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What a beautiful day. Lots of sun, a breeze in the morning and low humidity. You couldn't ask for better weather. It's too bad the same can't be said for our members' support. For the teams that did show, Leo and I would like to apologize for the low turnout. Apparently the majority of the ones that wanted a higher payout didn't have the balls to back up their requests.
John Gratton and Dave Kells won the tournament with a total weight of 20.9 pounds of smallmouth bass. Todd Hatch and Darryl Walker had the big fish of the day, weighing in a 5 pound smallie. The complete results have been posted, the standings have been updated and the slideshow has been finished.
I'm sure most of you are already aware that Big Fat Bass is having a new big fish contest this year with prizes from St. Croix/Gamma and Fishing World in Hamilton. I have already uploaded your pictures from the tournament to the BFB Tournament Photo Album. All you need to do to make your entry eligible is to log in, find your picture, and leave a comment as to your name, the weight of the fish and which tournament. You must be a member of Big Fat Bass in order to log in so you will have to register if you aren't already. It's completely free and easy to do.
Leo and I would like to thank Cheryl Thompson and Hank Duquette for their help. Without them things would be rather difficult. We would also like to thank our sponsors for helping to make our tourneys a success. TNT Tackle is in Kingsville and the store is located at 39 Mill St. East in Kingsville and you can reach him at (519) 733-5302. Gary's Taxidermy is located at 1115 Morton Drive in Lasalle Ontario. You can reach him by phone at (519) 978-2946 or email at mounter@mnsi.net . Thanks also to all our other sponsors, Deerbrook Marina, Angling Outfitters, Bass Magnet Lures, Meadows By The Lake and Canadian National Sportsmens Shows. A special thanks to those teams that did come out.
Even before the tournament started there was a buzz in the air, and it wasn't the wind that blew up after lunch. We had in our midst one of Canada's finest ambassadors to the sport of fishing, Bob Izumi. It was both a pleasure and an honor to finally meet him and we enjoyed having him fish with us. I know he would have preferred to remain incognito, but..... sorry Bob. I don't think there are very many places in the fishing world that you can remain anonymous for very long. I was down checking boats and I knew within five minutes of seeing the boat who was in it. Thanks for brightening our day even more than it already was.
The morning started off a little breezy and there were even a few sprinkles but the sun came up and the rain stopped. Then around 11:00 AM the wind started to pick up and increased steadily throughout the day. We had twenty-two teams sign in for the tournament. Kyle Schuchard, who just got back from a payday with the FLW, and Rick Schuchard won the tournament with a total weight of 18.95 pounds. Derek Meloche and Matt St. Pierre had the big fish for the tournament, weighing in a 5.25 lb. smallie. The complete results have been posted and the slideshow is posted.
Don't forget, our next tournament is August 03/08 at Mitchell's Bay. It will only be a one-day tourney but entry fees for this one will be $400.00 per team. We would like to thank our sponsors for helping to make our tourneys a success. TNT Tackle is in Kingsville and the store is located at 39 Mill St. East in Kingsville and you can reach him at (519) 733-5302. Gary's Taxidermy is located at 1115 Morton Drive in Lasalle Ontario. You can reach him by phone at (519) 978-2946 or email at mounter@mnsi.net . Thanks also to all our other sponsors, Deerbrook Marina, Angling Outfitters, Bass Magnet Lures, Meadows By The Lake and Canadian National Sportsmens Shows. Leo and I would also like to thank Cheryl Thompson and Rob Dietrich for their help. Without them things would be rather difficult.
I received in my email this link to an article in the Chatham Daily News about ethanol fuel. It is an interesting read and also raises some very serious concerns that many boaters may not be aware of. I think everyone that ventures out on the water should take a look at it As always, you can reach me at ecba_too@yahoo.ca .
We had twenty-three teams show up for the opener. Todd Hatch and Darryl Walker won the tournament with a top weight of 22.6 pounds. Matt Pams and John Armour Jr. weighed in a 5.5 lb. smallie to take the big bass honors but I think the biggest winners were George and Avery Schaffer. A new father/son team that fished their first tournament ever and said they had a ball. George posted a message in the forum thanking everyone for their help in negotiating the tournament rituals. Stop by and read his comments. The complete results have been posted and the slideshow is done.
We would like to thank TNT Tackle in Kingsville for coming on board and donating some fifty packs of Tube baits for prizes. Tim Diotte has also announced a 10% discount on tackle purchased to all club members. He has a wide assortment of bass, walleye and salmon tackle so make sure you stop by and check it out. The store is located at 39 Mill St. East in Kingsville and you can reach him at (519) 733-5302. Also, Gary's Taxidermy donated a beautiful replica mount of last year's biggest bass of the season caught by Cliff and Brenton Roebuck. Gary's Taxidermy is located at 1115 Morton Drive in Lasalle Ontario. You can reach him by phone at (519) 978-2946 or email at mounter@mnsi.net . Thanks also to all our other sponsors, Deerbrook Marina, Angling Outfitters, Bass Magnet Lures, Meadows By The Lake and Canadian National Sportsmens Shows. As always, you can reach me at ecba_too@yahoo.ca .
On June 08/08 we held our 6th annual fishing derby and I started the write up but I just had trouble getting it done. My apologies to all those involved for my negligence.
It was another scorcher on Sunday, but it didn't stop the ICHA 6th Annual Fishing Derby. Fortunately, we had a good stiff breeze blowing and it helped to keep things a little more tolerable. We had quite a few participants joining in and although the helpers we had hoped for didn't show, we still had a great crew lending a hand.
