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September 26 and October 3, 2009 Hi
Guys, It's time for my last summary of the season, and this one is going to be a double header. Sorry
I'm so late in getting this out, but my honey-do list, that I so successfully avoided doing throughout the fishing season,
finally caught up to me. In fact it got so long that it took me over a month to get it done before my wife would let
me go hunting. I usually start my summaries with something that had happened to me before the tournament,
but not this time. I'm going to tell a tale about one of our members. Saturday, September 26th started
like any other tournament morning for Mike Williams. He got up around 3:30 a.m. and went about his morning routine .
. . got dressed, had a bite to eat for breakfast, and headed out the door to hook up his boat and then took off for the lake.
Sounds simple enough. He's done this dozens of times just this past season. I'll bet he had no idea that this
was going to be the best part of his day. Things went downhill from there. When he got to the lake, all
was still fine until he got out of the truck. Getting out of the truck wasn't the real problem, but closing the door
to the truck was. Hearing the door slam behind him, he had an eerie feeling that something had just gone very, very
wrong. He quickly turned in the dark, and there he stood looking at his truck with the lights still on, the engine still
running, and the boat ready to be launched. The problem was the door to the truck had locked when it closed, and he
was standing on the outside looking in. After evaluating the situation and the fact that his spare keys were home, he
decided to simply jimmy open the sliding back window of the truck. He pushed on the window and there appeared to be
enough space between the slider and the rear window to slip in a flat blade screwdriver and pop the latch. Simple .
. . any crook could get into the truck in a heartbeat, but where's a car thief when you need one. Our hero rummaged
through his tool box in the dark and out came his trusty screwdriver. He deftly slipped the blade between the slider
and the rear window of the cab, reached the latch, and with a simple little twist . . . he skillfully shattered both of them.
Ouch! That was a hell of a way to start the tournament. Mike wasn't the only one having problems that day.
Later on in the morning I ran into John and Justin Stanley as they were zipping around the lake on their trolling motor.
I thought at first that they were power fishing until John told me the trolling motor was stuck on high! Then they whizzed
off to another dock and quickly took a cast at it before they sailed on by it. Trouble seemed to be the
order of the day. Around 1:00 p.m. I saw Skip and Pat idling out of River Stix and heading back to Lee's Park.
It didn't take long for me to catch up to them, and when I did, I saw that Skip was not a happy camper. His boat would
not get up on plane, and he had thought that he might have blown the lower unit on his E-Teck. I was thankful
that my biggest problem of the day was that all I could seem to catch were pickerel . . . lots and lots of pickerel.
As for the fishing, 9 out of the 13 teams that fished the event brought limits to the scale. The
father and son team of Gary and Jeff Voss, for the second time this season, finished in the top three. Their 10.64 pound
bag of large mouths was more than enough to take the $208.00 third place check. The $312.00 second place award went
to Mike Kloss and Charlie Bautz with a respectable 11.44 pound bag. Everyone knew that they were in trouble when we
saw Mitch Pierson using two hands to drag his bag to the scale. It was all over when he dumped the bag into the tub
and a 5.32 pound largemouth plopped out on top of the 11+ pounds of fish already in the tub for a grand total of 16.60 pounds.
Mitch finished the day with $520.00 for first place and $130.00 for the lunker of the day. Kudos Mitch on a job well
done. Our last tournament was held on Saturday October 3rd and for a change it was an uneventful
beginning. No one locked their keys in the truck, and we had an outstanding showing for our final tournament of the
year. Fifteen teams turned out for the finale of the 2009 season including our newest team of Robert Reider and Tim
Seiden fishing their first and obviously their last tournament of the year. Some surprising weights turned up at the
scales, however, only 7 teams were able to limit out. The remaining anglers struggled for most of the day just to bring
a few fish to the scale. Mike Czaplinski and his partner Bill Albright had a kick ass day on the water. With more
than a two pound lead over their nearest competitor, they sealed their victory with a 5.54 pound large mouth and a very impressive
total weight of 16.78 pounds. Their first place finish and lunker for the day rewarded Bill and Mike with a check for
$750.00. What a way to end the season! In the past it seems the new guys fishing their first tournaments have
had all the luck. Robert Rieder and his partner Tim Seiden were no exception. Fishing their first event with Northeast,
they unlocked the secrets of Hopatcong and weighed in a 14.20 pound bag anchored by a hefty 5.42 pound large mouth for a second
place finish and a $360.00 pay day. Rounding out the top three positions were Skip Lerman and Pat Marshall with 13.96
pounds and a third place check for $240.00. Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who fished with us
that day. The 2009 season ended when the last fish was weighed in, but the day was not over by a long shot.
At 3:15 right on schedule a truck pulled into Lee's park with 10 piping hot pizzas from Vinny and Son Italian Family Restaurant
in Lake Hopatcong, and with that the first annual Pizza-Q was under way. Pizza and beer for everyone . . . root beer
that is. At registration every angler fishing our last event was given a numbered coupon and told to hold on to it.
During the Pizza-Q we held a raffle and every member went home with a Ramp Prize (door prize) that ranged in value from $10.00
up to $112.00. There were bags and bags of Keitech USA products donated to Northeast for the event from Mike Czaplinski.
Frank's Tackle donated a gift certificate for $25.00. Northeast donated bags of tackle and Senkos, and Morris County
Parks donated a pass for 10 launches that was won by Kevin Kuriana. It really seemed to make his day even though he
finished out of the money. I would like to thank the sponsors of Northeast Bassmasters for their generous support .
. . Mike Czaplinski and Keitech USA, Frank's Tackle of Wanaque, and Tony of Lee's Park. You made this day one to remember.
We ended the festivities by starting a new bragging rights tradition . . . The Team of the Year Award. Our Third Place
Team of the Year with 1329.18 points was Team Pepe. The Second Place Team of the year with 1359.11 points went to the
team of Martin and Schmidt. The First Place Team of the Year with 1450.02 points and all the bragging rights belongs to that
(drum role please) dynamic duo, the team of Skip Lerman and Pat Marshall. Skip and Pat fished 8 of the 10 tournaments
on the northeast schedule and ended the season with 2 fourth places, 2 third places, 2 second places, and 1 first and lunker.
We won't mention the 1 ninth place finish. Even the best can have an off day. Last but not least, the plaque for
the biggest fish of the season, along with a check for $525.00, was awarded to Steve Feigal for his 5.94 pound large mouth
caught at the beginning of the season on Candlewood Lake. It's been a long season, but for me the
season is never quite long enough. Fall is definitely in the air. The leaves have changed color and dropped, the
trees are now bare, and the air and water temperature are falling with each passing day. It is now time once again to
put our boats and gear away for a well deserved rest, and all we have left are the memories of the bass we caught and those
that got away this past year. As sad as it may be to close the door on the 2009 season, there is always next year and
a new beginning in 2010. As this chapter of Northeast Bassmasters draws to a conclusion, I would like to wish everyone
a happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous New Year. Almost forgot . . . and lots of big bass bags come spring.
See you all again for our 2010 season opener on Saturday, April 10, 2010 on Lake Hopatcong. Tight lines, Paul *************************************************************************************************************
Greenwood Lake September 19, 2009 Hi Guys, It looks like we are coming down to the wire
for the 2009 tournament fishing season. Northeast has only two events left before we are winterized until next spring.
