The NH B.A.S.S. Federation held it's annual Fall Open on Sunday, September 26, 2004 on Squam Lake out of Holderness N.H. Fifty-one teams gathered to enjoy a beautiful Autumn day in New England and sample some of the best fishing the Lake's Region has to offer. Sunny skies abounded throughout the day and 10-15 MPH NW winds provided a good chop on the lake's surface. Daytime temperatures held in the low seventies and lake temps were in the 64F to 67F range.
As usual, the event had an eight fish limit per team, and many teams did indeed check in with a full limit. Taking the top prize at the afternoon weigh-in was the veteran team of Gary Melanson and Tom Bovyn who boated nearly 15 keepers on the day. The pair's best 8 fish dropped the needle to 22.13 lbs and consisted of a mixed bag of 5 smallmouth and 3 largemouth bass. The team targeted "do nothing" banks in 4-8 feet of water. They fished shoreline areas that had a mix of sand and sparse weed on them. Their primary pattern consisted of fishing noodle weed with a 5 inch black-blue Yamamoto Senko and similar colored Slug-go's. The winning team received $1500, plus two paid slots for the 2005 STQT and a $50 gift certificate to Irwin Marine.
Taking second place with a total weight of 21.02 lbs was the Back Bay Bassmasters team of Dave Andrews and Scott Leppanen. Andrews and Leppanen concentrated on shallow flats and break lines and caught fish throughout the day. Their primary pattern involved working gold Gambler Spinnerbaits and gold Bomber Long A Jerk baits over shallow grass/sand flats. Key fish were also taken on watermelon Zoom Lizards fished on a Carolina-rig, and Cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula Grubs. They caught smallmouth bass exclusively and received $1080 for their efforts.
Another veteran Federation team placed third on Squam with a total of 19.36 lbs. Doug Hume and Don Fales from the Contoocook Valley Anglers worked grass flats in 10-20 foot depths to catch 15-17 keepers during the tournament. Their go-to bait was a chartreuse/gold spinnerbait ripped across the surface. Other fish were caught on green-pumpkin Zoom Lizards and Yamamoto Senkos. Fales and Hume received $830 for their third place finish.
The Back Bay Bassmasters team of Jason Faro and Dan Morin grabbed the 4th place spot with a total of eight smallies that tipped the scales at 18.61 lbs. Faro and Morin worked break-lines and humps in 20-30 feet of water with Carolina-rigged Zoom Watermelon Lizards. Their best spots featured the combination of grass and baitfish. Key fish were caught late on Cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula Grubs. Faro and Morin collected $540 plus a $100 gift certificate to Irwin Marine as the top finishing Skeeter team.
Fifth place went to another veteran pair from the Lakes Region. John Fortier and Dale Shannon checked in with 8 smallmouth bass for 18.42 lbs. Noted deep-water specialists, this team probed depths between 40 and 45 feet with pumpkin colored Zoom Lizards fished on a C-rig. They reported catching fish all day and probably boated over 30 keepers.
Rounding out the paybacks were the 6th place team of Chris Bolduc and Jim Wolford who weighed in 18.12 lbs. and seventh place finishers Scott Parker and Scott Canelas who boated 17.39 lbs.
Lunker Largemouth was caught by the team of Bob Hurst and Ben Woods and weighed 6.24 lbs. Bob spotted the monster holding on a bare bank during a practice day and sure enough, the fish stayed put and grabbed a 6-inch, june bug colored Yamamoto Senko on the third cast of the day.
Lunker smallmouth was taken by the team of Smith and Richardson and weighed 3.15 lbs. It too was taken on a Yamamoto Senko fished on a Carolina rig in 17 feet of water.
With the Fall Open in the books, it is also time to crown our Team of the Year for 2004. With a total of 552 points the team of Bill Vierzen and Bill Kuslaka grabbed the top spot this season. They will enjoy paid entry fees for the 2005 season. Second place went to the husband and wife team of Jeff and Leslie Carr who had a total of 538 points. Third place went to Jason Faro and Dan Morin with 530 points.
The NH B.A.S.S. Federation prides itself on taking care of the fish that are caught and this showed again as an amazing 250 of 251 bass were released back into the cool waters of big Squam Lake following the weigh-in.
As always we appreciate the support of our Federation sponsors: Irwin Marine, Pennzoil Marine, Plano Molding Company, Poor Boyz Scent, Skeeter, Ranger, Yamaha, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster, Berkley Powerbait, Citgo, Northern BASS Supply, Keep Alive, Mepps/Mister Twister, Lucky Craft, Luhr Jenson, Stealth Stik, Zylas, Yamamoto Custom Baits, Ultimate Lure Saver, Hotspots Outfitters, Hog Sticker, Lil Hustler Tackle, Extreme Bass, Xtreme Marine, Stealth Charging Systems, Netters Inc, J&D Screenprinting and Embroidery, Cull-m-Rite, Rocky Ledge, Havoc Lures, Aqua View.
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