We were expecting a bigger crowd but I think the thunder storm during the night may have scared some off. There were 70 registered anglers and 72 fish were caught. Michelle caught a nice rock bass for the first fish of the day and Cody caught the biggest fish, a 1.1 lb. sheepshead. Nicholas caught the second biggest fish while Taylor caught the most fish, 13 including two double headers. Lindsay had the third most fish including a mud puppy. At times the fish were biting well enough that we had people waiting to weigh them. The slideshow is done and has been posted.
Thanks to Samantha Daoust, Joe Cardinal, Jay Thompson, Len Atkins, Mike Atkins, Frank DeAngelis, Dan Mason, Jeff Gibson, Derek Meloche, Greg Fields, Cheryl Thompson, Rick Tessier, Gary Marcon, Gary Cowan, Hank Douquette and Rob Dietrich. These people managed to find the time to come down and give us a hand. The list of sponsors for this event is too big to post here, so I made a separate page listing them. Without their support this event would be near impossible to pull off. Thanks to everyone involved helping to make this event such a great success.
Jim Lukas, Gary Cowan and I along with Pat Pagano and Mike Atkins met with some special needs people last week at the ICHA Novelletto Rosati Complex. The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board held their first Day of Champions at the Complex and we were on hand to promote our Fishing Derby.
We spoke to quite a few people and while a few had heard about the derby the majority had not. When we explained about the derby most seemed excited about the prospect of getting out for a day of fishing and meeting the Pro Anglers that will be on hand. Not all of these people will be there, but we are expecting a big increase over last year.
This year our ICHA Fishing Derby will be held on Sunday, June 08 at Assumption Park, below the Ambassador Bridge on the Detroit River. The derby starts at 9:00 AM but we will be there earlier to get everything set up. The fishing part will be done by noon and then the festivities start. M&M Meats will be cooking up the hotdogs and hamburgs and Music Express will provide the entertainment. The turnout from our club members has been incredible but we can always use extra help. We are asking that if you have some free time, come on down and give us a hand with the kids. You can bring your boats down to put on display and if you have sponsors, it is a great opportunity for you to get them some exposure. If you can find the time we can use the help. Hope to see you there.
First of all, thanks to all those that showed up for the meeting and thanks also to Al and Linda of Deerbrook Marina for the use of the facilities to hold the meeting. Deerbrook had their annual Open House after the meeting and there were free hotdogs, burgers and pop. Okuma Pro Staff Curtis McFadden, Deerbrook Pro Staff Paul Lernout, and Triton Pro Staff Gerry Gostenik put on some fine demonstrations.
There were a lot of things discussed, but I'm only going to focus on the main items that will change for this year. First, there was some concern about the Team of the Year. We will be using a point system instead of a weight system to determine the TofY. We felt that a point system would keep things closer. The winner of each tournament will receive 25 points for first place and then each spot down will get one less point (eg. 1st = 25, 2nd = 24, 3rd = 23, etc.). Team of the Year will get two beautiful etched glass trophies, an engine winterizing package from Deerbrook Marina, and entry fees paid for the next season.
The payout structure will change for this season as well. If we have more than thirty teams, we will be paying down ten spots, with ninth and tenth getting their entry fees back. This will result in a little less money at the top but it won't be a huge diiference. If we have thirty-five teams, it will result in about $300.00 less for first place over last year's structure. It is hoped that by putting some money in the lower spots, it will encourage more to fish. If we have less than thirty teams, we will pay down five spots.
All entry fees will be $150.00 with the exception of the August 03/08 tournament at Mitchell's Bay. The entry fee for this tournament will be $400.00. We wanted to try a tournament with a higher entry fee to see what kind of response we get. The points from this tournament will count towards TofY. Of course, this all will hinge on whether we can go to Mitchell's Bay. As yet, we haven't been able to contact anyone to hold a couple of our tournaments there.
In addition to the prize money, we will also have two smaller trophies, similar to the etched glass trophy for the TofY, for first place at each tournament. There will also be a season's pass for the ramp at Deerbrook that will be awarded to first place. In addition to this, we have some tackle packs from Bass Magnet Lures and Angling Outfitters. We were also informed that Skeeter Boats has a program to award cash prizes to the winners of a tournament if they win it in a Skeeter boat. This hasn't been confirmed yet so we will have to wait and see. Check out their link to see if you qualify.
Angling Outfitters and Deerbrook Marina are also offering all members a 10% discount on their purchases with the exception of gas purchases at Deerbrook. Meadows by The Lake has a great dinner plan for you called "Eat What You Catch". All you have to do is bring your cleaned fish to them and they will cook it for you and serve it with fries and coleslaw for $8.00 per plate. Damn, now I'm getting hungry! That's about it for now. I'll try and keep the updates coming as we get them.
My dad, James L. Thompson, passed away February 27, 2008 at the age of 91. He was an avid outdoorsman and a lifetime member of the Windsor Sportsman's Club. He taught the Safe Gun Handling classes for many years and if you took the course at the club, chances are he was your instructor. Besides all the trap and skeet shooting, he loved to go fishing, especially out on Erie. He taught me a lot about the outdoors but I think I was only able to absorb a very little of what he knew. I will miss him very much.
I would like to thank Dale Nelner and Paul Lernout for helping Leo man our booth at the RV & Powersport Event in my absence. It was very much appreciated. Thanks muchly guys.
I haven't been doing too much lately and I have some work to do to get the website updated. My apologies to those waiting on me and I hope to get caught up this week. Don't forget about the meeting to be held at Deerbrook Marina on March 29 and right after that you can stick around for Deerbrook's Open House and take advantage of your 10% discount. Also, The flyer that we handed out at the London show and the Powersport Event had the wrong date on it for the first tournament. The flyer reads that the opening day tournament is on June 28/08. It should read June 29/08. All of our tournaments are on Sundays. Leo and I both missed this error and we apologise for that. The schedule here on the website has the right date on it.