The seasons are changing which was quite evident this past Saturday on Greenwood. When I left my house at 3:30
a.m. the temperature was hovering around 50 degrees, and when I arrived lakeside it was much colder than that. Undaunted
by the by the chill in the air, our Northeast members began to arrive. Ed Kerr, with his new partner Joe McCloskey,
was the first at the ramp soon followed by the dauntless duo Russ and Chris Pepe, and within 45 minutes the parking lot of
Moose Head Marine was filled with 12 boat trailers and their tow vehicles. Twelve teams were on the water and ready to blast
off at 6:30 a.m. This was a first for Northeast. After the registration was over, four new members had joined
our organization bringing our membership up to 103 active members. This figure represents the largest membership Northeast
has ever had since its inception in 1995. Our success this season can only be attributed to our members who come out
to fish our tournaments and continue to bring new members to each of the events. The bite for the most part in the morning seemed
to be off due to the sudden cold snap from the night before. As the day progressed and the sun began to warm things
up, the fishing seemed to pick up as well, and by 2:30 p.m. the fish had turned on. Too bad the tournament was over
at 3 o'clock. If only we went to 5 p.m. I would bet everyone would have had a limit . . . including me. Everyone
seemed to have had a musky encounter during the day. Skip and Pat had three of the toothy critters chase their baits,
and I boated a 25+ pound musky first thing in the morning on of all things a 3/8 ounce Keiteck jig and 15 pound test Power
Pro. I chased that sucker around for 20 minutes before I could get it into the boat, all because I didn't want to lose
a $6.00 jig. Even though the bite was off, 6 teams brought limits to the scale. Skip and Pat had a tough day but
still put together a five fish limit weighing in at 9.84 which was good enough for a third place finish and a check for $192.00.
The luck of the new guy still prevails. Nick Runo brought Joe Kucera on Saturday to fish his first Northeast tournament
of the season, and they went home with the second place check in the amount of $288.00 for a 10.72 pound bag. Art Vitale
was on a roll. He and his partner, Tom Macaluso, hit pay dirt and mined out of Greenwood Lake 13.06 pounds of large
mouths and one of them was a 5.12 pounder that took the lunker category for the day. Their effort paid off with a first
place finish and a $480.00 check and a dividend lunker check for $120.00. Art and Tom split a $600.00 pay day . . .
not bad for a twelve boat tournament. On behalf of Northeast Bassmasters, I would like to welcome our newest members Joe Mcclosky, brothers
Justin and Aron Perelli, and Joe Kucera to our brotherhood of outstanding fishermen. I hope you enjoyed your day on
the water, and we are looking forward to fishing with you again. A special thanks goes out to Russ and Chris Pepe and Skip Lerman for stepping up and helping
me out at the weigh in. I knew my partner, Chuck, was not going to be there on Saturday, so earlier in the week I asked
them if they could give me a hand. Without hesitation Skip became the photographer and Russ and Chris were my weigh
masters and the weigh-in went off without a hitch. Thanks Guys. There Are Only Two Left Our last two Northeast Bassmasters
Buddy tournament for the season will be held on Saturday, September 26 and Saturday October 3rd, 2009 both
on Lake Hopatcong. We will be blasting off from Lee's Park at 6:30 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m.
Registration will begin at 5:30 a.m and close 5 minutes before blast off. The Big Bass Pool is up to $515.00. Will Steve take
the prize with his 5.98 pound large mouth or will one of you take the gold ring with a bigger bass. You've
gotta be in it to win it, and some of the biggest fish of the season come in the fall. Hope to see you all on the water. Remember it's a long cold winter
so get in on the action before it's too late. Tight lines, Paul ************************************************************************************************************* **********************************************************************************************
Wow! What a Day!!! Sunday, August 30, 2009 Lake Hopatcong
Tournament day for me started like any other tournament day. I had a restless night's
sleep because I am always afraid that all three of my alarm clocks that are set ten minutes apart will some how fail to go
off. So I tossed and turned all night long and checked the clocks every fifteen minutes. The first one was set
for 3 a.m. but as usual I got up before the alarm sounded so it wouldn't wake up the whole house. The note on the dresser
reminded me to de-activate the other two clocks which I have been known to forget to do now and then. I quickly went
through my 3S's regimen . . . s_ _t, shower, and shave in that order, dress, kiss wife, grab lunch, and hit the road.
With a quick Quick-Chek stop for coffee, I was on my way and 45 minutes later I was pulling into Lee's Park. To my surprise
I was not alone. There were two bass boats getting ready to launch. Russ and Chris Pepe were the first on the
water and the first to sign up for the tournament followed by John Stanley and an old member fishing his first event
of the season, Pete Mancuso. I was hoping that we would have eight to ten boats show up for our third and final Sunday
event. Here it was 4:45 a.m., 15 minutes before registration was supposed to begin, and I had three boats already signed
up, and that included Chuck and me. By 5 o'clock there were six boats lined up in the parking lot. At that point
I thought to myself that there had to be another tournament launching out of Lee's, however, all the faces were familiar and
each one made their way to my table to register. We were now up to nine, and the lot was filling up again. By
blast-off the field had reached 19! Looking back over the past
four seasons, this was the best attended NJ event Northeast has had since the inception of the buddy tournament format. All
of the credit for the success that Northeast has experienced thus far this season goes to its members who continuously support
our events. At each tournament our membership has grown . . . again thanks goes to our members who invite new anglers
to fish with them. There just might be a method to their madness though. John Stanley who joined back in July
talked Pete Mancuso into fishing with him for the first time this season and caught 12.54 pounds of large mouths for
a $304.00 third place finish. Mike McMahon who has fished many of our events brought John Gecek to fish his first tournament
with Northeast and landed in second place with 13.94 pounds and a $456.00 check. Our first place and lunker awards in
the amount of $760.00 and $190.00 respectively went to the team of Dan DeCellis and his partner (you guessed it) fishing his
first tournament of the season with Northeast, Keith Kurpicki. They had five large mouths that tipped the scales to
15.74 pounds and a 4.74 pound lunker. Way to go!!! It looks like our father and son
team of Russ and Chris Pepe will have some stiff competition because they are no longer the only father and son team on our
roster. Look out Pepes! Here comes the newest father and son team, Gary and Jeff Voss taking 8th place
with a five fish limit weighing 11.08 pounds and a 3.36 pound kicker. Neither one would say who the hot hand was on
the boat. Fishing on Hopatcong was not as good as it had been, yet 11 of the 19 teams dragged in limits, and everyone
caught fish . . . but not necessarily bass. I personally had a field day on rock bass, pickerel, crappies, perch,
and 6 "stick" fish. One of the "stick" fish was almost four feet long. On behalf of Northeast Bassmasters I would like to welcome our newest members Pete Mancuso, Gary and Jeff Voss, Keith
Kurpicki, Derik Gardella, Rick Blake, Gary Riesebeck, John Gecek, Chuck Cuomo, and Anthony "Go Go" Gomez to the
Northeast family of fishermen. I would also like to congratulate all of our winners and thank all of our members, both
old and new, for fishing with us on Sunday. Wow!!! What a day!!! I hope to see all of you on Greenwood Lake Saturday, September 19th. Remember, we
will be blasting-off at 6:30 a.m. from Moose Head. Registration will begin at 5:30 a.m. Tight lines Paul ********************************************************************************************************************************************* *********************************************************************************************************************************************
Greenwood Lake August 15, 2009 Hi Guys, It's time once again for another summary of our last tournament.
