Following a 13-year hiatus, the NH B.A.S.S. Federation brought back an
old tradition this year and a new, modernized Club vs. Club Fish-off
took place on Sunday October 26, 2003. The venue for this event was
also a blast from the past as many Federation members have not been to
the Merrimack River in Concord NH for many years. Rules for the
fish-off were fairly simple. Each Federated club in the State could
send it's top 3 two person teams to the event, where the total weight
for each club (not two-person team) would decide the Champion. Entry
fees were $100/team with 100% payback scheduled for the top 3 places.
The idea was to have a fun, but competitive end of the year Tournament
that would promote the ultimate in Team Fishing.
The driving force to bring back this event was the host club, the NH
Hook-setters, who took the time to propose and shape the event and to
get the necessary permits secured. Considering it came about late in
the season, after many clubs had set their schedules, this year's event
only gathered six full teams, but was still a good time and ultimately
a
success. This late in the Fall, those anglers that gathered along the
banks of the Merrimack River were fortunate to find relatively mild
conditions. Cloudy, drizzly weather was the pattern for the day,
although a few breaks of sun were enjoyed early in the afternoon and
temperatures climbed to the low to mid 60's. Winds stayed light for
most of the day out of the Southwest and river temperatures ranged from
a chilly 42?F on the main river to 45?F in the few backwater areas.
Recent cold temperatures and even 3 inches of snow proceeding the event
dropped the water temperatures some 8 to 10 degrees in the week leading
up to the Tournament.
The morning take-off saw many of the teams opting to stay local and
fish the oxbow section for largemouth bass. The other anglers split up the
river with approximately half of the remaining field heading North and
the other half choosing to run South toward the Dam. Tough fishing was
indeed the order of the day. By the 3:30 p.m. weigh-in it looked as if
many teams had struggled to find any fish at all. But as often is the
case in tournaments, "someone always finds them" and that was indeed
true today. The Back Bay Bassmasters utilized a team approach and
easily outpaced Granite State to take Club bragging rights for 2003.
The three Back Bay teams spent parts of 4 or 5 days leading up to the
tournament practicing on the River and discussing strategy.
As conditions changed, so did their gameplan. The team split up the River
into 3 sections with a plan to meet in the mid section during the
middle of the day. One of the teams found two working patterns and had
secured a solid limit by 10:00 a.m. They left their fish to find their
teammates and all three teams returned to the productive shoreline to
work a school of smallmouth bass that were relating mostly to a
rock-sand drop-off on the main river. The Back Bay anglers utilized ½
oz. Silver Buddies in various colors to catch most of their fish. Key
fish were also caught on a secondary pattern by flipping 1/4 oz.
cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula Grubs to main river wood and laydowns.
The team of Dave Andrews and Scott Leppanen led the Back Bay team with
an 8 fish limit that weighed 17.18 lbs. Scott Canelas and Jason Faro
checked in 6 smallmouth bass that weighed 11.05 lbs. Bob Smigliani and
Dan Morin put the icing on the cake with 4 bass for 5.06 lbs. Back
Bay's total weight was 33.29 lbs.
Taking second place with a total team weight of 10.97 lbs. was the
Granite State Bassmasters. The team of Eric Bouldin and Dave Debelis
who checked in 6 smallmouth bass for 10.24 lbs. paced this club. The
other members of the second place team were Dave Gagnon/Steve Ledoux
and Ray Freeman/John Plourde.
Third Place went to the NH Bass Cullers who captured four big bass that
topped the scales at 10.36 lb. Federation Secretary Jack Henry teamed
with Gary Slattery to boat 3 bass for 7.36 lbs. Included in their
catch was the lunker smallmouth at 3.10 lbs. The Bass Cullers also got
lunker largemouth with an identical 3.10 lb. Largemouth bass that was weighed
in by Bruce Buckingham and David Casimaro. The team of Steve Nishamura
and Rick Moreau rounded out the team.
As Champions for 2003, the Back Bay Team will receive trophies at the
Federation Banquet scheduled for January 17, 2004. They have also
earned the right to host the 2004 Club vs. Club Fish-off on the body of
water of their choice. The date is slated for Saturday October 9,
2004.Stay tuned for the decision on the venue. Special thanks to the
Hook-Setters and to all of the clubs that participated. The Federation
looks to grow this unique tournament in the coming years and hopes more
clubs participate in 2004.
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