Leo and I were at the London Boat Show on Saturday with a table set up at the Deerbrook Marina booth. Rob Dietrich was with us as well to help man the table. The show itself was pretty good and there were lots of great deals to be found. We had many old friends stop by to say hello and we met some new ones as well. We spoke with Joslyn at Angling Outfitters and he indicated to us that he will once again be supporting us with some prize donations. If you are looking for some place to spend some money and get real value for your dollar Angling Outfitters is very hard to beat. He has some great prices at the shows but his store prices are incredible as well. For those of you that don't know, they have moved the store. They are now located at 684460 Road 68, Zorra Township, Highway 2 West, Woodstock, Ontario. They are acroos from the Drive-in and the phone number is (519) 539-5494.
Bruce Farrell of Big Fat Bass (old friend) introduced us to Mike Nabulsi (new friend) of Bass Magnet Lures and WaterWolf Lures, and Mike donated a very generous bag of his tube baits as prizes for our tournaments. Along with tubes, hooks and jigs, Bass Magnet has a few other lures that are very impressive as well. There is a new Eye Catcher series that has a Drop Shot Goby and a Swimming Minnow that I think would be great coming through the weed beds of St. Clair. The lure that really caught my eye though was their new Flappin' Craw. When I first saw the video at their booth, the first thing I pictured were the rock piles out on Erie. This lure has so much action, it can't miss anywhere you can find crawfish. If you get the opportunity, you should pick some up and give them a try. I don't think you will be disappointed. You can contact Mike at mmnabulsi@frontierwireless.ca.
The nice thing about Bass Magnet Lures is that they are Canadian made, which brings up another subject. We as anglers should be supporting our local retailers when we think of purchasing our tackle. If you are looking to restock your tackle box, make sure you stop by your local shop. Chances are if they don't have what you want, they can get it and usually at a very resonable price.
Don't forget about the RV & Powersport Event coming up next weekend, February 28 to March 02. Thursday, the hours are 12:00 to 8:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00 to 8:00 and Sunday from 10:00 to 5:00. Make sure you stop by the ECBA booth and say hello.
Leo and I met with Al and Linda Brochu at Deerbrook Marina yesterday about the upcoming season. They want to sponsor the club again this year with something for the biggest bass of the season, something for another Team of The Year award and there will be ramp passes for the season for the winners of each tournament. We haven't worked out all of the details as yet but we are excited about it. Also, they will be giving a 10% discount to all paid members.
With that in mind, we will be holding a meeting on March 29/08 at Deerbrook Marina. They are holding an Open House the same weekend and it will be a great opportunity to get your membership card and the 10% discount. Al said he will have motor oil on sale again this year. The meeting will start at 9:00 AM and will run until around 11:00 AM and we will be going over the changes for this season. After the meeting Al and Linda have a couple of Pros putting on demonstrations for the Open House and of course there will be some new boats on display including some new Lund boats.
There are a couple of outdoor shows coming up in February. The London International Boat, Fishing & Leisure Show will be taking place on February 22 - 24. Last year's show was a huge success and the organizers are hoping to improve on that this year. Leo and I will be in attendance at the Deerbrook Marina booth. We have also been invited to the RV and Powersports Event at the old GM Transmission Plant here in Windsor. This is a first time event being organized by Linda Brochu with the hope that it will grow into a big show comparable to any of the other Sports Shows around. If you want your very own show without having to travel to the states or Toronto, come on out and show your support so that the powers that be can see there is a market here. If you come out to either of the shows make sure you stop by and say hello.
It's been quite a while since I have updated the site but as you can see, I've been working on improving it. I combined some pages to eliminate all the extra navigation and I changed the style to make it a lot easier to read. I hope you like the changes.
The schedule, information, and entry form have all been combined on to one page and the home and news page have been made into one. Some of the pages will not have any information on them only because there isn't any info to post. The results, standings and winners are empty because they point to this year's events, which haven't happened yet. The slideshows have been updated with the slideshows from last year and they will be replaced with the new slideshows after each tournament. A slideshow for the Team of The Year has been added and you can find the link for it in the right column.
The ICHA slideshow has been updated and the Photo Gallery is for miscellaneous pictures that might be amusing or interesting. It is also for you if you have any pictures you want posted. If you have one you want added, email it to me and I'll add it to the page. A page has been added to view the archives. All of our past tournaments are organized by year and can all be accessed from one page. As we progress through the season the present season's results can be viewed from the archives page. With all of the changes to the website, there are bound to be some errors. I would greatly appreciate any feedback and if you find something wrong, please let me know. Broken or dead links are my greatest concern.
We are planning on having a general meeting sometime in March, probably towards the end of the month. I have to book the room and haven't had a chance to get out there yet. Changes for the upcoming season will be the main topic of discussion.
Linda Brochu of Deerbrook Marina will be hosting, through All-in-One Events, an RV and Power Sports Event from Feb. 28 through March 2. Featured will be snowmobiles, boats, all-terrain vehicles and modified golf carts. Location is at the corner of Walker Rd. and Seminole Ave. For more information contact Linda at 519-796-3442. I will post more information here as we get it. Hopefully, this will spin off into our own local fishing show with all the things that we have to go out of town to see.
Every year we hold the ICHA Fishing Derby for the disabled. We will once again be holding the event in early June and we are going to be looking for volunteers to help out. I think last year was our best yet. We had quite a few people show up to fish and we had an excellent turnout from the volunteers. The fish even cooperated and I think that was due to holding it earlier in the season. We want to at least equal last year. All of the information will be posted here when we get it.
