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European Bass Fishing Scene
Yamamoto Pro Teams Dominate Mediterranean
Story by Joan Arnal

2003 was a very successful year for our Mediterranean friends and for our Yamamoto pros fishing team tournaments in Spain.

In the USA, the Bass Masters Classic is the crowning event of each season. In Europe, the "Big One" is the Caspe Bass tournament, also known as the "European Classic."

In 2003, all Yamamoto pros teams who fished the European Classic finished in top positions, thereby re-qualifying for a chance again in the 2004 European Classic, including the team of Mr. and Mrs. Gary and Beverly Yamamoto, who finished fifth.

Re-qualifying this way is very important since the system used to make it into the "European Classic" is infamous for being a tough and sometimes griped about as unfair by those who do not make the cut. The system works as it follows.

A European bass fisherman has only one single chance to qualify for the European Classic. One single weekend to compete against all the "hot rods" of his country. Then the best of that weekend event go on to the Classic at Lake Caspe, held every year on the first day of October. It's an an all-out "European Bass Battle Royale," with 90 boats and 180 fishermen.

In 1998, Husband and wife Gary and Beverly Yamamoto were the first team outside of Europe to fish the European Classic. In 2003, the Yamamotos received an award for their six year participation in the event. As the president of the event said during the award ceremony, "After Gary came here in 1998, this tournament has changed a lot, giving it an international perspective. Following Gary's lead, prestigious anglers the likes of Woo Daves, Roland Martin, Kevin Van Dam and Gerald Swindle have come to Europe to compete against our continent's best anglers, but we will never forget the first one, the first pro who ever came here and made this tournament popular around the world."

Other important Yamamoto team victories in Europe in 2003 were first and second places at the "Open Catalunya-Aragon" event by Yamamoto pros and brothers Sergio and Santiago Longas and Joan Arnal, Yamamoto Spain's sales director. The Yamamoto pros won this tournament against more than 120 other top European anglers on September 15th at Lake Fayon. The green "Okeechobee type" waters here are full of weeds and hydrilla. The Longas brothers found the winning bag of bass suspended in open water around train trestle bridges, using the 5" Senko in color 237 (Daiquiri) to take first place. Joan Arnal used a completely different approach - a MOD VI Yamamoto Flipping Stick and 25 pound test Sugoi fluorocarbon line, was Joan's "deal" to wrestle undisturbed bass out from under the thick vegetation. Joan used the 92B Big Ika in color 051 (Black w/red) to pull the bass out from the heavy cover.

Across the Mediterranean, both the Longas and Arnal pro teams together collected more than eleven trophies in competition during 2003. They're looking toward even more success in Europe in 2004.

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