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TOURNAMENT SEASON IS
KICKING OFF
By: Ron Wilson
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Glenn Pierson caught the tournament big
fish |
December 10, 2010.... Carl Wagner and I
Fished Nor-Cal's Team opener the other day at New Melones. We had
pre-fished the lake in Angels Creek arm where Carl caught a limit of
largemouth bass in 15 to 40 feet of water.
On tournament day Carl and I headed back
to Angels Cove arm to a rocky point where we had located fish. I pitched
a Wright Baits WB101G on a darthead toward a large rock and let it fall.
I am not sure it even hit the bottom when I felt that familiar tick and
set the hook. The fish swam straight at the boat, a nice one in the 2
pound class. I was thinking this is going to be a great day but just as
I got it to the boat it came unbuttoned. Next cast and I had fish number
two on but it was a redeye and short.
On down the bank Carl and I missed a
couple more fish by fishing two fast, there is something about a bass
tournament that gets ones excitement level up a notch or two and you can
make mistakes.
The bite died so I started looking for
the fish in deeper water. Nothing at 40 feet, so we kept going deeper
until at 70 feet we had a hookup, I reeled the fish up and its eyeballs
had popped out of its head like a rock fish in a couple hundred feet of
water. Yuk, I didn't like that at all knowing that it was soon to die.
Yes it was a keeper fish but not the way I wanted to catch them.
Carl and I started working the bank
shallow again and Carl soon had a keeper on a 6 inch WB001r Wright Bait,
no monster but a nice 13 inch plus fish.
The rain and wind was making in rough
fishing in the area so we decided to leave and head to Bear Creek area
and fish points where Carl and I had some success pre-fishing. The fish
were at 60 feet and we fished in 30 feet for nada.
Left there and fished windy points and
marked lots of some kind of fish but they were not biting. Next stop was
in the back of Coyote where I found the fish at 45 feet. The fish would
bend my pole down and I would set the hook and the fish would wrap me up
in the wood immediately.
I was using a long Carolina leader, about
4 feet, so the fish could get the bait in there mouths on the slow bite.
The largemouths were eating, but there was just way to much brush in the
area to get them out.
After busting off a couple fish we
decided to call it a day. Carl and I had fun and knew with just two fish
in the boat we would not be dead last in the event.
I had a game plan to stay in Angels and
really work it over targeting and catching largemouth bass, but I blew
it when I decided to leave, oh well there is always the next tournament
at Lake McClure in January where we should do a lot better.
I was on the bump table helping weigh
master Norval Pimentel and could not believe all the small skinny tube
like 13 and 14 inch spotted bass that came to the scales. I saw 5 fish
limits come to the scales that did not weigh 5 pounds. I don't know what
the spotted bass's problems are but I saw the same thing happen to Lake
McClure and those fish came back in size so lets hope the New Melones
spots do the same. I did see three nice spotted bass weighed in with the
biggest going 5.8 pounds.
For more information on this event and
all of Nor-Cal Bass's 2011 tournaments, visit their website at
www.nor-calbass.com. |
