The sixth of seven tournaments for the Motherlode Region saw another in a
string of "What happened to Spring?" days in the Central California Valley.
New Melones Resevoir near Angles Camp welcomed a great sunny and warm day
for the tournament.

Special recognition goes out to Glory Hole Sports who opened early for us
and allowed us to use their store for signup and awards. Glory Hole Sports
is at the front of the line when it comes to providing for the Bass
fisherman of the area. If you are fishing New Melones, stop in for anything
you may need, they have it all! We can never say enough for their time and
dedication! Thank you!

The buzz at the store in the morning was that the team to beat would be
local team Kyle Rasmussen and Joe Menzes. All they had done was win both
tournaments at New Melones the weekend before! Not to mention the fact that
they have a 5th, 2nd and a 1st out of the previous four tournaments they
have fished! Favorites to win? I think so!

And, of course, win it they did! Whether wielding a ski pole for the U.S.
Ski team or a fishing pole out on the "pond" in his back yard (that would be
New Melones!), Kyle seems to handle them both with extrodinary skill! Kyle
and Joe brought the big bag of 16.76 lbs. to the scale with a very nice 5.31
lb kicker. First Place with options paid $1890.00 to the team. That brings
their total for the season to an incredible $6392.00!! Having missed the
first tournament in the Region, Kyle and Joe now have four top-five finishes
with two wins in the last five tournaments. Even with the missing date,
they are in 12th place in the all important Angler of the Year race!

Falling a pound shy but bringing the Big Fish to the scales was the team of
Aaron Cole of Salida and David Permenter from Riverbank. Aaron and David
had 15.72 lbs. with a nice 8.99 lb kicker. The Big Fish prize and options
bumped their payout to $1354.00 for the day.

Third place went to the strong and getting stronger team of John Chiarpotti
and Joe Bruce. Their limit of 5 scaled out to 15.09 lbs. John and Joe
earned $781.00 for Third Place and options. Their top three finishes in the
last two tournaments boosted John and Joe into 2nd place in the AOY race!

Taking 4th place was last year's AOY team of Randy and Glenn Pierson. The
weights fell off almost four lbs. for fourth place as the Pierson's brought
11.26 lbs to the scale. That was good for a $435.00 check.

Father and Son team of Albert and A.J. Azevedo rounded out the top five with
a 10.37 lb bag. A.J. can continue to add to that College Fund with the
$355.00 paycheck they erned.

Don Longton and Corey Lewis took sixth place with their weight of 9.45 lbs.
The team earned $280.00 for the finish and moved to the 3rd place position
in the AOY standings.

Last in the money, 7th place went to the team of Bill Park and Ken Shaw.
Their weight of 8.91 lbs took home a check for $240.00 for the team.

The last tournament in the Motherlode Region will be the night of Aug
17-18th at Don Pedro. While the Angler's Choice Staff team of Bob Bellin
and Steve Marino have a comfortable lead in the Angler of the Year race, a
night tournament with two weigh-ins and a total of 10 fish can shake things
very fast! We will see on the water!

Please contact Danny Peluso at 209-874-9525