 The New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Federation held it's annual Mid-summer Open on the Connecticut River in Hinsdale New Hampshire, on Sunday July 13, 2003. A record crowd of 59 boats gathered at Norms Marine with hopes of taking home the top prize of $1540 as well as two paid spots for the upcoming State Championships to be held on Lake Winnipesaukee in September. The contestants were treated to a near perfect summer day along the Connecticut River Valley. Morning temperatures were comfortable, and daytime highs climbed to near 80 degrees with mostly sunny skies prevailing. Winds were light for most of the day, the river was normal level and mostly clear. Water temps ranged from 73 on the main river to 80 degrees in the backwaters, and the Power Company drew water off and on throughout the day.
As usual, the big decision awaiting competitors was whether to head North in search of smallmouth bass, or stay in the weedy, southern end of the River and chase the largemouth bass. Pre-tournament reports had the smallmouth fishing tough in the northern section, with a lack of vegetation from a harsh winter to blame. Most competitors opted to stay in the southern end of the river and fish for the heavier largemouth bass, this proved to be a wise decision as the largies bit well and dominated the afternoon weigh-in.
Finishing in first place and setting a Mid-Summer Open record with 22.37 lbs. was the Manchester Bass Club team of Dan Lewis and Mike Lasquade. Usually in the money, this team put it all together this time and walked away with the top prize, which included $1540, 2 paid slots for the State Championship, and a valuable tackle kit courtesy of Plano Molding Company. Lewis and Lasquade stayed in the Southern section of the River and kept mostly to the main river targeting deep weed lines. The winning limit was 8 largemouth bass that were caught flippin' black/blue and green pumpkin Yamamoto Senkos and included 3 beautiful fish that were between 4 and 5 lbs. They reported catching 13 or 14 keepers on the day, and got the big bites in the afternoon.
Settling for second place, as they did in the Spring Open,was the Father and Son team of Jim and Tyler Hanatow from Manadnock Bass Masters. Tyler claimed that the team burned tandem gold Stanley Wedge Spinnerbaits over grass flats in 5 to 15 feet of water for their mixed bag of 5 smallmouth and 3 largemouth bass. They reportedly caught over 20 keepers on the day, but had the best results when the water was flowing. Another key to their high finish was picking a spot in the under-utilized mid-river section. Tyler and Jim collected $1100 for their efforts as well as tackle kits from Plano. The team now has a stranglehold on the Team of the Year race.
Finishing in third place with 18.68 lbs. was the team of Chad Jackson and David Apanell, both from the Contoocook Valley Anglers. This team stayed south and worked brown Stanley jigs and 5 inch black/blue Yamamoto Senkos to catch 30 keepers on the day. They weighed in all largemouth bass and targeted main river weed-lines and laydowns. Jackson and Apanell received $880 plus tackle kits from Plano for their effort.
Fourth place went to the team of Tom Sinclair and Corey Roux from Winni'g Anglers with a total weight of 18.20 lbs. This team was one of the few that found success by targeting smallmouth bass. They ran North for several miles and worked the shallow gravel bars and rock shorelines to catch their smallies. They utilized green pumpkin Yamamoto Hula Grubs exclusively and caught roughly 20 keepers throughout the day.
Fifth place went to Rich Roy and Erick Mischke with a limit that weighed 17.96 lbs. This veteran team threw 5 inch green pumpkin Senkos to main river drop-offs that featured wood and grass in the southern section of the River. They targeted largemouth bass and caught 12 keepers on the day. They also reported success on a green-colored custom spinnerbait that had gold Colorado blades.
Finishing in the money were the following teams:
6th place: Oja/Coulombe 17.87 lbs.
7th place: Swett/Miner 17.81 lbs.
8th place: Canelas/Parker 17.31 lbs.
9th place: Peckham/Peckham 17.26 lbs.
Lunker Largemouth was captured late in the day by the team of Scott Canelas and Scott Parker. Just prior to check-in this team was working a backwater area by flippin' pads with a 6-inch power worm when the 5.18 lb. fish hit. The catch was worth $290 in lunker money and they also qualified for the $125 bonus because they used Mega-Strike attractant.
Lunker Smallmouth was caught by the team of Bill Vierzen and Dave Leblanc, who, appropriately enough, caught their fish on the day's first cast. The big smallmouth hit a white buzzbait fished over a gravel bar and weighed 3.43 lbs.
Despite the warm water temperatures, the tournament staff had a very successful release rate of 97%. Overall, 335 bass were weighed in with just 12 fish lost. There were 223 largemouth and 112 smallmouth checked in.
The 2003 N.H. BASS Federation/Plano Molding Mid-Summer Open was an overwhelming success as we had a record crowd for this event. Tournament Director Jim Orrok and President Rob Frye and the entire State Team staff did an outstanding job in running the tournament. Special thanks go out to our main sponsor Plano Molding Company and also to all of our sponsors for their continued support: 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 and Yamamoto Custom Baits
|
