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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
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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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