MONSTER BAG TOPS NOR-CAL OPEN TEAM

Saturday, March 26, 2005
Lake Don Pedro, CA

By: Tim Paes

The bite for huge bass has been unbelievable at Don Pedro lately. The last two Nor-Cal Bass events have seen tremendous winning weights cross the scales.

After a 36–pound winning weight at the Nor-Cal Pro-Am on March 6^th, it shouldn’t have been any surprise to see a duplicate on our open team event. However it’s hard to imagine you’re going to see it two tournaments in a row!

But we did see it when open champs Cris Vanclef, of Mountain View, and Rob Belloni, of Fremont, came to the scales with an awesome 37.66-pound five-fish limit.

The team fished main lake points from the bank to forty feet with topwater and swimbaits. Their huge bite came from enticing the lunkers with huge baits made by Musky Innovations.

The anglers thanked Jerry Rago Generic Trout, Specialty Tackle.com, Tackle Warehouse.com, Big hammer Swimbaits, Assault, MS Slammer and Triple Fish Line for their support as they accepted their 1^st place prize of $1,275.

Second place went to Clovis’ Danny Woods and Madera’s Bill Rowles. Woods and Rowles brought in a five-fish limit that tipped the scales at 19.56-pounds.

The pair keyed on staging fish in 25 to 30 feet of water on main lake points with brown on brown ½ oz Jigs and Bassectomy Worms.

They thanked Keeper Worms, Lamiglass, Bassectomy Worms and Coast to Coast Seal Coating for their support as the accepted their winnings of $795.

Salida’s Aaron Cole and Riverbank’s Dave Permenter finished 3^rd with a 16.10-pound five-fish limit. The pair keyed on main lake points in 10 to 30 feet of water with Zara Spooks and Lucky Craft ripbaits. The pairs 3^rd place finish earned them $532.

Fourth place went to the father and son team of Don and Clayton Kennedy. The pair brought in a five-fish limit that tipped the scales at 15.46-pounds. The anglers weight was capped by the events 2^nd Big Fish that weighed in at 5.74-pounds. Their solid finish earned them $295.

Special thanks go to our tournament trail sponsors, Stratos Boats, Mercury Outboards, Minn Kota, Hummingbird and Thermo Oil Batteries. Because of their support, Nor-Cal Bass will be awarding a fully rigged Stratos/Mercury prize package at their Pro Championship tournament. Visit Bob’s Marine to take a look at this great boat and motor combination!

Thanks to our official rod sponsor, St Croix, for supporting our anglers and awarding their quality built rods at the 2005 Pro Championship.

Our next Pro-Am event takes place on the California Delta. Check-in will take place at Tracy Oasis Marina. Mandatory check-in time is from 3:30 to 4:30 am on the morning of the event. Anglers late for morning check-in will be assessed a 2 pound penalty and after 15 minutes will be disqualified.

We will be conducting two more open team events in 2005. On May 21^st we will hold our annual Mix Team Event at Don Pedro. This event open to male/female partners is a half day tournament that includes lunch and a raffle. Our annual Night Open will take place at Don Pedro on June 11^th & 12^th. Visit our website for more information.

Nor-Cal Bass Tournament Trail sponsors are: Stratos Boats, Mercury Outboards, Bob’s Marine, St Croix Rods, Thompson Chevrolet, Minn Kota, Hummingbird, Autolife Sporting Goods, Escalon Bait & Tackle, Tom’s Truck Repair, Tracy Oasis Marina, Thermo Oil Batteries, Super Pork, and Keeper Custom Worms. 

For more information on our tournament trail, visit our website, www.nor-calbass.com, or call (209) 505-4239.