OAKLEY, Calif. – Steve Sapp of Manteca, Calif., out-fished 55 competitors Saturday to earn $2,615 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Western Division event on the California Delta.
Sapp caught five bass weighing 15 pounds, 11 ounces during the one-day event including an 8-pound, 6-ounce largemouth that earned him an additional $275 as the Abu Garcia Big Bass in the Boater Division. He caught his limit casting a crankbait along grass in 15 feet of water.
LeRoy Bertolero of El Macero, Calif., took second place and collected $1,307 with five bass weighing 14-7. Dee Thomas of Brentwood, Calif., placed third and earned $653 with five bass weighing 13-9, while Bobby Barrack of Oakley, Calif., placed fourth and earned $567 with five bass weighing 12-6. Nicolas Sakata of Manteca, Calif., placed fifth with five bass weighing 12-3.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,307 went to Billy Dehart of Bay Point, Calif., who topped 55 competitors with five bass weighing 13-8. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $654 went to Dewayne Bonham of Brentwood, Calif., with four bass weighing 11-11, while Stoney Stone of Griffin, Ga., took third place and $327 with four bass weighing 10-15.
Michael Bennett of Grass Valley, Calif., won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $137 with a 7-pound, 5-ounce bass that he caught off a shallow weed bed using a black frog.
The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 30-Oct. 1 on the California Delta, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.
Operation Bass was founded in 1979 on the principle that working anglers should be able to fish competitively without interfering with jobs and family. The trail’s championship event, the Red Man All-American, awards $100,000 to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler. The highest placing CITGO Divisional Points Champion at the All-American receives $10,000 in the Boater Division and $2,500 in the Co-Angler Division. Overall, more than $5.7 million could be awarded in 2000 based on full fields in each of the series’ 119 events nationwide.
Red Man became the trail’s title sponsor in 1983. Wal-Mart recently announced that it has assumed title sponsorship of the tournament series for 2001 and will rename it the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League.