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2009 NJ Bass Federation Tournament Report
Bass Boat Insurance
1-800-476-5667
1-800-476-5667
SUSQUEHANNA FLATS, MD - APRIL 26th, 09
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HOT! HOT! HOT!!
Submitted by: Nick Angiulo
The New Jersey Bass Federation opened up its 2009 tournament season under unusually sweltering conditions at the April 26, 2009 event held on the Northern Chesapeake/Susquehanna Flats. With a cloudless sky and no perceptible wind, along with temperatures that nearly reached 95 degrees, the conditions proved to be difficult. Under these conditions, the challenge of finding significant numbers of biting 15-inch or larger bass in the hundreds of miles of fishable rivers, bays and creeks in the system proved difficult for some of the 58 Boaters and 37 Co-Anglers anglers, but, as always, several anglers proved to be as hot as the weather. When the smoke cleared, some heavy weights in both the Boater and Co-Angler Divisions were moved across the weigh-in scales.
Boater Division
Capturing first place in the Boater Division with an impressive stringer of five fish weighing 19.42 pounds was Sean Loll. Sean, who hails from Montvale, New Jersey, and is a member of the Bass Busters, posted the victory by 1.50 pounds over his nearest competitor. While none of Sean’s fish were among the numerous giant bass weighed in, all of his fish were in the four pound class. Sean indicated that he caught his fish in shallow water mainly around wood lay downs in one of the rivers south of the North East launch point. Throwing a shallow running chartreuse crankbait with a black back proved to be the winning lure. Sean indicated that this was his first victory in a Federation point event although he was previously victorious in the 2007 Team Tournament held on Kerr Reservoir. It will be interesting to see if Sean’s hot early season start translates to the 2009 Team Tournament which will also be held at Kerr on May 7 and 8. Along with the first place Boater Division plaque, Sean received a check for $1,230.
Finishing in second place was Chris Oeser, a member of the Bass Assassin 6 chapter. Chris, who is from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey also weighed in a heavy sack of five fish, totaling 17.92 pounds. He indicated that he mainly caught his fish by flipping weeds with a Lake Fork Craw Tube. However, he stated that his biggest fish came on a Zoom Fish Doctor thrown on a Carolina-type rig. Chris also mentioned that this is the third time he has been a bridesmaid at a Flats event; having previously finishing in second place at both the 2005 and 2006 events. While second is often a disappointing position to finish, Chris took home a check for $984 as a consolation.
Third place in the Boater Division went to Charlie Ginda who had a mammoth bag of four largemouth weighing 17.34 pounds. Charlie hails from Clark, New Jersey and is a member of the Clearwater Bassmasters. Charlie caught three of his keepers locally in the North East River but ventured to the Bohemia River for his final fish. He caught all four keepers on a custom made chartreuse crankbait. Charlie’s finish proved how all-important catching a limit can be, since, even with his huge bag, a fifth fish of any legal size would have probably put him over the top. Regardless, Charlie happily accepted the third place Boater Division check for $676.
Rounding out the rest of the top Boater Division finishers was Derick Olson in fourth place with a five fish limit weighing 17.14 pounds, worth $492; and John Carpenter and Bruce Stovall tied for fifth place with five fish limits weighing 13.28 pounds, worth $368.50 each.
With the big weights at the top of the Boater Division, it is amazing that the Boater Division Lunker was not caught by one of the top six finishers. Rather, that prize went to Federation Vice President Mike Hart, who weighed in a 6.14 pound behemoth. Hart, from Stanhope, New Jersey and a member of the Mega Bass 6, stated that he caught his fish on a dock with a watermelon blue flake Yamamoto Senko. His lunker was worth $285.
Co-Angler Division
This year’s Co-Angler Division got off to a promising start, as some of the 37 posted big weights and received big payouts.
With this in mind, first place went to Marc Goldberg, a member of the Bass Kickers. Marc, who resides in Jackson, New Jersey, brought in a hefty bag of four fish totaling 14.22 pounds to win the Co-Angler Division by nearly three pounds. Marc stated that he and his Boater, Frank White, mainly fished in weed beds in the Bohemia River. Marc threw a jig through the weeds to secure his winning weight. Marc wished to thank Frank for a great day on the water. Also, he wished to dedicate his victory to his mother, who is seriously ill. Marc took home the first place Co-Angler plaque as well as a check for $830.
