Ames Farm Launch in Gilford NH was the site of the annual
NH B.A.S.S. Federation Fall Open.
This year's event was held on
Sunday, October 7, 2001. Thirty-nine
teams braved a typical blustery
autumn day on Lake Winnipesaukee,
in what was for many teams, the
traditional last tournament of
the season. The weather pattern
leading up to this event featured
unseasonably warm temperatures
and bright sunny days. This all
changed the day before the tournament
as a severe cold front descended
on the Lakes Region from Canada.
Several teams that were on the
lake practicing reported seeing
8 foot waves as 30-40 MPH North
winds whipped across the lake.
Temperatures dropped some 35 degrees
in just hours.
Sunday morning dawned clear,
cold and calm, but more fronts
were in the forecast and many
anglers were prepared for the
worst, most were dressed more
for ice fishing than autumn bassing.
Sunday's weather did indeed feature
a series of cold fronts, inter-mixed
with periods of sun and clouds.
The high temperature for the day
topped out around 50°F. Winds
varied from calm to 30 MPH and
snow squalls were spotted in the
nearby mountains. The most severe
front occurred just before check-in
and made for a wild ride for most
teams racing back to Ames Farm.
All boats either returned safely,
or called in, deciding not to
make the run through 5 and 6 footers.
The main lake temperature dropped
from the upper 60's earlier in
the week to 59°F by tournament
day.
Despite the horrible conditions,
there are always fish to be caught
on Lake Winnipesaukee and the
region's finest BASS anglers did
not disappoint come weigh-in time.
Pre-tournament favorites, the
team of Danny Todd and Greg Boiko
from the Windham Hill Bass Anglers
checked in early with an eight
fish limit of smallmouth bass
that weighed 20.38 lbs. and set
the pace for the rest of the teams.
There were a few challenges along
the way, but in the end, Todd
and Boiko remained atop the leader
board and carried off the first
place prize of $1000 plus 2 paid
slots for next years State Team
Qualifying Tournament ($200).
Todd, who is sponsored by Triton
Boats, claimed that he and Greg
struggled for bites and the team
had to move frequently to get
their winning limit. The team
reported catching all of their
10 fish on either cinnamon colored
Yamamoto Hula Grubs or Carolina-rigged
8 inch Zoom Lizards (green pumpkin).
The team focused on rock/weed/sand
bottom in 22-30 foot depths. Danny
thought that under severe cold
front conditions they would key
in on deeper structure and utilize
slow-moving baits. He said that
he and Greg targeted smallmouth
bass "where they live",
not where they feed.
Fishing their first ever Federation
event and utilizing an entirely
different approach was the Milton
NH team of Arthur Bougie and Gary
LaRoche. This team, from the State
Line Bass Anglers, could not establish
a smallmouth pattern, so instead
focused on catching largemouth
bass. They checked in with an
impressive limit that weighed
19.66 lbs. and included the day's
big bass at 5.41 lbs. The lunker
bass fell victim to a watermelon
Hi-Tek jig and a green pumpkin
Zoom super chunk trailer. Other
key bites for this team came on
a Texas-rigged Zoom 8-inch green
pumpkin lizard pitched to either
rocks or docks. Bougie/LaRoche
caught 12 keeper bass on the day
and focused on water depths ranging
from 5 to 8 feet. They received
a second place check for $560
and said that they were very impressed
with the way that the tournament
was run and could not wait to
fish next years events.
Finishing in third place with
an eight fish limit that weighed
19.43 lbs. was the team of John
Rafuse and Rod Richmond. This
team, from the Contoocook Valley
Anglers, weighed in a mixed bag
of 6 smallmouth and 2 largemouth
bass. They reported catching their
smallmouth on gold bomber Long
A jerkbaits and silver-colored
suspending husky jerks. The rest
of their limit came on Carolina-rigged
plastic craws (brown-orange) dragged
in 20-25 foot depths.
Lunker largemouth weighed 5.41
lbs. and was caught by the team
of Bougie/LaRoche. Lunker smallmouth
weighed 3.62 lbs. and was caught
by the team of Brophy/Curtis.
Each team received $200 for their
big fish. Congratulation to Tournament
Director Jim Orrok and his staff
for attaining 100% live release
for all the bass weighed in.
The following teams finished
in the money: 4th Place: Neely/Cotton
17.55 lbs. 5th place: LeBlanc/Bateman
17.51 lbs. 6th place: Kaprellian/Takesian
17.43 lbs. 7th place: Swett/Miner
17.40 lbs. 8th place: Reardon/Guichard
16.82 lbs. 9th place: Denise/Shelton
16.54 lbs.
The NH Bass Federation would
like to thank it's sponsors (new
and old) for their continued dedication:
The Alliance (Triton Boats/Mercury
Outboards, Skeeter Boats/Yamaha
Outboards), Pennzoil Marine, Quantam/Motorguide,
Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster,
Berkley Powerbait, Citgo, Chevy,
Kumho Tires, Eagle Claw, Stowaway
batteries. |
