The New Hampshire Bass Federation (TBF/FLW) held it's annual State Team Qualifying Tournament on September 6th and 7th, 2008. Lake
Champlain in Ticonderoga, NY was this years host and always proves to be a great destination amongst anglers. The top 12 from this
event will represent NH in the 2009 Eastern Regionals on Lake Champlain.
The first day of the tournament featured a light south wind and mild temperatures, anglers had no problem reaching there fishing
destinations. After the first days weigh-in, anglers reported of good fishing and many limits were brought to the scale. After the
weights were tallied Scott Parker led with 17.54 lbs followed by Martin Look with 14.25 and Eric Bouldin with 14.16.
The second day brought a change of pace when it came to the weather, the winds shifted from the south to the north and were blowing up
to 15-20 MPH's. With the weather changing so were the weights. Checking in early was Martin Look with a solid 5 bass limit of weighing
15.47 lbs to claim his first NHBF State Championship title. Martin concentrated on 15-25 foot grass beds in the mid section of the
lake. Martin primarily used a drop shot and crankbaits to catch most of his winning stringer of 29.72 lbs. This will be Martins 2nd
trip to the regionals.
Finishing second was none other than our very own hard working tournament director Jim Hanatow. Jim has had a lot of success targeting
smallmouth in the fall on the big lake and this was event was no different. Carolina rigs and spinnerbaits were Jim weapons of choice
and ended up with 28.70 lbs total to take second place. This will be Jims 6th trip to the regionals.
In Third place was Manchester Bass angler Rob Katsel. Rob was very consistent both days with targeting largemouth. Rob chose to keep
the bait wet and not run around too much. He concentrated on the TI are exclusively both days. The Manchester bass angler pitch sweet
beavers to outside edges of the grass to catch most of his fish. Rob reported that a few fish came shallow but most of the bites were
in deeper water. Rob finished with 27.34 lbs. This is Rob's first trip to regionals.
Coming in fourth place with a total of 26 lbs and 6 ounces was Bubba Bass angler Bruce Acox. Bruce again chose to stay close and targeted Largemouths in the southern end of Lake Champlain. Bruce chose to fish deeper weedlines with a senko and it worked well for him as he earned his 4th state team spot.
In 5th place was Scott Parker of Manchester Bass weighing 26.56 lbs. Scott led day 1 with 17.54 lbs with a run and gun pattern of 4 smallmouth and 1 largemouth. However the second day was not the same result. With nothing but lost fish at the boat at 1pm, Scott decided to run back to the Ticonderoga area to hopefully salvage the day. With 1 hour left Scott was able to flip up 5 largemouth at the boat ramp using a 1 ounce Arkie Salty Beaver. This will be Scott's 11th NHBF state team.
Finishing in 6th place was another Manchester Bass angler Bryan Dexter. Bryan brought in a strong bag of 15.76 lbs on the second day and finished with a total of 26.41 lbs. Bryan targeted main lake points on the southern end of lake Champlain with soft plastics. Bryan will like to thank both partners Eric Bouldin and Vic Walker for sharing tactics and area's. This will be Bryan's first trip to the regionals.
Finishing in 7th place was Eric Bouldin with a total of 26.14 pounds. Eric ran south and fished isolated vegetation and matted grass cover in 2 to 12 feet of water. Eric fished plastic frogs and plastics in the grass both days. Eric would like to thank Bryan Dexter and Dave Tsao for letting him take his boat for this event.
In 8th place with a total of 25.51 lbs. was Vic Walker of Back Bay bass masters.
In 9th place with a total of 25.29 was Bubba Bassin angler John Diaco, last years State Champion. John targeted isolated deeper grass beds in the southern end of lake Champlain with plastics and senkos. John a well known largemouth fisherman will be making his 3rd appearance to the regionals in 2009.
Finishing in 10th place was Frank Campisi with a total of 24.68 lbs.
In 11th place was Bayard Lohmiller of Contoocook Valley Anglers. Bayard finished the event with 24.62 lbs and opted to flip soft plastics to grass beds in different area's around the lake. Bayard will be making his second trip to the regionals in 2009.
In 12th place was Brian Morin of Hardcore Bass Anglers. Brian targeted smallmouth in the mid lake section of lake Champlain. Brian fished extremely slow with a a drop shot method in 15-25 feet of water. Brian will be making his 3rd trip to the regionals in 2009.
The NHBF wishes to also thank it's National and Local sponsors: Ranger Boats, Profile Stateline Superstore, Kittery Trading Post, Steele Hill Resorts, Chevy, Yamaha, Evinrude, Walmart, Solar Bat, Lowrance, Berkley, Castrol, National Guard, Minn Kota, Granite State Glass, Keepsake Quilting and Lil' Hustler Tackle and the Town of Ticonderoga for all there support.
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