Curtiss Climbs from 10th to 1st at Delta
Run-and-gun strategy pays off for the most consistent pro in the field
All week long, the extreme variety of conditions, patterns and baits at the California Delta has challenged Rayovac FLW Series Western Division pros who were battling it out at the second divisional stop of the season, which was presented by Ranger Boats.
In the end, it was the pro who ran the seemingly simplest of patterns who was most consistent, and his consistency was just what was needed to overcome a slow Delta bite.
Wade Curtiss of Meadow Vista, Calif., weighed in daily limits of 20-05, 19-01 and 22-07, respectively, for a three-day total of 61-13. He climbed from 10th place to first – albeit from only 1 pound, 6 ounces back – for the come-from-behind victory.
His strategy all week was to cover as much water as possible with just three baits. Curtiss caught one fish on a Jackall Iobee Frog and the rest on a bluegill-colored Ladies Man swim jig with a Zoom Horny Toad trailer and a Jackall MC 60 crankbait.
“I was running the tide all day,” says Curtiss, who keyed on the high-outgoing tide. “The high tide pushes the bass shallow where it’s easier to get a bait to them. I ran all over. I burned 50 gallons of gas today. The first two days I fished everything I found in practice, and then today I just ran around to some old stuff from past years.”
Curtiss says he caught fish in all three stages of the spawn, including some that came off beds, though he wasn’t sight-fishing. He also believes that imitating bluegills was a critical part of his success.
“I think the bluegills are starting to move in to spawn after the bass,” he explains. “The bass are keying on the bluegills and crawfish.”
The champ never messed with any finesse presentations – that’s not his style. He power-fished a mix of shoreline grasses and really keyed in on the bare lane, or “trough,” formed between riprap levee walls and the inside grass line that grows outside the rock. Finding clean, healthy grass was also important.
Today, Curtiss caught four keepers off the spot where he’s been starting all week. Two of those were quality keepers that came to weigh-in. He scraped around midday and ended up landing his last keeper with five minutes left, which helped him cull out a runt and clinch the win.
“I knew I had a shot at it today,” Curtiss says. “I just kind of went fishing. It worked out.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Wade Curtiss – Meadow Vista, Calif. – 61-13 (15) – $36,100
2. Ken Mah – Elk Grove, Calif. – 59-09 (15) – $13,989
3. David Valdivia – Norwalk, Calif. – 55-13 (15) – $10,830
4. Chris Parks – Eugene, Ore. – 55-13 (15) – $9,025
5. Stephen Tosh Jr. – Turlock, Calif. – 55-05 (15) – $8,122
6. Joe Uribe Jr. – Surprise, Ariz. – 54-06 (15) – $7,220
7. Phillip Dutra – Antioch, Calif. – 50-04 (14) – $6,317
8. Gary Dobyns – Live Oak, Calif. – 49-15 (15) – $5,415
9. Austin Bonjour – Atascadero, Calif. – 47-09 (15) – $4,512
10. Nick Nourot – Benicia, Calif. – 43-12 (13) – $3,610