That's about it for now. Take a look around and if you have a few moments let me know what you think.
Over the last few season’s we have seen a steady decline in membership with the club and we hope to reverse that situation in the coming year. There are probably many reasons for this, but I think the two that stand out the most are the economy and the perception that only a select few are always winning. Dan Mason put together a small survey that was handed out at the last tournament and we used the results from the survey and also some of the suggestions that were put forth in the forum as a guideline. Thanks to Dan for doing up the survey. You can check out Dan's Blog at http://www.danmasons.com/blog.htm for some up to date fishing reports.
The only thing that had a majority was the entry fee. Most respondents wanted to keep the entry fees the same and that’s what we are doing. Entry fees will remain at $150.00 per team but we are still undecided about the big fish pot. Many have suggested increasing the pot from $10.00 to $20.00. The biggest change will be scaling back the number of tournaments from seven to four. It wasn’t a big margin, but less tournaments was the favorite. Another major change will be the paybacks. It will still be an 80% payback but we will start paying down more spots. If we have less than 30 teams we will pay down five spots and if we have 30 or more teams, we will pay down to ten spots with 9th and 10th getting their entry fees back.
The Invitational will be eliminated as well as the Team of The Year Award. Instead, we are looking at doing a mega-type tournament with a higher entry fee and it will be one of the four already scheduled. More on this later. One thing that was suggested several times was to establish boundaries to keep it more competitive. With the exception of Rondeau Bay, we have never been in favor of boundaries. With the changes to the payout structure, we think that may be a bit of a deterrent to longer runs. The locations for the tournaments will be Belle River and Mitchell’s Bay.
This is the basic structure that we will be following in 2008. We may make some minor changes to fine-tune it but overall this is what we are doing for the season.
The weekend of August 03/08 is the civic holiday weekend. This is the weekend that we are looking to hold a "mega" type tourney. That weekend is also when the area's Farmfest is staged at Mitchell's Bay and we were looking at joining in the festivities. Some of the things we are looking at is for a higher entry fee, anywhere from $300.00 - $500.00, and also the possibility of making it a two day event. There will be a tournament that weekend, we just have to sit down and talk to some people to see if we can make it a biggie weekend.
We have been asked to hold a meeting/dinner at the Oasis on Lauzon Parkway and we are considering this so that we can pass along everything that we have for next year. We usually hold a meeting in the early spring and we think this might be an ideal situation. Enjoy a great meal and get the latest info for the club tourneys. What is being offered is a steak dinner for around $7.00 a plate. We hope to have all the info regarding next year's tournaments, including any mega one we are looking at, ready to pass along and possibly taking any pre-registrations. Everyone will be invited to attend, including the volunteers. We don't have a date yet but when we do it will be announced.
That's about it for now. We will try to keep everyone up to date with what's going on as we get the info. If you have any questions, you can either email me at ecba_too@yahoo.ca or post them in the forum. The forum might be a better option, so that everyone can see them and possibly answer or even expand on the question. The schedule has been updated with the new dates.
When we got to the marina there was a light drizzle coming down, but by the time everyone left, it had pretty much stopped. The winds were calm and the lake was flat, but this also changed. By 11:00 AM the winds had picked up and swung around out of the northeast. We had twenty-one teams sign up and the main contenders for Team of The Year were present.
The team of John Gratton and Dave Kells won the Team of The Year with a total weight of 100.6 pounds. Dan Mason and Jeff Gibson fell to second on the last day and ended the season with 99.2 pounds and the team of Mike Kopcok and Joe Bencze made a strong run the last few tournaments finishing third overall with a weight of 98.7 lbs.
Erick and Len Hodgins won the tournament with a total weight of 23.3 pounds. Cliff and Brentan Roebuck had the biggest bass of the day weighing in a smallmouth of 6.1 pounds which was also big enough to edge out the 6 pound smallie that Dave Kells and John Gratton weighed in for the biggest bass of the season. The complete results and the final standings have been posted and the slideshow is finished. Unfortunately, the flash card in my camera is corrupt and not all of the pictures turned out. Have to get a new one I guess. This year Gerald Gerard donated a beautiful wood carving of a crappie and Jason Telasco donated a painted feather with a leaping bass on it. Donna up at Captain Nickolas's Restaurant won the wood carving and Gerald Gerard won the painted feather.
Essex County BassAnglers would like to thank our sponsors this year. Angling Outfitters, Gary's Taxidermy, Bakies Tackle, and Wally's Baits have all contributed this year. Thanks also to Deerbrook Marina for their generous contributions. Besides the electric trolling motor and the voucher towards the new boat, they donated a season's ramp pass to the winners of each tournament. Linda also donated the beautiful plates that were awarded to the biggest bass of the season. Thanks also to Gerald Gerard for his wood carving and to Jason Telasco for his painted feather.
Special thanks to our helpers this year, Hank Duquette, Gary Rankin, Rob Deitrich and of course my wife Cheryl. Without their help we would have had a very difficult time. Thanks very much. Your help is greatly appreciated. If I have missed anyone, my apologies.
BCT will be hosting a team bass tournament, the Fall Brawl, out of Mitchell's Bay on October 07. Blastoff is at 7:00 AM although, that may be adjusted to compensate for sunrise, and weigh-in is at 3:30 PM. Entry fee is $200.00 plus the Big Bass pot. You can register up to blastoff. For more information or to register ahead of time you can contact Bill Hamilton at 519-354-5869 or Cliff Roebuck at 519-355-5511 or by e-mail at bsham@mnsi.net.
