REDDING, Calif. (Jan. 28, 2012) – K.C. Harris of Shasta Lake, Calif., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the EverStart Series Western Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Shasta with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 42 pounds, 2 ounces. For his victory, Harris earned $29,918.
“Usually the wind plays into my strategy,” Harris said. “But this week, I was not really keen on the wind. I guess I really can't complain at all though. I fished last year's EverStart event and I didn't do very well, so now I'm doing great after today. It was tough, but overall, the bag sizes today were about what I expected to see.
“I had one key area that I fished for half of the day each day,” Harris continued. “Once I would get a limit, then I would go run points and other structure looking for a good bite. I was fishing anywhere from 5 to 15 feet for the most part. If I needed a fish, I would go out to 30 feet sometimes, and I could usually pull a couple out.
“I threw the Alabama rig all week,” Harris went on to say. “I had it rigged up with a Trout Ghost-colored All American Trash Fish, and I also threw it rigged it with Mother's Finest baits. I also threw Top-Shelf Swimbaits and Osprey 7 inch swimbaits, but I got my better fish on the Alabama rig. I can't wait for Clear Lake.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Zack Thompson, Alameda, Calif., 15 bass, 41-5, $10,257
3rd: Jason Milligan, Shasta Lake, Calif., 15 bass, 37-7, $8,548
4th: Matt Newman, Agoura Hills, Calif., 15 bass, 36-11, $7,693
5th: Chris Fancelli, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 34-5, $6,838
6th: Willie Church, Cottonwood, Calif., 15 bass, 33-6, $5,984
7th: Dave Russell, Cottonwood, Calif., 15 bass, 31-1, $5,129
8th: Kazuki Kodama, Torrance, Calif., 15 bass, 30-10, $4,274
9th: Tony Peterson, Livermore, Calif., 14 bass, 28-14, $3,419
10th: Aaron Cole, Salida, Calif., 14 bass, 26-10, $2,564
Church caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – a 7-pound, 9-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $238.
Blaine Christiansen of San Jose, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 30 pounds, 11 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif., 15 bass, 26-7, $3,969
3rd: William Penrod, Salome, Ariz., 15 bass, 23-13, $3,528
4th: Charles Keller, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 23-5, $3,087
5th: Jerry Lee, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 22-9, $2,646
6th: Gayle Janes, Bermuda Dunes, Calif., 15 bass, 22-5, $2,205
7th: Toby Farkas, Woodland, Calif., 14 bass, 21-14, $1,764
8th: Brian Ferris, Galt, Calif.,12 bass, 20-4, $1,323
9th: Daniel Leue, Colusa, Calif., 11 bass, 19-1, $882
10th: Russ Greenlee, Sacramento Calif., 13 bass, 18-8, $706
Penrod caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $158.
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 Strike King 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 the Ouachita River in Monroe, La., Nov. 1-4.
The next EverStart Series Western Division tournament will be Feb. 23-25 at Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and is hosted by the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau.