Sunday July 14, 2002 dawned steamy hot along the Connecticut
River valley as a record crown
of 50 teams gathered to fish the
3rd annual New Hampshire BASS
Federation Mid-Summer Open. Headquartered
at Norms Marina in Hinsdale NH,
the contestants showed up on the
second leg of the three-tournament
series to find the river higher
and dirtier then usual. Unusually
heavy Spring rains had swollen
the river to near flood stage
just a few weeks before, but the
waters had begun to recede and
fishing conditions were near normal
by tournament time. Temperatures
for the day would soar into the
low nineties. It was very humid
and there was little if any wind.
Water temperatures ranged from
70F up north to near 78F in the
southern stretch of the river.
Most teams opted to run north
to chase the smallies; thus the
shallow stretches of gravel bars
and weed beds that hold the fish
were crowded with anglers. Most
competitors found the fishing
tough, due mainly to the heavy
angling pressure, the dirty water,
and the lack of any real current.
Many teams returned to the southern
section to try and save their
days on largemouth. The winning
team avoided the crowds up north
and spent their day in a backwater
slough fishing heavy tackle for
shallow water largemouth bass.
Dave Duffy and Ryan Roy from the
Monadnock Valley Bassmasters were
contemplating not fishing the
event, but at the last minute
decided to enter the tournament.
They spent their day in a backwater
area that featured heavy weed
growth. The pair threw pumpkinseed
colored Bass Assassins into the
slop with heavy baitcasting gear
and 50 lb. Spiderwire. They reported
an all day bite and culled their
12 keepers down to the best 8
for a total winning weight of
18.66 lbs. Their big largemouth
of nearly 4 lbs. reportedly coughed
up a 4-inch mole in the livewell.
The team earned $1200 for their
efforts and qualified to fish
the NH BASS Federation STQT on
Lake Champlain in September 2002.
Finishing in second place with
a total of 18.27 lbs. for 7 largemouth
and 1 smallmouth bass was the
Manchester Bass team of Dan Lewis
and Mike Lasquade. This duo also
opted to stay in the wider southern
section of the river and work
main river wood and rock. Dan
reported catching most of their
fish on cinnamon colored Yamamoto
Hula Grubs pitched tight to the
cover. They reported a slow, tough
bite, but ultimately secured a
limit and nearly won the event.
Third place went to the team
of Dave Swett and Mark Minor with
a total weight of 17.06 lbs. Dave
reported that the team opted to
run north in the morning to work
the gravel bars for smallmouth,
but at 10 a.m. they only had one
fish in the livewell, so they
headed south in search of less
pressured fish. Along the way,
in the relatively untouched central
section of the river, following
a hunch the team pulled off onto
a shoreline they had never fished
before. Using 5 inch Yamamoto
watermelon colored Senkos; they
proceeded to limit out in 10 minutes.
The non-descript bank featured
a combination of shade and wood
cover. Their catch was predominately
smallmouth bass.
Finishing in fourth place was
the team of Scott Leppanen and
Dave Andrews. This Triton/Mercury
team checked in with a straight
limit of smallies that weighed
16.75 lbs. They also chose to
run north and work the shallow
gravel bars using gold Bomber
Long A's and Yamamoto cinnamon
colored Hula Grubs and white Senkos.
They reported catching 2 limits
during the day, but found the
fishing better in the afternoon.
The team of Jason Michaud and
Jess McNeill took fifth place
with a limit of eight smallmouth
weighing 16.05 lbs. This new team
to the Federation hails from Keene
New Hampshire. They ran north
and used pumpkin colored Yamamoto
Hula Grubs to catch most of their
fish.
Lunker Largemouth of the day
went to the team of Gene Colombe
and Erick Michke with a 4.67 lb.
fish. They reported catching the
fish on a Yamamoto Hula Grub in
wood cover. The team of Sinclair
and Roux who weighed in a beautiful
4.13 lb. smallie captured lunker
smallmouth. The fish grabbed (what
else) a Yamamoto Hula Grub off
a gravel flat in less then one
foot of water.
The top three places all received
tackle courtesy of Strike On!
Fishing Products. The NH BASS
Federation paid out 10 spots and
the following teams all cashed
a check:
6th: Jean Colombe and Erick Mischke
15.17 lbs.
7th: Kevin Tenney and Ron Michaud
15.08 lbs.
8th: Jim Hanatow and Tyler Hanatow
14.59 lbs.
9th: Steve May and Jason Faro
14.55 lbs.
10th: Dave Banford and Brian Brooks
14.51 lbs.
Considering the hot, mid summer
conditions, there were very few
dead fish checked in. The NH BASS
Federation uses the best equipment
available to ensure the safety
of the fish. Tournament Director
Jim Orrok and President Rob Frye
and the entire staff did an outstanding
job in running this event. Special
thanks go out to our name sponsor
Strike On! And all of our sponsors:
Red Bull, 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, Armstrong Tools,
Northern BASS Supply, Keep Alive.
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