Next Stop for Everstart Series Western Division is California Delta
OutdoorHub 05.08.13
The EverStart Series is headed to the California Delta May 16-18 when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the third of four stops in the Western Division.
“If recent local tournaments are any indication of what’s to come at the EverStart tournament, weights could exceed 30 pounds per day,” said FLW pro Zack Thompson of Alameda, Calif., who has five top-10 FLW finishes on the California Delta. “There is a huge population of 5- to 6-pound bass. The bigger class of fish there is exceptional right now.
“However, they are not the easiest to catch,” Thompson continued. “An angler really has to be of the right mindset to go out and catch those bigger fish. There are so many 2 ½- to 3-pounders that it’s easy to fill a limit with 17 or 18 pounds, but that is not where one needs to be. The anglers that can adjust to the mindset of targeting the 5- to 7-pounders are the ones that are going to succeed in this tournament.”
According to Thompson, anglers have had a lot of success lately using Senkos, soft stickbaits, Little Creeper Trash Fish, topwater frogs and Rat-L-Traps.
“Being able to have two consistent days of finding fish over 7 or 8 pounds is going to be key to this tournament,” Thompson went on to say. “Unlike late summer or fall fishing when guys run the tide chasing big fish, anglers should be able to set up in one area — on the flats or near hard surfaces — and easily fish through the tide. The spawn that is taking place right now really lends itself toward the bass staging in one area and not moving with the tide cycle.”
Thompson believes that if the area avoids big winds like the area experienced recently. weights at the EverStart will be heavier than normal.
Anglers will take off from Russo’s Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif., at 7 a.m. each day. Daily weigh-ins will be held at the takeoff location beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
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, which allows them to fish the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup.
The EverStart Series tournament on the California Delta is being hosted by Hook, Line & Sinker of Oakley, Calif.
