May 12

TEAM TOURNAMENT RESULTS

The annual NJBF six-man Team Tournament pits six members from each club against one another to see which club gets bragging rights for the year as the top club.  This year’s event was held on the Northern Chesapeake Bay on May 8 and 9.  
Even with the 15-inch minimum fish size, and some interesting weather conditions, the participating clubs found good fishing overall and posted some solid overall weights.
 

Taking the event for the second year in a row was the Big D Valley Bassmasters (BDVB).  This team showed impressive balance and overall, weighed in 55 fish totaling 163.86 pounds, winning by over 16 pounds over the second-place team.  Leading the team in weight was Donny Diggs, who finished second individually in the Boater Division with 35.69 pounds.  The other BDVB Boaters also finished in good stead, with Dave Williams in fourth place, Ian Martin in sixth place and Nick Angiulo in seventh place.  Even more impressive was BDVB’s Co-Anglers.  In that regard, Desmond Byfield won the Co-Angler Division with 20.52 pounds and Joe Venuto finished second with 19.09 pounds.

BDVB Team: Desmond Byfield, Nick Angiulo, Dave Williams, Joe Venuto, Ian Martin, Donny Diggs

 

The second-place team, the Quickfire Bassmasters also brought impressive weight to the scales.  In all, that club weighed in 51 fish weighing 147.10 pounds.  Leading the team was the overall Boater winner, New Jersey Bass Federation President Mike Keller with 36.32 pounds.

Mike Keller

 

Other individual accomplishments of note were the overall big fish for the event.  In the Boater Division Brian Wisniewski weighed in a 6.32 pound beast, and in the Co-Angler Division Chris Miller weighed in the 4.44 pound big fish.

Desmond Byfield

 
Along with a team event, this event is used to qualify anglers for both the 2025 TBF District 15 National Semi-Final (NSF) and the 2026 TBF National Championship.  The NSF qualifiers are, in the Boater Division – Mike Keller, Donny Diggs, Brian Wisniewski: and in the Co-Angler Division – Desmond Byfield, Joe Venuto, Mike Lee.  By virtue of their first-place finishes, Mike Keller and Desmond Byfield also qualify for automatic entry into the 2026 TBF National Championship in the Boater Division and Co-Angler Division, respectively.
 
 
 

Apr 14

LAKE HOPATCONG RESULTS

The first point event on the 2025 season presented the 28 participating teams a host of challenges.  The initial challenge was the weather.  With cold temperatures and strong gusty winds, fishing in certain areas of the lake was difficult.  However, the biggest challenge was figuring out how to coax bass to bite, given that in the two days prior to the event, the water temperature dropped up to 7 degrees.  The sudden drop in water temperatures, to the mid to upper-40s, put the bass in lockdown mode and many teams reported not getting a single bite.
 
While no team could manage a 5-fish limit, as always, some teams put enough of the puzzle pieces together to bring some solid weights to the scale.  
The winning son/father team of Ron and Ed Schneider weighed in 4 fish totaling a sold 12.84 pounds, enough to win the event by more than 1.75 pounds.  Their winning bag took the first prize of $2,600.
 
The defending 2024 team of the year, and another son/father combination, took second place.  That team. consisting of Ian and John Martin had 4 fish weighing 11.04 pounds.  Their second-place bag was worth $1,400.
 
Third place was the team of Greg DelRusso and Devon Norwood-Kitson, who just edged the fourth-place team by less than one ounce.  That team had 4 fish weighing 10.77 pounds and collected the $800 third place check.
 
The lunker for the event, a 5.69 pound brute, was caught by the team of Pete Longo and Rich Davisson, and took the $560 lunker prize. 

Apr 07

LAKE HOPATCONG REGISTRATION OPEN

The first NJBF point event of the 2025 season is quickly approaching.  Just as last year, this year’s point circuit will be a buddy format.  The registration deadline for the Sunday, April 13 event is Thursday, April 10 at 11:59 p.m.  Late registrations will not be accepted.
 
 
Remember, to be eligible to fish, you must be a current member of the New Jersey Bass Federation.  Not a member?  Contact nickangiulo@verizon.net for information on how to join.
 
ALSO, We have a co-angler seeking a boater partner for the full season.  Contact Nick at the above email if interested.

Dec 01

2025 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

Based on last season’s success, for 2025, the New Jersey Bass Federation is excited to announce it will be continuing the “team-style” circuit.  We will be changing some details to make it easier to remain as a team, and the details are presented below.  This schedule keeps us closer to home, minimizing overall expenses.  Click here for the 2025 tournament schedule, 

As per last year, the 2025 Team Circuit payout will be 95%.  I know of no other circuit with such a high percentage payout. 

Here are the details:

  1.   Two-man teams.  Must designate the Boater and the Co-Angler at beginning of season or upon first event fished (for purposes of National Semi-Final [NSF] qualifying).  However, either angler can fish anywhere on the boat, control the boat, etc.; 
  2.   Both members must be NJBF members (for a non-member to join it is $60); 
  3.   Four overall events, five-fish team limit per event;
  4.   Points awarded to team based on tournament finish.  First place = 200; Second place = 199; Third place = 198, etc.;
  5.   Each team allowed one angler absence per season.  So, if your partner cannot make one event, you are allowed to fish alone.  Note, the team still receives full team points;
  6.    Each team allowed one angler substitute per season.  So, if a partner cannot make one event, you are allowed to one substitute.  Note, the team still receives full team points – the substitute angler receives no team points but is eligible to win cash prizes;
  7.   Entry fee will be $200 per team.  Optional cash lunker ($20 per team);
  8.   Boat number will be assigned based on date/time of entry received;
  9.   Tournament payouts will be, at minimum, to top 3 teams.  With more entries, more spots will be paid;
  10.    Minimum of top 6 teams at the end of the season qualify for NSF.  Note that the NSF is still a pro-am style draw event, so each team’s designated Boater and Co-Angler qualify to fish in that division of the NSF.

 

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS:

Can an angler fish the season completely alone?

        Yes. We generally are defining a “team” as two anglers.  However, an angler could fish alone as a “team” as there is nothing prohibiting that.  However, if an angler starts the season alone and fishes the first two events alone and then gets a partner, that would be a new “team,” or if an established team has a member fish alone more than once that would be a new team.  For purposes of NSF qualifying, we are awarding the team points, so if a solo angler fishes all season alone and is in the top 6 teams in Team Points at the end of the season, he qualifies (under that circumstance, we would also qualify a co-angler from the next lowest team that did not qualify to keep it even).   

Is there an “Angler of the Year.”

        Yes. The Boater angler of the year and Co-angler of the year will be the two anglers who end up with the most individual points at the end of the season, regardless of how they get them (with one partner, alone, or with different partners).  Those 2 anglers, if they are not already qualified via Team Points, will also qualify for the NSF.   

How does an angler who does not make it via points to the NSF, become eligible to go as a Club Qualifier?

        Any angler who fishes more than 40% of any of our events (which includes the team tournament) is eligible to be selected from their club to go to the NSF if their club qualifies at the end of the season based on club points (13 needed) and other eligibility criteria (at least two anglers who fished more than 40% of events).