Stren Western: Bay of pigs

Stafford hammers near-record 33 ½ pounds, leads sowfest at California Delta

BETHEL ISLAND, Calif. – As expected, the vaunted California Delta delivered big dividends for Stren Series anglers as they began the Western Division season closer Wednesday. Out of 267 total five-bass limits caught by the pros and co-anglers, 23 of them weighed more than 20 pounds. The day’s biggest, caught by pro Sean Stafford of Fairfield, Calif., weighed an astonishing 33 pounds, 9 ounces.

With that much weight, Stafford landed in the record books for second-heaviest limit ever caught in Stren Series competition. He is bested only by Ricky Scott’s 34-pound, 4-ounce limit caught at Texas’ Lake Amistad in the Central Division earlier this season.

The wind kicked up a little bit on opening day, which quelled many pros’ plans for flipping. Still, more than a few, like Stafford, managed to go after their bedding bass regardless.

“I basically caught all bed fish,” he said. “I found them in practice, but the real key was I drew out on a map where all my fish were and marked them with colored pencils. I caught all of my fish by about 8:30, and then I left and went looking for more areas with swimbaits. There are a lot more fish in that area, that’s for sure. I probably only went after 10 percent of the fish that I have in the GPS.”

Stafford said he caught his bass – 10 keepers in all – on a variety of baits: a Sweet Beaver, Brush Hog, lizard, Senko and Zipper worms. The key wasn’t so much the bait, but instead a little area that the California Delta veteran found off the beaten path. That, plus the wind didn’t hurt his efforts, either.

“I was hoping for wind because that really slows down the bite on Franks Tract. Typically, tournaments here have been won there, but the wind makes it a lot tougher. But it’s not going to make me catch any more or less weight,” he said. “(The area’s) not in Franks Tract. It’s a spot that, actually, I saw seven or eight people drive right by today. It just doesn’t look like much, but there are a lot of fish bedding in there.”

With just over 33 1/2 pounds, Stafford established a 7-pound cushion between him and the rest of the pro field. With the limits flowing, he hopes he can essentially prefish for the finals Thursday.

“Hopefully, I’ll only need 10 or 12 pounds to make the cut,” he said. “I plan to spend the day throwing swimbaits looking for new fish. I’ll probably go back into my area in the afternoon with all my colored pencils and stuff, just to make sure they haven’t moved.”

Collins second

Gary Collins of Paradise, Calif., grabbed the second-place position for the pros with a solid limit weighing 26 pounds, 8 ounces.

Collins didn’t target spawners, however.

“Most of my fish were big postspawners, and they’re hungry,” he said. “I was fishing isolated tule clumps in the channel bends. I caught most of my fish in 2 to 4 feet of water.”

Collins is a past Western Division co-angler champion (Lake Pleasant, 2004) who has struggled since moving up to the front of the boat last year. He felt buoyed by his catch Wednesday.

“I was blessed,” he said. “I kind of stumbled onto (the tule pattern) today. I fished one spot all day, and I didn’t even touch my backup spot.”

Davis runs for third

Donald Davis of Discovery Bay, Calif., made what might have been the longest run of the day and placed third for the pros with a limit weighing 25 pounds, 5 ounces.

“I made a hundred-mile run each way,” Davis said, adding that he fished an area of the San Joaquin River near Merced, Calif. “I caught my limit 20 minutes after I started, by about 9:30, then I left. I think I could have weighed in a lot more if I stayed. There are a lot of little potholes that offer protection down there for fish, but if you don’t know the area, you’ll break your boat.”

Davis also avoided bed-fishing Wednesday, saying he caught his bass on soft plastics in water 4 to 8 feet deep.

Strelic fourth

Steady Western Division force Jon Strelic of Alpine, Calif., placed fourth for the pros with a limit weighing 23 pounds, 11 ounces.

“I caught two on a ripbait and three on worms,” he said. “The water’s been too stained to see any bed fish, but I know they’re there.”

Russell fifth

Pro Neil Russell of Nampa, Idaho, placed fifth with a limit weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces.

“I’m fishing a big plastic Senko,” he said. “I just slowed down where I thought there were some fish and got in front of them. It was a good day, though. I didn’t lose any good ones.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros after day one at the California Delta:

6th: Roy Hawk of Salt Lake City, 23-3

7th: Rob Reihl of Tracy, Calif., 22-14

8th: Gary Thomas of Escalon, Calif., 22-10

8th: Michael Tuck of Antelope, Calif., 22-10

10th: Matt Lowery of El Cajon, Calif., 22-2

Each of the top 10 pros caught five-bass limits Wednesday.

While several anglers reported hooking and losing some seriously large fish Wednesday – estimates ranged from 12 to 15 pounds for the lost lunkers – the biggest one to make it to the scale was the 11-pound, 7-ounce kicker weighed in by Shawn Milligan of Roseville, Calif. He earned $725 in the Pro Division’s Snickers Big Bass competition.

Desmangles tops co-anglers

Roy Desmangles Jr. of Lincoln, Calif., caught a 9-pound, 10-ounce kicker largemouth and took the Co-angler Division lead with a limit weighing 22-12.

“This is great. I’ve got the shakes,” he said. “The rip bite was pretty good, but I also fished with an assortment of worms. That worked pretty good, too.”

While Desmangles leads, it was Jim Tatum of Bishop, Calif., and his 10-pound, 5-ounce kicker fish that earned the $245 Snickers Big Bass award for the co-anglers. He placed second with a total limit weighing 21-5.

Allen Vance of Mineral, Wash., placed third on the co-angler side with a limit weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces.

Co-angler Kirk Beardsley of Huntington Beach, Calif., placed fourth with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces.

Brad Lewis of Redding, Calif., rounded out the top five co-anglers with a limit weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

6th: Bart Corrie of Brentwood, Calif., 15-10

7th: Edwin Shaver of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 15-8

8th: Matt Russ of Peoria, Ariz., 15-6

9th: Jody Rice of Bethel Island, Calif., 15-4

10th: Stewart Wong of Sacramento, Calif., 15-0

Each of the top 10 co-anglers also caught five-bass limits Wednesday.

Day two of Western Division competition at the California Delta begins as the field of 197 boats takes off from Russo’s Marina at 6 a.m. Pacific time Thursday for the second half of the opening round. Following tomorrow’s action, both fields will be cut to the top 20 anglers apiece based on two-day total weight.