BEST (BASS) BET; SOUTHLAND ANGLER TO TEST HIS SKILLS AGAINST COUNTRY'S TOP TALENT.Byline: BRETT PAULY Angling His friends call bass angler Randy Best a vacuum. Vrooo, vrooooooooooo. ``That's the sound of him sucking up all the fish in the lake,'' said angling companion Darrel Dagdigian during a recent day on the water at Castaic Lake Castaic Lake is a lake on Castaic Creek formed by Castaic Dam, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic. The 323,700 acre foot lake (399,000,000 m³) is the terminus of the West Branch of the California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 mi² . The vacuum will have to have all his accessories and talents in high gear today as the BASS Masters Classic Bass Masters Classic is a fishing video game, released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995 by Malibu Games. - the world championship of bass angling - kicks off at High Rock Lake in Lexington, N.C. ``It's a winner-take-all tournament,'' said Best, 38, of Norco, who is Southern California's sole representative at freshwater fishing's Super Bowl. ``If you don't win, you're nothing.'' Actually the winner takes $100,000 of the Classic's $350,000 purse. Even the last-place finisher in the field of 46 earns $4,000. But Best's point is not lost: Only the champion is remembered. And the tall and slender, sun-chafed angler with the brownish mane mane the region of long coarse hair at the dorsal border of the neck and terminating at the poll in the forelock. Present in the horse and other Equidae. Similar gatherings of coarse hairs are present in the giraffe, gnu, various antelope, cheetah and lion. Called also juba. and mustache streaked with gray - ``That's kids,'' explained the father of two - predicts his name will be on the lips of the 120,000 fans officials expect to attend the three-day event three-day event a competition in the pleasure horse sport comprising usually one day each for dressage, cross country and show jumping. . ``I will be first or worst,'' said Best as he pitched a customized spider jig jig, dance of English origin that is performed also in Ireland and Scotland. It is usually a lively dance, performed by one or more persons, with quick and irregular steps. When the jig was introduced to the United States, it was often danced in minstrel shows. toward a bank along Castaic's northwest arm The Northwest Arm is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 km in width and defines the western side of the Halifax Peninsula. . He got a feel for what the bite will be like at High Rock Lake during the Classic's practice session July 5-10. ``If I get the area I have selected pretty much to myself - or at least the key spots - and get a good start on them, I at least have a chance of doing real well or possibly winning,'' said Best, his piercing blue eyes Blue eyes are eyes that have blue irises (see eye color), and may also refer to:
His trip East is the farthest he has traveled to compete, and the bite at the lake is notoriously picky pick·y adj. pick·i·er, pick·i·est Informal Excessively meticulous; fussy. picky Adjective [pickier, pickiest] Brit, Austral & NZ . Anyone who gets a five-bass limit even one day might take the title after the final fish is weighed Saturday afternoon in front of the vocal crowd at Greensboro Coliseum. A reaction-bite specialist whose go-to lure is a spinnerbait, Best plans to fish under docks and around brush using ``hardware'' to lure larger bass prone to pounce on fast-moving forage. ``He will avoid the finesse fishing,'' said celebrated regional bass-circuit angler Mike Folkestad, 57, of Yorba Linda Yorba Linda (yôr`bə lĭn`də), city (1990 pop. 52,422), Orange co., S Calif., in a region of citrus fruit; inc. 1967. The city has grown tremendously along with the southern California area; its population increased fivefold between , who Best credits as his mentor. ``And I don't think the finesse fishing will win that tournament. ``I think he has a good chance of winning. He just has to get a feel, get a bite going.'' However, if the bass only react to plastic worms and other slower applications that compose the finesse baits - which typically get bit more frequently but by smaller fish - Best could be in trouble. ``One of my biggest downfalls is changing up and scraping out the worm fish Noun 1. worm fish - poorly known family of small tropical shallow-water fishes related to gobies percoid, percoid fish, percoidean - any of numerous spiny-finned fishes of the order