It seems that this season the weather has been the focal point of many of my reports. That's because any time
we had a tournament, the Almighty Heavenly Gardener forgot to turn off the sprinkler system. Not this time though, as
I and the Channel 2, 4, and 7 weathermen promised in their forecast, not a drop of rain fell during this past Saturday's event,
and if they had the drops would have been vaporized before hitting the ground. It was hot . . . the dog days of summer
having finally arrived with temperatures and humidity both in what felt like the 90's. Around 1 o'clock as I stood on
the front casting platform of my boat with the sun beating down high over head and the sweat running into my eyes and literally
filling my boots, I opened my 3rd and last liter bottle of water. I looked back and saw Chuck dipping his cap in the
lake and plopping it dripping wet on his head in a valiant attempt to cool himself off before he continued to fish.
I think if I removed one more outer garment to make myself cooler the Marine Police would have arrested me for indecent exposure.
At that point I began to rethink the virtues of those rainy overcast tournament days in the past that I complained so much
about and realized they weren't as bad as I made them out to be. I kept looking up at the bright blue sky from time
to time in hopes of seeing a cloud or two getting ready to pass in front of the sun. No such luck. Chuck and I
always come well prepared for a day on the water with plenty of food and drinks. We both were so uncomfortable that
food never entered the picture. All we wanted to do was quench that insatiable thirst. Bottle after bottle of
water went down. All that water had to go somewhere. Most of it was eliminated through perspiration, the bodies
own cooling mechanism, however, that which didn't leave through pores had to leave another way. In the spring or fall
one can find an area of the lake that is unoccupied, stand on the back of the boat, and proudly bring the level of the lake
up a little. Saturday was a different story. There was no unoccupied area! Boats, swimmers, and sun
bathers were everywhere! But when nature calls . . . one must answer. So out came the empty 24-ounce Dunkin' Donut
styrofoam cup and the technique on kneeling and peeing . . . I mean reeling . . . began. The only difference was the
rod in my hand wasn't the rod that I fish with. Once the pressure was off, I was able to concentrate on attempting to
catch fish. I'm sure we were all in pretty much the same boat because there isn't a bass rig on the market with air-conditioning
and a port-a-potty . . . at least not yet. In the past few years the fishing on Greenwood wasn't as good
as it had been, but the lake this year seems to have turned around and the fishing has been steadily improving and so has
the attendance at tournaments. Again we had a great turnout with 11 boats taking to the water. At the day's end
10 out of the 11 boats brought limits to the scale to be weighed in. The top three places in the event were all over
11 pounds and a 3.52 pound large mouth was the lunker for the day. Our membership has also grown
to 89 with the addition of 6 new members. I would like to officially welcome the two new teams-- Keith Edwards and Brian
Kopack, Jason Pelak and Keith Woods, as well as Dan DeCelles who fished the event by himself and Tom Macaluso who teamed up
with long time member Art Vatale. Welcome to our ranks of dedicated fisherman. We had 2 fish fatalities
that cost team Izzi and Planer and team Scaffa and Williams a loss of 2 ounces each from their total weights but added 3 pound
of fresh fish fillets to my grill on Sunday. Sorry for the penalty guys, but thanks for a great supper. Team Pepe
was one Pepe short this week and Russ had to defend the family honor on his own. After 2 consecutive 3rd
place finishes in the last two tournaments, Russ had to settle for a 9th place finish and had to go home empty
handed to face his son, Chris. This season's Big Bass Pool is now up to (sounds like a NY lottery commercial)
$445.00. Steve Feigle's 5.98 pound large-mouth still holds the lead. With only 4 tournaments left . . . will Steve's
fish remain king until the end of the season, or will someone dethrone him? There are plenty of 6 pounders out there.
The question is who will find one. Northeast Bassmasters Headlines. Extra! Extra! Extra! Tom Macaluso picked the
right angler to team up with for his first tournament with Northeast. He and Arty Vatale weighed in 11.18 pounds to
garner 3rd place in the event. One of the winningest teams on the tournament trail, Skip Lerman and his partner
Pat Marshall, took 2nd place with 3 large and 2 small mouth bass weighing in at 11.48 pounds. Fishing their
very first tournament with Northeast the team of Keith Edwards and Brian Kopack hit a grand slam, winning the Greenwood Lake
tournament with 5 large-mouths tipping the scale to 11.94 pounds and taking the lunker pool as well with a 3.52 pound large
mouth. Way to go guys! Classified Our next Northeast Bassmasters
Buddy tournament will be held on Sunday, August 30, 2009 on Lake Hopatcong. We will be blasting off from Lee's
Park at 6:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. Registration will begin at 5:00 a.m and close 5 minutes before blast
off. Hope to see you all on the water. Tight lines, Paul P.S. All the photos taken by our unofficial
photographer, Skip, can be seen on our web page http://www.northeastbassmasters.com/ along with the results of the tournament and much, much, more. ***************************************************************************************************************
Lake Hopatcong August 1, 2009 Hi Guys, I'm back. It has taken awhile for me to gather my thoughts regarding our last
tournament on August 1. The reason for that is because it was an uneventful day for most. For a change it wasn't
raining. It was a bright and beautiful day. The morning was on the cool side, and as the day progressed it warmed
up to the low 80's. It was a perfect day to be on the water, and as you can see (if you checked the web site), the fish
for the most part cooperated. We had another strong turnout. There were 13 boats registered by blast-off, and we recruited
six new members to the ranks of Northeast Bassmasters. We would like to welcome Howard Gibson of Eastern Bass Classics, Al Pallavicine, Clarence
Hollenbeck, Skip McLaughlen, Mike Kloss, and Steve Urban to our steadily growing 2009 membership. As I said earlier, it was an uneventful
day except for Mike Kloss and his partner Dan Murphy. By mid-morning the trolling motor on Mike's boat died, and they
had to rely on Mother Nature's zephyrs to push them around the lake. Diehards that they were, they fished to the end
of the tournament and took second place in the event with a 13.38 pound bag and had the second largest bass of the tournament,
a 4.64 pound large-mouth. Can you imagine what they would have caught if they had a trolling motor! Third place
for the second tournament in a row went again to the father and son team of Russ and Chris Pepe with a 5 fish bag weighing
in at 11.62 pounds. Talk about back to back wins; our leaders for this tournament just came off a win from Lake Hopatcong's
Thursday Bass Classics tournament with a winning weight of 16+ pounds just to do it again on Saturday with Northeast with
another 16+ pound bag to take our first place check. That's 32+ pounds of bass in two days of fishing!!! Their kicker
fish, tipping the scale to 5.28 pounds, undisputedly captured the lunker of the day award. Our tournament winners fishing
their first event of the season were those fishing machines . . . Al Pallavicini and Clarence Hollenbeck. Way to go guys! Reminder!!!
