The New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Federation passed another milestone as a record crowd of nearly 200 anglers gathered at Ames Farm on Lake Winnipesaukee for the annual State Championship. At stake in the weekend tournament was 13 coveted spots for the 2004 NHBF State Team. The Tournament was hosted by the Manchester Bass Club and was run under the direction of Tournament Director Jim Orrok and President Rob Frye. The weather leading up to the September 20-21 event featured a string of unseasonably warm days and nights and left the bass locked in transition mode from Summer to Fall patterns. Tournament weather consisted of warm, sunny days with flat calm conditions. Daytime highs climbed into the mid eighties, with lake temperatures holding in the upper sixties.
As the first flight began to check in on Saturday, it became clear that fishing would be tough by Lake Winnipesaukee standards and cut weights would be low. Smallmouth bass dominated the Day 1 weigh-in and when the scales stopped spinning, local favorite and Stratos Pro Steve Lucarelli of Meredith NH found himself atop the leader board with a 13.82 lb. catch. Sean Curtis of Bubba Bassin' was in second place with 13.35 lbs., and John Breen of the Castaways held third place with 13.27 lbs.
Sunday, Day 2 was a repeat, in many ways of Day 1, with sunny skies, light and variable winds and slow fishing. With low weights continuing to dominate the afternoon weigh-in, it became clear that making the team would be a game of ounces and winning the State Championship would require two consistent days of fishing. As the 3 flights continued to check-in, word spread like wildfire that Team Lucarelli had done it again. Day 1 leader, Steve Lucarelli had another big bag and set the pace with a two-day total of 25.86 lbs. Steve held the lead until his Son Joe checked in with the biggest limit of the entire tournament at 14.06 lbs. Joe would not be contested as he cruised to his first ever State Championship with 26.89 lbs. The Stratos Pro enjoyed success each day by fishing Watermelon-red seed Yamamoto Hula Grubs on ½ oz. Yamamoto hula grub heads in 24 to 28 feet of water. Joe claimed that he relied heavily on his Lowrance X-15 to search out schools of yellow perch that were holding above a rock/grass bottom, then target the smallmouth that were suspended under and around the bait. He used a vertical presentation to catch most of his bass. Joe also received a beautiful State Championship trophy donated by Harris Trophy.
Lakes Region Bass Fishing Guide Owner Steve Lucarelli couldn't have been prouder to accept 2nd place. He also relied heavily on his Lowrance electronics (X-97 and X-19 color graph) to locate perch schools and pinpoint smallmouth holding under them. Steve utilized green pumpkin 5-inch tubes on ½ oz. heads as well as Yamamoto Hula Grubs to catch his bass. Both Lucarelli's favored 12-lb. test Berkley Sensation line and also relied on Mega Srike Attractant on their plastic baits. Steve and Joe are part of Winni'g Anglers and both will be making their second trip to the Regional Championship.
Mark Anthony, President of the Castaways Bass Club, will be making his third trip to the Regional Championship by virtue of his third place finish. Anthony fished a very solid tournament and turned up the juice on Day 2 with a 13.16 lb. limit of smallmouth bass to bring his two-day total to 24.88 lbs. Anthony targeted largemouth bass on Day 1, but found the going tough. He boated 4 largemouth by fishing shallow cover with Yamamoto Senkos and Ikas, then switched to smallies to fill his limit. On Sunday, Mark concentrated on deep smallmouth, by using Yamamoto Hula Grubs and Ikas in 30-34 feet of water. Mark wished to thank both of his partners for their sportsmanship. He fished with Eric Bouldin and Greg Terry.
Finishing fourth and qualifying for his first State Team is Sail-em Bass member Tim Carignan. Tim reported catching all smallies during the competition. He fished for few, but quality bites by targeting smallmouth in 25 to 30 foot depths that were holding in grass. Yellow perch again played a role in Tim's success, as he noticed large clouds of bait in his best areas. Tim dragged green pumpkin Bass Pro Shops tubes on ½ oz. leadheads to catch 6 to 8 keepers each day. His two-day total was 23.88 lbs.
Dave Swett of South Berwick Maine and the Clearwater Bassmasters finished 5th with two consistent days that brought his final weight to 23.48 lbs. Swett, a former B.A.S.S. National qualifier, also targeted smallmouth bass that were holding in deep water around grass and perch. Swett, who will be making his 11th trip to Regionals, found smallmouth suspending under bait in 30-35 foot depths where he employed a 1/2 oz. Yamamoto cinnamon colored Hula Grub to entice his fish to bite. Swett reported catching most of his fish as the lure made its initial fall, and he claimed to have a good morning bite each day.
Making his second straight state team and finishing 6th is Bass Addicts member Mark Miner. Miner claimed to have an all-day bite on deep smallmouth bass that he located in and round grassy humps. He drop-shotted a 4 inch green pumpkin Yamamoto Senko to catch all of his fish and caught a key 3 lb. Largemouth by flippin' a dock on Day 1.
