The NH Bass Federation held it’s annual Spring Open on a sunny and beautiful Sunday, April 30, 2006. Spring had arrived early to the Lakes Region this year and a very early ice-out and above average temperatures combined to set the stage for a memorable event on Lake Winnipesaukee. As usual, this year’s tournament was held out of Ames Farm in Gilford NH. Tournament morning started out cold and clear, but quickly warmed to above seasonal temperatures that topped off at 70 degrees. Sunny skies prevailed all day with light and variable winds. Lake temperatures ranged from 48-50 degrees on the main lake to 60-63 degrees in the sun-baked backwaters. The pre-tournament focus was on the largemouth bite and the need for a big kicker to be in any winning bag. Many of the 72 competing teams focused on the bigger largemouth bass, but low water conditions paired with the bluebird skies made the largemouth clam up. In the end, smallmouth dominated the afternoon weigh-in.
The father and son team of Jim and Tyler Hanatow concentrated exclusively on smallies and came away with an impressive victory. Their winning creel of four fish topped the scales at 14.41 lbs. and included a beautiful 4.30 lb smallmouth. Jim and Tyler collected $1560 plus 2 paid slots for the upcoming STQT on Lake Ossipee. The Back Bay Anglers primarily fished Lucky Craft jerkbaits in green-white colors to tease reluctant smallmouth into biting. They focused on gravel/rock areas in 6-12 feet of water. Jim and Tyler reported catching over 30 keepers on the day and rotated through key spots to upgrade their catch.
Also targeting smallmouth and taking advantage of an early morning bite was the team of Al Smith and Rick Linnehan, who dropped 12.90 lbs. on the scales to finish in second place. Smith and Linnehan fished Silver Buddies in 15-20 feet of water to catch their pre-spawn smallies. They caught over 30 keepers on the day and earned $1090 for their second place finish.
Third place went to the veteran Granite State team of Eric Bouldin and Dave Debellis who caught 12.65 lbs. of smallmouth bass. This team utilized Silver Buddies and jerkbaits to capture 25-30 fish throughout the day. Bouldin/Debellis targeted smallmouth bass exclusively and fished rock/gravel flats in 10-15 feet of water. Their third place finish was worth $950.
Tom Sinclair and Corey Roux finished in fourth place with 12.59 lbs. They too targeted smallmouth bass with jerkbaits and crankbaits over gravel flats in 8-14 feet of water. They reported catching 25 keepers on the day.
Finishing in fifth place was the team of Mike Lasquade and Dan Lewis. They weighed 12.57 lbs. for three smallmouth bass and one largemouth. They also had the tournament lunker smallmouth of 4.34 lbs. to anchor their creel. Dan reported catching 18-20 keepers on Silver Buddies from water depths of 18 to 22 feet.
The following teams placed in the money:
6th Place: Parker/Madore 12.45 lbs.
7th Place: Barry/Oslizlo 12.39 lbs.
8th Place: Rafuse/Richmond 12.34 lbs.
9th Place: Carr/Carr 12.30 lbs.
10th Place: Andrews/Leppanen 12.28 lbs.
11th Place: Damery/Rogers 12.23 lbs.
Lunker Smallmouth was captured by the team of Lewis and Lasquade and weighed 4.34 lbs. Lunker Largemouth weighed 4.57 lbs. and fell for a black spinnerbait and went to the team of Rafuse/Richmond. First loser pool and a whopping $680 went to Jason Faro and Dan Morin for placing 12th with 12.22 lbs.
The NH Bass Federation prides itself on taking care of the fish that are caught and brought to weigh-in and this showed again as all 251 bass checked in were returned alive and well to Lake Winnipesaukee. Thanks go out to President Rob Frye, Tournament Director Bob Hurst and all of the hard-working State Team members for putting on a great event. Special Thanks to members of the Junior Bassmasters for their assistance at the weigh-in.
As always we appreciate the support of our Federation sponsors: Shimano, 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, 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.
The Summer Open is set for Sunday July 9, 2006 at Norm’s Marine on the Hinsdale section of the Connecticut River.
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