LAKE HOPATCONG REGISTRATION REMINDER
The registration for the July 28 Lake Hopatcong event is 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24. Register early as boat number is based on registration order. Late registrations will not be accepted.
Jun 16
Big D Valley Bassmasters Wins 2024 Team Tournament
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).
Picture gallery
Jun 11
NJBF Legend Passes Away
The most decorated New Jersey Bass Federation (NJBF) angler of all time, Rich Schneidereit, has passed away after a long illness.
To say that Rich was the most accomplished NJBF angler is an understatement. Among his almost innumerable accomplishments, Rich was the NJBF Angler of the Year over 20 times! While Rich should be remembered as a New Jersey bass fishing icon, more importantly, he should be remembered as a humble, kind and generous soul. He will be missed.
May 20
May 19, 2024, Northern Chesapeake Bay Results
May 19, 2024, Northern Chesapeake Bay Results
The second 2024 NJBF tournament event was held on the Northern Chesapeake Bay, and was expected to be a slugfest. However, the preceding week’s cold weather, coupled with the weekend’s intense tournament pressure, where approximately 350 boats fishing in various events pounded the fish, made it challenging for the NJBF anglers to catch numbers of the required 15-inch bass. Most anglers reported catching large numbers of fish, but keeper-sized fish were hard to come by.
However, the winning team of Mike Keller and Derick Olson had a stellar day, culling their way up to their ultimate winning weight of 15.95 pounds. For the victory, the team shared $1,560. This weight took the event by an even three pounds over the next nearest team. That team, consisting of Nick Angiulo and Joe Venuto managed 12.95 pounds, just enough to edge third place finisher Dave Williams, fishing solo, who had 12.78 pounds. The team of Angiulo and Venuto was awarded the $850 second prize, while Williams received $430.
The lunker for the event, a 5.86 pound behemoth, was caught by the brother team of Ray and Ed Szymd. That fish was worth $280.