Our next Northeast Bassmasters Buddy tournament will be held on Saturday, August 15,
2009 on Greenwood Lake. We will be blasting off from Moose Head at 6:00 a.m. Registration will begin
at 5:00 a.m and close 5 minutes before blast off. Greenwood has been hot. At last Thursdays tournament there were three 15+
pound bags and two lunkers over 5 pounds that were brought to the scale. Hope to see you all on the water. Tight lines, Paul ******************************************************************************************
Lake Hopatcong July 26, 2009 Tournament Summary Hi Guys, It's time once again for your Northeast
Bassmasters on-site roving reporter, Big Paul, to give his insightful and in-depth analysis of the day's events as they unfolded
on Saturday, July 26, 2009. I knew from the get-go that it was going to be a rough day when I arrived at Quick Check
at 3:45 a.m. and the only coffee on their hot plate was decaf . . . a lot of good that was going to do me after a restless
night's sleep. I bought a 24-ounce cup of the 87 octane brew anyway and headed on up to Hopatcong. At 4:30 a.m.
my cell phone rang. It was my partner and official club meteorologist, Chuck Martin, with an updated weather report.
"It's raining!" says he. "No s_ _t!" says I, as quarter-sized drops bounced off my windshield, and
I splashed down Berkshire Valley Road. We had decided that if only 2 or 3 boats were to show up because of the inclement
weather, we would have to postpone the tournament. As fate would have it, Mother Nature smiled down on us, and the closer
I got to Lee's, the rain became less and less. By the time I pulled into the park and got set up, the rain had turned
into a sprinkle and then stopped just as the first boat arrived. The clouds were still thick and threatening, yet boat
after boat was launched and made ready to fish the Northeast Buddy Tournament. By blast-off 12 teams and their boats
were in the water. I heard one intrepid angler of Northeast say to his partner, "Dam the weather, put the pedal
to the metal. There are bass to be caught! Besides, the fish are already wet!" . . . and with that we were
off! With three
fronts pushing through the area, we were in for a roller coaster of a day. For a while the sun had come out and then
the clouds rolled in again. The rain gear came out, and the sky opened up and dumped on us. Then the sun came
back out, and the rain suits came off again. On and off, on and off, all day long. The fishing was another story.
For some it was good, for others it was a slow pick, and for a few it was a total disaster. The winning weights were all double digits.
Mike Keller and Wally Peer's first place sack tipped the scales to 13.80 pounds. The second place check went to
Skip Lerman and Pat Marshall with a very respectable bag weighing 12.94 pounds. The father and son team of Russ and
Chris Pepe claimed third place with 11.82 pounds. The only other team to weigh in a 10+ pound bag was the team of Mitch
Pierson and Mike Czaplinski with 10.72 pounds. It's interesting to see that first through fourth places were only separated
by about a pound between each place. Remember, anybody can catch a big bag and win. The real competition
was not for first place, but a hard fought fight for last. It was grueling and touch and go right up to the last
team to weigh in, but in the end, Chuck and I prevailed, and we took the undisputed position of dead last with
3, yes 3, large-mouths with an amazing combined total weight of . . . 3.02 pounds! Look out Guinness Book of
Records! Here we come! Seriously though, kudos to our top three finishers for a job well done. Our membership is steadily growing, and I would like to welcome
four new members to the Northeast family of fishermen . . . Joe Buds, John Matuszewski, Anthony Ventre, and, returning member,
Wally Peer. I hope your first tournament with Northeast was a good one, and we will see you again on the water. The Big Bass Pool has also grown
to $385.00. Even though there have been a number of bass weighed in that have been well over 6 pounds in other tournaments
on Lake Hopatcong, Steve Feigel's 5.98 pound large-mouth is still holding the title of the "Big Bass of the Season"
for Northeast. With six tournaments left, will Steve's bass take home the gold, or will another toad take its place?
We'll just have to keep on plugging and see. Reminder: Our next Northeast Bassmasters Buddy Tournament will be held on Lake Hopatcong this Saturday,
August 1, 2009. We will be blasting off from Lee's Park at 6:00 a.m. Registration will begin at 5:00 a.m. and close
at 5:50 a.m. I hope to see you all on the water. Tight lines! Paul **************************************************************************************************************
Lake Hopatcong Sunday June 28, 2009 Hi Guys, It's
time for another summary. Northeast Bassmasters scheduled its first Sunday tournament in many years on June 28, 2009
on Lake Hopatcong. There was only one problem . . . so did the Federation Nation. Not only were they on
the same lake, they launched at the same time and from the same launch ramp, Lee's Park. I arrived lakeside at 4:45
a.m. and the line of boats waiting to launch stretched from the first ramp down the parking lot and wrapped around the corner
and onto the street. At first I thought that this was going to be the biggest event Northeast ever had, but that
thought only lasted a nano second before reality set in. I parked my truck and before I could get set up for registration,
the loyal subjects of Northeast started to arrive. In fact, Mitch Pearson had arrived before me and gave me a hand with
the table and helped Chuck when he arrived to launch his boat. Thanks Mitch. Even though there were 40 to 50 boats
waiting to launch everything went quite smoothly. During the winter the Morris County Parks Commission refurbished all
three of the ramps at Lee's making them usable, so three boats were launching at one time and by 5:30 all the boats were in
the water including the 10 boats registered to fish with us. Even though there were several other tournaments on the
lake besides Northeast and the Fed Nation, we still had a great turnout. We should have had 11 boats, however, Mike
Keller's partner, who was to be the boater for the day, overslept and left Mike high and dry. Fortunately Ed Kerr was
fishing alone and Mike was able to hook up with him . . . no pun intended. That's not the end of the story for this
dynamic duo because at the end of the day they edged out John and Justin Stanley by 4/100 of a pound for a $400.00 First Place
check. John and Justin went home with a $340.00 check for Second Place and Lunker, and the Third Place check for $160.00
went to the team of Mitch Pearson and Mike Czaplinski. The one nice part about this tournament was that it was the fist
event that I fished in the last three weeks where it didn't rain. This did have one drawback. Since the sun was
shining, we were not the only boats on the lake. By noon it seemed that every boat in New Jersey was on Lake Hopatcong
and they were all doing thirty miles per hour. Riiiiight! Anchor Bay had a waiting list for a place to anchor
and just about every secret fishing spot on the lake had a bass boat or two or three on it, yet all our guys caught fish.
The waves were so bad whether you drove fast or slow through them you took a pounding. By the end of the day everyone
was an inch shorter than what they started out. It was a tough day in many respects. The fishing was fine, but
the catching proved to be a problem for some, yet there were seven limits brought to the scale out of the ten teams that fished
our event. Not
bad guys, not bad. On behalf of all the teams that fished on Sunday, I would like to thank Mike Czaplinski, better known as Mr. Keitech,
for donating a pack of Keitech Swing Impact swim baits and a Keitech Tungsten Jig made with Gamakatsu Hooks to each and every
angler who fished with us. Thanks again Mike. If you liked the product and would like to order more, I'm sure
Mike will be happy to accommodate you. Just give him a call at 973-398-7608 or Fax him your order at 973-601-7631. See you all on the water next time. Tight lines, Paul ***************************************************************************************************************** *****************************************************************************************************************
It Was Wet and Wild On Lake Hopatcong June 20, 2009 Hi
Guys, It may have been a nasty wet day, and you would have been hard pressed to light up a smoke if you were inclined
to because the rain at times came down in buckets. However, Lake Hopatcong was most definitely on fire if you knew where
to look and what to throw. Such was the case for our tournament leaders above, Pat Marshall and his mentor Skip Lerman.
