Qualifier from local event moves on to take state bass title

Although defending champion Dale Ball was unable to repeat as California Bass Champion last week, the new king, Chris Childers of Glendale, qualified in the Nacimiento regional on his way to the title event at Clear Lake.

He had fished Nacimiento only once three years ago.

Creston’s Ball had to settle for 10th place and a $500 check. His first-day limit of 15.33 pounds had him in 18th place. He did have the sixth heaviest sack on Day 2 (19.33 pounds) that enabled him to move up. Ball was not available for comment. He was back on the ocean doing his day job as a licensed captain on “Clean Ocean.”

Childers overcame adversity en route to his championship. His Sunday practice ended after two hours when the foot pedal cable on his trolling motor snapped. That necessitated a 300-mile round trip to Hook Line & Sinker in Stockton on Memorial Day.

Childers, 28, a Pasadena City College student and a part time City of Glendale Parks and Recreation employee, had fished Clear Lake only three times previously. He had the big fish (6.10 pounds) on Day 1, but he had not entered the options.

He was in 5th place with an 18.37-pound limit and trailed leader Greg Gutierrez by 2.45 pounds. It took him 90 minutes to catch his big fish, a female that spooked easily.

Three quarter ounce jigs worked for most of his Day 1 fish, but the bite shut down on Friday. It took him four hours of sight fishing to get his limit. He culled for a 23.77-pound limit, the heaviest weighed by the 28 participants. It propelled him to the title with a final weight of 42.14 pounds and a $5,000 check.

Templeton’s Jay Short was the highest-ranking Central Coast angler with two sight-fishing limits totaling 37.69 pounds — good for 5th place and a $900 check. Short moved up from 9th place with a day two 20.41-pound limit. It was the third heaviest of the day and fourth best in the tournament.

Nipomo’s Casey Langley finished 11th with a 34.65-pound total worth $400. Jim Keeney of Paso Robles was 22nd, Steve Bereda of Santa Margarita was 23rd and Dan Barrios of San Luis Obispo was 24th with bag weights of 21.40, 20.14 and 18.58 pounds, respectively. Each earned $250.

The slumping economy undoubtedly helped limited participation in the second year of the CBC state championship. There were only 145 participants this year after 499 anglers entered in 2010. Cal Bass State Standings, 2-Day Wt., Winnings — 1.Chris Childers, Glendale, 42.14 pounds, $5,000; 2. Greg Gutierrez, Red Bluff, 40.68 pounds, $2,500; 3. Bryan Trudeau, Redding, 39.42 pounds, $1,250; 4. Sean Stafford, Vallejo, 38.76 pounds, $750; 5. Jay Short, Templeton, 37.69 pounds, $900; 6. Dan Wells, Galt, 36.07 pounds, $500; 7. Steve Yee, Sacramento, 35.81 pounds, $500; 8. Bryant Smith, Castro Valley, 34.99 pounds, $500; 9. Chris Frank, Petaluma, 34.72 pounds, $500; 10. Dale Ball, Creston, 34.66 pounds, $500; 11. Casey Langley, Nipomo, 34.65 pounds, $400; 12. Paul Bailey, Kelseyville, 33.78 pounds, $400; 13. Ryan White, Auburn, 33.36 pounds, $400; 14. Keith Rockancza, Angels Camp, 33.24 pounds, $400; 15. Bill O’Shinn, Yuba City, 32.48 pounds, $400; 16. Greg Troughton, Discovery Bay, 31.66 pounds, $250; 17. Kyle Rassmussen, Angels Camp, 31.15 pounds, $250; 18. Richard Neal, Clovis, 27.22 pounds, $250; 19. Alan Welch, Wheatland, 25.36 pounds, $250; 20 Carlos Vasquez, Soledad, 23.77 pounds, $250; 21. Ralph White, Cottonwood, 21.88 pounds, $250; 22. Jim Keeney, Paso Robles, 21.40 pounds, $250; 23. Steve Bereda, Santa Margarita, 20.14 pounds, $250; 24. Dan Barrios, San Luis Obispo, 18.58 pounds, $250; 25. Tom Schacton, Driggs, Idaho, 15.82 pounds, 250; 26. Terry Odom, Modesto, 11.76 pounds, $250; Bruce Harris, no fish; Joe Hinkle, no fish. Big Fish, Day 1, 6.10 pounds by Childers; Day 2, 8.19 pounds by Trudeau. Lintner Watch

Arroyo Grande pro Jared Lintner begins his seventh and penultimate Bassmaster Elite regular-season competition today on the Arkansas River at Little Rock. After six events, he ranks 15th in the Angler-of-the-Year standings with 1,293 points. He trails leader Terry Scroggins of Florida (1,490) by 197 points. More importantly, he is 110 points in front of the 28th place pro, Randy Howell of Alabama (1,180 points). The final regular-season event will be contested June 16-19 at Alabama’s Wheeler Lake.

