melones Champs, Jeff
Stewart & Milton Reynolds started
off putting fish in the boat right away. |
By: Tim Paes
The final
qualifying event of the 2004 season took place at New Melones. Sixty anglers
signed up to fish for the top 20 pro and amateur spots that will send them to
the 2004 Pro Championship.
Spring
like conditions had returned to the central valley with temperatures hovering
around a comfortable 80 degrees instead of the mid 90’s we had been subjected to
the past few weeks.
The
anglers were greeted with overcast skies and cool temperatures as they arrived
for morning check-in at Glory Hole Sports. Storeowners, Dan and Melanie Lewis
had the store open and hot coffee for the anglers.
The bite
leading up to the event had been reported as spotty by many of the competitors.
Many said, “Catching numbers of fish has been tough enough, let alone catching
anything of quality.”
Pre
tournament talk was right on about catching quality fish, as only 2 fish over 3
pounds were brought to the scales. However catching numbers wasn’t a problem 25
of 30 boats brought in five-fish limits.
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Jeff Stewart & Milton
Reynolds took the title at New Melones
with their 10.88-pound five-fish limit. |
The
competitors reported catching fish on everything but the kitchen sink! Angler’s
splitshot, dropshotted, used jigs, topwater and reaction baits. The magic depth
for the teams was 20 feet. The competitors brought 144 bass to the scales
weighing 225 pounds.
First
place went to Oakdale pro Jeff Stewart and partner Milton Reynolds, of San
Carlos. Stewart and Reynolds brought in a 10.88-pound five-fish limit. The
anglers fished main lake structure with reaction baits, worms and jigs.
The pairs
weight was anchored by Reynolds’ 2.90-pound lunker that took big fish in the
amateur division.
For their
solid performance, Stewart took home $1,861 while Reynolds earned $1,133 for a
team total of $3,194.
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Big Fish for the
tournament went to
Steve Greene with his 4.08-pounder. |
Copperopolis pro Ira Eads and his partner Richard Marchini, of Le Grand finished
2nd with their five-fish limit that tipped the scales at 9.80 pounds.
The pair
keyed on rock banks with mud lines in the main lake. Their fish came on Lucky
Craft and Mega Bait rips on 14-pound Berkley line with St Croix rods and Shimano
reels.
For their
finish Eads took home $1,387 while Reynolds earned $609 for a team total of
$1,996.
Finishing
3rd with their 9.68-pound five-fish limit was Folsom pro Ron Knight
and his partner Jon Blanc, of Modesto.
Knight and
Blanc keyed on brush piles in 20 to 27 feet of water. Their fish came by
dropshotting 4-inch Aarons Magic FX worms on 8-pound Stren line with St. Croix
rods and Shimano reels.
Knight
also took second big fish in the pro division with his 3.44-pound lunker. Knight
won $988 while Blanc earned $402 for a team total of $1,390.
Rounding
out the top five in fourth place was Tracy pro Gary Thomas and his partner Ron
Billings, of Hughson. Thomas and Billings brought in a 9.36-pound five-fish
limit. Thomas took home $520 while Billings earned $149 for a team total of
$$669.
Fifth
place went to Brentwood pro Angel Valdez and his partner Tom Bossard, of
Modesto. The pair brought in a 9.26-pound five-fish that was anchored by
Bossard’s 2.72-pound lunker that took 2nd big fish in the am
division. Valdez took home $312 while Bossard won $208 for a team total of $520.
Big fish
in the pro division went to Le Grand pro Steve Greene. Greene’s 4.08-pound
lunker sealed up his 6th place finish and earned the pro a total of
$372.
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2004 Anglers of the Year
Pro Division Champ, Jeff Mathews & Am champ Bill Clayton |
Clovis Pro
Jeff Mathews wrapped up the pro division Angler of the Year title with his 8th
place finish at Melones. Mathews edged out Oakdale pro Bruce Harris 515 points
to 509. Mathews’ title earned the pro $750 in 2005 entries.
Modesto’s
Bill Clayton ran away with the am division Angler of the Year title by 22
points. Clayton finished with 527 points to Modesto’s Jon Blanc, who had 505.
Clayton earned $375 in 2005 entries for his title run.
New for 2004 is Nor-Cal’s
push to encourage new pro’s to join our circuit. As an incentive to fish Nor-Cal
Pro-Am’s, we have added the Bob’s Marine Pro Rookie Bonus Cash and the Thompson
Chevrolet Pro Rookie Point’s Race.
The Bob’s Marine Pro Bonus
Cash awards $100 to the highest finishing pro at each event, who is fishing in
their first season as a Nor-Cal pro. The bonus
cash at New Melones went to 3rd place pro Ron Knight.
The Thompson Chevrolet Pro
Rookie Point’s Race tracks the same anglers throughout the season and awards a
prize package at the end of the year worth several hundred dollars.
Kerman pro Tim Turner took the title by edging out Fresno’s Sieg Taylor
by 1 point, 488 to 487.
Thompson Chevrolet is also
offering special pricing on new vehicle purchases through their dealership in
Patterson for all Nor-Cal members. If you’re in the market for a new vehicle,
shop around and then come to Thompson and see what Nor-Cal pricing can save you!
Special thanks goes to our
tournament trail sponsors, Stratos Boats and Evinrude Outboards. Because of
their support, Nor-Cal Bass will be awarding a fully rigged Stratos/Evinrude
prize package at their Pro Championship tournament. Visit Bob’s Marine to take a
look at this great boat and motor combination!
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Top 5 from New Melones
Top (L-R): G. Thomas, R. Billings, R. Knight, J. Blanc, T. Bossard, A.
Valdez
Bottom (L-R): J. Stewart, M. Reynolds, I. Eads, R. Marchini |
Thanks also to Glory Hole
Sports for hosting our check-in and meeting. Thanks also to Glory Hole
Marina for hosting our weigh-in and awards ceremony.
Thanks also to our official
rod sponsor, St Croix, for supporting our anglers and awarding their
quality built rods at the 2004 Pro Championship.
Nor-Cal Bass Tournament
Trail sponsors are: Stratos Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Bob’s Marine, St Croix
Rods, Thompson Chevrolet, Autolife Sporting Goods, Escalon Bait & Tackle, Tom’s
Truck Repair, Tracy Oasis Marina, Del Taco Manteca/Oakdale, Thermo Oil
Batteries, Super Pork, Keeper Custom Worms, Predator Worms, McClure Painting &
Plastering, Hildebrand’s Auto Repair and PMZ Realty.
For
more information on our tournament trail, visit our website,
www.nor-calbass.com, or call (209)
634-8754. |
