STOCKTON, Calif. (May 7, 2011) – Sean Minderman of Spokane, Wash., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Western Division bass fishing tournament on the California Delta with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 68 pounds, 5 ounces. For his victory, Minderman earned $31,442 and a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor.
“It has been a while and what a great feeling,” said Minderman. “It has been a tough go the last couple of years and I have not been able to fish as much as I would have liked to. It just feels like God has shined on me this week and I have to thank Ranger Boats, my family including my wife Michelle, my son Kade and my daughter Kailey.”
“With the weather warming up, I figured the fish would be moving up to spawn so I looked for areas where they would be moving into and a found a couple that I felt would work,” added Minderman. “I burnt those spots up the first two days as I caught a 9-pounder on the first day and an 11-pounder on the second day, but had to scramble today and God shined on me and I was able to find a spot where I caught my big three today.”
Minderman went on to say that he caught all his fish on the first day using a Senko and on the second day he caught his fish flipping a beaver. He said he boated his big three on the final day using a Roboworm drop-shot.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Charlie Weyer, West Hills, Calif., 15 bass, 65-13, $10,780
3rd: Clifford Pirch, Payson, Ariz., 15 bass, 65-10, $8,983
4th: Stephen Tosh Jr., Modesto, Calif., 15 bass, 63-4, $8,085
5th: Mark Casey, Fairfield, Calif., 15 bass, 63-3, $7,187
6th: Joe Uribe Jr., Lake Forest, Calif., 15 bass, 62-11, $6,288
7th: Ken Mah, Elk Grove, Calif., 15 bass, 58-8, $5,390
8th: Robert Lee, Angels Camp, Calif., 15 bass, 58-0, $4,492
9th: Benjamin Byrd, Moab, Utah, 15 bass, 56-2, $3,593
10th: Michael Tuck, Granite Bay, Calif., 14 bass, 51-3, $2,695
Lee caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – an 11-pound, 1-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $254.
Kyle Baker of Lancaster, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger boat with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 41 pound, 14 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Lester Albury, Temecula, Calif., 15 bass, 39-0, $4,143
3rd: Gary Morris, Tracy, Calif., 14 bass, 37-12, $3,683
4th: Steven Cook, Phoenix, Ariz., 15 bass, 37-10, $3,222
5th: Phil Risnes, Hartford, S.D., 13 bass, 37-2, $2,762
6th: Greig Sniffen, Saratoga, Calif., 15 bass, 35-11, $2,302
7th: Jared Frantzich, Sacramento, Calif., 14 bass, 35-4, $1,841
8th: Hideki Maeda, 13 bass, 33-0, $1,381
9th: Christopher Irigoyen, Henderson, Nev., 12 bass, 31-7, $921
10th: Mike Chen of Stockton, Calif., 12 bass, 29-9, $737
Morris caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – an 11-pound, 6-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $169.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn., Oct. 27-30.
The final EverStart Series Western Division tournament will be Sept. 22-24 on Clear Lake in Clear lake, Calif. and is hosted by Twin Pine Casino & Hotel.