Joesph Silva wins with Inaugural BAM Trail Kayak Tournament | Bass Angler Magazine
Bass Angler Magazine (BAM) March 9 2024 launched its first-ever Kayak fishing event at the scenic Lake Tulloch. The day boasted ideal weather conditions, featuring a light breeze, sunshine followed by a few clouds, setting the stage for a successful tournament. The water’s temperature hovered between 53 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit, creating the perfect environment for pre-spawn fish to search for spawning sites. The tournament was organized under the leadership of Michael Bray, the Tournament Director, with Mark Lassagne, the owner of BAM, providing support.
To capture the excitement, BAM deployed a camera boat that was busy shooting photos and conducting StorQuest mid-day live interviews with participants about their catches for real-time updates on Facebook and Instagram. The awards ceremony saw the top five competitors being honored with plaques, while the top ten enjoyed monetary rewards for their efforts. The event offered an exceptional payback ratio, paying 1 in 5 participants, earning high praise for its generous payouts. Additionally, the Angler of the Year is set to receive a significant cash prize, and entry into the No entry fee Tournament of Champions for the top 24 anglers, adding even more anticipation for upcoming events.
Once lines were out and all the fish were submitted Joesph Silva wins with 91.75”. He stated that he used the Mid Strolling technique to catch his fish.
“I did it mid strolling but with a twist.” stated Silva, “I normally use 2 to 4- pound test line but this time, I used 16-pound line as a leader.”
“I started on some docks and then went to the bridge.” expressed Silva, “I caught a few on the bridge pilings.”
Silva moved up the river and found smaller fish. He then moved back to the bridge pilings and moved down the bank to the steep walls.
“I caught the fish on a 5” fluke style bait called Sakamata Shad in three different colors.” indicated Silva, “I moved down the steep walls with my Garmin forward facing unit pointed at a 45-degree angle to the shore so I could see the fish in front of me while I moved down the bank.”
“The color I was using was shad and bass colors.” specified Silva, “I changed my hook to a Keitech ball head in the 1/8-ounce weight. It has a 3/0 hook for the larger fish.”
Silva thanked Michael Bray and Mark Lassagne for bringing us a new kayak circuit. “The event was a lot of fun and ran really smoothly.”
James Croco finished in second with 87.75”. He had found some fish during practice the week before.
“During practice, I found a cove with running water coming in.” said Croco, “The area had a big rock pile inside of the cove that held the fish.”
“The fish were moving up to the rock pile to feed on bait fish.” pronounced Croco, “The water had gone up several feet by the time the tournament came around and the rock pile was now a hump in about 20-feet of water.”
“I saw the fish on the rock pile on my Garmin Electronics.” described Croco, “I went through several lures before I was able to catch a fish.”
The key to Croco catch was using a screw ball head paired with a 3.3 Keitech while fishing in 20-feet of water.
“There was a point that reached out into the cove and the fish were setting up on that.” accounted Croco, “I saw them on the Garmin and used the screw ball to entice the fish to bite.”
There was a flat on a point that the fish were setting up on that Croco could see with this Garmin unit.
“I saw some big fish moving around on a flat so I casted the screw ball to the fish and that is when I caught one of my 16.75” fish.” said Croco, “I caught my 20.50” fish first thing in the morning, it was my first fish of the day. It was a great start of the day for sure.”
Croco moved back to the big rock pile and used a Dirty Jig tack water spin paired with a 3.3 in the Tennessee shad color to catch his fourth fish.
“I saw a fish following my bait back to the boat, so I killed the bait.” articulated Croco, “The bait fell back to the bottom, and I caught a 20” fish.”
After catching his fourth fish the bite died so Croco ran down the bank in search for his fifth fish.
“After a while without a bite, I finally caught my fifth fish.” expressed Croco, “After 10:30 AM, I never caught another fish that helped.”
Croco thanked Headwaters Adventure Company, HOOK’D, Bioenno Power, Ed’s Lead, P-Line 1st Gen Fishing, Dirty Jigs and Nichols Lures.
Jesse Hoover placed third with 85.50” He used a brown and purple Dirty Jig Foot Ball head jig paired with green pumpkin Yamamoto Flappin Hog. After making a 45-minute boat ride up the Blacks Creek, He fished a steep bluff wall with rock on it to fill his limit.
“I caught all my fish on a Dirty Jig in brown and purple paired with a Yamamoto Flappin hog.” communicated Hoover, “I caught all the fish on a 150-yard stretch, I just kept going back and forth.”
“The fish were in 2 to 10-feet of water.” demonstrated Hoover, “I caught all my fish between 8 AM and 10:30 AM and then the bite just stopped.”
“My first fish was a small mouth bass and then I caught a few spotted bass with a few largemouth bass in the limit, a nice mixed bag of bass.”
Hoover thanked his wife and kids for all their support with his fishing.
Special thanks to Tackle Warehouse for their generous support providing anglers with a $250 gift card.
Top Ten:
1. Joseph Silva 91.75”
2. James Croco 87.75”
3. Jesse Hoover 85.50”
4. AJ Ramirez 84.00”
5. Damian Thao 83.25”
6. John Myers 82.75”
7. Dang Xiong 82.75”
8.Ivan Lee 81.75”
9. Nathaniel Ferrand 80.25”
10. Matthew Brannon 79.50”
Big Fish:
James Croco 20.50”
About BAM Tournament Trail
The Bass Angler Magazine Tournament Trail (BAM TT) is an exclusive west coast pro level tournament circuit. BAM TT delivers multiple opportunities to showcase the talents of western anglers on several professional platforms.
As BAM TT continues to provide and refine a platform of elite events for competitive anglers, it creates a logical avenue for sponsors to have direct contact with our west coast anglers. BAM TT is dedicated to creating a complete package of advertising opportunities including on-site activation, internet/social media, and a YouTube and TV series that reaches a large number of viewers each day.
Proud sponsors for the BAM Trail: Bass Boat Technologies, Tackle Warehouse, Storquest, Garmin, Dish, Bass Cat Boats, Accel Marketing, Power Pole, Mercury Outboards, Bob’s machine, Wood Bros, Sticky Graphics, City of Oakley, Lake Almanor Chamber, Jean Deleonardi Real Estate, Ford Fairfield, Valley Outdoors, Boardman Chamber, Feather River Tourism Association, Eternal Lithium, Oakley Ace Hardware, Alpha Angler Rods and Fisherman’s Warehouse as our conservation sponsor.
Tournament events include BAM Pro Tour, Pro-Am and a Kayak Tour with a no entry Championship can be viewed on YouTube. Learn more here: BAM TRAIL, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Media / Advertising Contact Mark Lassagne
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