Finishing in 7th place and making his second straight team is Bill Vierzen of Contoocook Bassmasters. Vierzen also targeted smallmouth bass in 30-35 foot depths and utilized a cinnamon colored ½ oz. Yamamoto Hula Grub to catch his fish. Vierzen had consistent limits each day and also enjoyed a better morning bite. His two-day total weighed 22.60 lbs.
Fred Anderson of Manchester Bass Club finished 8th with 22.51 lbs. Anderson qualified for his third State Team by targeting smallmouth bass in relatively shallow water. Anderson fished 5 inch black-blue Yamamoto Senkos in 15 feet of water to catch his bass. He rigged the Senko wacky style and fished above grass flats.
Alan Denise of Windham Hill Bassmasters finished ninth and qualified for his 8th State Team with a total weight of 22.35 lbs. The Haverhill Massachusetts native fished green pumpkin and cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula Grubs on ½ oz. heads over scattered grass and rock in 26 to 30 feet of water to catch his smallmouth bass. Alan weighed in consistent limits each day and had a slow, but all day bite on his best spot.
Ron Plante of Clearwater Bassmasters finished 10th overall with 22.14 lbs., and qualified for his 2nd State team. Ron worked (and stop me if you've heard this before) cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula Grubs in ½ oz. and ¾ oz sizes over 25 to 28 feet of scattered grass to catch consistent limits of smallmouth bass each day.
Finishing 11th and qualifying for his first ever State Team was Bruce Acox of The Bass Addicts. Bruce weighed 21.86 lbs. and caught most of his fish on ¾ oz. Yamamoto Hula Grubs in Green Pumpkin. Bruce claimed that he caught nearly 30 keepers on Saturday, but struggled to catch just 4 keeper smallies on Day 2. Bruce said that he was fishing rock points and breaklines in 20-35 feet of water.
Federation Vice President and Back Bay angler Dave Andrews qualified for his 13 th State Team by virtue of a 21.85 lb. two day total. The Triton sponsored angler broke away from the norm by targeting shallow early morning smallies with a gold colored Bomber Long A jerkbait, then switching to a run and gun pattern that targeted largemouth bass. Most of his largemouth came from shallow docks and rocks and were caught on cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula Grubs on a 1/4 oz. Oldham head.
Finishing in 13th place with 21.83 lbs. and earning the Alternate spot was Bill Kuslaka of Manchester Bass Club. Bill caught mostly smallmouth bass and had an early morning bite in 15 feet of water with a junebug colored Yamamoto Senko. Later in the day, he would switch to the Hula Grub and fish over 20-25 feet in scattered grass. This will be Bill's first trip to Regionals.
Overall, the 2003 State Championship was a tremendous success. The Barbecue sponsored by Mepps and Mister Twister following Saturday's weigh-in was enjoyed by all. Special thanks go out to hardworking President Rob Frye who put many long hours in preparing for this event, and also to Tournament Director Jim Orrok, and all of the Manchester Bass Club Volunteers. This was, by far, our biggest State Championship ever and things ran very smoothly. Incidentally, there were 1248 fish weighed-in with 1208 returned alive to Lake Winnipesaukee. This resulted in an over 97% live release rate.
The Lunkers for the weekend event paid $452 each and were as follows:
Day 1: Lunker Smallmouth = Bob Winslow @ 3.58 lbs.
Day 1: Lunker Largemouth = Dave Guichard @ 4.04lbs.
Day 2: Lunker Smallmouth = Dave Garrison @ 3.50 lbs.
Day 2: Lunker Largemouth = Chris Bolduc @ 6.07 lbs.
Interestingly, twelve of thirteen anglers who qualified for the 2004 State Team relied heavily on Yamamoto baits. They are a new sponsor for the NHBF and it looks like this could be the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship. Also, of note, there were three anglers who qualified using Alliance boats/motors. This means another $1500 for the Federation in bonus money and each angler will also receive $500 at the 2004 Regional.
The New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Federation would like to thank its sponsors for their continued support. Special Thanks to Busch Beer who donated prizes for the STQT and the BBQ. New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Federation sponsors include: Red Bull, The Alliance (Triton Boats/Mercury Outboards, Skeeter Boats/Yamaha Outboards), Mega-Strike, Strike-On, Pennzoil Marine, Quantum/Motorguide, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster, Berkley Powerbait, Citgo, Chevy, Kumho Tires, Eagle Claw, Armstrong Tools, Northern BASS Supply, Keep Alive, Mepps/Mister Twister, Back Bay Boat -n- Sled, Lucky Craft, Luhr Jenson, Stealth Stik, Plano Molding Company, Zylas, Cul-M-Rite, Falcon Rods, Hog Sticker, Stealth Charger, HotSpot Outfitters, J&D Embroidery, Yamamoto Custom Baits, Aqua-Vu, Busch Beer, Harris Trophy and Diamond Cut Jeans.
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