LAKEPORT — Gary Wyckoff of Folsom and Jeff Bitker of Grass Valley set a new tournament record when they brought 60.11 pounds to the scales during the 24th Annual Holder Ford/Konocti Vista Team Bass Tournament held Saturday and Sunday at Clear Lake.
The previous tournament record was 57 pounds.
Wyckoff and Bitker were in seventh place after Saturday”s first round with 26.54 pounds. On Sunday, they brought 33.57 pounds to the scales to secure the win and $6,795 in prize money. They said they caught most of their fish on swimbaits in the north end of the lake.
Steve Consalvi and Bill O”Shinn took second place with 56.48 pounds and collected $3,850. Third place went to Mike Tuck Sr. and Mike Tuck Jr. with 53.32 pounds, good for $2,265. Winning $1,699 in fourth place was the team of Sean Stafford and Freddie Contaoi with 50.5 pounds. Rounding out the top five was the team of Don Edmonds and Curtis Patterson with 48.13 pounds. They won $1,010.
The tournament paid down to 31 places and it took 42.56 pounds to receive a check. Forty-one teams weighed in more than 40 pounds during the course of the tournament. On Saturday, 59 teams brought in 20 or more pounds, which is also a record for the tournament. The average overall size of all the bass caught in the tournament was 4.09 pounds.
Big-fish honors went to the team of Jeff Otani and Jeff Dolak with a 10.49-pound largemouth. Six bass weighing more than 8 pounds were caught.
The tournament once again proved to be popular with the bass fishermen. Despite $4-a-gallon gas and a sluggish economy, 155 teams entered the tournament, beating out last year”s total by more than 20. Fishermen came from as far away as Idaho and Montana.
June and Ed Clarke (owners of Tackle It in Lakeport) were the tournament directors and said everything went smoothly despite the rain and blustery weather conditions during the weekend.
Most of the fishermen said they had a great time and overall the fishing was rated as good. The more successful anglers used swimbaits or chatterbaits to catch their fish. A wide variety of other lures also proved successful. The best action took place in the north end of the lake. In fact, the fishermen were often jammed into small areas. Twenty-seven boats were counted at the entrance to Clear Lake State Park and all were catching fish.
Weighmaster Ed Clarke said he was extremely pleased with the operation of the tournament and the conduct of the fishermen. Clarke said there was 100-percent compliance with the quagga mussel inspection requirements. A Lake County ordinance requires all boats either be screened or inspected and issued a sticker before being launched on Clear Lake.