These are four of the five bass our dynamic duo weighed in on Saturday and the one in the tub was just as big. Can you
tell which of the four bass in the photo was the 4.54 pound lunker of the day? Neither can I. Mitch Pierson brought
in a respectable bag of 13.70 pounds to take second place, but fell shy of the lead by almost 7 pounds. Art Vatile and
partner Ben Keysper again with a very nice bag of 11.52 pounds for the third place finish were off the lead by almost nine
pounds. So what was in our leader's bag? You mathematicians should have a pretty good idea by now. Skip
and Pat set a new Northeast Bassmasters record for a five fish limit that tipped the scales to 20.46 pounds to win our first
New Jersey tournament of the 2009 season. Congratulations gentlemen on a job well. Even though the conditions
were far from good, 13 teams showed up at Lee's Park to fish our NJ opener. We all got dumped on by Mother Nature pretty
harshly most of the day, but undaunted by the weather, 9 out of the 13 teams brought limits to the scale some larger
than others and in one case much larger. Everyone caught fish, so all in all it was a good day... a very wet one, but
a very good day. Tight Lines, Paul P.S. Our next event will be held on Sunday, June 28, 2009 at Lee's
Park. Registration will begin at 5:00 a.m. and blast off will be at 6:00 a.m. See you there. ****************************************************************************************************************************
Candlewood Lake June 6, 2009 Hi Guys, Sorry I'm so
late with the Candlewood report. The tournament was 11 days ago and this is the first chance I have had to sit at my
computer and compose my thoughts on the event. For those of you who were there, you know what a great day we had, and
for those who couldn't make it, you missed a great day of fishing. We arrived at the lake at 6:45 a.m. and the parking
lot was already almost full. For the first time in the history of Northeast Bassmasters there were boats and anglers
waiting for me to set up my table so they could check in or pay their entrance fee at the ramp. All in all we had 22
registered teams by the time we were ready to blast off. Everything was going well so something had to screw it up.
At 7:30 a.m. a conservation officer showed up while I had a line of boaters waiting to check in. He was not there for
a social visit. He wanted to see my permit for the tournament. I had papers, applications, schedules, and money
all over the table and in the mess somewhere was the permit he wanted. I thought I knew exactly were it was but it wasn't
there. So I did what anyone else would do, I started to panic! Could I have left the permit at home was my first
thought, and if I did, what was I going to do? I saw my brief case in the truck so I knew the permit wasn't home.
It had to be in the truck or on the table. I went through everything a second time and the officer appeared not to be
a happy camper as he half heartedly told the crowd that he was making me nervous, and he was! Finally, the last place
I looked was where it was. Of coarse it was the last place I looked because I found it! It was on the front seat
of the truck under my hat where I put it so it wouldn't get lost. The officer looked things over, it took all of 30
seconds, and he was satisfied I wasn't running an illegal tournament. Before he left he suggested that Chuck and I launch
before all the parking spaces were taken. At that moment we looked around and saw that there were only 5 spots left
to park and anyone parking on the grass would be towed . . . like there was a lot of grass in the first place.
We broke down in record time, launched, and had the truck parked with one spot in the lot left. We
blasted off at 7:00 a.m. for what turned out to be a great day on the water. We had a mix of sun and clouds all day.
However, the sun came out in all its glory at 4:00 p.m. just in time for the weigh-in. From the nice comfortable day
on the water the weigh-in turned into a sweltering sun bath. The sweat was pouring off me as I was recording the results at
the scale, and all I kept thinking about was getting into my truck and turning on the air conditioning. The fishing
was great, but the catching was even better. Nineteen out of the twenty-two boats brought limits to the scale . . .
one boat had three fish, and two boats left early and did not weigh in. Third place went to the team of Bob VanZeyl
and Jake Ritz with a total weight of 12.88 pounds, Second Place with a weight of 13.60 pounds went to Edmund Groballi and
partner Jerry Hammond. Our first place leader for the day with an impressive weight of 15.50 pounds for 1 large mouth
and 4 small mouths went to the team of (drum role please) JJ Ziolkowski and Graig Renry. The big fish of the event was
a 5.98 pound large mouth caught by Steve Feigle and netted by his partner Tom Balcato. Congratulations
to our winners, and thanks to all the anglers who fished with us. Tight lines Paul ******************************************************************************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************************************************************************* *******************************************************************************************************************************************
Greenwood Lake October 4, 2008 Hi Guys, I know I’m 8 or 9 days overdue for the October 4th tournament summary, but as you
all know this was not a good week for me. I have been busy writing letters to Ranger and Evinrude voicing
my discontent, to say the least, regarding my engine failure last Tuesday. Another reason why I’ve been
putting off this summary, I guess, is because it is the last one that I will be writing for this season since October 4th
was our last tournament. It seems like the season just began and here it is already over. The
water temperature is dropping, the leaves are changing color, and fall is upon us. There are still a few
weekends left to get out on the water (if you have a boat that runs) and catch some nice bass as they begin fattening up for
winter. That’s providing good old Mother Nature doesn’t screw with the weather.
We all know how fickle women can be. You better get out there soon though, because before you know
it, hard water fishing will be here and our boats will be winterized and put to bed for a long winter’s nap.
In five months or so we’ll be firing those bad boys up again to start the 2009 season in search of the whilly
Micropterous salmoides. According to the weather report on Friday’s 6:00 o’clock news, Saturday was going to be
a picture perfect day to be out on the water, and it was. We just had to wait until 11:30 in the morning
for it to begin. When we arrived at 5:30, it was freezing cold with a dark gray cloud-covered sky that
threatened rain at any minute. Most of the guys put their rain gear on as soon as they arrived and then
launched their boats. To our surprise one boat after another began to pull into Moose Head’s parking
lot. I looked at Chuck and asked him if he knew if there was another tournament launching here today.
By blast-off all of the boats that came registered to fish with Northeast. Eleven teams turned out
to fish our last event. This was by far our best attended tournament on Greenwood Lake in the last two
years. By 6:30 a.m. we were all gathered on the water for the final briefing. There
was a five fish limit, fish had to be a minimum of 12 inches long, the official Verizon time was 6:32 a.m. and the weigh-in
would be at 3:00p.m. sharp -- as if you hadn’t heard this a 100 times before. It was time to go fishing.
Skip and Pat ran the blast-off and one by one the boats sped off to their first spot of the day. Some
ran north, some south, and some went 50 feet to the shore of Fox Island. Chuck and I went for the long
run to North Creek. It was an invigorating ride to say the least. By the time we got
to Chapel Island, we both realized that we should have put an extra sweatshirt or two on as well as a pair of gloves.
We were both chilled to the bone. Chuck was speechless. Actually, I think his
lips were just frozen together, and he kept glaring at me for doing 70 mph up to the mouth of the creek. We
ran into Scott Kirkpatrick later in the morning just passed the first bridge, and he still had his shoes on, so you know it
had to be cold. We fished North Creek for most of the morning and had only one legal fish in the live well.
