HUDSON & CLAYTON BLOW AWAY COMPETITION

Saturday, February 19, 2005
Angels Camp, CA

By: Tim Paes

The second event of the 2005 season took place at New Melones. The skies were clear as the eighty-four competitors began arriving for the morning check-in at Glory Hole Sports. Owners Dan and Melanie Lewis were open with hot coffee and a warm place for the anglers to congregate.

The skies remained clear and calm as the anglers blasted off for their assault onto New Melones. However clear and calm would not see the end of the day as the weather started rolling in around noon with the wind kicking up the whitecaps followed by on and off downpours the rest of the day.

The bite was good for numbers of fish, but finding quality was a little tougher. The average fish was just over 1 ½ pounds with only 6 fish going more then 3 pounds. The anglers brought 182 bass to the scales weighing 285 pounds.

However one bass did stand out from the crowd when Manteca pro Matt Hudson came to the scales with his 12.58 pound monster bass. When that fish hit the scales there was no doubt that Hudson and his partner Bill Clayton, of Modesto, would be crowned champs. Their five fish limit tipped the scales at 20.82 pounds!

The pair fished main lake points and rocky banks with homemade brown jigs on 15 pound Seaguar line, Shimano reels and Loomis rods. Their fish came out of 15–20 feet of water.

Hudson’s lunker blew away the competition for big fish as well as sealing up an 8 pound victory in the tournament. Hudson took home $2,260 while Clayton earned $1,040 for a team total of $3,300.

Second place went to Merced pro Jim Moulton and his partner Jeff Whited, of Vallecito. The pair brought in a five fish limit that tipped the scales at 12.78 pounds.

Moulton and Whited caught a limit early dropshotting Keeper 1001B worms. Later they were able to cull four of their fish cranking a trout colored Norman DD22. The anglers keyed on mudlines from the launch area to the second bridge. Moulton also reported catching fish suspended around the bridge pilings in 30–40 feet of water.

For their solid performance Moulton took home $1,630 while Whited earned $744 for a team total of $2,374.

Waterford pro Jason Remmers and his partner Terry Bennett, of Madera, finished 3rd with a 10.62 pound five fish limit.

Remmers and Bennett caught fish early cranking a crawdad colored Strike King deep diver and followed up in the afternoon dropshotting Keeper 1001B hand pours. The pair keyed on main lake points. Their dropshot fish were caught in 15-20 feet of water while their crank fish were in 5-6 feet of water.

For their day Remmers took home $1,172 while Bennett earned $521 for a team total of $1,693.

Rounding out the top five in fourth place was Altaville pro Alex Niapas and his partner Jeff Eddings, of Ceres. The pair brought in a 9.78 pound five fish limit that was anchored by Eddings 4.72 pound lunker that took big fish in the Am Division. Niapas took home $775 while Eddings earned $460 for a team total of $1,235.

Fifth place went to Modesto pro John Silberbauer and his partner Eddie Kidd, of Marina. Silberbauer and Kidd brought in a five fish limit that tipped the scales at 9.72 pounds. The Modesto pro took home $500 while Kidd earned $155 for a team total of $655.

The Pro Division Angler of the Year point’s race is starting to heat up with Waterford pro Jason Remmers moving into 1^st place with 217 points. Remmers is followed by Manteca pro Matt Hudson with 211 points. Copperopolis pro Joe Bruce is right on their heels with 210 points.

In the Am Division two solid tournaments for Madera’s Terry Bennett has given him the lead with 213 points. In a 2^nd place tie is Vallecito angler Jeff Whited and Oakdale’s Brian Ruthman with 202 points.

The Angler of the Year point’s race counts all five of the 2005 events with the top finishers in each division receiving free entries into our 2006 Pro-Am circuit. The top 20 race to the 2005 Pro Championship is based on the best 4 out of 5 events.

The Bob’s Marine Pro Bonus Cash awards $100 and a certificate for a gallon of outboard motor oil to the highest finishing pro angler, who is fishing in their first season in the Pro Division. The bonus cash at Melones went to Clovis pro Mitch Mitchelltree.

The Thompson Chevrolet Pro Rookie Point’s Race tracks the same anglers throughout the five tournament season and awards $250 at the end of the year to the point’s leader. Fresno pro Chet Elia took over the lead with 197 points followed by Murphy’s pro Val Garringer with 183 points. Like the Angler of the Year point’s race, the rookie race is also based on five out of five events.

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 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.

Thanks go out to New Melones Marina for hosting our weigh-in and a very special thank you goes to Glory Hole Sports for hosting our check-in in the morning and awards ceremony in the afternoon. Owners Dan and Melanie Lewis also donated a bag of goodies and gift certificates to our just out of the money anglers in both the pro and am division.

Our next Pro-Am event takes place at Lake Don Pedro on March 5, 2005. Check-in will take place at Fleming Meadows. Mandatory check-in time is from 4:00 to 5:00 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.

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.