Central Coast Fishing: SLO County Bass Ambushers hold Clear Lake tournament

Nine members of the San Luis Obispo County Bass Ambushers — tired of the same ol’ same ol’ — set out on a new course last weekend, one that will carry over to next year.

Instead of fishing Lake Nacimiento, which is the lone body of water on the Central Coast conducive to tournament bass fishing, the group opted for a venue some 400 miles away.

Clear Lake was not only the tournament site for a two-day event last weekend, but the experience was so pleasant that several non-area sites figure to be on the 2017 schedule.

“The fishing at Clear Lake was fantastic. You can easily catch 50 fish a day, and every fourth or fifth bass would be at least a 4-pounder,” said Erik Zillig, who won the transplanted Ambushers’ tournament at one of California’s finest bass fisheries.

The Paso Robles angler caught the big fish of the tournament (7.15 pounds) Saturday by flippin. “I also did well with a square billed crankbait,” he said.

Runner-up Steve Bereda from Santa Margarita groaned at the thought of how close he came to winning: 12/100th of a pound, 34.31 to 34.19 pounds.

Bereda had his most success flippin and with crankbait offerings.

Ambushers’ Two-Day Results (number of fish, weight, Winnings): 1.Erik Zillig, Paso Robles, 10, 34.31 pounds, $158; 2. Steve Bereda, Santa Margarita, 10, 34.19, $95; 3. Marc Hazuka, Atascadero, 10, 29.74, $65; 4. Jerry May, Paso Robles, 10, 28.81, 5. Al Rush, Paso Robles, 10, 26.49; 6. Burt Lund, Atascadero, 10, 20.95; 7. Tom White, King City, 10, 20.50; 8. Ken Meeks, Atascadero, 10, 19.43; 9. *Paul Bailey, Creston, 6, 11.67.

*Disqualified for having six fish in live well on day two.

Day 1 Big Fish: Hazuka, 7.15 pounds, $45; Day 2 Big Fish: Bereda, 4.97, $45.

Vidmar Remembered

Steve Vidmar, who served as Tri Valley Bass Club’s tournament director for 15 years through the 2015 season, was remembered prior to the start of the Sept. 17 club tournament at Lake Nacimiento.

Vidmar died Sept. 16.

Club member Frank Fernandes offered a prayer prior to the start of the final tournament of the year.

Josh Signorelli, who succeeded Vidmar as club leader in 2016, called for a period of silence after the prayer.

Instead of being a fish-off as originally scheduled, the event was counted as the eighth and final competition of the year. Joey Reggio and Bryan Nawrocki won for the second time with a 12.82-pound limit.

A fourth place finish by Lompoc brothers, Bill and Pat Twomey, was good enough for them to secure Anglers of the Year honors.

Tri Valley Results, Seven teams had 5-fish limits: 1. Joey Reggio, San Luis Obispo, Brian Nawrocki, Atascadero, 12.82 pounds; 2. Chris and Cathy Purgason, Lompoc, 10.71 pounds; 3. Russ Minneau, Sisquoc, Dan Dostal, Grover Beach, 9.18 pounds; 4. Bill and Pat Twomey, Lompoc, 7.18 pounds; 5. Ron and Derek Morrison, Lompoc, 7.09 pounds; 6. Frank Fernandes, Santa Maria, Janet Ross, Santa Margarita, 6.98 pounds; 7. Dustin and Ted McAllister, San Luis Obispo, 6.67 pounds; 8. Mike Michaud and Josh Signorelli, Lompoc, three fish for 4.59 pounds.

Tip Martin, San Luis Obispo, who partnered with Vidmar during 2016, had a limit but elected not to weigh-in as a tribute to his late partner.

Virg’s Landing

Customers come from many different places, so it’s not unusual for an out-of-state resident to qualify for Virg’s end-of-the-year Lingcod celebration.

The newest qualifier for the big fish-off in December is Kevin Dyer from Fults, Illinois. He boated the biggest lingcod during the 25th week of the competition, 19.3 pounds.

Bruce Harwood, Virg’s manager, reported: “During the week ending Sept. 24, we had seven trips, and 169 patrons caught 1,705 fish, including 99 lingcod. Our lingcod count for the years stands at 5,573.”

Other jackpot winners last week were Mike Walla, Lompoc, 11.3-pound ling, and Scott Rome, Paso Robles, 8.0 ling.

Port San Luis Boatyard

An Oceano angler, Matt Barcoff became the 18th Whopper of the Week title holder of 2016 by weighing a 12.4-pound lingcod.

Sixty-six boats were launched last week. The catch included 55 lingcod, four halibut, three bonito and one white seabass.

Patriot Sportfishing

Jackpot winners last week included: Eric Pitman, Orcutt, 17.8 ling; Gary Wilkin, Santa Maria, 14.0 ling; Jerry Pathbint, 11.0 ling; Mike Leal, Oceano, David Trout, Corcoran, both 10.0 lings; Carissa Perez, Grover Beach, 8.0 ling; Arnold Luisi, Arroyo Grande, 9.0 ling; Kevin McKee, Nipomo, 8.0 ling; and Dallas Meador, Atascadero, 3.0 bocaccio.

Morro Bay Landing

Among the jackpot winners last week were: Eddie Alvaez, Orosi, 19.0 ling; Jerry Farley, Bakersfield, 11.0 ling; Jerry Howard, Taft, and Annette Brooke, Tehachapi, both 10.0 lings.

Whale Rock

The fishless reports continue. Two anglers showed up during the Sept. 19 to 25 open period, but no trout were caught.

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Central Coast Fishing: SLO County Bass Ambushers hold Clear Lake tournament."