Rather disgusted, we decided to run south and fish the Awasting docks down to the sailboat marina -- another magnificent
waste of time. The only good part of that stretch was that a breeze began to blow, and the clouds parted
giving way to the sun. By the time we reached the marina, the beautiful mild day that was promised by the
weatherman had finally begun . . . but, we still only had one fish in the live well. We moved to the west
shore and trolled north and finally caught fish # 2 under an overhanging bush in about six inches of water. We now had two
fish and just about two pounds. From there we visited Belchers Creek and beat the water
for an hour without a bite. You would think we would have realized that the creeks were not the answer.
No, not us. We raced back to North Creek hoping that the sun had warmed the water and turned the
fish on. We were right. It turned one bass on enough to eat a senko, and that was the third and last fish
we boated. More than half the field had the same kind of day. Most of the guys said
that they had a slow pick in the morning and that died off when the sun finally came out. You would have
thought that with the warming water the bite would have picked up in the afternoon. By the end of the
day only 4 limits were brought to the scales, and only two of the four went home with checks. Art Vitale,
fishing without a partner, caught a limit and landed a third place finish with a 9 pound 2 ounce bag anchored by the lunker
of the day, a 3 pound 6 ounce large mouth. The team of Strother and Gilroy proved that you don’t
need five fish to take a check when four good ones will do. They finished in second place with 9 pounds
7 ounces and the second biggest fish of the day, a respectable 3 pound 4 ounce large mouth. They told me
at the end of the event that they caught all of their fish in 6 -12 inches of water and dropped several good fish during the
day which probably cost them the tournament. First place went to the team of Mike and Mitch.
Neither of them are Irish, but they both know how to jig, and jig they did culling their way up to a 10 pound limit
and a 3 pound 3 ounce kicker. Skip and Pat were on fish most of the day but just couldn’t find the
big ones. They finished in 4th place with 8 pounds 10 ounces. Dan Murphy
and Mike Kloss had the same problem -- lots of fish, but all pound and a quarter clones. With 7 pounds
12 ounces they finished in 5th place. Those were the big weights for the day. Sixth
place with 4 pounds 4 ounces was claimed by Greg Breen and Chris Strabone. Scott “barefoot”
Kirkpatrick was 7th with 3 pounds 11 ounces. Chuck and I struggled all day for a meager 3 pounds
10 ounces and had to settle for the 8th place spot. The three remaining teams John Scaffa, Frank
Crescibene, and Frank and Mike McMahon chose not to weigh in and therefore tied for 9th place. It
was a good day for some and not so good for others, but that’s fishin’ for ya. And so another season
has drawn to a conclusion. On behalf of Chuck and myself, I would like to thank all of you who fished with Northeast Bassmasters
this past year. We appreciate your support and would like to see the organization grow even more next year.
We saw lots of new faces this season. It would also be nice to see some of the original members
who did not fish with us in 2008 return next year. We are looking forward to seeing you all again in the
spring for our first event. I will be working on the 2009 schedule, and as soon as it is finished, it will be posted
on our website www.northeastbassmasters.com, and I will forward a copy to all of you via e-mail. Please check our website because
it will be updated monthly. If you have any suggestions as to how we can make our organization better,
please don’t hesitate to contact me. Keep your hooks sharp and you lines tight. Paul
September 26, 2008
Hi Guys, Sorry I’m so late getting my tournament
summary out, however, it’s been a hectic week. I am sitting in the waiting room at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine with my wife waiting for our dog, Chester , to have bladder
stones removed. Would you believe that this is the only hospital on the east coast that does a laparoscopic
procedure on dogs. Well, that’s enough about my week. Let’s get to the tournament
on September 20th. It seemed that most of the guys wanted to
get in one last event before Hopatcong becomes unlaunchable. Some boats were in the water before I got
there to set up for registration. By 6:20 a.m. 9 boats were registered and ready
to go. There was one major difference between this tournament and the last and that was most of the guys
were wearing either their 100 mph rain suits, heavy jackets, or insulated sweatshirts because fall was definitely in the air.
In fact, it was down right cold! The water level of the big lake was down at least 20 inches or
more, however, the center launch ramp at Lee’s had enough depth to get the boats off the trailers without a hitch (no
pun intended). The lake is being lowered at a rate of 1 inch per day, so by next week Lee’s
should be finished for the season. I’ve been told that you still can launch at the state ramp, but
if you do, be careful because the hazard buoys have been removed and there are lots of rocks just under the surface waiting
to eat your lower unit. “Redesign by Crash” is no way to end the season. Even
with the water down the fishing was very good. Mitch Pierson and Mike Czaplinski worked their jig magic
and weighed in 14 pounds 15 ounces to take first place. Skip Lermon and his partner, Pat Marshall, had
a double digit bag over 13 pounds and the lunker for the day of 4 pound 13 ounces. Third place with 12
+ pounds went to the team of Dan Murphy and Mike Kloss. Everybody caught
fish and had one last great day on Lake Hopatcong . To be honest, I hope we get lots of rain
this weekend to bring the lake up a few inches so I can get out one more time myself. This was one hell
of a season on Hopatcong . I can’t remember a year where so many 4, 5, and 6 pound fish
were brought to the scales of all the tournaments I fished. All I can say is I hope the 2009 season is
even better.
Congratululations to the winners and thanks to all who fished with us.
Remember!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our Last Open Buddy Northeast Bassmasters tournament will be held on Saturday, October 4, on Greenwood Lake. We will
be launching out
of Moose Head Marina. Registration will be at 5:30a.m. and blast off is at 6:30a.m. sharp.
Looking
forward to seeing you all at our last event of the season.
Paul
**************
August 25, 2008
Hi
Guys!
It’s Northeast Bassmasters up-date time again.
Greenwood Lake Saturday, August 23, 2008.
According to the weather on the six o’clock news Friday
evening, Saturday was going to be a picture perfect day with the temperature in the low to mid 80’s and bright sun.
However, they omitted one minor detail . . . that there might be a little fog in some northern areas. When
I arrived at Moose Head at 4:30 a.m. and looked across the lake, Fox Island could not be seen. In fact,
the fog was so thick I could barley make out the last boat at the end of the dock. Undaunted by the conditions,
I launched my boat and then set up for registration. I was confident that by the 6:00 a.m. blast off the
fog would lift. John Schaffa was the first to arrive and by 5:55 we had registed seven teams for the event. The
turnout was not as good as I had hoped, but it was still better than our last Greenwood event and that is what counts.
Anyway, by blast off the fog was even thicker than it was when I arrived. I was concerned about
everyone’s safety and suggested that we wait for the fog to lift before blasting off. Most of the
guys, however, felt that they wanted to get started and not waste the early morning bite. So cautiously
with our running lights ablaze we motored out to the spot where I was going to give the official time and the rest of the
rules of the tournament. By the time I finished, three boats had drifted out of sight, and as we eased
off all that could be seen was a faint glow of the anchor lights and the sound of huge outboards idling off into all encompassing fog. Within seconds not a
boat could be seen.
