LuckyCraft NY

April 24, 2010, Brewerton NY The New York BASS Chapter Federation (NYBCF) held their second annual Take-A-Soldier-Fishing event on Oneida Lake for 80 Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. Many of these Soldiers had recently returned from combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Soldiers arrived around 8 am for the morning registration, receiving a free Bass Pro Shops tackle pack, followed by coffee and donuts as they mingled with the boaters for morning introductions. The day's events started with a brief moment of silence in recognition of all service members, followed by the National Anthem and drawings for assorted tackle and lures. The morning's big prize winners were Specialist William Kissell and Mr. Eric Barker; both walked away with a Dobyns Rod, US Reel and Rod Glove, each combo was valued at $325.00 Tackle packs winners included Specialist Joe Porter and Staff Sergeant Ken Rodocker and several others enjoyed receiving Lucky Craft Pointer lures. After a safety brief, the partner draw paired Soldiers with boaters that traveled from as far away as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Boaters provided Soldiers with rods, reels and tackle for the day's fishing. Weather conditions couldn't have been better as the day provided bright skies, light winds and temperatures in the mid 60s. The ultimate goal of Take A Soldier Fishing is to provide these Soldiers an opportunity to just decompress and disengage from the mission overseas and we use fishing as the vehicle to do that. Naturally when you assemble a bunch of tournament anglers, those guys and gals always want the opportunity to come to the scales, so to that end there were specific species of competition. Winning the $100 Gander Mountain Bucks for the biggest Drum (7.43 lb,) was boat captain Jesse Herbert and his Soldier team of Shawn Vanderpole and Lee Vasquez. The Sunfish/ Bluegill prize went to boater John Seijak's team of Soldiers Don Ellen and Byron Mack with a .52 lb. whopper. Mike Donahue piloted his Soldier team of Richard Olsen and Darren Cutrade to the wnning Rock Bass with a weight of .81 lb. The Perch category (.45 lb.) was a tie between boater Brian Hammond's team of Larry Hyms and Shannon Sherman and boater Randy LaManche's team of Mark Rhodes and Nicole Wright. Hanafin Marine Pro Staffer Craig Nels guided his Soldier team of Shawn Emond and Shone Warren to the winning Bowfin with a weight of 6.33 lb. The day's biggest fish went to boater Eric Barker's Soldier team of Tim Shepard and Chad Adair as they brought in a 31.07 lb. Carp. All teams reported catching fish throughout the day and following weigh-in everyone was treated to a cookout style lunch compliments of the NYBCF, NYBCF Juniors and Luck O' the Irish Guide Service. After lunch, prize tickets were drawn and Soldiers continued to receive shirts, hats, gas cards, restaurant gift cards, passes to local baseball games and auto races, vouchers for free car washes and detailing, Swiss Army knives, binoculars and other useful items. Event sponsors were so generous that many Soldiers took home multiple prizes. The show of support from the local community and area businesses was truly overwhelming. NYBCF President Mike Cusano stated, "most of our members know someone who's in the military or have friends, or friends of family members that are in the military and taking these Soldiers fishing is our way of saying thanks in recognition for what they do for us everyday." An extra special thank you go out to the shore crew that made this program a success, Mike Cusano, Lori Haney, Craig Terpening, Lori, Chris and Nick Wheeler, Mickey & Kathy Bonano Fortunato, Katie Knapp, Paul Hudson, Bill Mahyna, Scott Frank, Joe Noffey, Butch Kritsberg, Hank Parker, Joe Maloof, Mike Sudol, Bill LaManche, Ed Moore, Bill Baldwin and Patrick Grady. Federation Sponsors Triton, Mercury, Bass Pro Shops, MinnKota, Humminbird, MotorGuide, Rapsody Rods, Ticonderoga Area Chamber, 1000 Islands Clayton, Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau, Onondaga County Parks, Keitech, Team E Media and Lowrance Event Sponsors Lucky Craft, Dobyns Rods, US Reel, The Rod Glove, Bass Pro Shops, PEMCO Contracting, The Theresa Bowl, Caskinette/Lofink Ford, Fat Nancy's Tackle, Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, VFW Post # 2064, The Syracuse Chiefs, Romano Subaru Syracuse, Walmart, Monroe Muffler, Alexander Law Offices, Kinney Drugs of East Syracuse, Traux and Hovey, Otis Technologies, Gander Mountain, Good Ole Boy Bassmasters, Westchester Rod & Reel Bassmasters, Northern NY Bassmasters, Salt City Bassmasters, Luck O' the Irish Guide Service, the Falkowski Family, the Duda Family, Bill Bach, Roy Smallie, Sean Mulligan, Paul Hudson and Bill LaManche. Registration Group assembles for Moment of Silence, Anthem & Morning Prize Drawings Prize Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 12, 2009 (Ogdensburg NY - July 12): The New York BASS Chapter Federation held its second event of the season with a tournament field of 70 boaters and co-anglers launching out of the Green Belt Ramp and Visitor's Center on the St. Lawrence River. The week leading up to the event saw two cold fronts, with a major thunder storm blowing through the area the night before. Water temperatures ranged from 63-66 degrees on the main river to as high as 70 degrees in the back of some of the larger shallow bays. Boater Division Winning the boater division with a weight of 18.66 lbs. was Dean Meckes of Clayton NY. Meckes reports piloting his Ranger Boat from Hanafin Marine to the west for a 25 minute ride to reach the winning fish. During official practice Meckes located bedding fish holding in the ten foot range with spinnerbaits and tubes, but upon reaching his primary area the fish refused to hit any horizontal presentations. Meckes quickly turned to a drop shot rig to coax these post frontal fish and reports catching fish all day long. Ted Barth of Bolivar NY gave Meckes a run for the title but came up just shy with a weight of 18.65 lbs., but good enough for second place. Barth fished in and around the Chippewa Bay area focusing his efforts in 20-35 ft. dragging a tube rigged on a 1/4 oz. lead head. Third