Stren Western - Clear Lake - Jared Stone Wins

Swede · April 25, 2007, 10:55:04 PM

Great even when just good
Stafford's 31-8 leads windy opening salvo at Clear Lake Stren

By Jeff Schroeder - 25.Apr.2007

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Sean Stafford caught 31 ½ pounds of bass Wednesday – the 15th-heaviest limit ever produced in FLW Outdoors competition – and believe it or not, it wasn't even that great a day of fishing at Clear Lake.

Confounding almost everyone's expectations for the opening day of Stren Series Western Division competition at the vaunted Northern California fishery, the sun mostly disappeared and the wind picked up, really picked up, not long after the morning takeoff. That blew a lot of pros off their water and put a damper on the truly massive stringers anglers expected to pluck off the beds the first day.

Still, all things are relative when it comes to bass fishing in NoCal, especially at Clear Lake. Not only did Stafford, a pro out of nearby Fairfield, Calif., lead the day with the second 30-pound-plus limit of his FLW Outdoors career (his first, weighing 33 pounds, 9 ounces, came at the California Delta in 2006 and ranks sixth all-time), it took nearly 24 pounds just to make the top 10 in the Pro Division. A weight of 20 pounds – a huge bounty almost everywhere else – would have garnered you only 28th place on day one of the 2007 Clear Lake Stren event.

The reason, of course, was the size of the fish, which were obviously hungry with or without the wind. Ninth-place pro Zack Thompson led the monster mash by catching a 10-pound, 6-ounce largemouth to win the day's Snickers Big Bass award. A couple of 9 ½-pounders, including those caught by third-place Ken Sauret and 12th-place Scott Douglas, and countless 7- and 8-pounders also crossed the scale. Co-angler leader Daniel Montes hauled in a 9-13 kicker of his own.

And it's not just the size, it's the numbers. Out of 189 pros, 182 of them caught five-bass limits. Even the co-anglers weren't left behind, catching a total of 152 limits. The entire field weighed in 5217 pounds, 4 ounces of bass Wednesday.

All this on a day when the sun didn't shine.

Stafford's stealth

"I started out awesomely," the pro leader said. "In the first 10 minutes I caught my three biggest fish in about eight or 10 casts."

Despite his hefty 31-8 leading weight, Stafford, like many, said the wind hurt him today. In the same breath, he said it was probably the best thing for him.

"Maybe it was a blessing in disguise," he said. "Instead of running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I stayed in maybe three or four main areas. There were 3- to 4-foot (waves) in the first spot I wanted to go to today."

Most anglers had to seek shelter from the wind Wednesday, tucking into whatever nooks and crannies they could find on Clear Lake. Stafford's first nook proved to be his best – and only productive – one. Fishing a rocky bottom with finesse plastics, he landed those first three 6- to 8-pounders and then didn't get another good bite until the end of the day. He didn't cull out of his fifth fish until about 2:30, he said.

"It's a pattern that tends to work here this time of year, especially before they come in to spawn," he said. "They're sitting out there just waiting to move in right now."

With the windy, cooler air and lack of sun, the spawners in many places just didn't move up to the bank Wednesday. But they want to, and that's what Stafford capitalized on, fishing a little deeper, away from the bank. The wind, too, held him in check when the bite cooled off for a long period, keeping him from running around. Ultimately, that proved to be the right decision when his last two keepers also came off the same spot late in the afternoon.

"I probably should have left," he said, "but it's tough to leave an area where you've already caught three giants."

Interestingly, Stafford has a theory about why his bite shut down for such a long period today. After catching his first three fish, he lost the fourth one. That was when the fishing cooled off.

"When I lost that fourth one, it totally shut off," he said. "It happens every time. Even in practice, every time I catch one and let it go, they stop biting. I think they sense the stress. That's why I use stealth: I shut off all my electronics and don't slam locker lids and stuff like that."

