The father and son team of Don and Donnie Riese beat 43 other teams at El Capitan on Saturday to win the first National Bass West San Diego tournament of the season. Their 13.23 pound limit of 5 bass included the tournament's largest bass at 3.49 pounds to make it a perfect sweep of the available option and purse money. Their winnings totaled $3,670 on the day.

Twenty-two teams of bass fisherman gathered at El Capitan on Saturday to compete for a cause - each team donating $100 to a single mother battling cancer, Carrol Morrison. The sub-plot was the tournament competition, in which Kevin Norling and Justin Hanold beat 21 other teams on Saturday with a 5 bass limit weighing 16.63 pounds. Their winning bag was topped by the tournament's largest fish, a 5.24 pound "kicker."

Scott Wingo and Trevor Dawson brought 11.95 pounds to the scales early Sunday morning to win the San Diego Bass Council's Kevin Mineo Memorial season finale at El Capitan. They made it a clean sweep, capturing first place in the tournament, the tournament's biggest bass (4.91 pounds) and sealing the deal on the series as the champions of the points standings. They entered the tournament with a 19 point lead, and with 21 entrants in the final tournament they had already all but wrapped it up just by showing up. Catching just a small limit would have likely been enough, but far less glamorous (and financially lucrative, they earned $1,282 for first w/ big fish) than going out with a win as they did.

The sixth and final Kevin Mineo Memorial Night Tournament will take place this Saturday night at El Capitan. It is not too late to participate in the fun, teams can sign up with tournament director Tim Witucky at the lake prior to the start of the tournament. You do not need to be a member of a bass club to fish these events, which help raise money to maintain the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame exhibit at the San Diego Hall of Champions in Balboa Park.

It is not often that bass anglers are called upon to fish for a cause, only a few opportunities arise per year where tournament anglers can compete for a cause. There is at least o ne more opportunity to do just that in 2009, Lynne Peterson of National Bass West has helped organize a fundraiser tournament for cancer patient Carrol Morrison on October 17th at El Capitan.

Carrol Morrison, a Registered Nurse at Scripps Hospital and a single mother of two (ages 9 and 11) worked out regularly at the gym and lived a healthy lifestyle. After beginning to experience pain in her neck she visited the doctor, where she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer in her neck, spine, breast and liver.