The big largemouth bass weighing 1.82 pounds was caught by the team of Jim Barker (left) and Cliff Applebee.

OROVILLE – The team of Fred Bender and Claude Roberts took home top honors at this year’s May Festival Bass Tournament with fish weighing a combined 22.46 pounds.

The first anglers showed up that morning at about 4:15 a.m. and were soon joined by 12 more teams coming to register and wait for 6 a.m. to arrive.

“As we waited there was talk of tournaments past and just a little talk about how to catch the big ones on this day,” said Roberts, who also serves as tournament director.

“The day greeted us with cool, windy conditions which made fishing tough, but the weather did not hinder the effort the teams put into their fishing,” he adds.

The results of the tournament were as follows:

First place went to the team of Bender and Roberts with a total weight of 22.46 pounds.

Second place went to the team of Jeff and John Walter with a total weight of 14.5 pounds.

Third place went to the team of Chris Cory and Mike Keen with a total weight of 12.04 pounds.

The big largemouth bass weighing 1.82 pounds was caught by the team of Cliff Applebee and Jim Barker.

The big smallmouth bass weighing 6.6 pounds was caught by Bender and Roberts.

“As tournament director I want to say thank you to all the men who fished on a tough day and showed great sportsmanship and respected each other. It made a great day. Also, a thank you to the May Festival Committee and all those who donated to make this tournament a fun and rewarding time. It is great to live in a town with people like you,” Roberts said.

He also expressed his gratitude for all the people that came to the weigh-in and cheered for the teams and to the May Festival Royalty for presenting the trophies “and to Teresa and Charlene for patiently waiting for us on such a cold, windy afternoon.”