Perciformes family Microdesmidae, Microdesmidae - worm fish ,'' Best said. ``I hang on and try to break the bank every time (with reaction baits).'' Best sped his bass boat to another Castaic fishing hole, dipped the trolling motor A trolling motor is a small engine affixed to the bow or stern of an angler's boat that provides a source of power for slowly trolling a lure or natural bait through water where fish are sought, or to allow for precision maneuvering of the boat so that the Angler can more into the lake and tossed a new jig, zing. It splashed down between questions. After boating a half-dozen ``dinks,'' he finally hooked a bigger largemouth bass largemouth bass see micropterus salmoides. . ``Nicer fish, nicer fish,'' an onlooker said as Best hooked up on a bucketmouth that would probably have gone over 2 pounds had he managed to get it to the boat. ``That's a long-distance release. I don't like touching the fish,'' he joshed. The jokes and ribbing are all part of the game. ``The biggest key with fishing is it's meant to be fun,'' said Best, who for 18 years has juggled his passion for bass circuits with operating a poolside brick and tiling subcontracting business. ``If it's not fun, you don't belong in it.'' Last year, he scaled back his routine of 10 or so tournaments a year to four to spend more time with his family and ``keep it fun.'' ``This isn't a career to me; it's a hobby,'' he said. ``Family life is way more important to me.'' Best will be a decided underdog at the 28th annual Classic, as will the other four anglers who qualified via the Western Invitational circuit - the inaugural series staged on the West Coast by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, or B.A.S.S., the Montgomery, Ala., fishing and education group that runs the Classic and its various circuits. However, his low profile among fishing-household names like Jimmy Houston and Rick Clunn Rick Clunn (born August 24, 1946) is a paid professional fisherman from Ava, Missouri. He is arguably the world's greatest angler, having dominated the Bassmasters Classic by qualifying for more than any other angler and for winning twice as many Bassmaster Classics than his may work to his advantage. ``With a tournament of this caliber, you have spectators following you around (on the water), and there are television boats, and that is a hindrance. It's unbelievable,'' Best said. ``I probably won't have to worry about that.'' Even Best's 11-year-old son, Brandon, is star struck. ``My son loves to fish. He's real excited because he gets to go meet the true pros - the Roland Martins and the Kevin VanDams. I guess I'm just the tagalong tag·a·long also tag-a·long n. One that persistently follows another: "Technological change separates the innovators from the tag-alongs" Thomas G. Exter. for him,'' said Best, who will be joined in North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. by Brandon, his daughter, Brittany, 8, and his wife, Carolyn. ``Finally, after he named off about 10 names, I said, `They are all going to be there, but just remember one thing: Your pop can beat them.' I told him that and he said, `Oh, Dad.' '' Bass angler Dagdigian also likes Best's chances, because he has the attitude it takes to win. ``He's very confident,'' said Dagdigian, a 44-year-old La Mirada La Mirada (lä mĭrä`də), city (1990 pop. 40,452), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1960. La Mirada derives from the Spanish for "the view," referring to the panoramic view of the surrounding valleys from atop the city's hills. dentist. ``I wouldn't say he was a braggart, but he doesn't have any problem fishing behind anybody - going right through that same area someone else just went through and catching his fish.'' Best would rather be known as a nice guy, not a good angler. Still, the title of BASS Masters Classic Champion has a certain ring to it. Vrooo, vrooooooooooo. BASS MASTERS CLASSIC When: Today through Saturday. Where: High Rock Lake, Lexington, N.C. Purse: $350,000 (winner's share: $100,000). Field: 46 anglers. Results: Updated daily at www.bassmaster.com CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) Bass seem to like Randy Best's fishing lures, like this one at Castaic Lake. He competes in the Bass Masters Classic today through Saturday in Lexington, N.C. (2--Color) Randy Best of Norco holds two largemouth bass at Castaic Lake. Myung J. Chun/Daily News BOX: BASS MASTERS CLASSIC (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion