LAKEPORT >> Russ Graves of El Dorado Hills and Shane Peirson of Roseville teamed up to win the 30th annual Clear Lake Team Bass Tournament with a two-day weight of 64.78 pounds. They beat out 115 other teams to win the $5,000 first-place prize.
While the number of teams participating in this year’s tournament was down from last year’s 134, the fishing both Saturday and Sunday produced five-fish limit after five-fish limit. Each of the top seven teams weighed in 50-plus pounds and it took 35.90 pounds just to finish in the money.
Twenty-two teams took home paychecks in the 100-percent payback tournament, which was hosted by Konocti Vista Casino & Resort in Lakeport. Graves and Pearson finished more than five pounds ahead of the runner-up and father-and-son team of Bill and Chris Dabbs of Ukiah. The Dabbs brought 59.14 pounds to the weigh scales and collected a $3,000 check.
Graves and Peirson weighed in 37 pounds on Saturday and another 27.78 on Sunday. They said they used a variety of lures ranging from swimbaits to jigs to crankbaits.
Third place with 56.56 pounds went to Chris Martin and Jeff Bitker ($1,500) while fourth place with 55.06 pounds went to Wally Smith and Tom Jolin ($1,250). Gary Collins and John Pearl rounded out the top five with 53.58 pounds, good for $1,000.
Big-fish honors went to Paul and Brian Bailey on Saturday with a 10.90-pound fish and to Mike Ewing and Kenny Shearer on Sunday with a 10.96-pound fish. Both teams received $1,000. The Baileys also placed seventh overall with 50.0 pounds to collect an additional $800 while the Ewing-Shearer team came in 13th to win another $500.
The Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Konocti Vista Casino & Resort and Redwood Ford were the major sponsors of this year’s tournament.