Chuck and I decided to wait it out and fish the west shore of
Fox Island . . . once we found it. That was a mistake. The water
was green and there wasn’t a fish to be had so we moved back to the docks and spent another 30 minutes beating dead
water. By 7:00 a.m. the fog still hadn’t lifted. We decided at this point to head
north in search of cleaner water and some cooperative fish. With my 520 Lowrance, the Hot Maps card displaying
Greenwood Lake, and our current boat position plotting a course to North Creek should have been a cinch. So
off we went rocketing along at 4 mph. I was at the helm and Chuck was the look out. We
passed the hazard buoys on the left, and we could make out the north end of Fox Island. A few minutes later
we passed the end of the island and from that point on all we could see was the fog. Chuck moved
to the bow to make sure we didn’t run into anything . . . like Storm Island. As he stood there perched
against the pole seat, he reminded me of Captain Ahab in search of the great white whale. It took us 55
minutes to reach Chapel Island and the mouth of North Creek! That was the longest 55 minutes I have
ever spent in a boat. By 8:30 the fog finally started to lift . . . more than two and a half hours after
the tournament began! Once we were able to see where we were casting, we started to catch some fish.
It was slow at first, but as the day progressed and the surface temp went up, the fishing got better and by 10:30,
to our surprise, we had a small limit in the boat and by 11a.m. we were culling. Chuck stayed with his
trusty Senko all day long. I tried a variety of baits through the day, but it was the Senko for me as well
that produced the fish.
Greenwood has been tough this year, and anglers have been shying away from it for tournaments. However,
those of you who slept in on Saturday missed a good day on the water . . . except for the fog. Saturday
saw five limits brought to the scale out of the seven teams that fished the event. That totaled 30 fish
out of a possible 35 with four bass over three pounds and the lunker of the day weighing in at 4 pounds 9 ounces.
It was good to see one old face that has been missing in action for the past several
years. Anthony “Go-Go” Gomez made his first Northeast event of the season with his partner
Rick Favire. Go-Go said that they were a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, the
force wasn’t with them, and they ended up in 7th place. Russ Pepe, one of our regulars,
fished solo. His partner and son, Chris, who was recently married, had husbandly duties to tend to on Saturday.
Russ struggled in the weeds and only boated 2 large mouths, 1 smallie and finished in 6th place.
Pete Planer and Norm Izzi must have been fishing a secret spot because I didn’t see them once during the day
until they came to the scale with a limit of four large and one smallmouth bass and claimed 5th place with their
bag. The weeds on the main lake had to be off because Skip Lermon and Pat Marshall were literally up the
creek . . . North Creek that is beating the docks with tubes and senkos. They also were crawling rats and
frogs over the weed mats and pads. They said they had some nice blowups, but nothing to show for the effort.
Skip and Pat finished in 4th place with an 8 pound 15 ounce bag. A quick aside . . . Skip lost his hat first thing in the morning,
and by weigh-in he needed some Noxzema to put the fire out on his head. For a while it looked like John Scaffa and Mike Williams might win their second Northeast tournament
in a row. After their win at Hopatcong, the team had a solid bag of 9 pounds 11 ounces anchored by a 3
pound 2 ounce large mouth. They had a good bag but not good enough and had to settle for a third place
finish. It was the team of Rick Blake and Gary Riesebeck who dashed John and Mike’s quest for the
gold by 2 ounces with a weight of 9 pounds 13 ounces. With only one more team to weigh-in it looked like
the winners had already been decided . . . until Chuck and I dumped our bag into the tub and two bass well
over 3 pounds, one well over 4 pounds and 2 about a pound and a half started splashing around. Our five
fish limit weighted 14 pound 12 ounces and our lunker was a hefty 4 pound 9 ounce large mouth. First
place, Lunker and gold went to the team of Paul Schmidt and Chuck Martin.
To Rick and Gary went the silver and second place. So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who fished with us.
Remember!!!!!!! Our next Open Buddy Northeast Bassmasters tournament will be held
on Saturday, September 20, on Lake Hopatcong. We will be launching out of Lee’s Park. However, there
is some concern about the level of the lake since they have already started dropping it. More info
will follow, however, wherever we wind up, registration will be at 5:30 a.m. and blast off is at 6:30 a.m. and the event
will end at 3:00 p.m. sharp. Please note the registration and blast off times have changed since it is
no longer light at 6:00 a.m. Looking forward to seeing all of you at our next event. Paul
A Day on the Water with the Northeast Bassmasters
August 10, 2008
Hi
Guys,
It’s time for another Northeast Bassmasters up-date.
Lake Hopatcong August 9, 2008.
Let’s see, where should I begin. First,
I would like to say that this tournament was by far the best we have had in years. Thirteen teams came out to fish this event,
and everyone had a great day on the water. Some, like the winners, had a better day than others, however,
everyone caught fish. There were nine limits weighed in with three 3+ pound fish and two 4+ pounders coming
to the scale. I guess at this point I should apologize for my last e-mail where I led
everyone to believe a 6+ pound bass was going to be the lunker on Saturday, but that’s fishing for ya. A
lot of fish were caught, but the weights were off. Only one team managed a double digit bag.
If we have to blame something for the light weights, it might as well be the weather. Wednesday
evening saw a cold front blow in, and by the time I arrived at the lake the ambient temperature was 58 degrees and a 20 mph
wind didn’t help matters. As the teams pulled into Lee’s everyone seemed to be doing the same
thing -- digging through their trucks and boats hoping to find a sweatshirt, pants, socks or anything else that would help
them keep warm. The water temperature was also affected by the front. On Tuesday the
surface temp was 82 degrees and by blast off it had dropped to 75. Once the sun came up, the temp moderated
but the wind was relentless most of the day making boat control a problem.
It was quite obvious
at the blast off that my partner Chuck was conspicuously missing from the back of my boat. This was the
first event that he has missed in years. He had something more important to do this past weekend. Yes,
there are some things even more important than fishing; I know that’s hard to believe. However, Mr.
and Mrs. Chuck Martin were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary with their son in Boston. Congratulations
Liz and Chuck! I hope the next tournament you have to miss is because you’re celebrating your 50th
anniversary.
I
was a little concerned about running the tournament by myself. I could handle the registration in the morning,
but it was the weigh-in that concerned me. One phone call to Russ Pepe and my problem was solved.
He said he would be happy to help at the weigh-in and volunteered his son, Chris, as well. By the
way, Chris found out he was helping Saturday morning about 5:00a.m. Russ “The Weigh Master”
Pepe did a great job, and Chris better known as “Flash” took the pictures for me. I would also
like to thank Al Pallavicini and Skip Lermon for helping me pack up at the end of the weigh-in. Thanks again guys.
Our membership is steadily growing, and we are pleased to welcome nine new members to our club roster -- Don Beitz,
Greg Breen, Anthony Ell, Edward Kerr, Frank and Mike Mimol, Mathew Semeraro, Chris Strabone and Bob VanZeyl. Welcome
aboard! I would also like to welcome back two former members who fished with us for the first time this
year -- Russell Awid and Anthony Coniglario. Good seeing you guys again.
