Shasta Lake WON Bass Pro/Am Feb. 2003

Hey all I just wanted to take the time to give you all a short story of how things went for the week and give some back ground on my preparation and execution for the Shasta WON Bass event.

I wanted to clear one thing up before I go on…I have been asked by many people about how I caught my fish and the answer was the same to all. “I was dart heading a #6 Rainbow worm on a 1/8 oz Dart-head, most of the fish I weighed in, came on that! I did catch several bass and weighed in a couple of fish on a Brown and Purple ¾ oz jig that my friend Mark Schroeder made for me, They were tipped with either a Smoke with red flake Yamamoto or XPS Twin tail grub.”

Now on with the story…I have only been on the lake twice since early November. I did get to fish the two days of official practice and felt I had just enough information to be dangerous.

My first day of practice I had fished the Sac and Back Bone area, finding smaller fish on a dart headed Rainbow worm and some nice 1 ¾ # fish on a 3/8 oz. Brown and Purple Duh Jig. Not quite enough to make me confident but at least I had caught some fish, the last time I was out on Shasta I only boated two bass.

On day two of practice I started in the Squaw that was a mistake, it was very lumpy up there. I also covered the main body as well as the Pit. The fishing was slow and I couldn’t upgrade from my smaller fish. I talked to my friend Gary Keeler who was fishing the tournament also and asked about the blade bite. He showed me his blade and explained his technique for me so I decide to give it a try. With still no luck and no bites on the blade, I decided to try some thing different. I knew that the fish had been seeing the same bait for weeks so I changed my blade to a great big Duh Team blade in a different color and the fish really started snappin’ the key was the wind!

Well I had a pattern and I was set, all I needed was an early draw on day one so I would have a chance to catch some good blade fish before the sun came up. No such luck in the Draw, I was boat number 4 in flight 8. The only good thing about my draw was I drew a couple of great AAA partners, my Day 1 partner was local Shasta angler Justin Goin, and Day 2 was the delta stick Tom Ehman.

On day 1, I started out up the Mcloud arm and started with my Duh blade and jig with no luck. After working my first area Justin and I only had a couple of fish. By 9:30 were headed to the main lake, my next stop I caught Two, 2 pound spots on a 4 inch Rainbow Worm, about a half hour later I caught one almost 3 pound and then the bite slowed. I moved up the Sac and fished for most of the day with only a few bites but one of them was almost 4 pounds! My next run took me back down to the Pit arm to finish the day. I culled one more time catching a 2 pounder, which replaced the 1 ¼ pound rat swimming in my live well.

Day two, I was out early and made my first stop in the Mcloud again the fishing was slow but Tom and I had been getting bit in the area. I had noticed some fish flash on the screen of my Pin-Point, so I picked up a rod with a Yamamoto Grub and started to swim it through the area. The fish came quickly and I loaded the boat.

Next stop was the same as the day before and again I caught a 3 pounder as I bounced around the area I tried to go back to the spots I had worked the day before but I noticed more boats in the areas. I didn’t really want the company so I left to look for other fish.

I ran up the Sac arm stopping at multiple spots along the way. As I arrived into the area I was fishing the day before I noticed a lot more boats in that area also. I also found myself trying to compete with another angler for some of my best stops. It really made it hard to concentrate and it made me hurry through areas I knew had good fish.

I do want to take the time to thank a couple of real Pros that seen me fishing in these areas and left those areas they were fishing so they wouldn’t mess me up. They just wished me luck and let me to fish…Jiggs Benn and Kevin Wiggins…Thank You!

Being pressured by another boat was uncomfortable and I didn’t want to be in a negative environment so I left for new waters. I ran all the way back to the main lake area and fished an area that my AAA sign up partner had turned me on to, I did manage to cull one more fish but ran out of time.

I admit it was agonizing to watch so many great anglers weigh in behind me and it certainly did break my heart to hear Rocks final weight on the speaker. Oh well second isn’t so bad. I can’t imagine where any one could have so much fun doing what they love with such great competitors, I love this sport!

I wish I could have been with my wife Bobbie and son Gregory on Saturday, He was in a wrestling tournament and came out Number 1. Thanks to both of you, for your support!

Thanks to my sponsors Nitro Boats, Mercury Marine, Duh Team, Rainbow Worms, Bass Pro Shops, PCWeb Communications, Sumo Frog, Harrison’s Marine.

Additional thanks go to Ron Crews, Phil Mitsuada and all those folks who served us a great BBQ dinner, Mike and the WON Bass staff, you orchestrated yet another wonderful tournament.

And to the Shasta Champion…Rock Douglass, Congratulations…You are the man!

Rip Lips,

GregG