Fishing tournament reels in anglers to Othello
OTHELLO — The fifth Shootout at Potholes fishing tournament was held in Othello this weekend, bringing in anglers from across the Pacific Northwest.
Over 70 boats were registered in the Big Bass Tournament Trail event, hosted by Limit Out Performance Marine, with prizes awarded to the top team.
“We get about a 50/50 share between Grant County and King County,” Tournament Director Russ Baker said of where the anglers are based out of.
Baker said that the turnout for the event was more than originally expected, with many teams showing up early Saturday morning to sign up.
“In this market, with high fuel prices, (it means) everything,” Baker said. “We expected 40, 43 pre-signed on Friday, and 30-some-odd teams signed up at the last second.”
Teams blasted off in the wee hours of Saturday morning from the MarDon RV Resort into the waters of the Potholes Reservoir. Anglers spread out across Potholes in search of the largest bass that they could find, to bring in for weigh-in at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
“The biggest thing is everybody is anxious first thing in the morning to get out to their first spot,” Baker said. “They really like the draw, and make sure they get in position in the top 10 boats.”
At the weigh-in, Baker examines the caught fish to make sure they are alive - only alive bass can be used for placing in the competition. Beyond the fish moving, Baker will look at different characteristics of each fish to ensure they are alive.
“The way to check those fish, if the eyes are glazed it’s definitely a dead fish,” Baker said. “If the eyes are still clear, you put your finger in the back of their throat and their kind of back jaws bite on it, they’re still alive.”
Teams bring in their five biggest fish to the weigh-in to see where they place in the competition. After being inspected to make sure the fish are alive, all the bass are placed into a mesh bag and drained of water, then placed on a scale. Weights are determined off of the five fish combined, not individually weighed.
In addition to the five fish competition, prizes are awarded to those with the biggest fish of the day. Teams declare their biggest fish at the weigh-in, and said fish is weighed on the side, apart from the other four.
“They weigh their biggest fish, if they want to declare their biggest fish,” Baker said. “Not everybody declares their biggest fish, which is a mistake in my mind because in case of a tie-breaker, whoever gets the biggest fish gets in.”
Upon weigh-in, the top 10 teams were selected to move on to the Sunday competition. The final ten teams had their total fish weights range from 16.07-18.01 pounds. The top 10 teams were Berto/Doucet at 18.01 pounds, Hickey/Warren at 17.77 pounds, Wilson/Hastings at 17.68 pounds, Valdez/Valdez at 17.19 pounds, Krumdiak/Watson at 17.17 pounds, Burma/But Thonpun at 17.12 pounds, Avery/Avery at 16.89 pounds, Lippincott/Novotny at 16.56 pounds, Halstead/Bourquin at 16.43 pounds and Voldez/Penz at 16.07 pounds.
Final results were not available in time for publication, but may be found on the Limit Out Performance Marine Facebook page.
Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabaisnherald.com.