It
seemed as though everyone was catching the same size fish, but what separated the leaders from the rest of the pack was one
good fish. Dan Murphy had a 2 pound 2 ounce large mouth and finished in 4th place with 9 pounds
4 ounces. Al and Clarance found a big one under a patio boat, but couldn’t land it. They
ended up in a tie for fourth place with Dan. Ninth place was also a tie. Greg Breen
and Chris Strabone ended the day with 6 pounds 11 ounces and so did I. Don Beitz and partner Frank Crescibene
boated a 3 pound 5 ounce bass, but that was the only good fish they had and settled for a fifth place finish with 8 pound
15 ounces. The “weigh master” and “flash” Russ and Chris Pepe almost had lunker
with the second biggest fish of the day -- a 4 pound 2 ounce large mouth. Unfortunately, they were unable
to fill their limit and weighed in four fish for a total of 8 pounds 5 ounces and 7th place. Sixth
place went to the team of Frank and Mike Mimol with a limit of five fish and a total weight of 8 pounds 10 ounces. Edward
Kerr and Mathew Semeraro had a tough day to say the least. They fished hard but could only find two fish
to put in the live well and finished in last place with 2 pounds 12 ounces. Remember, we’ve all had
bad days. You just have to keep on plugging -- no pun intended. With only thee fish,
Russell Awid and Anthony Coniglario finished in 10th place with 5 pounds 12 ounces. The 8th
spot went to Bob Van Zeyl and Anthony Ell with a 6 pound 14 ounce limit. That covers the runners up and
the honorable mentions -- nice but no money. Mitch Pierson may have 20 rods on his boat, but when
all is said and done, you will find him on a weed bed pitching a jig. He said it was a tough day and by
one o’clock there were only four small fish in his live well. However, before the end of the tournament,
he found a hungry 3 pound 8 ounce large mouth to fill his limit and give him a 3rd place finish with 9 pound 7
ounces and a check for $208.00. Skip Lermon also had a tough day. When you find Skip
on docks you know something is amuck. After trying top water first thing in the morning with no success,
he tried frogging and had the same results. The weeds weren’t working for him either so as a last
resort there were the docks. They produced. Skip’s best fish was a 3 pound 3 ounce
big mouth and four smaller ones but they were one ounce heaver than Mitch’s bag. Skip finished in
2nd place with 9 pounds 8 ounces and a check for $312.00. It was John Scaffer and partner Mike
Williams who hit the grand slam for the day. There winning bag was anchored by the lunker of the day --
a 4 pound 3 ounce large mouth beating Russ and Chris’s big fish by one ounce. They finished in 1st
place with the only double digit weight of the day -- 10 pounds 3 ounces. Their clean sweep of 1st
and lunker resulted in a $650.00 pay day for the team -- $130.00 for lunker and $520.00 for 1st place.
Not a bad day on the water.
Congratulations
to the winners and thanks to all who fished with us.
Looking
forward to seeing all of you at our next event.
Paul
Greenwood Lake Results July 26, 2008 Hi Guys! Just wanted to catch everyone up on the results
of the Greenwood Lake tournament. The turnout was not as good as Chuck and I had hoped, but the six teams that
went out and fished brought in five limits. Even though lots of fish were caught, the weights were not the greatest. The water was lime green in
the south end of the lake. It was almost like fishing in Gatorade. The wind blew all day making it tough to fish
the main lake. Even the creeks seemed to have white caps. John Scaffer and his partner,
Mike Williams, caught two fish, chose not to weigh in, and had to settle for sixth place. Mike Czaplinski and Dan Murphy
brought in a limit, but could only cull up to 5 pounds 15 ounces for a fifth place finish. Chuck and I fished every
point, dock, and stickup caught lots of fish all day but could only manage a fourth place finish with 6 pounds 1 ounce. Chris Pepe returned from his honeymoon with a big smile on his face and was fishing with his dad,
Russ, on the back of a new Z21 and brought in 3 large-mouth and 2 smallies for a third place finish weighing in at 6 pounds
10 ounces. Skip Lermon, better known as the "King of Lake Hopatcong" came to Greenwood with his partner, Patrick Marshall, and with high hopes.
Skip and Pat had the second biggest bag of the day--7 pounds 15 ounces--with a 2 pound 4 ounce kicker. It was Nick Runo
and Joe Kocera who blew the field away with a "whopping" 9 pound 6 ounce limit of five large-mouth and the
lunker, a "huge" 2 pound 11 ounce fish.  Even though the weights were far from great, Joe and Nick took the first place and lunker checks home. In the
end, that's what counts. Congratulations to our winners and thanks to all who fished with us on Saturday. Paul
Lake Hopatcong Results July 12, 2008 Hi Guys, I just wanted to give all our members a heads up on our last tournament on Lake Hopatcong
this past Saturday. Registration started at 5:00 a.m. and when I arrived there were bass boats already lined
up to be launched. By 5:15 we registered five teams and by 5:50 six more boats were in the water for a total of
11 teams ready to do battle with the wily Micropterous salmoides. It was great to see so many new and some old
faces among the regulars who come to our Northeast events. For the first time in our club history we had a father and
daughter team, Robert Puente and his lovely daughter Caitlin. We also had another first for us, a husband and wife team,
Ken Whitehead and his better half Deb. Two old friends of Northeast, Pete Mancuso and John Stanley, who have been absent
from the fishing scene for the past few seasons because of responsibilities at home, came out for the first time this
year and almost had a third place finish in the bag until Len Salvatora and Dan Hornbaker weighed in a five
fish limit taking third place and besting Pete and John's 11pound 3 ounce sack of large mouths by one ounce.
Chuck and I have been there many times as we all have. Russ Pepe fished the event alone. His son and partner
who loves to fish with his dad found another love . . . and he married her
two weeks ago. I believe they are still honeymooning, and fishing, for the time being, has been put on hold. Willie
Pear and Travis Buckingham fished hard all day but could only find some shorts and barely legal fish and chose not to weigh
in (better luck next time). Skip Lermon and Pat Marshall fished the weeds where they could find them and tried to stay
one step ahead of the weed cutters. They caught plenty of fish but just couldn't find the quality fish they
had in practice. John Scaffer and Mike Williams had a limit of keepers but could not find the big ones.
Chuck Martin and I had a great day on the lake. We culled our way up to 10 pounds 12 ounces tossing back 10 or 11 pound
to a pound and a quarter fish. We were feeling pretty confident that we may finally take a check. Our hopes
were quickly dashed when Scott Kirkpatrick and Mike McMann dragged their bag to the scale. What I hoped was a bag full
of water was in reality the best bag of the day. Scott and Mike dumped 5 large mouths into the tub that tipped
the scale to 13 pounds 1 ounce and this included the tournament lunker, a large mouth that weighed in at 3 pounds
14 ounces. Finally, Mitch Pierson made his way to the scale and our chance for honorable mention was soon to be gone.
Mitch, fishing by himself, produced 5 quality bass weighing in at 11 pounds 10 ounces which was more than enough to claim
a second place victory. Len and Dan took third place with 11 pounds 4 ounces. Honorable mention went to Pete and
John with 11 pounds 3 ounces and Chuck and me with 10 pounds 12 ounces. Since I'm writing this I had to give us
some credit. It was a fantastic day of fishing! Nine limits were brought to the scale out of the 11
teams that fished the event. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who fished with us. Paul
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