(By: “The Bass Coach” – Roger Lee Brown)
I would have to say that this article is one of the most over-due, misunderstood, and confusing subjects a angler needs to really understand to lesson some of his or her attitudes, and increase much more sportsmanship when it comes to fishing in most of today’s tournament trails. For years I have had many of my bass fishing school students and charter clients tell me some of their war stories concerning this matter, and I got to tell ya, I’m kinda’ glad I wasn’t around to see some of these in action.
First of all, I wish to make sure that common courtesy, ethics, and sportsmanship go a long way for most, but there are some that just don’t get it!
Now, who really owns fishing water in any bass fishing tournament? If you guessed nobody, then you’re right! Let me give some examples and let you decide for yourselves:
Say a tournament angler had only a day or two away from work, home, or any obligation, and had a chance to pre-fish for an upcoming tournament. With the gas, lodging, food, and travel expenses along with his personal time, this angler gets to a body of water and spends two days pre-fishing and putting a game plan together for this upcoming tournament then goes back home. The next day after this angler went back home another angler per-fishing for the same tournament does the same thing, but just happens to fish in some of the first anglers areas (not knowing the first angler was pre-fishing and put his plan together) and puts his (or her) own plan together using some of the same areas as the first angler, then goes back home. The next few days a third angler does the same, and on and on! Now, the morning of the tournament comes and these three anglers all go to the same spot, who’s water is it?
Most all seasoned anglers know that just about any area where you can find bass in quantity and especially quality you will find these bass in “sweet spots” or also known as “honey holes” but in the surrounding areas it’s just a hit-and-miss type of fishing right? Now, this is where the tournament rules come into effect. Here are just a couple of the most recognized trails rules to give you an example.
(FLW Outdoors “BFL” Tournament Rules)
12. Permitted fishing locations
Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament waters available to the public and accessible by boat, except areas designated as "off limits" or "no fishing" by local, state, or federal officials or within 50 yards of a competitor's boat that was first anchored (an anchored boat is a boat held in a stable position by a line attached to a weight with the trolling motor in the up position).
(Anglers Choice Tournament Rules)
13.) PERMITTED FISHING WATERS: No fishing is allowed inside the host marina. No fishing is allowed within 25 yards of another anchored or tied tournament boat with trolling motor out of the water, without the anchored boat's permission. Both team partners must fish from the same boat. Only contestants may be in the boat during the tournament hours. Having anyone hole-sit for anyone shall be grounds for disqualification. Contestants cannot leave the boat to land a fish or gain access to a fishing area. Restricting natural movement of fish by any means is automatic disqualification.
What does this mean?... read on!... This is one of my personal experiences used for an example;
I was pre-fishing a few years back for a tournament that led me several miles from the launch site to an area that I had fished for many years. When I had arrived, there was another angler fishing the same area. Now, even with the area being around 100 yards or so I pulled up at least 50 yards from this other boat and started fishing. The next thing I noticed is that the boat that was there first had put his trolling motor on high and started moving over to the area that I had just made a cast into. I then asked this angler if he was going to go around me, to which he replied “you’ve got some nerve! this is my area (meaning the whole 100 yard area point), and I’m fishing a tournament tomorrow” to which I told him that I was fishing the same tournament and I have fished this area for many years, to which his last reply to me was that if I was sitting on “His” spot tomorrow, he would ram my boat. Oops!
Later that same evening it was tournament registration time, knowing the tournament director, I had told him about this incident. The next thing I knew during the reading of tournament rules by the tournament director (addressed to all anglers) was his comment that “unless a boat is anchored with the trolling motor up, another tournament boat can literally come within spittin’ distance next to another competitor’s boat.” Meaning that the water is anybody’s to fish. So, if you want to fish a protected “honey hole” or a sweet spot” simply drop your anchor down and lift your trolling motor up out of the water, that way at least you can keep another boat out of your honey hole.
True sportsmanship is abiding by rules of any activity (not just fishing) and reading the rules is ones responsibility. If more anglers read their tournament rules instead of just signing them (acknowledging that they have done so) courtesy and sportsmanship would go a long way for everyone!
Here are some things an angler should remember;
Until next time, take care and God bless! “ALWAYS”
“The Bass Coach” – Roger Lee Brown
www.capital.net/~rlbrown
Yeah, I know. I didn't change the picture, but I didn't get a good one for the news page today and I like this one of Hank.
Today was a beautiful day. The wind was up a little more than the weatherman called for, but it died down a bit after the sun came up. It was warm, but with little humidity and it was very comfortable in the shade. We had twenty teams make it out today and it was nice to see some smiling faces.
Derek Strub and Marcel Lambercy won the tournament with a total weight of 22.9 pounds. John Gratton and Dave Kells brought in the biggest bass of the day weighing a smallmouth of 5.3 pounds. The complete results have been posted and the standings have been updated with today's weights. We use a team's top five weights over the season to determine the Team of the Year and if you play with the numbers a bit, some very interesting things begin to happen. The slideshow has also been posted.
Some people have been getting a little lax in coming to the weigh-in and it gets more than a little confusing for us. There were several teams that dropped off their tags at the other end of the marina, leaving Leo and I wondering if we still had teams out on the water. Those tags have another purpose besides giving you a number to call if you break down. If we don't get a tag back we have to assume you are missing. If we can't account for a missing team, then we have to start searching, and if we can't get any info then we have to call the Coast Guard. Maybe you had a bad day, maybe you didn't get any fish, maybe you don't want to watch the winners celebrate, but the least you can do is show a little courtesy and let Leo or myself know that yes, you are in. Then we aren't beating ourselves up trying to track you down.
We have been discussing some changes concerning next year. There is nothing etched in stone yet but we have some ideas on what we would like to do and there will be changes. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to start a new thread in the forum and share them with us. We still have to speak to some other people before we make any final decisions and we would like to see some input from the people that are there all the time.