place went to Eric Sertl of Pittsford NY with a limit weighing 18.49 lbs. Sertl reports having four primary areas consisting of ledges and drop offs in 20-40 ft that he rotated through with a green tube and drop shot rig. Fourth place went to Chris Flint of Potsdam NY with solid 17.43 lb. limit. Flint reports fishing east all the way up toward Massena. Flint employed a 1 oz. spinnerbait and Senkos to catch his fish in one-six feet of water. He also recognized his sponsors, Colonial House Gift Shop and Stewarts Trucking in Pyrites NY. Rounding out the top five was Mike Mapes of Predator Bassmasters with a weight of 16.16 lbs. The Bass Pro Shops lunker award in the boater division went to Dave Kern of Port City Bassmasters with a 4.82 lb. entry. Top Three Boaters L-R: 1st Dean Meckes, 2nd Ted Brath, 3rd Eric Sertl Co-Angler Division Jarrod Hughes of Jordan NY made his first trip to the winner's circle with a weight of 17.04 lbs. that he anchored with co-angler Bass Pro Shops lunker weighing 4.50 lbs. Hughes reports fishing humps and shoals in 20-35 ft with a drop shot rig to present a goby bait. While Hughes was certainly stoked over his win he was very reluctant to reveal the winning color of his bait. Ray Conley of Albany NY took second place honors with a weight of 15.35 lbs. Conley used a green pumpkin tube in 15-40 ft. and reports catching fish all day long. Andru Hooks captured third place with a weight of 15.51 lbs., but was unavailable for comment. Rounding out the top five were Charles Roach on Northern NY Bassmasters with 15.16 lbs. and Bruce Nethercott of Watershed Bassmasters with a weight of 15.08 lbs. Top Two Co-Anglers L-R: 1st Jarrod Hughes, 2nd Ray Conley The next NY BASS Chapter Federation tournament is the Six-Man Club Team Championship scheduled for Aug 22 and 23 on Oneida Lake launching out of Oneida Shores Park in Brewerton, NY. For additional information contact Tournament Director Jeff Edgarton (315) 662-7925 or tournaments@nybassfed.com Trail Sponsors are Pelican Point Marina, North Jersey Marine, Hummingbird, Triton Boats, Berkley, Toyota, Mercury, Minnkota, Motorguide, Keitech, Bass Pro Shops, Adirondack Reel Service, Mad-TY Custom Baits, Rapsody Fishing Rods, BMB Custom Baits, Plano Tackle, Ogdensburg Chamber of Commerce and Ticonderoga Chamber of Commerce.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NY BASS CHAPTER FEDERATION LAKE GEORGE TOURNAMENT RESULTS JUNE 21, 2009 June 21, 2009: The NY BASS Chapter Federation held their season opener on Lake George launching out of Mossy Point in Ticonderoga, NY. The event drew 194 anglers paired as Boater and Co-Anglers to produce a tournament field of 97 boats. Launch began at 6 a.m. under partly cloudy skies with winds out of the N/NE at 5 mph and water temperatures in the 65-67 degree range. By the 3 p.m. weigh-in the wind picked up to 14-20 mph with gusts of light rain. During official practice, competitors experienced flat water and sunny skies with registration reports of solid fish located, but as expected conditioned changed and those anglers that adapted to the changing weather conditions had the best results. Boater Division: Chris Brown of Rodman, NY, took first place with a mixed bag of large and smallmouth bass that weighed 14.02 lbs. Brown focused his efforts on the Northern end of the lake targeting rock piles, cribs and bedding fish in water three to ten feet deep. Brown reports using a Drop Shot to present a Robo-Worm and mixed in a whacky rigged Senko making multiple rotations on five to six different areas to catch his fish. Brown recognized his sponsors; Waite Toyota of Watertown, Thomas Excavating, OD Green Lumber and Lori Gervera, stating their support is what allows him to focus on his fishing to get results like he did today. Second Place with a weight of 13.85 lbs. went to Bruce Wellington of the Hudson Valley Bassmasters. Wellington also stayed in the Northern end of the lake and reports catching his fish on a non-name floater diver jerkbait he picked up out of the discount bin at his local Gander Mountain. Wellington fished exclusively for post spawn suspended smallmouth in 19- 55 feet. Dave Suttle representing Capital District Marina and Adirondack Reel Service took third place honors with a weight of 12.37 lbs. Suttle targeted off shore humps and shoals for post spawn fish in 9-15 feet using a Drop Shot rig and a 3/8 oz. Watermelon jig. Suttle also won the Bass Pro Shops tournament lunker with a fish that weighed 5.67 lbs. Rounding out the top five boaters were Tim Thompson of Milford, CT, with 12.25 lbs. and Jim Barcomb of Hudson Falls, NY, with 12.10 lbs. Top Three Boaters Co-Angler Division: Bruce Nethercott of Brewster, NY, won the Co-Angler division with a weight of 12.54 lbs. Nethercott fished in the southern end of the lake in the mouth of the bays presenting 4 inch watermelon worms on a drop shot rig to fish in 10-12 ft. Joe Maloof of Weedsport, NY, brought in a weight of 10.96 lbs. to win second place. Maloof reports taking his fish using Bass Pro Shops Tender Tubes (Green Pumpkin) rigged on 1/4 oz. head fishing in 8-12 ft around shoals, logs and docks. Third place went to Pete Brunning of Farmingdale, NY, with a weight of 10.72 lbs. Brunning was pretty tight lipped about his day, but said he caught suspended smallmouth over 100 ft using a Zara Spook in smoke color. Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Mark Batur of Boonville, NY, with 9.73 lbs. and Bill Facompre of Woodstock, NY, with 9.62 lbs. Top Three Co-Anglers The next NY BASS Chapter Federation tournament is scheduled for July 12 on the St. Lawrence River launching out of Ogdensburg, NY. Anglers are reminded an Ontario Provincial Fishing License is mandatory for this event. For additional information contact Tournament Director Jeff Edgarton (315) 662-7925 or tournaments@nybassfed.com Trail Sponsors are Pelican Point Marina, Capital District Marina, Hannafin Marina, North Jersey Marine, Hummingbird, Triton Boats, Berkley, Toyota, Mercury, Minnkota, Motorguide, Bass Pro Shops, Adirondack Reel Service, Vertical Lures, Mad-TY Custom Baits, Rapsody Fishing Rods, BMB Custom Baits, Plano Tackle, Ogdensburg Chamber of Commerce and Ticonderoga Chamber of Commerce.

