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West Coast Bass Pro Ams - tournament bass fishing the California Delta, Shasta & Clear Lake
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Pre fishing Clear Lake for West Coast Bass 2009 Pro Am tournament
West Coast Bass and their Pro Am Tournaments attempted a comeback in 2009. West Coast Bass was a large, prestigious circuit many years ago, and dove back into the biz last year.
Their fist year back was not quite as big as expected but that may be a sign of the economic times.
West Coast Bass hasn't given up and the 2010 schedule has been set. They are one of the few Pro Ams left on the Delta, as the Nor Cal Pro Am circuit announced closure earlier this year.
One thing that differentiated West Coast Bass and Nor Cal Bass pro ams were their shared weight competitions. This is an important aspect to many co anglers that fish the back of the boat, due to the fact, that if it is not a shared weight format, the boater or pro can direct the boat so that the co-angler is in a less than perfect position and is less likely to make good casts and catches.
Individual weights for team fishing actually creates competition between the two anglers on the boat, unfortunately for the non boater or person in the back they have no control and get the short end of the rod.
Many pro ams tournaments are individual weight format, however West Coast Bass and Nor Cal Bass allowed the boater and non boater, or pro and am to work together, encourage camaraderie and fish as a team.
The 2010 West Coast Bass Pro Am's are being called the "best lakes, best times of the year!". The fist lake on the schedule is Clear Lake, followed by two stops at the California Delta and two at Shasta.
The new year also sees a schedule for the "Super Team" events. these four events will be held twice at Clear Lake, with a fall stop in Oroville and a Shasta date to be announced.
West Coast Bass has a history in Sacramento and historic media footage clips can be watched from years past. 2009 events were covered by Angler West TV and Pure Bass. The DVD "West Coast Bass '09 at Clear Lake" is available for purchase.
The premiere 2009 Clear Lake event was held in February and amidst the stormy weather 43 boats each with a pro angler and an amateur co angler, blasted off to find the five biggest fish on the lake. After two days of braving the winds, choppy water and incessant rains the field was narrowed down to the final 8 to take a home a share of the winnings.
The top placing pro, Sean Stafford bagged 44.1 lbs earning over $8,000, and top co angler, Dave Keithahn weighed in with 46.68 lbs for over $3,000.Second place pro on Clear Lake went to Richard Dobyns, son of Gary Dobyns who won the West Coast Bass Classic in 2000. and th 2009 U.S. Open.
The circuit ended on the California Delta in October with Jim Novotny and Russ Meyer talking first and second for the pro year to date standings for Angler of the Year and Josh Palmer ranked first as the amateur Angler of the Year.
In an attempt to bring more support in bleak economic times, entry fees are said to have been lowered for the 2010 series.
The West Coast Bass website is available for more information.
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