The first annual BCT Friendship Bass Tournament will be held Sunday, September 02/07 from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. The tournament will be a Pro-Am format with the boater drawing a non-boater partner to make up a team. The entry fee is $75.00 per person and must be received ahead of time to secure your placement. Big fish pool is $10.00 per boat. Payback will be 100% plus prizes that have been donated.
There will be a steak BBQ following the tournament which is $15.00 per person. Baked potato, coleslaw, corn, beans, bread, buns and a big piece of meat are all on the menu, well worth the $15.00 There will also be a Kids Casting Contest in the afternoon with prizes being handed out. For more information, you can contact Bill Hamilton at 519-354-5869 or Cliff Roebuck at 519-355-5511.
It was nice to see some largemouth bass come to the scales for a change. It's too bad that there aren't more that aren't afraid to fish for them.
Craig Carey and Paul Lernout took first place with five fish weighing 18.9 pounds. They also had a 4.6 lb largemouth to take the big bass pot.
The complete results are posted along with the standings to date. The slideshow has been posted as well.
Rob Deitrich received a steelhead charter as a birthday present, and Leo and I were invited to go along. We left the harbor at 7:00 AM with Captain Adam Godfrey of Harpoon Charters. It was already hot when we left, and with no breeze, it wasn't long before we started to sweat, but the fishing was just as hot. It was only a matter of a few minutes before we got the first fish, and with Adam constantly adjusting the speeds, changing running depths, and changing lures, the fishing action was pretty consistent.
There were a few periods when the action slowed, but those pauses allowed us to eat our lunches and get something to drink or to chat with Adam and get a few pointers. All in all, we had a great time and if you are thinking of booking a charter, get hold of Adam and book one. You won't be sorry. I posted a slideshow of our trip, and we fully intend to go back again.
Bill Hamilton contacted me to let me know about a new tournament out of Mitchell's Bay. The first annual BCT Friendship Bass Tournament will be held Sunday, September 02/07 from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. The tournament will be a Pro-am format with the boater drawing a non-boater partner to make up a team. The entry fee is $75.00 per person and must be received ahead of time to secure your placement. Big fish pool is $10.00 per boat. Payback will be 100% plus prizes that have been donated.
There will be a steak BBQ following the tournament which is $15.00 per person. Baked potato, coleslaw, corn, beans, bread, buns and a big piece of meat are all on the menu, well worth the $15.00 There will also be a Kids Casting Contest in the afternoon with prizes being handed out. For more information, you can contact Bill Hamilton at 519-354-5869 or Cliff Roebuck at 519-355-5511.
We had a tie for first place yesterday, only the second time since we started doing these tournaments.The teams of Larry Lafrenier/Rob Janisse and Cliff Roebuck/Brenton Roebuck had identical weights of 20.8 pounds. When we have a tie for first place, the teams involved have one hour to catch a legal size bass. The first one back with a fish wins the tournament.
Cliff Roebuck and Brenton Roebuck came back first and won the tournament with a 16.5 inch bass. Their winning weight was 20.8 pounds. Larry Lafrenier and Rob Janisse had the biggest bass, a smallie that weighed 5.55 pounds. The complete results are posted as well as the updated standings. The slideshow is done as well.
Special thanks again to Hank Duquette and Gary Rankin for their help.Without these extra people coming out to give us a hand we wouldn't be able to get everything done. Thanks guys.
Our second tournament was definitely a hot one. We had some difficulty getting water for the holding tank but once we did, it was all we could do to keep Leo from taking a dip.
The father/son team of Cliff Roebuck and Brenton Roebuck won the tournament with a total weight of 21.7 pounds. Their 5.45 lb. smallmouth was also the biggest bass of the tourney. The complete results have been posted and the slideshow is done. The standings to date have been posted as well.
Leo and I would like to thank Gary Rankin and Hank Duquette for making a special trip to Mitchell's Bay to give us a hand with the weigh-in. If it weren't for them helping out, the weigh-in would have taken twice as long and there would have been no pictures for the slideshow.
Our weigh-in system allows us to control the flow of traffic to the scales. You MUST use our bags to bring your fish up. The tub we use to keep the fish in water will hold four baskets. If everyone uses their own bags then we end up with a lot of teams standing around killing their fish waiting to get to the holding tank. Right or wrong, that's the way we work. If you have a problem with this setup, then bring it up with Leo or myself. Any abusive behavior towards our volunteers will not be tolerated.
A nice start to the season, I think. The weather was very co-operative with lots of sun and a slight off-shore breeze which brought out forty-five teams.
Jim and Kelly Thompson won the tournament with a total weight of 23.65 lbs and they also had the biggest fish weighing in a smallmouth of 5.35 pounds. The complete results have been posted and the slideshow is done.
It wasn't all good news though. We were informed on Friday that our July 22/07 at Belle River will have to be moved. The town of Belle River decided that they wanted to move their sunsplash weekend back a week, and because of safety reasons, the ramps would be closed. We are checking into the different marinas to see where we can move to and as soon as we have a definite answer, it will be posted here. We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but it is completely out of our hands.
Next weekend, July 1, 2007 is the Ed Broadwood Tournament
out of Mitchell's Bay at Marine Park. You can register the night before
after 5:00 pm at the Marina or the morning of the tournament. Cost is
$150.00/team and $10 Big Fish. There are no boundaries in place.
Come out and have some fun!!! For more information you can contact Dean
and Cindy Franklin at haulinbass@execulink.com or 519-874-4635.
A special thanks today to Gary Rankin for helping to maintain order at the water tub during the weigh-in and to my nephew Gord Thompson for taking the pictures for me. Thanks guys for your help. It was very much appreciated.
