Lake Champlain set the stage for the annual New Jersey Bass Federation’s six-man Team Tournament. Launching on the southern end of the Lake, in Ticonderoga, New York, most of the field set out targeting the almost innumerable number of three to five pound largemouth that inhabit that end of the lake. While all teams found success during the June 13 and 14 event, one team proved that a “clean slate” is what is needed to win. That team, the Big D Valley Bassmasters was the only team to bring in 30 fish per day, and it was those “extra” fish that provided the winning margin.
That team was led by Donny Diggs, whose two-day weight of 34.51 pounds, anchored by an over 20 pound Day 2 weight, was enough to finish second overall individually. The rest of the team’s weights were: Dave Williams with 28.43 pounds; Nick Angiulo with 28.35 pounds; Desmond Byfield with 25.73 pounds; Ian Martin with 25.58 pounds; and Karl Braun with 23.61 pounds. The team’s overall weight of 166.21 pounds was enough to win the event by almost 12 pounds.
The second-place team was the Warren County Bassmasters 2. That team’s total of 54 fish weighed 154.26 pounds. The individual weights were as follows: Rob Laufenberg with 34.58 pounds, which was enough to finish first overall individually; Dave Frost with 30.57 pounds; Craig Townsend with 29.85 pounds; Karl Lightner with 25.77 pounds; Bryan Buccella with 23.88 pounds; and Dan Feula with 9.61 pounds.
As mentioned above, individually, Rob Laufenberg was first with 34.58 pounds, just edging Donny Diggs’ 34.51 pounds. Third place individual was Mike Paulicelli with 30.57 pounds.
The top three Boaters and top three Co-Anglers also qualified for the 2024 District 14 TBF National Semi-Final, which will be held of Lake Champlain in September. The Boater qualifiers are: Rob Laufenberg; Donny Diggs; and Dave Frost. The Co-Angler qualifiers are Mike Paulicelli; Mark Barish; and Karl Lightner.
Special thanks to the Town of Ticonderoga (www.townofticonderogany.org), the Ticonderoga Chamber of Commerce (ticonderogany.com/ticonderoga) and the Lake Champlain Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (www.lakechamplainregion.com).
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