Boardman Qualifier

By Ben Hanes, Writer

Northwest Bass Pro Staff

1^st   Hendrickson & Wolsky Make it Two in a Row

             After running away with their first Northwest Bass victory at Potholes Reservoir, Mike Wolsky and Dave Hendrickson decided to put their fishing into high gear and attempt to attain the nearly unattainable: win two Northwest Bass qualifiers in a row.  With vigor unmatched by most, the pair took little time to celebrate their previous victory, and started at square one on the McNary Pool.  They had never previously fished this section of the Columbia River, and they knew they had their work cut out for them.  Hence, on the weekend right after the Potholes qualifier, Wolsky and Hendrickson were back on the water.

            With open minds, the pair decided to spend the majority of their practice time looking for solid ledges with weeds, where the fish could come up to feed on baitfish, and then easily relocate to deeper water. “It was challenging during pre-fishing,” explained Dave Hendrickson. “We spent a lot of time searching, and we did a lot of looking and constantly tried to find new spots.  We made a point to not get hung up on fishing the same stuff.”

            On the morning of the tournament, the team targeted shallow fish and experienced a great early bite.  They did not focus on any particular bait, but instead mixed up their lures to ensure they weren’t passing up any finicky fish.  Throughout the day, they changed their presentations from fast to slow (periodically), and when they would hit a promising spot, they would swim grubs, crank plugs, and drag Carolina-rigged lizards to cover the area thoroughly.

            Their largest fish came on a weightless Senko, a 4.92-pound bruiser that significantly boosted the team’s weight.  “Our better fish were in current, and there always seemed to be a sweet spot where the current came off of the ledges at a certain angle.  That angle changed slightly throughout the day, based on the current flow.  We kept coming back to the same spots throughout the day, and one area in particular where we knew there might be big fish,” explained Hendrickson.

            The team relied heavily on St. Croix and Ordella rods, coupled with high ratio, 7:1 reels, to burn baits for their reaction fish.  They primarily used 20-pound test P-Line and 1-ounce home-poured lead heads to work areas over.  “I liked the heavy lead heads because they kept my bait in contact with the bottom, even in current, and I could cover a lot of water with them,” added the angler.

            The ending result was another major victory for Wolsky and Hendrickson.  Their combined weight totaled 16.24-pounds, and put another $4,791.68 into their pockets.  $2,200 of their winnings included the Skeeter Reel Money and the Solar Bat Sunglasses awards.  “We made it a point to use the Skeeter this time!”

            With their win, Mike Wolsky and Dave Hendrickson became the Northwest Bass 2007 Anglers of the Year.

2^nd   The Castillo’s Slow-Roll Spinnerbaits

                        “About three years ago, I received a phone call from a young guy who was in a bible college back in North Dakota,” said Gary Styles, the CEO and Tournament Director of Northwest Bass.  “He expressed a lot of interest in fishing our circuit, and we talked on the phone for a long time and had an awesome conversation.  Now, he’s fishing these tournaments with his wife and they’re pursuing their dreams.  I was really happy to be able to give this team a second-place plaque!”

            James and Salina Castillo, from Grandview, Washington solidified their beginning fishing careers when they came to the scales with five fish weighing 16.11-pounds, and specifically two impressive largemouth that were a rare sight throughout the entire weigh-in.

            “I pre-fished quite a bit, and even spent a day in the Reach, trying to find a winning pattern.  I kind of knew that largemouth might be the key, so in the end that’s where I decided to focus the majority of time during practice,” said James Castillo.  “Back in Patterson Slough, I found a lot of smaller males, but could not locate the females.  It was either that or they just weren’t biting, so I decided to search for largemouth in the main river, where current might drive the fish to feed.”

            It was a daunting task to undertake, considering that largemouth are rarities on the river, particularly in August.  However, the angler eventually located a beaver hut where a male largemouth was guarding fry.  “I knew it was a pretty late spawning fish, but I figured there might be some females nearby in deeper water.”

            His hunch proved to be correct.  On the day of the tournament, James and Salina investigated the depths surrounding the hut with their electronics, and they discovered large, underwater boulders surrounded by weeds that might be the perfect ingredients for summertime largemouth bass.  The pair of anglers decided to probe the underwater boulders by slow rolling white, ½-ounce, double willow spinnerbaits.  Their decision paid off.  “The key was to come in contact with the boulders,” explained Castillo.  “There were a lot of weeds around the hut, but intermixed with the weeds was an occasional boulder that extended to about five feet underneath the surface of the water.  When we’d find a boulder, we’d work it over thoroughly with our spinnerbaits, and generally we would catch a largemouth.”

