Considered a pioneer of the swimbait craze, Byron Velvick, a West Coast transplant, furthered his legacy with the bait Sunday at Clear Lake, taking the Golden State Shootout bass fishing tournament, the second event of the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series, on the shoulders of the revolutionary lure.
It was nearly ten years ago when Velvick, who now resides in Del Rio, Texas, ushered the swimbait to the front and center of the fishing world. Then, he established the BASS' three-day tournament record with 83 pounds, 5 ounces. This week, he toted 98 pounds, 6 ounces to the scales over four days earning $100,000, his first career Elite Series win and a whole bunch of momentum heading into the meat of the Elite season.
"I love Clear Lake," said Velvick, 45. "Ten years ago, I knew this place was special. This lake is just phenomenal and it feels great to get this in front of family and friends."
Velvick attributed the victory to both his primary area - a shallow, warm bay that contained grass, rock and hitch, a rare bait fish found in California - and his bait choice - a Rago BV 3D swimbait. Earlier in the week, Velvick had noted that versatility was key, a ploy to throw his competitors off of his real strategy. Instead, he decided early in the competition he would either sink of swim with the 7-inch lure.
The key to success, he said, was to work it slowly and deliberately. The bait was created in such a fashion where it is essentially weedless but the hooks are exposed and Velvick said that allowed him to easily crawl through it grass. He knew he was successfully casting when the belly of the swimbait would turn green from its exposure to the grass.
And to entice the bigger bites, he would position himself in the grass, casting out to the deeper water and entice the hitch back towards the boat. The bass would then strike on the retrieve. His method - he labeled it pulse and hoover - had to be precise. The two-time Classic qualifier said if he fished just a hair fast, he wouldn't get a bite.
"A lot of guys came in that area and they just didn't know how to fish it correctly," said Velvick. "The bait allowed me to work the structure the correct way. Things had to line up perfect but I had a great combination of spot and bait this week."
The win brings Velvick's to a high point in his career. He has qualified for the past two Bassmaster Classics but he started this year with a debacle at the California Delta (83rd). Things can change quickly on the Elite Series, however, and Velvick made his California trip count with the win. He moved up to 23rd in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.
With Velvick not letting up Sunday, the most intriguing battle was for second place. Bill Lowen of North Bend, Ohio, took those honors over Guy Eaker of Cherryville, N.C. The two were fishing with casting distance of each other and the area yielded a bevy of bass over the course of the tournament. Lowen finished while 92 pounds, 9 ounces, while Eaker, the 70-year-old sentimental favorite, took third with 90 pounds, 11 ounces.
Lowen decided during practice to fish to his strengths and that didn't include anything to do with a swimbait. An Ohio River rat, Lowen felt more comfortable working a black-and-blue chatterbait and a black-and-blue swimjig in the staging area shared with Eaker. The finish was Lowen's best in his five-year Elite Series career.
"Most of the guys in the field were thinking that you had to throw a swimbait to win and they were right," said Lowen, 35. "But I had to fish to my strengths and I'm pleased with the outcome."
Like Lowen, Eaker earned his career-best Elite finish this week. In the end, the shared spot - while productive - didn't hold the bigger fish that were needed for the victory.
In fourth was Randy Howell of Springville, Ala., with 86 pounds, 2 ounces. In fifth was Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., with 85-3. Reese took back-to-back top five finishes on the California swing to open the season. And that puts him at the top of the 2010 Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, the main qualifying route into the Bassmaster Classic. The full standings can be found below.
Reese, the 2007 AOY, missed out by one ounce at the Delta tournament last week and while he didn't get total redemption, he has his eyes on a larger prize.
"I'll take second place finishes all year as long as I come out first in the Angler of the Year race," said Reese, also the 2009 Classic champion. "That's what I'm really focused on."
Only the top 12 fished Sunday and that included 19-year-old Elite Series rookie Bradley Roy of Lancaster, Ky. Roy, the youngest competitor to fish an Elite event, finished eighth.
Clear Lake is the largest natural lake to lie entirely within California. In sharp contrast to the sprawling, shallow Delta system - where last week's Elite event was held -- Clear Lake is 19 miles long, measures eight miles wide at its widest point, and has an average depth of 27 feet.
All events are free and open to the public.
