ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER

 Lake Hopatcong Registration Reminder

Our second point event of the is nearly here!  Don’t miss the July 28 event on our State’s largest lake, Lake Hopatcong.  The guaranteed Boater Division first prize is $2,000 and the guaranteed Co-Angler Division first prize is $1,250. Co-anglers, remember that when you enter, if you identify a Boater as your link, you are guaranteed entry in the event (make sure you check with the Boater first to ensure he is entering). Without a Boater link, you may be put on the waiting list.

The registration deadline is 11:59 p.m. on July 19.

To register online, go to https://njbassfederation.com/online-registration/

Remember you must be a member of either the New Jersey Bass Federation or another TBF-affiliate state’s federation to be eligible to enter.

Also, don’t forget our last point event of the season, the August 11 Delaware River event.  The deadline to register for that event is August 9.

Ever been in a multiple day tournament where all anglers brought in full limits each day? Well, most who fished in the NJBF’s first point event of the season on June 22 and 23 at Saratoga Lake had not either . . . However, every participant made it to the scales with five-fish limits each day (one co-angler did not fish Day 2 as he was ill). With that many fished weighed, you would expect a close finish in each division. That was not the case. Instead, two anglers clearly pulled away in each Division to take the victories.

First place in the Boater Division was Vern Gatson who started the event right with almost 18 pounds on Day 1 and had just over 14 pounds on Day 2 to win the event by over four full pounds! His total weight was 31.92 pounds.

Second place in the Boater Division went to Nick Diamandas, Jr., of the Berkshire Valley Bassmasters who weighed in 27.91 pounds. Third place Boater was Rich Schneidereit with 26.01 pounds.

The winning Co-Angler, Joe Sodora, of the Blazin Bass chapter, busted a 14 pound limit on Day 1 and cruised to the victory by almost three pounds. His total weight was 25.05 pounds. The next two anglers, Brian Snowman and Kevin Collins, posted identical two-day totals of 22.19 pounds.

The next event is at Lake Hopatcong on July 28.

The annual New Jersey Bass Federation team tournament was held on May 9 and 10 on the mighty Potomac River. While the field for this event was small, the event proved to be highly competitive and produced some good individual and team results.

On the individual side, the winner of the event was Derick Olson of the Quickfire Bassmasters, who produced two large bags of fish weighing over 16 and 17 pounds, respectively, for a total of 34.69 pounds. T…his weight was enough to take the individual first prize by almost three pounds. Second place went to Ryan McGinty of the Big D Valley Bassmasters. McGinty weighed in two consistent bags that totaled 31.72 pounds. Just behind in third place was Clearwater Bassmasters’ Brian Wisniewski with 31.11 pounds.

On the team side, the Big D Valley Bassmasters won the event for the second time in three years. The club amassed a total of 132.85 pounds over the two days, enough to win the event by almost five pounds over last year’s champion club, the North Jersey Bass Anglers.

Also of note are the three Boater and Co-Angler qualifiers for this season’s District 15 TBF National Semi-Final. The top three boaters and co-anglers who qualified are, in order, as follows: Boaters – Derick Olson, Ryan McGinty, Rich Schneidereit; Co-Anglers – Brian Wisniewski, Joe Casale, Lou Basciani.