LONGTON
& RAINS TAKE DELTA TITLE WITH 21.18 LBS
Saturday, May 19, 2001
Oakley, CA
By: Tim Paes
The 5th
stop on our 2001 Pro-Am Tournament Trail took place on the California Delta. The
event launched out of Big Break Marina and was hosted by the Hook, Line &
Sinker Bait Shop. The weather was unseasonably warm with temperatures reaching
the mid 90’s during the day. However, this didn’t stop the 76 tournament
anglers from making their assault on the Delta.
The warm weather
had little effect on the shear numbers of fish that were brought to the scales
as 33 of the 38 teams weighed in 6 fish limits. Most teams reported catching
their fish on buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, Senko’s, flipping jigs and brushogs.
The anglers brought in 211 bass that weighed 469 lbs.
First place went
to Pro Don Longton, of Atwater, CA, and his partner Chris Rains, of Soledad, CA,
with their 6 fish limit that weighed 21.18 lbs. Longton’s 6.40 lb. lunker and
Rains’ 5.42 lb. bass, that took big fish in the Am Division, anchored the
pair’s weight. Longton told the crowd that they started in the Break where
they caught buzzbait fish. From the Break the team moved to Frank’s Tract
where they flipped Brushogs on Trilene Big Game with Browning rods and
Ambassador reels. Longton went on to say that the pair keyed on sparse tulles in
1 to 2 feet of water. Longton took home $1,555 while Rains earned $1,305 for a
team total of $2,860.
Pro Don Kennedy,
of Elk Grove, CA, and partner Andy Collins, of Merced, CA, took 2nd
place with their 6 fish limit that tipped the scales at 19.34 lbs. Kennedy, who
is sponsored by: Yamaha, Skeeter, Wave Products and Valley Rod & Gun, reported that the
team keyed on thick weeds in 1 to 2 feet of water from Potato Slough to as far
south as Sugar Cut. All their fish came on buzzbaits and flipping Zipper worms
tied to Berkley Big Game on Shimano rods and reels. Kennedy earned $903 while
Collins took home $543 for a team total of $1,446.
 Pro
Paul Cox, of Modesto, CA, and his partner Ron Schultz, also from Modesto took
third place. Cox and Schultz brought 6 fish to the scales that weighed 18.58
lbs. Cox reported using 6” Senko’s on Power Pro line with Competitive Edge
rods and Curado reels. The team pitched the baits into sparse tulles in 1 to 3
feet of water in 7-mile slough and Franks Tract. Cox also took big fish for the
tournament with his 7.32 lb. lunker. For their successful day on the water, Cox
took home $942 while Schultz earned $352 for a team total of $1,294.
Rounding out the
top 5 in 4th place was Pro Andy Cuccia, of Oakley, CA and his partner
Ben Brooks, of Atwater, CA. Cuccia and Brooks brought in a 17.24 lb. 6-fish
limit that netted the pair $375. Fifth place went to Pro Dale Carney, of
Millbrae, CA and partner Aram Carney, of San Mateo, CA with their 6-fish limit
of 15.60 lbs. The pair took home $300.
Our official rod
sponsor, St Croix Rods, award the highest finishing pro and am out of the
money with an Avid and Premier Rod at each of our events in 2001. Pro angler
John Myers, of Atwater, CA, took home the Avid while Ron Wilson, of Modesto, CA,
took home the Premier. Thank you St Croix for contributing to our success.
In the Pro
Division Angler of the Year point’s race, Don Kennedy stretched his lead over
Dale Carney to 11 points as Paul Cox moved into 3rd followed by Frank
Lasiter and Tom Tiwater to round out the top 5. Ron Billings holds 1st
place in the Amateur Division by 5 points over Lester Yamaguichi. David
Wickstrom is holding 3rd place while Eladio Garcia holds 4th and Ron
Schultz sits in 5th.
Nor-Cal would
like to thank our trophy sponsor for the Delta,
Cunha Trucking, along with our
tournament trail product sponsors; Fishin Musician Worms, Keeper Custom
Worms, Predator Worms, Super Pork and Bang. Also thanks to the Hook, Line
& Sinker for hosting our event and allowing us to use their grounds for
check-in in the morning and holding our awards ceremony in the afternoon.
Nor-Cal could not
afford to offer you the payback we do without the help of our major sponsors. We
would like to offer a very special thank you to Stratos & Javelin Boats
and Boats Unlimited along with General Motors and Courtesy Automotive. These
fine businesses are supporting Nor-Cal and it’s anglers. Please support them!
The 6th
and last qualifying stop on our Pro-Am Tournament trail will take place on the
California Delta, September 29, 2001. Ladd’s Marina will be the headquarters
and check in will take place from 4:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Nor-Cal’s annual Open
Team Night Tournament will take place June 2 & 3, 2001 at Don Pedro and our
Mix Team will take place on June 16, 2001 at Don Pedro. The 4th
Annual Boats Unlimited Stratos/Javelin Owners tournament will take place
September 15 & 16, 2001 at Clear Lake. Visit nor-calbass.com for information
on all of these events.
Nor-Cal Bass
Tournament Trail sponsors are: Stratos & Javelin Boats, Boats Unlimited,
General Motors, Courtesy Automotive, St Croix Rods, E. Prouty & Sons
Trucking, Joe Coelho & Sons, Cunha Trucking, Central Valley Propeller,
Smooth as Glass, Bob’s Marine, Tracy Boat Sales, Auto Life Auto Parts &
Sporting Goods, Boat Country, C&C Marine, Ex-Cel Lures, Fishermen's
Warehouse, P&E Distributing, Super Pork, Keeper Custom Worms, Predator
Worms, Fishin Musician Worms, BANG, Thermo-Oil Batteries, Hildebrands Auto
Repair, McClure Painting & Plastering, Sipe’s Marine, J&H R.V. Repair,
Modesto Welding Products, Mickey Wall Painting, Winchester Farms
and Escalon Bait & Tackle.
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