Thomas & Colunga Take Camanche Title With 15.98 lbs 

By Tim Paes   

Saturday, April 8, 2000 - Lake Camanche, CA .... The fourth event of the 2000 season brought 82 anglers to Camanche Lake to compete for the more than $7,000 in prize money that would be awarded. After a week of consistently warm weather, many of the anglers fishing the event felt that conditions would be right for a huge winning limit to be brought to the scales. Anglers reported finding the fish staged during the pre-fish period and after the warm stable weather experienced during the week, many felt the huge female bass would be in the spawning areas ready to move onto the beds. With the water temperature hovering in the mid 60's as the anglers blasted off, the game plan was set. Now would the bass cooperate?  

As the anglers made their way through the scales, it became apparent that the majority of teams were on the same pattern. However, the big fish that should have been shallow proved to be tough to find. The majority of teams reported culling fish all day, but they all seemed to be out of the same mold. Thirty-five of the 41 teams brought in 6-fish limits with 20 of those limits ranging from 11 to 14 lbs. Big Fish in the Pro Division went to Danny Peluso, of Waterford, CA, with his 5.02 lb. Camanche toad, while in the Amateur Division, John Azevedo, of Hilmar, CA brought a solid 4.88 lb. monster to the scales. The tournament saw 230 bass pass through the scales with a total weight of 447 lbs.  

First place went to Pro Gary Thomas, of Tracy, CA and his partner Willie Colunga, of Modesto, CA. Thomas and Colunga brought in a solid 6 fish limit that tipped the scales at 15.98 lbs. Thomas, who is sponsored by Outdoor Sportsmen, DJ‚s Custom Rods and Boats Unlimited, reported that the team spent the day fishing the north banks towards the dam were they keyed on well defined creek channels in water less than 10 feet deep. Thomas went on to say that they had caught their fish early on flukes and then spent the rest of the day fishing Carolina rigged Brushogs and Keeper Worms along with Better Bait Jigs tipped with Super Pork.  Thomas took home $1,610 while Colunga earned $702, for a team total of $2,312 and 2 beautiful walnut burl trophies.  

Pro Steve D'Orsey, of Pinecrest, CA and his partner Bryan Cox, of Salida, CA took 2nd place with their 14.80 lb. 6 fish limit. D'Orsey and Cox spent the day fishing the dykes. D'Orsey reported that the key for the team was to fish areas with wood on rock in water less then 20 feet deep. D'Orsey also reported that they had caught 1 fish on a spinnerbait and 1 on a plastic worm while the rest of their fish all came on jigs. D'Orsey took home $915 while Cox earned $686 for a team total of $1,601.  

Also fishing the Dykes was the 3rd place finishers, Pro Ben Galloway, of Tracy, CA and his partner Tom Sawicki, of Modesto, CA. Galloway and Sawicki brought a 6 fish limit to the scales that weighed 14.76 lbs. Galloway also reported keying on areas with wood on rock in water less then 20 feet deep. The team used flukes and worms in order to catch their fish. Galloway earned $380 while Sawicki took home $428 for a team total of $808.  

Rounding out the money winners in 4th place was Pro Joe Hernandez and his partner John Azevedo with 13.90 lbs. and total winnings of $846, which included Amateur Big Fish money. Fifth place went to Pro Jack Billington and his partner Aram Carney with 13.78 lbs. and total winnings of $570. Pro John Myers and his partner Jeff Skaggs took 6th place and earned $210 with their 13.70 lb. limit. Seventh place and $180 went to Pro Dan Perkins and his partner Ed Dickey for their 13.38 lb. limit. The final money position went to 8th place Pro Danny Peluso and his partner Mark Meidlinger. Peluso and Meidlinger's 13.14 lb. limit earned them $540, which included Pro Big Fish money.  

Nor-Cal would like to thank our trophy sponsor for Camanche, Central Valley Electric, along with our many product sponsors, Keeper Custom Worms, V&V Custom Baits, Fishin Musician Worms, P&E Distributors, ExCel Lures, Super Pork, Predator Worms, Malibu Boats, Universal Telescopic and Outwest Marketing. Also a very special thank you to Fishermen's Warehouse who donated a rod and reel combo for our product giveaway. We would also like to thank Camanche Recreation for hosting our event and allowing us to use their grounds for check-in and our awards ceremony.  

Nor-Cal could not afford to offer you the payback we offer without the help of our corporate sponsors. We would like to offer a very special thank you to Stratos Boats, Evinrude Outboards and Boats Unlimited along with General Motors and Courtesy Automotive. These fine businesses are supporting Nor-Cal and it's anglers. When it's time for your next boat, give Stratos a test drive and pull it with your new Chevy Truck!  

May 20th marks the 5th stop on our Pro-Am Tournament Trail at the California Delta. Check-in will be from 3:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. at Big Break Marina.