For the 2027 season, we will be having 5 events (which includes an early bird); with your team’s best 4 finishes counting towards the 2027 yearly standings.  Get a head start and fish the “early bird!”

 

The 2027 “Early Bird” event date and location will be:

 

Date:                Sunday, October 11, 2026

Location:       Delaware River

Ramp:              Gloucester City (tentative)

 

The registration deadline will be 11:49 a.m. on Thursday, October 8.  If you’ve not fished the Delaware in October, it is one of the finest times, as the fish are feeding up for the winter.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  If you are already a 2026 registered NJBF member you are eligible to fish.  If you are not, and are planning to fish, you will need to add the required registration ($60 per angler which includes 2027 TBF, MLF and NJBF dues) to the tournament entry fee.  Along with this event, you will be eligible for the remainder of the 2027 events.

 

The last NJBF event of the 2026 point tournament season was held on July 26, 2026, at Lake Hopatcong under beautiful mid-summer conditions.  Many of the 20 participating teams had more on the line than just one event, as many were fighting for a top 6 overall spot in the final standings and a spot in the TBF District 15 National Semi-Final.  

 

With nearly every team weighing in a limit of bass, the weights were predictably close.  However, one team found a way to separate themselves from the field.  That team of Ron Schneider and his father, Ed Schneider, weighed in a stout 14.81 pounds, enough to take the $2,000 first prize by more than 1.25 pounds.

 

Second place went to the team of Nick Angiulo and Joe Venuto with five fish weighing 13.49 pounds.  That finish also got the team the coveted top spot in the overall yearly team and individual standings.  They also received $1,100.

Third place went to Tom Gilroy fishing solo with 13.06 pounds. enough by .01 pounds to collect the $550 third place prize.

The lunker was weighed in by the fourth-place team of Kevin Albright and Mike Zampese.  Their behemoth 6.36 pound largemouth was worth $400.

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 mighty St. Lawrence River on July 9 and 10.  This legendary fishery is the land of the giant smallmouth bass, and even with variable wind conditions, and mostly post-spawn fish, the fishing did not disappoint!

 

Making it a Three-Peat was the Big D Valley Bassmasters (BDVB).  This team showed impressive balance and overall, weighed in 60 fish totaling 207.88 pounds, winning by over 16 pounds over the second-place team.  Although, it was not easy as going into Day 2 of the event, the BDVB was in third place, more than 7 pounds behind. But on Day 2, they had four anglers post 20+ pound bags.  Leading the team in weight was Donny Diggs, who finished third individually in the Boater Division with 38.89 pounds.  The other BDVB Boaters also finished in good stead, with Ian Martin in fifth place, Dave Williams in sixth place and Nick Angiulo in seventh place.  Equally impressive was BDVB’s Co-Anglers.  In that regard, Joe Venuto won the Co-Angler Division posting a huge Day 2 weight, and a two-day total of 36.89 pounds.  Desmond Byfield contributed an additional 22.73 pounds.  

 

The second-place team, Blazin Bass also brought impressive weight to the scales.  In all, that club weighed in 59 fish weighing 191.16.  

 

Other individual accomplishments of note were the overall big fish for the event.  In the Boater Division Dan Goykhman weighed in a 5.53 pound beast, and in the Co-Angler Division Adam Pruzansky weighed in the 5.09 pound big fish. 

 

Along with a team event, this event is used to qualify anglers for both the 2026 TBF District 15 National Semi-Final (NSF) and the 2027 TBF National Championship.  The NSF qualifiers are, in the Boater Division – Dan Goykhman, Mike Zampese, and Donny Diggs: and in the Co-Angler Division – Joe Venuto, Adam Pruzansky, and Bob Zeleny.  

 

By virtue of their first-place finishes, Dan Goykhman and Joe Venuto are considered the 2026 NJ State Champions and are automatically qualified for the 2027 TBF National Championship in the Boater Division and Co-Angler Division, respectively.

 

The last event at Lake Hopatcong will decide the final yearly standings and who will qualify for the District 14 National Semi-Final. Register early!