Atascadero man wins fishing competition
Nick Salvucci of Atascadero.
Nick Salvucci of Atascadero takes home $24,795 prize
– Nick Salvucci of Atascadero won the Toyota Series fishing competition at the California Delta, bringing a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces, to earn the top payout of $24,795.
Salvucci’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 54-10 secured the victory over Elk Grove, California pro Ken Mah, who weighed in 15 bass totaling 51-12 to finish second and earn $9,608.
Salvucci faced tough fishing conditions during the competition. An influx of cold, muddy water made large portions of the Delta unfishable and put the bass in a funk. Despite the challenging conditions, Salvucci thinks the slow bite actually worked to his advantage. “I like tough bites, because I can go hours without getting a bite throwing the same lure,” he said.
Salvucci caught all of his fish using a spinner bait with double Colorado blades and a 4.3-inch Keitech swimbait trailer, targeting hydrilla grass clumps up against tules and up against the riprap. By covering a ton of water during the two-day practice period, Salvucci found a few stretches of cleaner water with submerged hydrilla patches, where he had success.
On the tournament’s final day, Salvucci tried something different, throwing a double-bladed buzz bait in search of a big bite in the morning. However, he returned to the area where he’d had success on Day 1, when he landed a 22-5 limit. The first fish that bit his spinnerbait wrapped his line around “the one standing stick” in the area and came unhooked. He didn’t get another bite until about 9:30 a.m., before catching three fish in less than an hour, including two over 3 pounds. When noon arrived with no more bites, he returned to the spot where he’d missed the big fish and caught his largest bass of the day, a 4½-pound largemouth. He credited fellow competitor and former Bass Pro Tour angler Ish Monroe for helping put that fish in the boat.
“I didn’t do any trailer hooks, and then I was talking to Ish last night, and he was throwing a spinnerbait, and he told me he caught two 4-pounders on his trailer hook,” Salvucci explained. “So I put a trailer hook on last night, and I ended up catching my big one on the trailer hook.”
Salvucci added another fish over 2 pounds to his livewell shortly thereafter, which improved his bag by about half a pound. However, he still believed he needed another big bite to take first place. His goal for the day, after all, was 22 pounds. So he spent the final hour of the day punching mats, to no avail. Salvucci returned to the boat ramp discouraged. “I said, well, I blew my chance,” Salvucci said. “Came in with my 15 pounds thinking I was going to get my butt kicked. And I guess it was a tougher day than I expected.”
The top 10 pros on the California Delta finished:
1st: Nick Salvucci, Atascadero, Calif., 15 bass, 54-10, $24,795
2nd: Ken Mah, Elk Grove, Calif., 15 bass, 51-12, $9,608
3rd: Nicholas Cloutier, Oakley, Calif., 14 bass, 48-14, $7,438
4th: Ty Faber, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 15 bass, 47-3, $6,199
5th: Nick Nourot, Benicia, Calif., 13 bass, 46-9, $5,579
6th: Mark Lassagne, Dixon, Calif., 11 bass, 42-10, $5,759
7th: Hunter Schlander, Modesto, Calif., 15 bass, 42-7, $4,339
8th: Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., 12 bass, 39-1, $3,719
9th: David Valdivia, Riverside, Calif., 13 bass, 38-3, $3,099
10th: Kyle Grover, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., 15 bass, 38-2, $2,479
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
