October 14, 2005

Tuck takes lead on Clear Lake

2005 CITGO Bassmaster Western Open - Clear Lake

LAKEPORT, Calif. -All it takes is a little confidence for California angler Michael Tuck to succeed. After a tough first day that included a lost 5 pounder on his first cast, Tuck regained his confidence and seized the Day 2 lead by catching a limit of 18 pounds, 15 ounces at the CITGO Bassmaster Western Open at Clear Lake. Tuck holds a 1-pound, 10-ounce lead over fellow Californian Ricky Shabazz.

"Today was very different for me from yesterday. I lost a 5 pound fish on my first cast and that put me into a downward spiral," Tuck said. "But I stuck with it and stayed confident in my abilities. It really paid off today." Tuck caught most of his fish with a slow presentation in 8 to 13 feet of water. He was exceptionally successful at getting bass to bite later in the day. Within striking distance of Tuck is Shabazz, who is targeting fish in extremely shallow water. Shabazz is searching strictly for big bites, and thus far, it has paid off. Shabazz vaulted into second place with a Day 2 limit of 19 pounds, 12 ounces, which included an 8-11 lunker good enough for Purolator Big Bass honors and $1,000. "I'm fishing very shallow to super shallow," Shabazz said. "I'm sure that no one else is fishing similar to me. I am confident that the fish here will respond to a different style of fishing that they may have never seen before."

Rounding out the top five on the boater side are Nevada's Rob Wenning (34-3), Oregon's Dave Palmer (33-2) and California's Jim Reese (32-12).

On the non -boater side, California's Doug Jones moved into first place with a two-day total catch of 27 pounds, 14 ounces. Trailing Jones are Japan's Hideki Maeda (27-12), California's Gary Morris (25-11), California's Steve Biechman (25-4) and California's Steve Zaldain (25-3).

Location and Field
CITGO Bassmaster Western Open
Clear Lake
Lakeport, Calif.
Oct.13-15, 2005

Launch
Konocti Vista Resort & Marina
2755 Mission Rancheria Road
Lakeport, Calif. 95453

Weigh-in
Konocti Vista Resort & Marina
2755 Mission Rancheria Road
Lakeport, Calif. 95453

Day Two Purolator Big Bass
Boater: Ricky Shabazz, Rialto, Calif., 8-11
Non-Boater: Gary Morris, Tracy, Calif., 7-12

Local sponsors
Local sponsors include the Konocti Vista Casino Resort and Marina.

Bassmaster Open Series sponsors
CITGO Petroleum Corp., Toyota, Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops and Cialis (tadalafil).

BASS Communications -Oct. 14, 2005

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Posted by DODGE at October 14, 2005 06:05 PM in Tournament (BASS)

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