around this year , when she returned to the Delta and drew three boaters who finished among the Top 10 .
“ I ’ ve got to shout out to my pros ,” she said . “ I couldn ’ t have done it without them . They were all awesome to fish with .”
making the winning adjustments
On paper , Moreno made her march to the winner ’ s circle look easy . She sat in second place after sacking up 15 pounds on Day 1 , then took the lead with 12-14 on Day 2 . Her final tally of 40-15 would have placed 18th on the boater side . But it took perseverance and a few key adjustments to generate the winning bites , as she caught most of her weight on a different bait each day .
A few hours into the first competition day , she hadn ’ t caught a keeper yet , while her boater had already filled his limit . Moreno willed herself to stay calm , reminding herself that the outgoing tide should improve the bite . Her patience paid off with a frenzy that produced five keepers in about five minutes then a 6-2 kicker not long after , all of which ate a Roboworm on a drop-shot . Day 2 started similarly slow . This
“ I had four little ones and then a nice one , and I was like , okay , I ’ ve got all day to upgrade here ,” she said . “ It did calm the nerves a little bit .”
The upgrade she needed arrived right about the same time as the boat containing MLF photographer John Zeolla . Zeolla snapped a sequence of photos showing Moreno fighting and landing her biggest fish of the day , a 3.8-pound largemouth . When Melton scooped the bass with the net , Moreno pumped her fist into the air , the adrenaline etched across her face .
At that point , Moreno knew she ’ d put herself in a strong position to win . However , Mike , who was competing as a boater ( even though he admitted his “ mind was elsewhere ” all day ), had no way of knowing how his wife ’ s day had unfolded . A nervous Deanna wouldn ’ t even meet his eye in the weigh-in line , so he didn ’ t have any indication she ’ d won until she placed her bag on the scale . Mike joined her on stage for an emotional embrace .
“ I just remember hanging on to her , thinking my knees could go out at any given second ,” Mike said . “ I was so proud of her , so excited . I ’ m like , here I am a grown man in front of all these guys ; thank God for sunglasses . I ’ m sitting here just welling up with tears .”
Uribe overcame a slow bite and some boat issues on Day 3 to put together a solid limit of 11-2 . Of all the close calls in her career , being able to congratulate Deanna on stage made this one the least painful .
“ It couldn ’ t happen to a better person ,” Uribe said . “ I ’ m glad , because we finally have a female out there that won . Just to bring that to the industry was a huge momentum moment , for sure .”
PHOTO BY JOHN ZEOLLA time , Deanna adjusted by picking up a walking topwater , which drew some savage strikes .
Uribe never found a flurry on Day 1 . She caught just three keepers but made up for it with quality , totaling 10-10 . A 14- 14 sack on Day 2 vaulted her to second place . Like Moreno , she caught her fish on a drop-shot the first day , then switched to topwater on Day 2 , opting for a popper .
Before blastoff on Day 3 , both women were feeling the nerves . Mercifully for Moreno , she didn ’ t have to wait as long for the action to pick up . In the boat with pro winner Cristian Melton , their starting spot produced a limit for each of them , including an 8-12 beast for Melton . Having five fish in the livewell calmed Moreno down .
PHOTO BY JOHN ZEOLLA
‘ go out there and do it ’
Moreno ’ s trophy and oversized Phoenix Boats certificate now sit on the Moreno family mantle . Mike noted with a chuckle that not a day has gone by since her triumph without his wife taking a moment to admire them .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2024 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 35