1 SEAN STAFFORD FAIRFIELD, CA 5 31-08 5 31-08
2 GINO CAMPIOTTI MANTECA, CA 5 28-09 5 28-09
3 KEN SAURET PASO ROBLES, CA 5 27-05 5 27-05
4 JASON BOROFKA SALINAS, CA 5 26-03 5 26-03
5 SCOTT NIELSEN SALT LAKE CITY, UT 5 24-09 5 24-09
6 BRYAN LUTZ HENDERSON, NV 5 24-07 5 24-07
7 RICHARD DOBYNS YUBA CITY, CA 5 24-06 5 24-06
8 CHRIS NEAU CASTRO VALLEY, CA 5 24-05 5 24-05
9 ZACK THOMPSON ORINDA, CA 5 24-03 5 24-03
10 PAUL ADDI LAS VEGAS, NV 5 23-11 5 23-11
10 DAVE NOLLAR REDLANDS, CA 5 23-11 5 23-11
12 SCOTT DOUGLAS HANFORD, CA 5 23-00 5 23-00
13 ROY HAWK SALT LAKE CITY, UT 5 22-14 5 22-14

http://stren.flwoutdoors.com/tournament.cfm?cid=3&t=news&tday=1&atype=6&tid=5665&tyear=2007&aid=145769

Swede · April 26, 2007, 10:32:42 PM

It's Campiotti at Clear Lake with over 51
Records fall again; co-angler Holwerda hooks 13-1 monster

By Jeff Schroeder - 26.Apr.2007

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – To get an idea just how unreal the fishing is at Clear Lake this week, consider this: On Thursday, day two of Stren Series Western Division competition, pro Michael Tuck caught the now-15th-heaviest limit and co-angler Zachary Holwerda caught the fourth-heaviest single bass in FLW Outdoors history, yet neither one of them leads the tournament.

That honor belongs to Gino Campiotti of Manteca, Calif., who has amassed the ninth-heaviest two-day weight in history – 51 pounds, 2 ounces – to lead the Pro Division. His weight over the first two days fell just a little more than 5 pounds short of the FLW Outdoors record, 56-5, which was set at the Lake Amistad Stren last month.

Of course, the biggest record set Thursday belonged to Clear Lake itself. Coming as a shock to no one, the anglers obliterated the one-day total weight record set by the same guys just yesterday. The entire field of pros and co-anglers weighed in a total of 5,471 pounds, 9 ounces Thursday, beating their Wednesday mark of 5,217-5 by almost 270 pounds.

Needless to say, it was another long day at the scale Thursday afternoon at Konocti Harbor Resort. But it was a fun one for all involved.

1 GINO CAMPIOTTI MANTECA, CA 5 28-09 5 22-09 10 51-02
2 JASON BOROFKA SALINAS, CA 5 26-03 5 24-02 10 50-05
3 JARED STONE LAKEPORT, CA 5 20-13 5 28-03 10 49-00
4 MICHAEL TUCK ANTELOPE, CA 5 16-07 5 31-11 10 48-02
5 RICHARD DOBYNS YUBA CITY, CA 5 24-06 5 21-05 10 45-11
6 BRIAN NOLLAR HOMER, AK 5 17-12 5 27-07 10 45-03
7 SEAN STAFFORD FAIRFIELD, CA 5 31-08 5 13-03 10 44-11
8 JIM DAVIS SAN JOSE, CA 5 21-12 5 22-10 10 44-06
9 MATT NEWMAN AGOURA HILLS, CA 5 20-06 5 23-11 10 44-01
10 GARY DOBYNS YUBA CITY, CA 5 20-04 5 22-13 10 43-01
11 STEVE GEFFS ANTELOPE, CA 5 20-02 5 22-12 10 42-14
12 ROY HAWK SALT LAKE CITY, UT 5 22-14 5 19-13 10 42-11
13 DAVE NOLLAR REDLANDS, CA 5 23-11 5 18-10 10 42-05

http://stren.flwoutdoors.com/tournament.cfm?cid=3&t=news&tday=2&atype=6&tid=5665&tyear=2007&aid=145779

Swede · April 27, 2007, 10:40:26 PM

Stone cold monsters
Local pro hammers 80-15 – in three days – to lead Stren Western as Clear Lake once again crushes all-time weight records across the board

By Jeff Schroeder - 27.Apr.2007

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On the heels of two already historic days of tournament fishing, Friday's Stren Series Western Division competition at Clear Lake will go down as the most historic ever. This unbelievable fishery coughed up more than 6,100 pounds of bass, proving once and for all that there is no place like Clear Lake.

