The New York BASS Chapter Federation (NYBCF) held its final tournament of the 2010 season launching 98 boats out of Oneida Shores Park on September 12th. The weather pattern for this final event played havoc with the anglers during practice. On Friday they fished through SSW winds of 10-15 mph, scattered rain showers to partly cloudy skies with air temps in the mid 60s. Saturday gave up sunny skies with light winds and temperatures in the low 70s. Come tournament morning the anglers were greeted with a light steady rain and cloudy overcast conditions. Winds were predicted for SSE at 10-12 mph, but they quickly shifted to the NNE at 15 mph and by midday they shifted back to the SSE creating some challenging waves and surface conditions that produced multiple areas just littered with loose vegetation. The winning weight was predicted at around 15-16 lbs. due to the tough conditions and ultimately the top three boaters weren’t too far off the mark as they all brought in 14 lb. limits separated by less than two ounces overall and the non-boater winner weighed in a 15 lb. limit.
Boater Division
Mike Fox (Sullivan County BMs) captured first place with a weight of 14.23 lbs. Fox reports focusing his efforts on the northern shoreline in 8-10 ft using green pumpkin pepper tubes rigged on a 3/8 oz. head to catch his fish. Fox used 8 lb test and his non-boater used 10 lb test line; both anglers caught and culled their limits throughout the event. Fox also captured the senior pool (over 50 side pot); so for his entry fee of $125 his total winnings were approximately $2,800. Congratulations Mr. Fox well done indeed.
Dereck Bigford (Salt City BMs) gave Fox a good scare as he brought a weight of 14.14 lbs. and just missed taking the victory by .09 oz. Bigford selected spinnerbaits and tubes targeting water in 10-20 ft. with scattered clumps of vegetation. His basic pattern was running a series of way points and working hard all day for his fish.
Third place honors went to Matt Martin (Salt City BMs) with a weight of 14.11 lbs. Martin fished scattered weeds in 12-14 ft with a Yozuri rattle bait (shad pattern). Martin reports catching the majority of his fish on the rattle bait and he mixed in a drop shot to cull a few fish. Overall he caught 15 -16 fish for the day and reports this was his biggest bag of the year on Oneida Lake. Not stopping with the third place finish Martin also handily walked away with 2010 NYBCF Angler of the Year title by scoring a season total of 284 points out of a possible 300. This is Martin?s second NYBCF AOY title and puts him on the 2011 NYBCF 12-man state team as the Captain.
Rounding out the top five were James Schneider with a weight of 12.75 lbs. and Todd Covert (Salt City BMs) with 12.74 lbs.
The BASS PRO SHOP lunker winner in the boater division was Doug Kirkbride (Northern NY BMs II) with a nice 4.12 lb. LMB. For his efforts he took home $450 and two Johnny Morris Gold Series reels.
Non- Boater Division
Joe Kazlauskas captured first place with a weight of 15.00 lbs. Kazlauskas reports fishing spinnerbaits, tubes and a crankbait over 10 – 20 ft. He reports just rotating through his bait choices throughout the day and said his biggest bass ate a Strike King Sexy Shad crankbait. Kazlauskas takes home $1,500 for his winning ways.
Second place went to Richard Mattison (Port City BMs) with a weight of 13.97 lbs. Mattison reports used a Keitech shad imitator on a drop shot rig in 10-12 ft around scattered weeds to catch his fish.
TJ Dobbs took third place with a weigh of 13.46 lbs. Dobbs caught all of this fish on Rattle Traps and Keitech jigs in 7-9 ft around the outside edges of rock and weeds.
Rounding out the top five were John Whaley (Capital District BMs) with a weight of 12.28 lbs. and Ken Higgins with a weight of 11.94 lbs.
BASS PRO SHOPS lunker winner in the non-boater division went to Anthony Savino with a solid 4.48 lb. LMB good for $450 and two Johnny Morris Gold Series reels. He reports they got out of the wind and worked frogs over slop while eating snacks all day long and just having fun.
For additional information contact Tournament Director Jeff Edgarton (315) 662-7925 or [email protected]
Trail Sponsors are North Jersey Marine, Hummingbird, Triton Boats, Berkley, Toyota, Mercury, Minnkota, Motorguide, Keitech, Bass Pro Shops, Adirondack Reel Service, Mad-TY Custom Baits, Rapsody Fishing Rods, BMB Custom Baits, Plano Tackle, Ogdensburg Chamber of Commerce and Ticonderoga Chamber of Commerce, US Reel, Basscat Quest, Triton Alliance, Skeeter Reel Money, Bass Pro Shop Tournament Rewards, and the Professional Anglers Association Payday Program, Team E Outdoors, Susquehanna Fishing Tackle, 1,000 Islands Clayton NY, and TungstenWTS.By: Burnie Haney
