Last weekend's annual "Lake Oroville Open" spring spectacular bass tournament was a big success from the perspective of the anglers and of the organizers of the largest locally-run tournament of the year on the lake. The event is conducted by the Chico Bass Club, and funds raised benefit the club's activities like the Lake Oroville Florida-strain Bass Project, the Chico and Gridley "Hooked on Fishing" children's events, and fishing line recycling projects at Horseshoe Lake and Paradise Lake.

"The fishing was great" said Chico Bass Club President Rich Cavanagh. "Out of the 76 two-person teams, only two teams failed to weigh-in their five fish limit. Some of the teams released 35 or 40 bass to weigh in their best five, and the winning team said they went more than 45 minutes straight where one or both of them were releasing a fish."

"The veteran team of Dan Crone and Clay Kettle of Paradise took top honors. Both anglers have had a lot of experience in this tournament in past years. We had reports from the many competitors that most of the bass were caught on Senkos or darthead-rigged plastic worms in water less than 15 feet deep. A few fish were also reported on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits." Cavanagh added, "Although the number of teams was down slightly from previous years, we were very successful in our fundraising efforts due to some generous folks buying raffle tickets. We also had five competitors in our 'Youth Division', and each kid got a bag full of fishing tackle."

Final results:
Crone/Kettle- 16.44 pounds total [$760];
Howell/Martin- 13.23 [$380];
Chaney/Garske- 12.83 [$350];
Driden/Davidson- 12.79 [$275];
Eagleton/Holt- 12.77 [$250];
Goodby/Wells- 12.28 [$200];
Lockhart/Lockhart- 12.18 [$125];
Hinkle/Ravert- 11.96 [$125];
Renihan/Rubio- 11.53 [$100];
Bonham/Mayo- 11.30 [$100];

Big Fish:
Crone- 5.71 [$305];
Chaney- 3.74 [$183];
Wheaton- 3.34 [$120].

Species breakdown:
315 spotted bass,
nine largemouth bass,
zero smallmouth bass.
Total weight: 680.9 pounds.

All the fish were released alive back into the lake utilizing the Black Bass Action Committee's "Live Release Boat".