There really aren't enough words to describe what happened at Clear Lake Friday, but here goes.

For starters, Jared Stone, a local pro out of Lakeport, Calif., caught the heaviest five-bass limit of the tournament – 31 pounds, 15 ounces – and rocketed into the lead with an unheard-of three-day total weight of 80-15. That's right: 80-15.

The top-10 pro cut weight after three days settled at almost 65 pounds, and the co-angler – co-angler – cut weight came in at more than 52 pounds. And get this: Pros with as much as 53 pounds of fish didn't even cash a check. For the co-anglers, the money stopped at just below 44 ½ pounds.

Only two pros failed to catch a full limit, making it 187 out of 189. The co-anglers caught 178.

There were so many limits over 20 pounds – from both ends of the boat – that anything less than 25 pounds barely got noticed.

All of this, of course, led to what has now become the heaviest single day of tournament fishing in FLW Outdoors history. Combined, the tournament field weighed in exactly 6,149 pounds of Clear Lake bass, which absolutely annihilated the eye-popping mark of 5,456 pounds that they set the day before.

And here's the kicker: This tournament isn't even done yet; there's still another day of fishing left. However, in just three days, competitors in the 2007 Clear Lake Stren have caught a total of 16,822 pounds of bass, absolutely crushing the previous total tournament weight record of 13,767 pounds set at the California Delta FLW Series event last month.

1 JARED STONE LAKEPORT, CA 5 20-13 5 28-03 5 31-15 15 80-15
2 BRIAN NOLLAR HOMER, AK 5 17-12 5 27-07 5 28-15 15 74-02
3 JASON BOROFKA SALINAS, CA 5 26-03 5 24-02 5 22-03 15 72-08
4 MICHAEL TUCK ANTELOPE, CA 5 16-07 5 31-11 5 20-09 15 68-11
5 JIM DAVIS SAN JOSE, CA 5 21-12 5 22-10 5 24-03 15 68-09
6 WAYNE BREAZEALE KELSEYVILLE, CA 5 18-04 5 19-06 5 29-04 15 66-14
7 GINO CAMPIOTTI MANTECA, CA 5 28-09 5 22-09 5 15-07 15 66-09
8 JEFF BILLINGS CLEARLAKE, CA 5 14-14 5 25-15 5 25-11 15 66-08
9 CODY MEYER GRASS VALLEY, CA 5 21-15 5 18-03 5 25-14 15 66-00
10 ROY HAWK SALT LAKE CITY, UT 5 22-14 5 19-13 5 22-04 15 64-15

http://stren.flwoutdoors.com/article.cfm?id=145790

Swede · April 28, 2007, 10:20:03 PM

1 JARED STONE LAKEPORT, CA 5 20-13 5 28-03 5 31-15 15 80-15 5 18-15 20 99-14 $25,000
2 MICHAEL TUCK ANTELOPE, CA 5 16-07 5 31-11 5 20-09 15 68-11 5 30-15 20 99-10 $9,481
+$5,000 Ranger Boat Bonus
3 JIM DAVIS SAN JOSE, CA 5 21-12 5 22-10 5 24-03 15 68-09 5 26-05 20 94-14 $8,534
+$5,000 Ranger Boat Bonus
4 WAYNE BREAZEALE KELSEYVILLE, CA 5 18-04 5 19-06 5 29-04 15 66-14 5 27-02 20 94-00 $7,585
5 JASON BOROFKA SALINAS, CA 5 26-03 5 24-02 5 22-03 15 72-08 5 20-12 20 93-04 $6,637
6 BRIAN NOLLAR HOMER, AK 5 17-12 5 27-07 5 28-15 15 74-02 5 18-10 20 92-12 $5,688
7 CODY MEYER GRASS VALLEY, CA 5 21-15 5 18-03 5 25-14 15 66-00 5 25-11 20 91-11 $5,215
8 JEFF BILLINGS CLEARLAKE, CA 5 14-14 5 25-15 5 25-11 15 66-08 5 24-07 20 90-15 $4,741
9 GINO CAMPIOTTI MANTECA, CA 5 28-09 5 22-09 5 15-07 15 66-09 5 22-11 20 89-04 $4,266
10 ROY HAWK SALT LAKE CITY, UT 5 22-14 5 19-13 5 22-04 15 64-15 5 19-10 20 84-09 $3,793

