Russo’s Marina Bethel Island, Calif– Oakley’s Charley Almassey , weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Western Division event on the California Delta presented by Power-Pole with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 60 pounds, 1 ounce. For his win, Almassey earned $32,880.
“I was totally taken by surprise when I had enough to win today,” said Almassey, “I consider the Delta my home waters and know what a great fishery it is. To come away with the win this week is really unbelievable.”
Almassey said he caught his fish throughout the week by targeting spawning flats where bass and bluegill were spawning. Each day he would run the tide, following the low tide south to Discovery Bay, a run which he estimated between 20 to 25 miles. He targeted weed clumps that looked ‘good’ – sparse patches with tules that had limited amounts of angel hair grass.
“I was throwing at patches that had the wind blowing into it,” Almassey said. “I’m a reaction bait fisherman; the nastier conditions the better.”
Almassey had quite a final day, starting in the Tract caught a 2 pounder on a Senko. “ I Knew that the tide wasn’t right, so I ran to Big Break” said Almassey. In the Break, Almassey picked off two fish that would help. Then it was time to start heading south to keep chasing he tide. Almassey stated “I stopped in Delta Coves caught another keeper. Then it happened enough to drive a final day angler crazy, lost a motor. Almassey lost about 45 min of fishing time changing boats out but was still able to get south and about a 5 pounder which allowed him to cull up.
The top 10 pros on the California Delta were:
- Charley Almassey, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 60-1, $32,880
- Mike Birch, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 58-8, $12,959
- Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 15 bass, 56-13, $9,864
- Robert Lee, Angels Camp, Calif., 15 bass, 55-0, $8,220
- Michael Caruso, Peoria, Ariz., 15 bass, 53-5, $7,398
- Bobby Barrack, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 52-8, $6,576
- Harvey Pulliam, Brentwood, Calif., 15 bass, 50-1, $5,754
- Bryant Smith, Castro Valley, Calif., 15 bass, 49-1, $4,932
- Benjamin Byrd, Moab, Utah, 15 bass, 48-6, $4,110
- Dane Mitchell, Lake Charles, La., 15 bass, 48-5, $3,288
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Birch caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Thursday – a largemouth weighing 10 pounds, 11 ounces to earn him the day’s Big Bass award of $300.
Aaron Agner of Redding, California, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 43 pounds, 8 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on the California Delta were:
- Aaron Agner, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 43-8, Ranger Z117 w/90-horsepower outboard
- Justin Bolen, Paradise, Calif., 15 bass, 38-5, $4,150
- Blake Leonard, Elk Grove, Calif., 14 bass, 36-4, $3,320
- Jack Farage, Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 36-2, $2,905
- Kevin Gross, Claremont, Calif., 15 bass, 34-14, $2,490
- George Edes, Boise, Idaho, 14 bass, 33-7, $2,075
- Rob Larrabee, Livermore, Calif., 14 bass, 32-10, $1,660
- Troy Diatte, Salinas, Calif., 13 bass, 32-4, $1,452
- Jake Stephens, Carmel, Calif., 15 bass, 32-0, $1,390
- James Tate, Calabasas, Calif., 14 bass, 31-2, $1,037
David Marroquin of San Leandro, California, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Friday weighing 8 pounds, 14 ounces to earn him the day’s Big Bass award of $145.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 3-5 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
The Costa FLW Series on the California Delta was hosted by Russo’s Marina and Sugar Barge RV Resort and Marina. It was the third Western Division tournament of 2016.
