Frank Montmarquet was born in California and raised as an army brat. In the early 1980's he moved to Wells Maine, where he currently resides. Shortly after moving to Wells, he hooked up with Tony DeCosta, and joined T.H.E. Granite State Bassmasters. Frank had fished off and on as a kid for various species, but his formal Bass training began in 1984.
Frank is known to many as "Mr. Bass", a nickname he garnered by winning 3 State Champion Titles (1990, 1991 and 1994) during an incredible run in the early 1990's. He has qualified for 5 New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Federation State Teams and has a reputation for coming up big in high-profile events. Besides his three State Titles, Frank might be best known for winning two Charlie Moore TOC's (1998, 1999) on Lake Winnipesaukee and finishing second in 2001. Frank was also recently honored as Federation Man of TheYear for 2001; he had previously won the award in 1995. He has served as Federation weigh-master for the last several years.
It should come as no surprise that he names Lake Winnipesaukee as his favorite lake. He has won over $30,000 on Lake Winni during his 15 year fishing career. A master of the jig and pig, Frank is known as a slow and methodical angler who thoroughly seines an area before moving on to new water. Not surprising, he prefers Largemouth Bass to Smallmouth, but can catch smallies when he needs to. When asked what his least favorite body of water is, he responded "any river".
The biggest Smallmouth Bass Frank ever caught came out of Lake Winnisquam in the Fall of 1991 and it weighed 5 lbs. 1 oz. More interesting is the story behind the lunker Largemouth that he caught in June 1997. He caught the post-spawn giant on a black jig and pig out of shoreline brush on Balch Pond. The fish bottomed out a 10 lb. scale and could have been a New Hampshire State record bass, but true to his character, Frank released the fish after taking a photo.
Frank modestly declined to elaborate on his favorite fishing memory, so I'll describe my recollection of how a Legend was born. It was Day 2 of the 1994 STQT held in late July on Lake Winnipesaukee out of Lees Mills Launch. The weather was hot and sunny and the pleasure boat traffic was unbearable, fishing was predictably tough. It was late in the tournament day, only a few minutes left, and most of the field was already checked in and staging outside the launch area. With a solid limit in the livewell and a spot on the State Team already secured, Frank apparently was still not content and he continued to drop his jig into the weed patches as other boats milled about discussing their day or stowing their gear. Suddenly there was a commotion and I remember looking up to see Frank fighting an enormous fish. When his partner finally corralled the bass (6 + lbs.), he quickly culled, checked in and proceeded to weigh-in the biggest limit of the tournament (17+ lbs.) and win his 3rd State Championship in 5 years.
Frank is the Service Manager for McFarland Ford in Portsmouth NH. His family includes his wife Linda, daughter Jennifer and Grandson, 5 year old Brandyn. He is still a member of T.H.E Granite State Bassmasters and has held several positions in the club. He has been President for the last seven years. He currently owns a teal colored Ranger 518 with a Mercury 200 EFI. When not fishing, Frank enjoys bicycling and working on his house. He lists Denny Brauer as his angling hero, but mainly credits the early members of Granite State for teaching him how to fish.
Some other facts about Mr. Bass:
Favorite food: Tex-Mex
Favorite Music: Hard Rock
Last Book Read: Lance Armstrong Autobiography
Favorite Movie: Platoon
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