Nice mixed bag looks like you had fun with that

I just buy mine at BPS No mess they work fine and seem to last a good while before I snag up or a Piek hit sone and bites it of. I fish a few lakes in Upstate NY where the pike love to hit the DS weight before they bite the bait, of course when they bite the bait you loose the entire rig 50% of the time anyway.

I'd recommend getting the best you can afford at the time you buy it. You can comfortably pull a tracker style boat with a small 4 cylinder, but I'd recommend a 6 cylinder since the extra HP & Torque should mean less wear and tear on the engine

Have to agree with Cory I used to build a lot of rods in the early 90s and Jannsnetcraft has a lot of do it yourself itmes at very reasonable prices And they always had molds, blades, wire & everything else needed for spinnerbaits

That was too funny I thought the little boat was going to get pulled under never to be seen again... carzy kids will try anything

I just ordered some of the new Luck E Strikes swimbaits can't wait to see how they rig up

I've never fished Pickwick, but I think if you look at the tournament stats from most major trails that fish each lake you'll find that Lake Erie produces bigger winning weights

26 Jan 08 I caught this small steelhead on the Salmon River in Upstate NY

I just picked up a new Ardent XS 1000 Baitcasting Reel. I've been using it about a month now and this reel is performing great. Right now the winter weather has kept me out of the bass boat, but I've been chasing open water trout with this 10 ball bearing reel and it's made lite work of these Northern NY Metal Heads. I've found most often if I can use a reel for this style of light-line river drift fishing that it will work great for almost all of my summer bass fishing applications. Has anyone else used an Ardent Reel yet? Burnie Haney

I saw that episode, Z-Man was doing the slip & slide on that stream. Pretty Funny stuff