Finishing second in the Co-Angler Division was Chris Weber who brought three hefty fish to the scales weighing 11.26 pounds. Chris, from Manorville, Long Island and also a member of the Bass Kickers, indicated that he was fishing in his first-ever Federation point event. Chris, who fished with Rich Schneidereit, found the fish biting in shallow water in the Bohemia River. Chris threw a green pumpkin colored Keitech swimbait to catch his first two keepers and a few shorts then caught his last keeper, a five pounder, on a flat sided Rapala chartreuse and blue back crankbait. Chris stated that he was impressed with how well the event was run and indicated that he is very glad he decided to be a member of the Federation. He especially wanted to thank Rich for a great first Federation experience. Chris was rewarded with a $664 check for his second place finish. He now has a leg up on the other new Federation Co-Anglers for the year-end Co-Angler Rookie of the Year award.
Third place in the Co-Angler Division went to Joe Sodora who weighed in only two fish. However, those two fish went an impressive 9.50 pounds, and included the Co-Angler Division Lunker winning fish, a 5.80 pound beauty. Since joining the Co-Angler ranks, Joe, from Garfield, New Jersey, and a member of the New Jersey Bass Hunters, has accumulated numerous top six finishes and continues to consistently cash checks. For his third place finish, Joe received a check for $456; and an additional $185 check for his Co-Angler Division Lunker.
Rounding out the rest of the top Co-Angler Division finishers was Dave Hrbek in fourth place with a two fish weighing 7.78 pounds, worth $332; Frank McMahon in fifth place with two fish weighing 7.52 pounds, worth $290; and Kenny Merlock in sixth place with two fish weighing 5.82 pounds, worth $207.
Miscellaneous Notes
1.In all, there were only five limits brought to the scales and 103 fish totaling 336.60 pounds were weighed in. All but one fish was released alive (99.03%). The amazingly high 3.27 pounds per fish average shows the quality of fish that can be caught in the fertile waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
2.By virtue of being the first and second highest placing eligible Ranger Boat owners in the event, Bruce Stovall and Mike Hart will receive $100 and $90, respectively, in Ranger Cup bonus money.
3.An extra $600 ($300 per Division) in prize money was added to the purse for this event by the Federation Board of Directors. The same amount will be added to each of the remaining four point tournaments.
4.The Federation gave out a huge amount of merchandise, including fishing rods, tackle bags, shirts and dozens of Keitech swimbaits in a free raffle at the end of the event. All anglers who did not receive prize money in the event were eligible for the raffle so long as they were present when it was drawn. Free raffles of this nature will be held at the end of every point event, so it is important to stay until the completion of the event.
5.Any angler who competes in all five regular Federation tournaments this season is eligible to win one of four $500 prizes to be raffled off at the season-ending Northern Chesapeake/Susquehanna Flats event.
Submitted by: Nick Angiulo
The New Jersey Bass Federation opened up its 2009 tournament season under unusually sweltering conditions at the April 26, 2009 event held on the Northern Chesapeake/Susquehanna Flats. With a cloudless sky and no perceptible wind, along with temperatures that nearly reached 95 degrees, the conditions proved to be difficult. Under these conditions, the challenge of finding significant numbers of biting 15-inch or larger bass in the hundreds of miles of fishable rivers, bays and creeks in the system proved difficult for some of the 58 Boaters and 37 Co-Anglers anglers, but, as always, several anglers proved to be as hot as the weather. When the smoke cleared, some heavy weights in both the Boater and Co-Angler Divisions were moved across the weigh-in scales.
Boater Division
Capturing first place in the Boater Division with an impressive stringer of five fish weighing 19.42 pounds was Sean Loll. Sean, who hails from Montvale, New Jersey, and is a member of the Bass Busters, posted the victory by 1.50 pounds over his nearest competitor. While none of Sean’s fish were among the numerous giant bass weighed in, all of his fish were in the four pound class. Sean indicated that he caught his fish in shallow water mainly around wood lay downs in one of the rivers south of the North East launch point. Throwing a shallow running chartreuse crankbait with a black back proved to be the winning lure. Sean indicated that this was his first victory in a Federation point event although he was previously victorious in the 2007 Team Tournament held on Kerr Reservoir. It will be interesting to see if Sean’s hot early season start translates to the 2009 Team Tournament which will also be held at Kerr on May 7 and 8. Along with the first place Boater Division plaque, Sean received a check for $1,230.
Finishing in second place was Chris Oeser, a member of the Bass Assassin 6 chapter. Chris, who is from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey also weighed in a heavy sack of five fish, totaling 17.92 pounds. He indicated that he mainly caught his fish by flipping weeds with a Lake Fork Craw Tube. However, he stated that his biggest fish came on a Zoom Fish Doctor thrown on a Carolina-type rig. Chris also mentioned that this is the third time he has been a bridesmaid at a Flats event; having previously finishing in second place at both the 2005 and 2006 events. While second is often a disappointing position to finish, Chris took home a check for $984 as a consolation.
