By Paul Lebowitz

October 30, 2006

Is there anything more satisfying than defending your home turf?

At the October 29 Fish-N-Paddle Bay Bass Tournament staged on Newport Bay by Southwind Kayak Center, the home cooking was extra tasty. Local sticks seemed to have all the answers, while many a traveling kayak angler was heard to say that Newport doesn’t give up its secret easily.

“We’ve fished Newport so much,” said tournament winner Robert Yakemonis. He and his friend Brian Sanner, who took second place, said they’d started years ago in float tubes and graduated to kayaks. Yakemonis credited their success to an intimate knowledge of hidden structure spots.

Yakemonis said he and Sanner found excellent fishing between the mouth of the bay and the Coast Guard dock. “I weighed 18 legal bass, 7 of which I caught in the first hour,” Yakemonis said.

LOCALS RULE – A crowd of kayakers flooded the waters of Newport Bay for the Southwind Kayak Center Fish-N-Paddle Bay Bass Tournament. At the end of the day, local anglers such as Perry Burch dominated the standings. Competing in his first tournament, Burch won the Stingray division.

His 5-fish tournament stringer weighed 8.20 pounds, good for a new Wilderness Systems T160i fishing kayak. Sanner had 7.90 pounds. The pair said they used Berkley Frenzy crankbaits and other plugs.

The story was much the same in the Stingray division, limited to kayak anglers competing in their first tournament. Area local Perry Burch said he caught 30 bass on the day, and might have weighed more if several large fish hadn’t broken his 10-pound test line. Burch baited Berkley Gulp on dock pilings for his 7.56-pound tournament string.

Stingray division placements were rounded out by Gareth Evans (6.20-pounds) and Taylor Bussard (5.64-pounds). Bussard, 15 years old, is another Newport regular. He fished Zoom albino jerkbaits on walls and pilings.