With only 2 events left for the season, top guns Randy and Glenn Pierson topped the field at the 5th U.S. Anglers Choice Motherlode tournament held at New Melones and have all but locked up Anglers of the Year.

After a week of ugly weather mixed with wind and rain, Mother Nature seemed to finally cooperate as 30 teams were set to blast off for a great day of bassing. Morning temps starting in the low 40's and expected to rise to the high 70's throughout the day with blue skies. Although this made for great fishing weather, it definitely made for a tough bite.

There were 20 limits caught. However, the fish weren't showing up shallow as reported by most teams. The majority of the fish were taken on a variety of plastics although several teams reported doing well with Zoom Super Flukes. Carson Creek was a good area to target and what bed fish that were seen were 6 to 10 feet deep, although most of the fish weighed-in were caught 15 to 25 feet deep.

First place winners Randy and Glenn Piersons managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together to cull through a couple of fish though out the day setting the stage with a winning bag weighing 11.49 lbs. They earned $1685 cash, $1000 BassCat Certificate towards a brand new BassCat boat, and a pair of beautiful plaques for their hard work. Randy credited the sensitive touch of his St. Croix rods as to "what made the difference" in detecting strikes while using many different plastics and covering most of the lake.

Alex Niapas and Jeff Johnson took second with 11.09 lbs good for $915. They said their best fish came ripping a Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow. This is the highest finish this team has earned this year, and it was a close one! Congratulations guys and keep it up.

The margins of weight from third down to fifth were extremely tight. Proper culling using balance beams is always critical when the fish caught are "clones".

Big fish are a bonus, and third place team Mel Biggs Jr. and Russ Pierson found one, with 10.15lbs and a kicker 3.74lb big fish, which netted them $985. Like the 2nd place team, this is their first money finish, and hopefully not their last!

The battle for fourth and fifth places was between the teams of Bob Bellin/Steve Marino and Jeff Stewart/Vince Vella. You've heard of the term "one degree of separation", but it doesn't get any closer when .01 separates fourth and fifth place, andthis was a close one! Bob and Steve managed to place in fourth place with a weight of 10.11 lbs and a payday of $390 while Jeff and Vince settled for fifth place, just one hundredth of a pound back with 10.10 lbs taking home $319.

The next scheduled event for the U.S. Anglers Choice Motherlode trail shall be a night tournament on Don Pedro June 28/29. This one should be fun! Contact tournament director Danny Peluso for more information at (209) 874-9525. Remember, unlike the competition, Anglers Choice is giving away 3 Bass Cat boats, rigged with Mercury Optimax motors, complete with MotorGuide trolling motors and Lowrance electronics at the Championship Tournament on the California Delta, October 22-25!
I'd like to thank our national and regional sponsors including BassCat Boats, Mercury Outboards, Motorguide Trolling Motors, Lowrance Electronics, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Bass West Magazine, Competitive Edge fishing, and ACProshop.com.