LA GRANGE The fourth and final tournament in the North Region of the WON BASS Miller High Life Tour was staged on Saturday and Sunday, June 8-9, with Gary Dobyns of Yuba City winning the $73,700 Lake Don Pedro Invitational. It was a record eighth WON BASS tournament win for Dobyns.

"I didn't think I even had a chance to win here, but just came for some points in the Ranger Cup and regular standings," said Dobyns. "I really don't like fishing here, but I have collected a check almost every time down here."

Dobyns and his partners caught fish both days with most of the action coming on drop-shot plastics fished in the main body of the lake, only a few minutes from Fleming Meadows Marina.

Second place went to Bernie Gaunt of West Sacramento, who took the first round lead, thanks in part to a 9.21-pound lunker caught by his AAA partner James Scott of Carson. The big bass and four other fish put the two into the first round lead in their respective divisions with a total of 16.92 pounds and a hefty 3.28-pound lead over second place.

Scott won $1,500 for the day's largest bass in the Miller High Life Daily Double. Taking second place in the big bass pool was Bill Leitelt of San Jose, winning $500 for a 4.51 pounder.
Third place in the pro division went to Harry Jioras of Oak View,who came north for the first time just to get some points for the WONdering Region standings. He bagged 21.84 pounds to win $3,500.

Second place in the tournament's Pro and AAA divisions after the first day were Rob Hernandez (Crown Royal Team) of Torrance and Greg Wegner of Fresno with 13.44 pounds. Pro Dave Gliebe of Stockton and AAA Bob Cagle of Yuba City held down third place with a 12.9-pound limit, while Dobyns, a 7-time WON BASS tournament winner, and AAA Mike Haroutunian of Fresno held down fourth place with 12.60 pounds.

The winners for Sunday in the Miller High Life Daily Double were DubLaShot of Walterville, Oregon with a 6.56 pounder for $1,500 and Howard Hughes of Redding with a 5.83 pounder for $500.
The first round produced 362 bass totaling 636.47 pounds for a 1.76-pound average per fish. The tournament total showed 703 fish caught for the two days, maintaining the 1.76-pound average weight.

This event also determined the 22 North pro qualifiers for the Western Classic, to be staged Nov. 3-6 at Clear Lake in Northern California. There also will be 22 qualifiers from the South Region, the final event of the South on Oct. 5-6 on Lake Havasu. Six additional pros will be determined in the "WONdering Region" which allows pros to finish both the north and south region with their "best five" finishes counting towards that points standings.

The top pro three anglers in the region points standings also are the finalists for the Daiwa Cup competition, which offers $5,000 to the Angler of the Year, $2,000 for second and $1,000 each for third through sixth place. The top three anglers from the South also will be in this race, with their bonus points earned at the Western Class determining their final standings.

In the AAA ranks, the top three from the North and South compete for the Mercury Cup and a $500 bonus at the Western Classic.
The top three Pros are Gary Dobyns of Yuba City, Ron Moore of Fairfield and Luke Clausen of Sacramento. The top three AAA anglers are Matt Miller of Vacaville, Art Lee of Sacramento and Bill Leitelt of Sacramento.

The next tournament on the tour is for the South Region and will be at Lake Havasu on Oct. 5-6. Prior to that, WON BASS will stage the $460,000 U.S. OPEN Sept. 5-11.