We held the ICHA fishing Derby today and it was our best one yet. The weather was perfect, there was a great turnout, and the fish were co-operative. We saw a lot of old friends and although there were some missing from last year, there were a lot of new faces this year.
Erica Crumb caught the first fish of the day, as she did last year, and Ben Brown caught the biggest fish, a 2.6 lb smallie that had the pro anglers chompin' at the bit. Sara Saunders caught the most, bringing seven fish to the scales. All in all, there were 85 fish caught and weighed. The complete results have been posted and the slideshow is done.
With all the people that came down to fish, we needed a lot of volunteers to help out and we got the support we needed. Leo and I were very proud of the members that showed up to help out. The list is long and if I have forgtten anyone, my apologies. Dan Mason, Mike Emerich, Robb Morgan, Pierre Baribeau, Al Marshall, Linda Kidd, Dale and Patti Nelner, Kurt Davidson, Claudio Gaiarin, Frank Gaiarin, Jim and Kelly Thompson, Darren and Krista Negri, Scott Doyle, Gary Cowan, Jim Lukas, Greg Fields, Gord Thompson, Tim and Len Atkins, Ray Juodikis, Mike Horvath, Bob Mann Sr., Jason Thompson, Samantha Daoust, Rick Tessier and Gary Marcon.
These are some others that helped to make the day a huge success. Karly Humphrey and Kristen Gamble had the Boating Safety Trailer on display. Laura Lee and Larry Bezaire from M & M Meats set up their barbque and served hamburgs, hot dogs and sausages. Ashley Dobbelaar, Julia Frampton, MJ Meys from the Novelleto Rosati Complex/ICHA had a Summer Fun Sports Camp display. Music Express was on hand to play some live music and as usual, they were terrific. Tim Byrne from ERCA helped with the weighing of the fish, and even sang a few tunes with Music Express. Ken McKagy, Chris Parent, Ken Tapak, and Paul Waffle from Station #4 of the Windsor Fire Department were in attendence. Rick Tessier and Gary Marcon from Slinky's Ice Cream were there again handing out ice cream to everyone. Cooper's Marina in Amherstburg provided the bait for us, and we used it all. Mr. Walter Oster of the Canadian National Sportsmen's Shows along with the Toronto Star, Berkley, Shimano, Rapala, Shakespeare and South Bend provided the rods and reels for us.
A special thanks to Robert Mann Sr. for putting on a fishing demonstration for the kids and to Mike Horvath for keeping all of the rods rigged up. I don't think anyone noticed, but it was Mike working behind the scenes; when a rod came up minus the terminal tackle, Mike put on a new rig and believe me, he was busy all morning.
Without all the generous support that we receive from these people, there would be no derby. If I have forgotten anyone, please accept our apologies. Thanks to everyone involved for making this event a great success.
The fish fry went pretty well. Although a little cool, the weather was terrific. There were a few no-shows but we ended the day with close to forty people showing up, and we still had some fish left over. Everyone had a great time and we got some nice pics.
There was certainly more than enough food (except for the venison chili) and nobody went hungry. Kelly did up the venison chili, a turkey and cooked french fries all day. Cheryl made up two big batches of potato salad and there were numerous desserts out on the tables. Gerald Gerard brought two bags (about 8 lbs) of perch filets and of course there was plenty of walleye. Jim's mom, Kathy, brought a big pot of baked beans. Gord Thompson gave us four nice rainbows that we cooked up on the BBQ and they were delicious.
As always, we had a great support crew that helped with everything from putting up the canopy to helping with the cooking duties so I could get something to eat. Unfortunately, I don't know everyone's name that helped out. Scott, Frank and my brother Jim along with others, helped put up and take down the canopy.
Scott was telling me how he normally does the trout on the BBQ, so naturally, he got the job. Mike Atkins took over the frying duties so that I could get something to eat and he just stayed with it. Al Marshall stayed at the frying table to help transfer the fish from the fryers to the table. He also managed to get the fryers going, after a bit of a delay, because we kept blowing fuses.
Some of these people are the same ones that help out at the tournaments. A great job by a great bunch of people helped to make it a success. Thanks to everyone that came out.
Don't forget that the ICHA HandiCapable fishing derby is coming up in two weeks. The derby will be held Sunday, June 10th, 9:00 AM at Assumption Park under the Ambassador Bridge. We need all the help we can get so if you have some spare time, come on out and lend a hand. We will be there around 8:00 AM to get everything setup.
Leo and I have been working very hard trying to get ready for the new season. There has been a lot of things happening over the winter and a lot coming up. We have picked up three new sponsors for the season. Deerbrook Marina, Wally's Bait And Tackle, and Angling Outfitters have all made some very generous contributions to the club. There is a new virus in the Great Lakes that is causing a fish kill. The government made some rule changes that, at first, affected the bait fish and baitfish dealers. Now it looks like it may have an effect on the transport of all fish. Also, there are some special events coming up as well.
At Deerbrook Marina, every registered member of ECBA will get a special discount card worth 10% off purchases of service, parts, accessories, and tackle. The discount will not apply to gas or electronics. Next is a season's pass for their ramp to the winning team of each tournament. The pass is only good for the boat that was used and is not transferable. They also wish to donate those beautiful plates that they gave us before as trophies for the team that catches the biggest bass of the season.
For the Team of the Year, they are going to offer a $2000.00 voucher towards the purchase price of a new Triton boat (before taxes). There will be an expiry date on the voucher and I believe it is transferable to another member of ECBA. They are also going to donate a Motor Guide W75 trolling motor to the Team of the Year.