Winners of the eight Elite tourneys plus the top 28 in the standings earn berths in the prestigious 2012 Bassmaster Classic. Lintner has qualified twice, finishing 19th in 2007 and 20th in 2008. Patriot Sportfishing

Roger York of San Luis Obispo reeled in last week’s biggest jackpot fish, a 9-8 lingcod on June 1. Other jackpot winners were: Travis Thompson, Lompoc, 7-1 lingcod; Kevin Rhea, Visalia, 7-0 lingcod; Robert Gregory, Kingsburg, 6-0 lingcod; Matt Nordin of Bakersfield and Sushil Kehik of Los Angeles, both 4-0 copper rockfish; Joe Contreras of Kerman, 3-6 red rockcod and Chad Corpoz of Santa Maria, 3-0 bolina The catch by 148 passengers: Seven lingcod, 523 red rockcod, 233 assorted rockfish, 245 bolina, 143 Dungeness crab and six Rock crab. Father’s Day Special

Patriot Sportfishing has a Father’s Day Special. On June 19, kids 12 years of age and under will fish free when accompanied by a paid adult fare. Dads have the opportunity to pass on the fishing legacy to their children. Kids will fish free on 7 a.m. to noon or 1 to 5 p.m. half-day trips or on the 10-hour (6 a.m. to 4 p.m.) trip. Call: 595-7200 for further details. Father’s Day Gift

Hey Dads! Here’s that great tangle-free reel you wanted. Now there are eight models, two below $50. How many of you Dads (and Moms) out there get tangled up every time you go fishing?

The author of this column confesses he does.

Two stores that carry WaveSpin reels are Cabela’s and Bass Pro. Shop at http://www.cabelas.com and http://www.basspro.com. Type in WaveSpin in the “search” box of each website to go right to the reel section. Both sites give WaveSpin very high reviews and ship within a day. Virg’s Landing

An overnight trip is scheduled this weekend. Departure is at 3 p.m. Saturday with return late afternoon on Sunday. Call: 772-1222 for reservations on the $205 trip. Twenty-one anglers on a June 4 Long Range trip caught 16 lingcod. Last week all jackpot fish were lings. Winners and weights were: David Ellis of Porterville, 18-0; John Miller of Atascadero, 15-0; Nick Mendoza of Morro Bay, 11-0; Tom Sipper of Lemoore, 9-0; and Steve Zuniga of Fresno, 7-0. Caught by 139 passengers: Forty-eight lingcod, 547 red rockcod, 753 assorted rockfish, 80 copper rockfish, nine bocaccio, and one cabezon. Central Coast Sportfishing

Jackpot winners last week were Roosevelt Vickers of Bakersfield, 9-pound lingcod and Bob Giubbini of Paso Robles, 9-pound red rockcod. The catch by 32 anglers: Nine lingcod, 169 red rockcod, 101 assorted rockfish, 19 sanddabs, nine copper rockfish, 5 cabezon and four kelp greenling. For trip schedules, reservations Call: 772-3474 or 704-2084. Port San Luis Boatyard

Thirteen salmon were caught by anglers embarking out of the Sports Launch last week. Sixty-seven private boats were dispatched. The catch included 22 lingcod, three halibut. The Whopper-of-the-Week was a 15-pound lingcod caught by Roger Kutz of Santa Maria on May 31. Lake Nacimiento

Heritage Ranch reporter Dave Rymal says fellow resident Martin Rowley caught 12 white bass Wednesday morning and Greg Hanley of Paso Robles bagged 10 spotted bass Tuesday night. Fish ranged from small to tournament-grade. The whites were on the surface from 7:30 to 8 Tuesday night and were being caught. “White bass are catchable, but you must work for them,” Rymal said. Lopez Lake

Using red worms for bait last Saturday, a trio of youngsters from Fillmore’s Ellis family —Seth, 7, Liam, 9, and Andrew, 11 — caught a pair of 1 ¼-pound redear and a 1-pounder. They were fishing from the F dock. “Bluegill and redear are biting, and crappie fishing has improved,” reports Jerry Weatherly, marina operator. Cachuma Lake

Fishing for trout joined shooting carp this week as the best on-water activity by marina operator Ken Hemer. Shore anglers around E Point and Harvey’s Cove have done well for trout using PowerBait and inflated nightcrawlers. Many stringers with fish up to 5 pounds were brought to the marina. Water temperatures dropped to 63.5 degrees, curtailing bass activity. A few smallmouth and largemouth were caught on creature baits and fly lined worms. Bow fishing for carp has been steady with double-digit numbers possible for those who put in the effort. Whale Rock

Fly angler Roger Grizzle caught a 9-inch trout June 4. It was the lone catch by 10 anglers. Nine trout have been caught in the first 28 days the facility has been open for fishing.

Paso Robles

Only one pig was dropped during the three-day Memorial weekend Wild Pig-only hunt at Camp Roberts. The lone pig taken was on Monday when the fewest hunters were on base. Twenty-three adults and two junior hunters were on base May 30.

The turnout on May 28 was 79 adults and six juniors while 63 adults and seven junior hunters showed on May 29. There were 13, 10 and five guests, respectively the three days.

The Nacimiento River is not being planted with trout, and any trout caught must be released. Four white bass were caught on May 28 when 13 anglers were on base.