To add to the excitement, these anglers were faced with some of the most challenging fishing conditions imaginable. Not only were they faced with one of the toughest Delta bites in recent memory, but also wind speeds clocked at nearly 60 miles per hour on Saturday put every ounce of the anglers' physical and mental abilities to the test.

As we all know, a changing weather pattern can create serious problems for all fishermen regardless of what you fish for. "We went from guys fishing in snow suits on Saturday to guys getting sunburned on Sunday," replied Miller when asked about the difficult conditions the anglers had to face. "However, a lot of the anglers were able to adapt and we had some tremendous weights brought in on Saturday. In fact, Saturday actually produced heavier weights than Sunday when the winds completely died and the water was greasy calm."

The big news on day one was the 26.43 pound five fish limit brought in by Ron Hillock. Included in his bag was the largest fish of the tournament at 11.83 pounds. Another impressive limit weighing 22.61 pounds was brought to the scales by Andy Cuccia from Oakley. Delta legends Robert Lee and Steve Sapp were close behind with 18.01 and 17.34 pound limits respectively.

"Because of the high winds, crankbaits and spinnerbaits were definitely the way to go on Saturday," explained Miller. "Of course, conditions completely changed on Sunday and some of the more subtle baits such as jigs and Senkos produced very well."

At the final weigh-in on Sunday, it was none other than Steve Sapp who managed to outdistance the field with another solid limit weighing 18.63 pounds for a two day total of 35.97 pounds. Sapp is unquestionably one of the hottest pro anglers on the West Coast and has absolutely dominated the Delta for the past three years. For his efforts, Sapp took home a fully rigged Ranger 518 with a Yamaha outboard valued at over $32,000.

"I guess it paid off for all the times I went out and fished for fun in weather like we had on Saturday," explained Sapp after his victory. "I remember a lot of people called me crazy for going out in wind storms, but the knowledge I gained from fishing in bad weather one day and good weather the next proved it was worth the effort."

Sapp reported catching his fish on black and blue jigs and chartreuse crankbaits on Saturday. "It changed to black and red jigs and red crankbaits on Sunday," he explained. "Also, the fish went deep during the day on Saturday. On Sunday, the fish began to come back to about 4 feet during the day and by noon they had moved to only 2 feet deep and were looking for cover tight to the bank."

Coming in second place was Andy Cuccia, who managed a two day total of 31.41 pounds good for an astounding payback of $12,335. Cuccia reported catching his fish in the central Delta off the Old River. He used a chartreuse/blue Bomber crankbait for his big limit on Saturday. The crankbait bite died for Cuccia on Sunday, so he switched over to throwing Senkos in protected pockets of water for a small limit.

Third place was captured by well known professional angler Pat Donoho from Las Vegas. Donoho put together two consistent days with limits weighing 12.66 pounds on Saturday and 15.54 pounds on Sunday for a total weight of 28.20 pounds. Third place was worth $5,885. Donoho's fish were taken flippin' black jigs and throwing chartreuse spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

Rounding out the top ten were Dave Rush who finished in 4th place with 27.51 pounds good for $3,500. Ron Hillock held the fifth spot with 26.43 pounds earning $3,550. Sixth place earned Bobby Barrack $3,325 for his 25.99 pound total. Bill Swearingen took home $2,175 for his 23.70 pound seventh place finish. Robert Lee nailed down the eighth spot with a 23.67 pound total good for $2,825. Sieg Taylor captured ninth place and a check for $2,150 with a 23.44 pound total and Steve Green took tenth place and $1,775 with a 23.37 pound limit.

Top ten in the amateur division were Steve Dollard, first place. Steve took home $2,500 for his 32.72 two day total. Scott Vaughn came in second place with 30.22 pounds good for $1,300. Roy Desmangles Jr. earned $1,000 for a 29.38 pound third place finish. Fourth place and $1,450 went to Jim Davis, who weighed in 27.85 pounds. Jody White nailed down the fifth spot and $500 for a 25.40 total. Scott Woodward weighed in 25.31 pounds good for sixth place and $825. Seventh place finisher, Ken Hicks, earned $625 for his 25.07 pound total. Steve Starr came in eighth place with a 24.40 pound total good for $375. Scott Mascadri weighed in 23.25 pounds earning $325 and ninth place. Dan Cranston took home $300 for his 21.33 pound tenth place finish.

The next stop for the 100% Bass Pro/Am circuit will be on Clear Lake the weekend of March 31 and April 1. "We should have an even stronger field for the upcoming Clear Lake event and we expect to pay out over $100,000 in that tournament," boasted Miller.

This will be the second out of a total of five Pro/Am events scheduled for the 2001 season. The Classic will be held in the spring of 2002 and will consist of the top 35 pro and amateur anglers based on their four best finishes during the 2001 season. "We will be the first circuit to pay every Pro angler who qualifies for the Classic and the top prize for the amateurs will be a fully loaded Ranger/Yamaha boat and motor package," added Miller.