Twenty seven boats hit the water at first light for the 20th annual Fortuna Fire Department Company 2 Bass Tournament, held at Ruth Lake on June 1st with eighteen of those coming to the scales, weighing in a total of 83 fish, all released alive and well with the exception of two. Despite the winds, fishing seemed to be fairly productive with 13 of the 18 boats bringing in 5-fish limits. Big fish of the event was a 7.23 lb. largemouth caught by the team of Brian Barthman and Tom Helberg giving them the edge in the tournament and taking first place with a total weight of 21.10 lbs.
Second place finishers Ryan Alto and Jared Comfort weighed in a 4.95 kicker to put their total weight at 16.89 while third place honors and 2nd big fish of the tournament was claimed by the team of Larry LaFrance and Rod Thompson with a weight of 15.45, their big fish weighing in at 5.91 lbs. Fourth place was shared by the teams of Steve Frick / Lyle Johnson and Lorin and Eric Fleming with both teams tying at 14.65 lbs.
On the youth angler side, William Justesen, fishing with his dad Eric, took first place in the Youth Angler Division for heaviest team weight winning a rod-reel combo, first place plaque and a 50.00 check towards a savings account sponsored by Umpqua Bank. Rounding out the youth angler field was Jack Webb finishing second and Zoe Sigman in third, both receiving rod –reel combos and tackle for their efforts.
As is customary for the tournament, we had some great sponsorship allowing us to hand out prizes to most all contestants during the awards presentation. A highlight for the crew during the awards ceremony was recognition of Captain Dave Ansley (deceased) as co-founder of the tournament in 1994, his memory along with the coffee and doughnuts he always made available for the competitors at blast-off will live on!