The 2nd annual NH BASS Federation Mid-Summer Open was
held on Sunday July 22, 2001 on
the Connecticut River out of Norm's
Marine in Hinsdale New Hampshire.
Thirty-six boats braved the heat
wave that had descended on the
river valley to take on this challenging
and diverse fishery. All proceeds
from this event will help support
the 2001 NH BASS Federation State
Team. The weather forecast called
for the continuation of a heat
wave and did not bode well for
a good bite. At takeoff time,
patchy early morning fog enshrouded
sections of the river as the contestants
chose their path. Approximately
half of the field headed north
in search of smallmouth bass,
while the rest turned south, looking
for largemouth in the many weedy
cutbacks and laydowns.
The fog soon lifted and the sun
quickly warmed temperatures into
the lower 90's. Winds stayed light
all day, and the pleasure boaters
took to the river in mass. All
of the boat traffic caused the
riverbanks to become muddy and
added to the tough fishing conditions.
The team of Kurt Damery and Joe
Oslizlo from southern New Hampshire
took advantage of the morning
fog and loaded the boat on an
early spinnerbait bite. The pair
burned 3/8 oz. White Pro Competitor
Spinnerbaits (tandem gold, willowleaf
blades) over weed/gravel flats
in 6-8 foot of water to secure
a quick limit of solid smallmouth
bass. As the sun broke through
the fog and the bite got tougher,
this team switched to Pop R's
and culled a few very important
fish. Ozlislo and Damery claim
that they ran south in the afternoon
looking for a kicker largemouth,
but came up empty. They checked
in with an eight fish limit weighing
a remarkable 22.10 lbs. Included
in their catch was the lunker
smallmouth bass at 3.53 lbs. Total
winnings for this team ended up
at $1380 and included 2 paid slots
for the upcoming State Qualifying
Tournament.
Bridesmaids again, the Massachusetts
team of Roy Wood and Scott Gordon
fell victim to a big bag of smallies,
and had to settle for 2nd place
for the second straight year.
This team fished milfoil lines
with senkos and black jig/pigs
to catch approximately 30 keeper
largemouths. They reported catching
their bigger fish on isolated
hard cover (rock or wood). Their
best 8 fish tipped the scales
at an (almost) equally impressive
22.08 lbs.
The dynamic duo of Erik Mischke
and Jean Coloumbe brought an 8
fish limit of largemouth bass
to the scales that weighed 19.22
lbs. All of this team's 3rd place
weight was caught in the southern
stretch of the river, mostly on
an afternoon bite. They reported
catching the majority of their
13 keepers on black/blue Hi-Tek
jigs with a black trailer. A few
important fish fell for Yamamoto
Senkos. All of their catch was
taken from wood cover.
The team of Robin Roystan (NH)
and Mike Barata (VT) captured
a 4th place limit of Largemouths
that weighed 17.59 lbs. These
seasoned tournament veterans reported
working black/blue Picasso jigs
through main river milfoil lines
to catch their limit. The team
claimed that 5'-8' was the magic
depth and the outside edge of
the milfoil was the key to their
pattern.
Lunker largemouth of the Tournament
went to the team of Kevin Tenney
and Ronald Michaud for their 4.54
lb. bass. The winning team of
Ozlislo and Damery also caught
the day's big smallmouth weighing
3.53 lbs.
The New Hampshire BASS Federation
paid out 8 places for this tournament.
The following teams also took
home paychecks:
5th place: Tenney/Michaud 16.83
lbs.
6th place: Andrews/Leppanen 15.63
lbs.
7th place: Denise/Denise 15.48
lbs.
8th place: May/Faro 15.38 lbs.
The New Hampshire Bass Federation
would like to thank its sponsors
for their continued commitment
to supporting our organization:
Ranger Boats, Mercury Outboards,
Pennzoil Marine, Quantam/Motorguide,
Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster,
Berkley Powerbait.
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