Glenn and Randy Pierson took top honors at the inaugural launch of Angler’s Choice new Motherlode division at Lake McClure on Saturday, January 4th. With a tough bite facing all 74 contestants due to rising cold water, a 1.01 winning margin vaulted this father and son team into first place. They have drawn first blood as the team to beat during the remaining 6 events for 2003 in the Motherlode division.

With a winning weight of 9.14, Pierson/Pierson reported catching their fish dropshotting with St. Croix, 6' 3" medium action Avid and Legend Elite spinning rods in 25-35 feet of water with 3" worms. They also had good success on Hopkins spoons and a Lucky Craft Pointer 100. For their efforts, they took home $1870 and a pair of beautiful plaques.

Second place went to another father and son team, local favorites Steve Tosh Sr. and Jr. with a total weight of 8.13 lbs rewarding themselves with $976 in winnings. Third place went to John Varanai and Steve Sapp, a pair of anglers accustomed to fishing the California Delta, but held their own with a bag weighing 7.47 lbs and a check for $769. Fourth went to Bill Hodson and Tom Gomez with 7.44 lbs good for $435. The team of Bill Allen and Gary Madson took fifth with 6.82 lbs and $355. Big Fish honors went to the team of Josh Ringeisen and Thad Ortega with a 3.48 largemouth and a check for $370.

Tournament director Danny Peluso noted that the weather was perfect for the fishermen, but probably played a less than perfect roll in catching good bags. Fish weights and numbers were down slightly than what was expected. The next tournament is Feb. 23, also on lake McClure. For more information visit www.www.usanglerschoice.net or call @209-874-9525. National Sponsors of Angler’s Choice include Bass Cat, Mercury, Yamamoto Custom Baits, Motorguide, Competitive Edge Fishing, Bass West and Lowrance. Regional sponsors for the Motherlode trail include Pizza Plus(waterford), Ferrarese's Deli, house of beef, and Dante's in Stockton.