Browning bags first EverStart win on California Delta

Day-two kicker buoys Arizona co-angler's EverStart Western Division effort

OAKLEY, Calif. – After the day-two weigh-ins John Browning, of Payson, Ariz. admitted he was feeling a mix of giddiness and nervousness over leading the co-angler field into the final round of competition in the FLW EverStart Series Western Division event on the California Delta. The nervous part clung to him all the way until he heard his final weight read and knew he’d claimed his first EverStart victory.

Browning got off to a good start by placing eighth on day one with 15-3. On day two, he took over the co-angler lead by sacking up a limit of 17-5 that included the day’s biggest bass – an 8-14. The bites were far less frequent on day three, but Browning’s final catch weighed 9-10 and pushed him across the finish line with a tournament total of 42-2 and a winning margin of 1-9.

“I had a limit but it was a lot tougher today than it has the last two days,” Browning said. “I couldn’t find my kicker that I’d been getting every day.”

Browning said he caught his bass by junk fishing a mix of dropshots, Senkos, chatterbaits and crankbaits. The latter, he said, was his most productive bait throughout the week.

“The shallower water had lots of (grass) touching the surface and where I’d see little cuts and channels through it, I’d throw my chatterbait,” he said. “I was trying to work my bait through the channels. You make a cast as long as you can, as hard as you can, reel as fast as you can and hope for the best. In open water, I’d go with my crank and when it got ugly and slow, I’d fish the dropshot and Senko.”

Ray rallies to second

Dante Ray, of Sparks, Nev. took the day-one lead with the largest co-angler catch of the event – a 25-pound, 9-ounce sack. Day two was humbling, as he found just five small keepers for 5-2, but Ray rebounded with a stronger final-round effort of 9-14 and ended in second place with 40-9.

“I caught all my fish on a 4-inch paddletail dropshot worm made by Atomic Custom Baits,” Ray said. “Yesterday, I struggled. I didn’t make the proper adjustments. I weighed in a pretty bad limit, but my first day got me over, thank God. Today, I made all the right adjustments.”

Chase drops to third

Kurt Chase, of Petaluma, Calif. fished a Bobby D Grinder chatterbait throughout the event and caught daily weights of 18-11, 13-4 and 4-8. He took third place on day one, rose to second on day two and settled in third today with a tournament total of 36-7.

“Wind was my friend this week,” he said. “When the wind died, the bite went with it.”

Adra, Sterud take fourth, fifth

Martino Adra, of Discovery Bay, Calif. said he realized he spent too much time finesse fishing today, when he should have picked up his flipping rod and punched the grass. Senkos and dropshots delivered four fish for 4-15 and a fourth-place total of 36-2.

Neil Sterud II, of Antioch, Calif. caught a limit of 9-1 and improved from ninth place to fifth with 35-14.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 co-angler leaders at the EverStart Series Cal Delta event:

6th: Charles Peak, of San Jose, Calif., 34-15

7th: Barry McCoy, of Castro Valley, Calif., 32-14

8th: Roy O. Desmangles, of Lincoln, Calif., 32-13

9th: Jack Farage, of Discovery Bay, Calif., 31-3

10th: Kenneth Mueller, of Lodi, Calif., 30-13