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KEEPER WORMS ANNUAL EVENT
ON THE DELTA
By: Ron Wilson
August 28, 2006.... I attended the Keeper
Worms, (Jim and Judy Clark), annual Pro Staff fishing event at Sugar
Barge Resort and Marina,
http://www.sugarbarge.com/rvpark.html.
While Mother Nature was burning up the
valley, the breeze coming through the Carquinez Strait into the San
Joaquin Valley helped cool off the Delta and also kept all the families
and their kids camping at the trailer park cool.
The annual get together is to inform the
pro staff of new products and new Keeper Worm styles and colors that are
available to the public to buy along with renewing old friendships. One
thing that I noticed was that the pro staff did not seem to realize that
Keeper makes a swim bait that can not only be effective on black bass
but also ocean fish. I have been using them for a few years on stripers,
halibut, rock cod and albacore and yes every now and then even tossing
them to catch black bass. I sure wish I had thought to bring some ocean
twin tails along to use for top water.
Anthony Pimentel, Phil Gangwear and I
went out on the delta fishing together. Anthony tossed a new Keeper
senko style bait he called a warmouth into the tulles and soon had his
first fish in the boat.
A little further down the bank he tossed
it into a break in the tulles and it looked like a 3 pound fish caught
the bait in mid air just as it hit the water! I said you got him before
he even set the hook. That sure was a pretty early morning sight to
watch.
Anthony soon put in fish number 3 in the
boat and then the tide said it was time to move further upriver. Anthony
moved in closer to the bank so that Phil could do what he does best,
flip or pitch into the tulles.
Phil was soon dropping the baits into the
thick stuff and pulling out bass. Anthony and I were being taught by a
master on fishing junk or trash, way back in the deep stuff where the
big boys like to hide.
When Phil tossed back his 3rd or 4th heck
maybe it was his fifth keeper bass I said "Phil you better start putting
some of the fish in the live well to weigh in", as while we could care
less this is very important for Judy to see just what her baits produced
during these outings.
Anthony soon had his limit in the live
well and Phil and I had a couple swimming around in there also. I got to
watch Phil bust 50 pound braid on a fish. Phil said, "you know Ron we
discussed putting new line on this reel and I guess we should have done
it"! Oh well we were just having fun, that is what the Keeper Outing is
all about, but deep down I know that all 3 of us would of liked to
have had a look at that hawg!
Time for another move. We had just
stopped on a point when Carol Fergundes showed up in her Ranger bass
Boat. Excuse me Anthony she said but I want to fish that spot in front
of you. Seems she was there earlier and pulled out a large bass and was
looking for her sister. Anthony chuckled and said, "have at it". We
watched but she didn't have any luck there. Anthony knew there was big
fish in the area and stayed the rest of the day fishing around the cut
without upgrading his fish.
Carol won the event, good for her name on
the Perpetual Keeper Trophy and a $500 Check. The check is unimportant
to the pro staff but getting their name on the Trophy and the bragging
rights that go along with it was what the day was all about.
Sunday was the kids outing! With boats in
the shop and other Pro Staff having to work there was not enough boats
for each kid so Norval Pimentel and Larry Stewart ended up with a couple
little girls to take out.
Clear lake guide Jim Monk and I went
across Frank's Tract and when we rounded a bend by the barges there was
Rob and his wife fishing away, no kids were in the boat. Next year I
will make sure I have my little bass tracker there so that all the kids
get the time and attention they need at this event.
The kids had a great time and caught lots
of fish and there was no winners or losers as they all got trophies. Yes
some kids reeled in bigger sacks of fish, some bags weighed up to 15
pounds but all the kids caught fish and that's what the outing is all
about to me. Well that and the fun of just everyone getting together
like a big overgrown family! Family yep, you can see by the words of wit
above that there was a little dissention in the group. Like I said just
like a FAMILY GET TOGETHER, now I got to wait a whole year before we all
get together again. |
