CLEARLAKE OAKS — Joe Everett and Jim Malm of Roseville teamed up to win the inaugural Clear Lake Crappie Tournament on Saturday in Clearlake Oaks.
Everett and Malm weighed in a 10-fish limit for a winning weight of 21.42 pounds. They pocketed the first-place prize of $1,000 and also won an additional $500 for bringing in the day’s big fish, a 2.68-pounder.
Second place and $800 went to Dave Buruss and Nathan Phillips with 21.06 pounds, third place and $500 went to Paul Kinney and Scott Gauthier with 20.36 pounds, fourth place and $400 went to Jay Strugnell and Scott Strugnell with 20.34 pounds, and fifth place and $300 went to Herbert Cornwell and Dale Patton with 19.85 pounds.
Just missing out on the money in sixth place was the team Dale Royal and Jim Royal with 19.65 pounds.
Rounding out the top 10 places were Gary Skym and Gary Skym Jr. in seventh with 18.17 pounds, Dennis Bender and Dan Bender in eighth with 17.45 pounds, Joe Skym and Joey Skym in ninth place with 16.76 pounds, and Aaron Jennings and Chris Round in 10th place with 16.50 pounds.
Seventeen teams in the 50-team field weighed in 10-fish limits. The average size fish among the top five teams was a whopping 2.06 pounds.
Fishermen reported that most of the crappie were caught early in the morning on bobbers with a 4- to 7-foot leader, and later in the day on swimming jigs in 10-15 feet.
Another crappie tournament is scheduled for Feb. 23 in Lakeport at the Fifth Street boat ramp. The team limit will be raised to 75 and the entry fee is $60 per team. Call Clear Lake Outdoors at 262-5852 or Lakeport Bait & Tackle for more information.