Wally's Bait and Tackle will be donating $150.00 in gift certificates for Milt's Brand Tackle for each tournament. The gift certificates will be broken down as follows: $50.00 for 1st place at each tournament; $50.00 for the biggest bass for each tournament; $50.00 as a door prize to be drawn for those left at the tournament. They will also offer a 10% discount to all ECBA members on Milt's Brand Tackle or Clothing at Wally's.
Angling Outfitters has offered all ECBA members a 10% discount on purchases and they are also going to donate some tackle packs to be awarded as prizes at each tournament. You can reach Angling Outfitters at (519) 539-5494.
Upcoming events: This Saturday, March 10, Wally's Bait and Tackle will be having an open house. They have a ton of stock this year and their prices will make you think twice about heading over to Bass Pro!!! There will be great deals, fishing seminars, and a whole lot more. Make sure you check them out.
A week from Saturday, March 17, we will be holding a club meeting at the Real Canadian Superstore on Walker Road in Windsor. The meeting will run from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and we will be going over some things for the new season, including how the new fishing bans may affect us.
In two weeks, March 24 & 25, Deerbrook Marina will once again hold their Annual Open House. Triton Boats and Stingray Boats will be on display. Two pro fishermen will be coming in to do seminars and answer questions about fishing and tackle. PWT Pro Andy Kuffer and Fishing Guide and Pro angler Gerry Gostenik will both be on hand throughout the weekend. Both anglers are Triton Prostaff and will be happy to answer your questions about these great bass boats. As well as Andy and Gerry, the factory reps from both Stingray and Triton Boats will be on hand throughout the weekend. There will be door prizes, refreshments and the BBQ will be fired up.
Leo delivered the big bass mount that Tim Steen did up. This mount was awarded to the person that caught the biggest bass of the season. Erick Hodgins caught the big one last year. His 5.3 pound smallie was the best of the season last year and Tim did a beautiful job on the mount. If you should catch yourself a trophy, you can contact Tim at tsteen@cogeco.ca .
FISH FOR FREE ON FAMILY FISHING WEEKEND
Events On February 24-25 Will Promote Safety On Ice
TORONTO — The Ontario government and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters are encouraging anyone looking for some winter fun to get outdoors and drop a line during the first winter Ontario Family Fishing Weekend, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said today.
“Many Ontarians enjoy winter fishing as a sport and social activity, and parents and others across the province can take this opportunity to introduce children and young adults to the fun of fishing,” said Ramsay. “The winter family fishing weekend is a great time to learn from experienced anglers about fishing, safety and conservation.”
Canadian residents can fish licence-free in any public waters across Ontario on Saturday, February 24, and Sunday, February 25. Events offering free instruction on ice fishing and safety on ice will be held where ice conditions permit safe fishing opportunities – mostly in Northern Ontario .
Through a new partnership arrangement with the ministry, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) will be taking on more responsibility for organizing Ontario Family Fishing weekends.
“Ontario Family Fishing Weekend is the province's flagship outdoors event that works to promote recreational fishing. The original concept for Ontario Family Fishing Weekend was presented by the OFAH and we are pleased that the Ministry of Natural Resources has increased opportunities to participate in this outstanding program,” said OFAH President John Ford. “Ice fishing is good family fun, and the OFAH is proud to expand our partnership with the ministry and the outdoor industry to help introduce the new winter edition of Ontario Family Fishing Weekend.”
During the family fishing weekend, anglers must follow the conservation licence limits set out in the 2005-2006 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary, which is in effect until future notice. Information on these limits will be available at each participating site.
“Taking part in outdoor activities such as fishing raises people’s awareness of the environment,” said Ramsay. “We look forward to working with the federation in the future on more fishing events to promote a conservation-based approach to recreational fishing.”
For more information on the Ontario Family Fishing Weekend, or if your organization would like to host an event, visit www.familyfishingweekend.com.
As most of you know, Deerbrook Marina went into the business of selling boats and as a result of that venture, the facilities were no longer capable of hosting a tournament. The expansion took up most of the available space that was used for parking. Because of that, we moved to Belle River Marina to hold our tournaments.
They have worked very hard to build up their business and they are now certified Triton and Mercury dealers. They have opened a Parts and Service depot and have hired on Chuck and Bob Howell as their primary service technicians. Add on the bait and tackle along with the store, and they have everything you could possibly need to go fishing.
This morning, Leo and I met with Al and Linda to discuss a proposal they had for us. They want to become our primary sponsors for the coming season and have offered a variety of incentives for our members. All of the figures haven't been finalized yet but this is a quick rundown of what they have offered to us.
First of all, every registered member of ECBA will get a special discount card worth 10% off purchases of service, parts, accessories, and tackle. The discount will not apply to gas or electronics. Next is a season's pass for their ramp to the winning team of each tournament. The pass is only good for the boat that was used and is not transferable. Some of you may remember the plates that Linda used to donate for the team that caught the biggest bass of the season. I think she misses buying those plates, because she wants to resume donating them.
Finally, for the Team of the Year, they are going to offer a $2000.00 voucher towards the purchase price of a new Triton boat (before taxes). There will be an expiry date on the voucher and I believe it is transferable to another member of ECBA. They are also going to donate a Motor Guide trolling motor to the Team of the Year, model to be determined later. The trolling motor will be one of the more popular models.
All of this makes the coming season more exciting for everyone and we are looking forward to it. Deerbrook Marina will be hosting an Open House later on in the spring and Leo and I will be there to take early registrations. This will be a good time for you to register with us, get your 10% discount card, and take advantage of a very special sale they will have on outboard motor oil. The Triton dealer will be there as well as some pros. We don't have the date and all of the info yet, but as soon as it's finalized it will be posted here.
