REDDING, Calif. (March 29, 2006) Local pro Jim Riley of Shasta Lake, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 1 ounce to lead day one of the Stren Series Western Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Shasta.
The tournament the third of four Western Division events includes a nearly full field of 193 boats. Wednesdays weather conditions were typical for the mountainous region of Northern California cool temperatures and a little rain. The lake also produced typical results a load a keeper fish and a lot of limits. The fishing was so good, the field of 386 anglers unofficially set an FLW Outdoors record for the most limits caught in a single day of competition.
I probably caught 20 to 25 keepers today, said Riley, who fishes Lake Shasta about 50 days per year. I started out for the first few hours in the morning throwing a swimbait on points. After that, I switched to a worm and fished anywhere from 10 to 40 feet deep. The fish are in prespawn, and the big one I caught today was about ready to pop. The big one Riley referred to weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, which earned him $700 as Wednesdays Snickers Big Bass in the Pro Division.
Rounding out the top five pros are Bill Townsend of Redding, Calif. (five bass, 14 pounds, 1 ounce); Gene Gray of Atascadero, Calif. (five bass, 13 pounds, 10 ounces); Scott Mascadri of Sacramento, Calif. (five bass, 12 pounds, 11 ounces); and John Billheimer Jr. of Discovery Bay, Calif. (five bass, 12 pounds, 10 ounces).
Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Benny Lentz of Cottonwood, Calif. (five bass, 10 pounds, 3 ounces); Justin Regelin of Anderson, Calif. (five bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces); Rob Dearmond of Redding, Calif. (five bass, 9 pounds, 9 ounces); and Merl Nunes of Vacaville, Calif. (five bass, 9 pounds, 4 ounces).
Dearmond earned $240 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 3-pound, 7-ounce bass.
Anglers caught a total of 1,848 bass Wednesday weighing 2732 pounds, 1 ounce.
Thursdays weigh-in will begin at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time at Bridge Bay Marina, located at 10300 Bridge Bay Rd. in Redding. Friday and Saturdays weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1515 Dana Drive in Redding beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of three rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 20 pros and co-anglers based on two-day accumulated weights advance to day three. Anglers start at zero Thursday and compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.