An old adage in tournament bass fishing is ‘consistency is key’, and that was certainly the case this week in the final MLF Toyota Series Western Division event of the year. Phoenix, Ariz., pro Conrad Demecs brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce – his third straight 19-plus-pound limit of the event – to win at the California Delta and earn the top payout of $25,819.
Demecs’ three-day total of 15 bass weighing 57-06 gave him the victory by a 2-06 margin over second-place angler Christian Ostrander of Turlock, Calif., who weighed in 15 bass totaling 55-00 to earn $9,346.
“I figured I needed at least another 19 pounds today, and I knew all the guys behind me are hammers with the potential to catch 20 pounds,” Demecs said. “I had to be consistent to pull it off.”
Demecs entered the final day just 1-04ahead of Ostrander. Demecs said he stuck with the same basic plan that worked the first two days, eventually burning more than 30 gallons of fuel each day en route to his win.
“I got two big ones pretty early and got a 5-pounder on my last cast,” Demecs said.
Demecs’ win came on a 3/8- and a 1/2-ounce vibrating jig, as well as punching with a beaver-style bait and throwing a frog. He primarily targeted areas in the mid- to southern part of the Delta, which offered warmer water and better grass.
“I just ran around a lot,” Demecs said. “If you want to win these events, you (usually) have to go punching but I couldn’t get much going punching. I caught fish this week on a spinnerbait, some punching, a few on a (Yamamoto) Senko, some on a frog. I think the warmer water is why I was able to generate the frog bite that I did today. I caught it at 1:30 p.m. when it was like 80 degrees.”
Here are the final totals for the Top 10:
1st: Conrad Demecs, Phoenix, Ariz., 15 bass, 57-06, $25,819
2nd: Christian Ostrander, Turlock, Calif., 15 bass, 55-00, $9,346
3rd: Adam Deakin, Windsor, Colo., 15 bass, 53-02, $8,236 (includes $1,000 Phoenix Bonus)
4th: Cody Crist, Ramona, Calif., 15 bass, 48-00, $6,030
5th: Beau Joudrey, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 45-15, $5,427
6th: Patrick Touey, Santa Maria, Calif., 15 bass, 43-14, $4,824
7th: Hunter Schlander, Modesto, Calif., 15 bass, 43-07, $4,221
8th: Ken Phillips, Concord, Calif., 15 bass, 43-07, $3,618
9th: Bill Oshinn, Granite Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 43-03, $3,015
10th: Ty Faber, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 15 bass, 41-03, $2,412
Mark Lassagne of Dixon, Calif., won the $500 Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Wednesday with a bass weighing 8-05. On Thursday, J.D. Blackamore of Yorba Linda, Calif., earned the prize with a mammoth largemouth weighing in at 12 pounds even – the largest fish weighed in MLF competition this year.
