OROVILLE, Calif., – Lance Kammerer of Sacramento, Calif., out fished the competition Saturday to earn $2,903 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail Western Division opener on Lake Oroville.
Kammerer caught five spotted bass weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Bill McLaughlin of Redding, Calif., who finished with a five-bass catch of 11-9 worth $1,452. Kammerer was fishing points in the south end of the lake with a Carolina rigged worm.
Michael Tuck of Santa Rosa, Calif., placed third and collected $726 for four bass weighing 11-1. Tony Botelho of Hayward, Calif., who earned $629 for five bass weighing 10-9, and Dallas Merrick of Hayward, who received $581 for five bass weighing 9-12, followed in fourth and fifth place respectively.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,452 went to Barry McCoy of Castro Valley, Calif., for five spotted bass weighing 10 pounds. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $726 went to Kyle Clement of Anderson, Calif., for five bass weighing 9-10, while Bud Sipes of Oroville took third place and $363 with five bass weighing 8-12.
The tournament’s Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $350 in the Boater Division went to Ralph White of Cottonwood, Calif. In the Co-Angler Division, Roy Hunt of Redding collected $175 from Abu Garcia for big bass.
On April 8, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit Clear Lake for the second of five events in the Western Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament on Cal Delta Sept. 30-Oct. 1, is declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season receives $500.
Operation Bass was founded in 1979 on the principle that working anglers should be able to fish competitively without interfering with jobs and family. The trail’s championship event, the Red Man All-American, awards $100,000 to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler. The highest placing CITGO Divisional Points Champion at the All-American receives $10,000 in the Boater Division and $2,500 in the Co-Angler Division. Overall, more than $5.7 million could be awarded in 2000 based on full fields in each of the series’ 119 events nationwide.