2010 Golden State Shootout 03/18-03/21 Clear Lake, Lakeport Calif. (PRO Division) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Byron Velvick Del Rio, Texas 20 98-06 320 $100,500.00 Day 1: 5 29-00 Day 2: 5 22-00 Day 3: 5 24-08 Day 4: 5 22-14 2. Bill Lowen North Bend, Ohio 20 92-09 295 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 22-14 Day 2: 5 22-09 Day 3: 5 24-02 Day 4: 5 23-00 3. Guy Eaker Cherryville, N.C. 20 90-11 290 $20,000.00 Day 1: 5 21-14 Day 2: 5 22-06 Day 3: 5 24-00 Day 4: 5 22-07 4. Randy Howell Springville, Ala. 20 86-02 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 23-03 Day 2: 5 23-07 Day 3: 5 20-10 Day 4: 5 18-14 5. Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. 20 85-03 280 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 20-04 Day 2: 5 18-12 Day 3: 5 21-02 Day 4: 5 25-01 6. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 20 81-14 276 $13,500.00 Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 5 21-13 Day 3: 5 20-10 Day 4: 5 22-15 7. Terry Butcher Talala, Okla. 20 80-08 272 $13,000.00 Day 1: 5 18-03 Day 2: 5 21-13 Day 3: 5 22-12 Day 4: 5 17-12 8. Bradley Roy Lancaster, Ky. 20 79-11 268 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 19-08 Day 2: 5 22-01 Day 3: 5 22-09 Day 4: 5 15-09 9. Boyd Duckett Demopolis, Ala. 20 79-08 264 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 20-14 Day 3: 5 22-15 Day 4: 5 17-13 10. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, Calif. 20 78-09 260 $11,500.00 Day 1: 5 23-04 Day 2: 5 17-14 Day 3: 5 21-06 Day 4: 5 16-01 11. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, Mo. 19 76-00 257 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 21-03 Day 3: 5 22-12 Day 4: 4 14-11 12. Matt Herren Trussville, Ala. 20 75-13 254 $10,500.00 Day 1: 5 21-13 Day 2: 5 18-06 Day 3: 5 21-12 Day 4: 5 13-14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Bass of Tournament Bobby Lane Lakeland, Fla. 11-01 $1,000.00 Angler of the Year Leader Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. $1,000.00 Berkley Big Bag of Tournament Byron Velvick Del Rio, Texas 29-00 $500.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 72 416 1429-12 2 75 425 1496-09 3 44 228 876-06 4 11 59 230-15 ---------------------------------- 202 1128 4033-10 BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS Pro Points After Clear Lake, Lakeport, Calif. Ending 03-21-2010, Day 4 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Skeet Reese Calif. 575 2 Greg Hackney La. 538 3 Guy Eaker N.C. 517 4 Bill Lowen Ohio 516 5 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 510 6 Denny Brauer Mo. 493 7 James Niggemeyer Texas 487 8 Dave Wolak N.C. 483 9 Greg Vinson Ala. 478 10 Shaw Grigsby Fla. 471 11 Gary Klein Texas 462 12 Edwin Evers Okla. 454 13 Jeff Kriet Okla. 452 13 Brian Snowden Mo. 452 15 Matt Herren Ala. 445 16 Bradley Roy Ky. 443 17 Pat Golden N.C. 442 18 Derek Remitz Ala. 441 19 Dean Rojas Ariz. 440 20 Stephen Browning Ark. 439 21 John Crews Va. 436 21 Kevin Wirth Ky. 436 23 Byron Velvick Texas 431 24 Clark Reehm Ark. 428 25 Mark Davis Ark. 418 26 Zell Rowland Texas 415 26 Jared Lintner Calif. 415 28 Todd Faircloth Texas 410 29 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 408 29 Bradley Hallman Okla. 408 31 Kelly Jordon Texas 406 32 Scott Rook Ark. 404 32 Grant Goldbeck Md. 404 34 Terry Butcher Okla. 401 35 Matt Greenblatt Fla. 400 36 Peter Thliveros Fla. 396 37 Randy Howell Ala. 394 37 Mike McClelland Ark. 394 39 Bobby Lane Fla. 390 39 Morizo Shimizu Japan 390 41 Tommy Biffle Okla. 383 42 Kevin VanDam Mich. 374 43 Dustin Wilks N.C. 373 44 Brent Chapman Kan. 370 44 Billy McCaghren Ark. 370 46 Jami Fralick S.D. 368 46 Cliff Pace Miss. 368 46 Alton Jones Texas 368 49 Mark Tucker Mo. 366 49 Aaron Martens Ala. 366 51 Casey Ashley S.C. 364 52 Boyd Duckett Ala. 363 53 Steve Kennedy Ala. 360 54 Russ Lane Ala. 356 55 Rick Clunn Mo. 353 56 J Todd Tucker Ga. 344 57 Jason Quinn S.C. 342 58 Marty Stone N.C. 340 59 Gerald Swindle Ala. 338 60 Kevin Short Ark. 336 61 Takahiro Omori Texas 334 62 Vince Fulks Okla. 332 63 Paul Elias Miss. 330 64 Jeff Connella La. 324 65 Dennis Tietje La. 316 66 Cliff Crochet La. 306 67 Ish Monroe Calif. 302 68 John Murray Ariz. 300 69 David Smith Okla. 296 69 Terry Scroggins Fla. 296 71 Chad Griffin Texas 292 72 Pete Ponds Miss. 290 73 Timmy Horton Ala. 286 74 Matt Reed Texas 284 75 Bernie Schultz Fla. 282 76 Mark Tyler Okla. 278 77 Rick Morris Va. 276 77 Mark Menendez Ky. 276 79 Kenyon Hill Okla. 272 80 Wade Grooms S.C. 270 81 Marty Robinson S.C. 266 82 Davy Hite S.C. 264 83 Charlie Hartley Ohio 258 83 Mark Burgess Mass. 258 85 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 254 86 Jason Williamson S.C. 248 87 Scott Ashmore Okla. 242 88 Fred Roumbanis Okla. 240 89 Britt Myers S.C. 234 90 Chris Lane Ala. 216 91 Byron Haseotes Mass. 208 92 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 198 93 Keith Poche Ala. 185