It wasn’t quite the storybook ending some were looking for, but on a tough day for everyone in the top 10 (pros and co’s), Tami Jennings Curtis (Tami on Tour) put enough in the boat for a seventh place finish in the Stren Series event on Lake Oroville.
After three days on the water, Tami totaled 23-03 pounds after weighing 5-15 today, and earned a check for $1271. Perhaps even better than that, the St. George, Utah angler (check this) moved up to third place overall in the co-angler standings for 2009.
Although she and pro partner Duane Dunstone both caught limits on their first stop in the morning, her Swimming Senko on a dart head did not produce as it had the two previous days. “Things changed,” she told me. “The fish just weren’t taking them as well as they had.”
Duane, by the way, finished in ninth spot, with veteran Dave Rush of Palermo getting the win in the pro division.
The spotted bass were obviously plentiful. “I caught between 25 and 28 fish,” she said–but size was tough to come by. “It was a struggle to upgrade. I culled maybe five times, but you could cull every half ounce, not just every ounce.”
Making her first final, however, was still a major achievement on her resume and a big plus since she was just picked up by Daiwa following the Roosevelt tournament. “I hope I’m not a one final wonder,” she said sheepishly. “I’m going to do my best and hope I have another opportunity,” adding, “I’m so excited to be here.”
With just one more event on the Stren schedule, I asked what’s in store for her. All she said was, “I’m going straight to the Delta.”