Carpenter Wins Everstart Series Western Division Event on The California Delta
OutdoorHub 04.01.12
Brian Carpenter of Bethel Island, Calif., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Western Division event on the California Delta with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 67 pounds, 6 ounces. For his victory, Carpenter earned $30,420.
“I’ve followed the tide all week,” said Carpenter. “I had a pretty good pattern I would follow, putting on close to 60 miles a day. I would follow the tide in and hit a bunch of spots, and then follow it back out and hit some more spots. Then I go flipping in the afternoon. It’s worked out solid for me, and I’m able to hit over 30 different spots a day doing it.
“The cold, rainy weather really had an effect on the fishing today, though,” Carpenter continued. “I caught at least 25 fish the first two days, but I only caught 15 today. The wind was blowing around 25 miles per hour, and it was brutal. I couldn’t get to some of my spots today.
“It was fishing the same way all week – crankbaits and flipping,” Carpenter went on to say. “I threw three different lures this week – a red Luhr Jensen Speed Trap crankbait, a red Lucky Craft U.S.A. crankbait, and a Strike King KVD HC 2.5 crankbait. I’d alternate the three depending on whether there were weeds or not. I was targeting 3 to 4 feet of water all day long today. The key to my tournament, though, was using my new Powell glass rod. It makes all the difference in the world, and is the one of the best things to ever happen to me in my fishing career. I’ve caught over 100 fish this past week on it and have not lost one. It definitely made the difference for me this week.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Phillip Dutra, Antioch, Calif., 15 bass, 67-5, $10,430
3rd: Jeff Michels, Lakehead, Calif., 15 bass, 63-13, $8,692
4th: Charley Almassey, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 63-10, $7,822
5th: Timothy Venkus, Wilton, Calif., 15 bass, 58-8, $6,953
6th: Salvador Herrera, Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 57-10, $6,084
7th: Mike Folkestad, Orange, Calif., 15 bass, 55-13, $5,215
8th: Eric Parra, Galt, Calif., 15 bass, 55-5, 4,346
9th: Ron Johnson, Chandler, Ariz., 15 bass, 52-8, $3,477
10th: Roy Hawk, Salt Lake City, Utah, 15 bass, 51-13, $2,607
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Hawk caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – an 11-pound, 3-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $242.
James Tate of Calabasas, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger 177TR with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 57 pound, 5 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Tom Elliott, Downey, Calif., 15 bass, 51-6, $ 4,035
3rd: Nick Nourot, Benicia, Calif., 13 bass, 45-5, $3,587
4th: Carl Limbrick Jr., Bonita, Calif., 15 bass, 42-11, $3,139
5th: Tai Au, Gilbert, Ariz., 13 bass, 42-8, $2,690
6th: Travis Moran, Reno, Nev., 15 bass, 41-3, $2,242
7th: Ryan Bottini, Benicia, Calif., 12 bass, 41-1, $1,793
8th: Brandon Marcis, Tempe, Ariz., 15 bass, 40-9, $1,345
9th: Daniel Leue, Colusa, Calif., 13 bass, 38-4, $897
10th: Gayle Janes, Bermuda Dunes, Calif., 13 bass, 35-14, $717
Aaron Agner caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a 10-pound, 13-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $161.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La., Nov. 1-4.
The next EverStart Series Western Division tournament will be April 26-28 at Clear Lake in Kelseyville, Calif., and is hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.
