Building contractor Nick Wood of Yreka, Calif., lead the Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Western Regional presented by Magellan at Lake Shasta, California, from start to finish. A day after Wood helped the California B.A.S.S. Nation team claim a victory, he earned the individual title for himself with a three-day total of 37 pounds, 1 ounce.
Because Wood is a local angler who knows Lake Shasta well, it comes as no surprise that he won the tournament. Wood has won previous tournaments at Shasta with five-fish limits of spotted bass that weighed 30 pounds. He has also caught spotted bass at Shasta in the 9-pound class.
Wood’s primary lure for sacking trophy spotted bass is an 8-inch Huddleston swimbait in the “hold over” color. However, all but one of Shasta’s monster spots succumbed to Wood’s big swimbait during the tournament. That bass was the 6-9 bass that anchored Wood’s first-day limit of 13-14. He resorted to a 4-inch Keitech swimbait on a 1/8-ounce darter head jig to finish his first-day limit.
The poor response Shasta’s magnum spotted bass gave to the Huddleston swimbait Wednesday prompted Wood to fish more conservatively on Thursday. He dropped down to a 7-inch Osprey swimbait. The result was a 13-11 limit that gave him a nearly 4-pound lead on the field going into the third and final day.
“I was slow rolling the Osprey next to log booms floating over 245 feet of water,” Wood said. “The bass were suspended about 5 feet under the logs.”
On the third day, Wood stuck with the Osprey swimbait, but he had to cover miles of water to fill the 9-8 limit that secured his victory and earned a $5,000 purse.
“I burned 27 gallons of gas today to catch six bass,” Wood said. “I only burned 6 gallons the first day. I believe all the fishing pressure pushed the big bass off the points I was fishing. That’s why I couldn’t catch them with my Huddleston swimbait.”
Chuck Harrison of Ft Collins, Colo., caught his third three-bass limit of the tournament today. It weighed 6-10 and brought his total catch to 19-2. That proved enough to win the nonboater division and a $2,500 cash award. The Top 21 boaters and nonboaters also received cash prizes.
Eleven Western states brought 20-angler teams to the tournament. They competed to win top state honors and to qualify for the Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Magellan. Today, the top boater and nonboater from each state qualified for that championship, which takes place at Lake Hartwell, South Carolina, Oct. 19-21.
A Big Bass Award of $500 went to Bryson Mort of Post Falls, Idaho, for the 8-5 trophy spotted bass he caught on the second day of the tournament. Mike Powell of Midway, Utah, received the Big Bass Award of $250 in the nonboater division for catching a 4-9 bass.
2017 B.A.S.S. Nation Title Sponsor: Academy Sports + Outdoors
2017 B.A.S.S. Nation Presenting Sponsor: Magellan
2017 B.A.S.S. Nation Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2017 B.A.S.S. Nation Premier Sponsors: Power-Pole, Mercury, Minn Kota, Berkley, Huk, Humminbird, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Shell Rotella
2017 B.A.S.S. Nation Supporting Sponsors: T-H Marine, Livingston Lures, Phoenix Boats, Shimano, Advance Auto Parts, Lowrance, Nationwide, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines, Bassmaster website , television show (The Bassmasters), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation presented by Magellan, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
By: JamieDay Matthews