            After the largemouth bite slowed, the pair moved out, less than one hundred yards away, and fished the transition line where the weeds met rock.  It was here that they culled out three green fish with bigger bronzebacks.

            Coming to the scales, James and Salina Castillo weren’t overly optimistic about their catch.  However, after learning of their second place finish, the excitement set in.  “I feel that God blessed us with our finish that day.  Everything that happened I thank our Lord Jesus for.  Without His guidance, I know none of this would have been possible.”

            James and Salina Castillo finished 2^nd overall in the Rookies of the Year race.  They walked away from Boardman with a $2,451.68 check.

3^rd   Echternkamp and Kromm Cover Water and Coast to Third

          “I’ve fished a lot of different bodies of water throughout the Country, and in my opinion, the Columbia River is among the very best,” said Dave Kromm, last year’s Northwest Bass Angler of the Year.  With a long list of victories and top ten finishes under his belt, Dave Kromm, probably more than anyone else on the West Coast, knew exactly what he was looking for during his practice period on Boardman. “I looked for bigger fish, and checked a lot of different spots specifically searching for an area that would provide a great topwater bite.”

            During the tournament, Aaron Echternkamp and Dave Kromm executed a simple strategy: cover water with reaction baits.  “I actually consider myself more of a finesse fisherman,” explained Kromm, “but this time of year on the Lower River, you can catch really nice fish with reaction baits in the shallows, during the periods when they decide to feed.”  Consequently, the team spent the day throwing white Terminator spinnerbaits and chrome, blue-back Rattletraps over miles of productive shoreline.  They targeted water in the two-to-eight foot depth range, and specifically spent time in areas that had rocks and weeds.  “Going along, if there was a boulder, we’d cast and catch a fish on that boulder.  And throughout the day, our fish just seemed like they wanted to stay shallow.  I’ve generally found that on the river, big fish will stay shallow all the way until the beginning of October,” concluded the angler.

            At the end of the day, the team was able to amass a solid August, shallow-smallmouth limit that weighed 15.62 pounds.  It was enough for a third place finish and a check for $1,971.68.  The team finished 4^th in the Anglers of the Year race.  “I’d just like to say thanks to Gary, Lisa, Jeff, and everyone else for putting such a great circuit together.  I feel like the next step is for us to all work toward establishing a local organization that promotes bass fishing and specifically the conservation of the species.  I feel that we, as bass fisherman, should strive toward attaining more of a political voice within this State.  We need to stress the importance of our warm-water fisheries, and the positive impacts that bass have on our economy and environment in general.”

            Coming from arguably one of the best fisherman in the State, his words should not be taken lightly.

Big Bass

            “She was relating to the biggest boulder on the flat.  The top of the boulder was about three feet underwater,” James Castillo admitted.  “When I felt my spinnerbait hit that specific rock, I paused, and then ripped it, and right then and there she just annihilated it!  The whole spinnerbait was buried, trailer hook and all.”

            Later, at the weigh-in, the whole crowd knew when that fish was brought to the scales, it was going to be the largest of the entire tournament.  Topping out at 4.96-pounds, James and Salina Castillo earned an extra $591.68 in option money, $200.00 from Sniper Lures, and a Lamiglas Rod certificate for that single, impressive largemouth.

Northwest Bass is the largest fishing circuit in the Northwest, and in the 2007 year, will feature 5 qualifying tournaments.  All of these tournaments lead up to the Northwest Bass Challenge Circuit Championship, with the top prize being a fully-rigged, tournament level Triton TR-196/200 HP Mercury boat package sponsored by Nixon’s Marine.

 Northwest Bass is sponsored by Nixon’s Marine, Inc., Mercury, Triton Boats, Lamiglas Rods, Tony Lind Paving, White’s Boots, Solar Bat Sunglasses, VIP Studios, Princess Pickled Foods, and Clearwater Custom Tackle.

Angler’s Sponsors

• Mike Wolsky is sponsored by Auburn Sport and St. Croix Rods. Dave Hendrickson is sponsored by OrDella Rods and Three Rivers Marine.

• James and Salina Castillo are sponsored by West Plains Marine.

• Dave Kromm is sponsored by Triton Boats, Mercury Motors, Motorguide, Lowrance Electronics, Nixon’s Marine, G-Loomis Rods, Sniper Lures, Bass Kick’n Baits, and All City Bail Bonds.

~Ben Hanes, the author, currently lives in West Richland.  Ben is an avid bass fisherman, and has been tournament fishing for 10 years. His other hobbies include writing, bird hunting, and spending time with his wife.  He is currently sponsored by McCurley Integrity Dealerships, Columbia River Bank, Cascade Sign and Design, and writes articles for Northwest Bass and Nixon’s Marine.