Third place in the Boater Division went to Charlie Ginda who had a mammoth bag of four largemouth weighing 17.34 pounds. Charlie hails from Clark, New Jersey and is a member of the Clearwater Bassmasters. Charlie caught three of his keepers locally in the North East River but ventured to the Bohemia River for his final fish. He caught all four keepers on a custom made chartreuse crankbait. Charlie’s finish proved how all-important catching a limit can be, since, even with his huge bag, a fifth fish of any legal size would have probably put him over the top. Regardless, Charlie happily accepted the third place Boater Division check for $676.
Rounding out the rest of the top Boater Division finishers was Derick Olson in fourth place with a five fish limit weighing 17.14 pounds, worth $492; and John Carpenter and Bruce Stovall tied for fifth place with five fish limits weighing 13.28 pounds, worth $368.50 each.
With the big weights at the top of the Boater Division, it is amazing that the Boater Division Lunker was not caught by one of the top six finishers. Rather, that prize went to Federation Vice President Mike Hart, who weighed in a 6.14 pound behemoth. Hart, from Stanhope, New Jersey and a member of the Mega Bass 6, stated that he caught his fish on a dock with a watermelon blue flake Yamamoto Senko. His lunker was worth $285.
Co-Angler Division
This year’s Co-Angler Division got off to a promising start, as some of the 37 posted big weights and received big payouts.
With this in mind, first place went to Marc Goldberg, a member of the Bass Kickers. Marc, who resides in Jackson, New Jersey, brought in a hefty bag of four fish totaling 14.22 pounds to win the Co-Angler Division by nearly three pounds. Marc stated that he and his Boater, Frank White, mainly fished in weed beds in the Bohemia River. Marc threw a jig through the weeds to secure his winning weight. Marc wished to thank Frank for a great day on the water. Also, he wished to dedicate his victory to his mother, who is seriously ill. Marc took home the first place Co-Angler plaque as well as a check for $830.
Finishing second in the Co-Angler Division was Chris Weber who brought three hefty fish to the scales weighing 11.26 pounds. Chris, from Manorville, Long Island and also a member of the Bass Kickers, indicated that he was fishing in his first-ever Federation point event. Chris, who fished with Rich Schneidereit, found the fish biting in shallow water in the Bohemia River. Chris threw a green pumpkin colored Keitech swimbait to catch his first two keepers and a few shorts then caught his last keeper, a five pounder, on a flat sided Rapala chartreuse and blue back crankbait. Chris stated that he was impressed with how well the event was run and indicated that he is very glad he decided to be a member of the Federation. He especially wanted to thank Rich for a great first Federation experience. Chris was rewarded with a $664 check for his second place finish. He now has a leg up on the other new Federation Co-Anglers for the year-end Co-Angler Rookie of the Year award.
Third place in the Co-Angler Division went to Joe Sodora who weighed in only two fish. However, those two fish went an impressive 9.50 pounds, and included the Co-Angler Division Lunker winning fish, a 5.80 pound beauty. Since joining the Co-Angler ranks, Joe, from Garfield, New Jersey, and a member of the New Jersey Bass Hunters, has accumulated numerous top six finishes and continues to consistently cash checks. For his third place finish, Joe received a check for $456; and an additional $185 check for his Co-Angler Division Lunker.
Rounding out the rest of the top Co-Angler Division finishers was Dave Hrbek in fourth place with a two fish weighing 7.78 pounds, worth $332; Frank McMahon in fifth place with two fish weighing 7.52 pounds, worth $290; and Kenny Merlock in sixth place with two fish weighing 5.82 pounds, worth $207.
Miscellaneous Notes
1.In all, there were only five limits brought to the scales and 103 fish totaling 336.60 pounds were weighed in. All but one fish was released alive (99.03%). The amazingly high 3.27 pounds per fish average shows the quality of fish that can be caught in the fertile waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
2.By virtue of being the first and second highest placing eligible Ranger Boat owners in the event, Bruce Stovall and Mike Hart will receive $100 and $90, respectively, in Ranger Cup bonus money.
3.An extra $600 ($300 per Division) in prize money was added to the purse for this event by the Federation Board of Directors. The same amount will be added to each of the remaining four point tournaments.
4.The Federation gave out a huge amount of merchandise, including fishing rods, tackle bags, shirts and dozens of Keitech swimbaits in a free raffle at the end of the event. All anglers who did not receive prize money in the event were eligible for the raffle so long as they were present when it was drawn. Free raffles of this nature will be held at the end of every point event, so it is important to stay until the completion of the event.
5.Any angler who competes in all five regular Federation tournaments this season is eligible to win one of four $500 prizes to be raffled off at the season-ending Northern Chesapeake/Susquehanna Flats event.