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When Gary Dobyns entered Konocti Harbor, his clothes were soaking wet from the grueling ride across the wind-tossed lake and the cowling on his motor was off. He and his semi-pro fishing partner, Brad Bonino of Lincoln, were cold and tired from the long day of fishing in the second day of the West Coast Bass Classic at Clear Lake on March 19. However, the two anglers had big grins across their faces, in spite of the rough ride and blustery day, because Dobyns seems to thrive on adversity. "The wind helped us - the big fish bit real good today," said Dobyns. "The wind stirred up the mud and put color in the break where I was fishing. We caught all of the fish today on Lucky Craft rip baits on the lake's north end." The anglers ended up with 31.20 pounds for day, winning the widely contested event at Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa. Dobyns not only won the tournament, but took big fish honors with a 9.00 pound largemouth. Bunino also caught a fish over 8 pounds. Dobyns' total weight for the two day tournament was 48.38 pounds, while Brad Zunino took first place in the semi pros with 44.31 pounds. The anglers earned each fish that they caught as they encountered very tough fishing conditions. "We had to go through waves over 5 feet," he noted. "At one time, we had 3 inches of water in the boat!" Dobyns had been only in 14th Place the day before, when he ended up with 17.17 pounds. On Saturday, Dobyns used a variety of techniques, including rippin', fishing Magic Worms in 8 to 9 feet of water, and tossing spinnerbaits. |
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The 84 participants in this post-season championship qualified for this event by competing in at least five of the six West Coast Bass Super Pro Am tournaments held during 1999. Points were awarded according to anglers' finishing positions in those events, and the 12 top point earners in their respective divisions qualified to compete in the West Coast Bass Classic. Each day, 42 pros and 42 semi-pros were paired via an impartial drawing to form two-person teams that fished together for the day. Combining their individual catches to produce the heaviest five-fish limit, each angler was credited with the team's total weight for the day. However, pros and semi-pros competed in separate divisions. At the end of the competition, the pro and semi-pro anglers with the highest two day cumulative weights in their respective divisions were declared the winners. Dobyns, the West Coast Bass Classic Pro Champion, won a brand new Ranger 519VS bass boat equipped with Ranger Trail Trailer, Mercury 200 hp outboard motor, Minn Kota Trolling motor, Humminbird Wide Electronic sonar units and Thermo oil batteries. Brad Bonino, the Semi-Pro Champion, was awarded a Ranger 487VS, similarly equipped with components from the same manufacturers. The second through fifth places in the pro division were (2) Dave Gliebe, Stockton, 39.84; (3) Lance Kammerer of Sacramento, 39.33; (4) Kent Brown of Roseville, 39.93; and Mike Reynolds of Modesto, 37.94. In the semi-pro division, the second through fifth places were (2) Robert Williams, Citrus Heights, 39.35; (3) Mark Mendez, San Jose, 38.54; (4) Bill Durbin, Castro Valley, 38.25; and (5) Richard Trujillo, Morgan Hill, 38.08. Virtually all participants, after weighing in their fish, were all glad to be back on the dock and not battling the big waves with short intervals that shallow Clear Lake is known for. "You don't need to go to an amusement park," quipped Albert Berends of the Fish Sniffer, who was 10th place in the tournament with 35.06 pounds. "You can get a wild roller coaster ride by riding in a boat on Clear Lake on a windy day like this!" Larry Viviano, director of West Coast Bass, had been predicting some record limits of bass during the class, since the event was scheduled right around the prime time of the season to catch big pre-spawn bass. However, the wind that howled through the lake on Sunday dashed any hopes of that happening. "Saturday had good conditions, with light to moderate winds and air temperatures in the high seventies," said Viviano. "However, on Sunday the winds arrived and temperatures dropped 10 degrees." Nonetheless, the big weights of quality bass brought in during the tournament demonstrate how Clear Lake is one of the top producers of big fish in the West, even under very adverse conditions. For more information about West Coast Bass, call (916) 863-LURE. |
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