The inaugural Western Bass Shootout, featuring 50 top anglers from four circuits in the region, will take place Friday through Sunday at the California Delta.
Competitors were drawn from the APEX Pro Tour, MLF Toyota Series, WON BASS events and the Wild West Bass Trail Pro-Am Series. Anglers qualified through the 2022 points standings on their respective trails.
The full field competes on days 1 and 2, with the Top 10 fishing on Sunday. The winner will be determined by the heaviest 3-day cumulative weight.
The event’s $200,000 prize purse pays down to 25th place, with the winner receiving a Bass Cat boat, Mercury engine, Garmin electronics, Power Pole and cash package valued at $100,000.
Daily takeoffs will be from Discovery Park in Sacramento at 6:30 a.m. PST. Weigh-ins will be held at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center (1401 K St., Sacramento) at 3:30 p.m. The convention center will also host an outdoor expo with vendors displaying a broad array of fishing-related products.
The Delta, with its diverse mix of grass, tules, matted vegetation, wood and riprap, has a well-earned reputation as a big-bass factory.
For prespawn fish, anglers will throw a mix of vibrating jigs, lipless baits, squarebills, topwaters and wakebaits, while punching and flipping mats could also play. Anglers targeting bed fish might first locate them with frogs or soft body swimbaits, which prompt territorial posturing, and then target the hot spots with Texas-rigged worms or creature baits, dropshots or wacky-rigs.
“I would expect there to be big weights," said APEX Pro Tour competitor Tony Franceschi. "I think for the Top 10, it’s going to have to be about 22 pounds a day. For a potential 3-day winning weight, I’m going to say 80-85 pounds.”
For more about the event, click here.