http://stren.flwoutdoors.com/tournament.cfm?cid=3&t=results

Swede · April 29, 2007, 10:10:51 PM

Stonewalled
In epic hundred-pound showdown, Stone edges Tuck by just 4 ounces to win record-setting Clear Lake Stren Series

By Jeff Schroeder - 28.Apr.2007

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Stren Series Western Division anglers caught more than 8 ½ tons of bass at Clear Lake this week, but when all was said and done the exhilarating outcome was decided by a measly 4 ounces.

Western Division pro points leader Michael Tuck wowed fishing fans Saturday by catching his second 30-pound-plus limit of the week in the final round, but Jared Stone upended his first victory bid by snagging just enough weight to hold onto first place.

The final tally? Stone: 99 pounds, 14 ounces, Tuck: 99-10.

While all 20 pros and co-anglers caught five-bass limits Saturday at this phenomenal fishery, it was Tuck who owned the final round. His limit weighed in at exactly 30 pounds, 15 ounces – the 22nd-heaviest limit in FLW Outdoors history and his second top-25 record weight of the week – and was anchored by a massive, 10-12 kicker largemouth that ranked as the second-heaviest fish caught at this monster tournament.

Only three pros failed to catch more than 20 pounds Saturday, and one of those, compellingly, was day-three leader Stone. He laid up on day four with 18-15 – the second-lightest pro weight in the finals – but it was ultimately just barely enough.

Even Stone had a hard time soaking it all in.

"I feel bad for him. He's an outstanding angler and deserves all the success he's had," Stone said of Tuck, in disbelief. "But man, to come in with 30 pounds and not win, that's unbelievable."

Unbelievable? Yes, but that was just par for the course at the freak show otherwise known as the 2007 Clear Lake Stren Series.

Rookie – but local – Stone capitalizes on prime opportunity

Stone, who hails from Lakeport, Calif., on the north end of Clear Lake, has never fished an FLW Outdoors event before this week.

In fact, he said, "I signed up for this tournament Monday morning. I'd been on some good fish for about three weeks, and the FLW's the biggest thing to come to Clear Lake, so I figured I'd better get in on it."

Wise decision. Not only did he clear $25,000 and a new Ranger boat for winning the third Western Division event of the year, he etched his name into the record books. His 99-pound, 14-ounce total is now the fourth-heaviest total tournament weight in FLW Outdoors history, and the 31-15 limit he caught Friday ranks 15th all-time.

And really, it was that 15th-ranked weight that won this thing for Stone. By catching that 31-15 Friday – the heaviest limit of the tournament – he knocked Tuck's first big weight of the week, 31-11 on Thursday, down a peg to 16th place all-time.

Notice the difference between those two epic stringers: 4 ounces.

This was a week about numbers, and by his own admission, Stone's were bad on Saturday.

"I had a horrible day today," he said. "My fish were changing, and I didn't make the proper adjustments. I probably lost five fish today, including two really good ones. Probably three of them would have helped my out even more."

The first three days, Stone said he caught all of his fish on a 7-inch Osprey swimbait, targeting deeper water around docks where bass were relating to spawning areas. He didn't focus on a single area, saying that he "moved all around the lake."

However, as the weather warmed up each day and turned downright summery by the end of the week – it was 87 degrees and sunny Saturday afternoon – the big mothers moved up shallow and things got tougher for Stone.

http://stren.flwoutdoors.com/tournament.cfm?cid=3&t=news&tday=4&atype=6&tid=5665&tyear=2007&aid=145800

Stren Western - Clear Lake - Jared Stone Wins

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