BergenBassmasters

What a Great Classic!

2009-09-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

With the new job, I cannot Blog from there so getting postings up on a regular basis will be a bit more difficult, however, I had to post with a little blurb about the latest Bergen Classic at Champlain! I missed last year's event, the first Classic that I ever missed, but I was very happy with how this event turned out this year.
First off, I extend a ton of thanks to John Giordano for setting up the Saturday night BBQ along with his partners in crime, Jack Erdei, John Williams, and Vinnie Rossi, who all helped out with the cooking and food prep. There was plenty of food and it was a nice relaxing dinner where we all were able to just kick back and relax. After a long day in the rain, it was a welcomed comfort!
Next up, congratulations to Eric Lehmann on winning back-to-back Classics. My team captain carried the load and helped me out on day two when I feared my fish were running dry. Eric always finds a way and doesn't hesitate to think against the grain sometimes. getting away from the bank, his offshore spot turned out a few nice smallies and Eric went to work on the largemouth to increase his weight. With a nice bag on day two, there was no backing into the victory. He went for it and grabbed it. Congrats again Eric.
As for the team competition, what can I say? I wrote a little about it in the tourney recap along with my last blog where I predicted the competition would be close. I thought the margin would be less than 4 pounds. How about all 3 teams being seperated by 4 pounds and Bill's team coming from behind to win by a mere 4 ounces? They had one dead fish that day and it would've sucked to lose because of a dead fish penalty! I think there was some decent teamwork and collaboration going on and that was great to see overall.
Overall, the event was one of our least expensive classics which put more into the treasury for future uses and I liked the option of being able to run either north or south. Ironically, the top five guys all fished from Crown Point and north and not much was happening south except for a few really good practice days. Going in, I was expecting a good frog bite but that just didn't pan out as good as I had hoped. Regardless, there were still quite a few nice bags caught and overall, it seemed like everyone had a great time. That makes it a very successful Classic in my opinion.

It's Classic Time!

2009-08-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

On the Monday before the club's weekend Classic at Lake Champlain, it's no longer suprising to hear of a few guys already heading up to start their practice period. In fact, one member at least has already been up there since last week and a few others practiced this past weekend. Personally, I am looking forward to going up Wednesday morning and wish I had another day or two on the big body of water.

In the early Classic days twenty years ago, most members went up Friday morning, some perhaps Thursday night, and only got in one day of practice but over the past 8 or 9 years, more and more guys are using the Classic as a chance to get away for some nice vacation time relaxing and doing what we all love to do...drink...um...I mean fish! Undoubtedly, there will be a tad bit of beer consumed over the next week, however, more importantly, there will be loads of stories told while sitting arounf the cabins with a bunch of great fellow fisherman.

It seems like every year, someone else steps up and Steve Rusert is the only angler to score more than one victory on the southern part of the lake. Who will it be this time around? If I were betting, I'd say that this year will see another first time Classic Champ. My money would be on either Billy Vella, who just always catches nice bags of fish and who needs to be the anchor for his team as the team captain. The other one to watch, Jason Mordhorst, who is one of the best slop fishermen in the club and always seems to score at least one big day up there in the mess. This year, I think he puts two good days together and watch out! Team Hayden appears stacked on paper and one would think John got to pick his team before anyone else selected. Can they live up to the hype, we shall see, but I would suspect the team weights to be much closer than expected and I'd say the margin of victory will be less than 5 pounds.

To those members who cannot make it this year, we'll miss you up there.....I'll personally try to catch a few in your honor....

Mark

USO Event is really shaping up!

2009-08-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

At the end of September, the Bergen Bassmasters and specifically the chairman, Nick Albano, have organized a benefit tournament for the USO. The event will be held on the Hudson River out of Catskill and is expected to field between 60 and 75 boats, possibly more. With sponsors such as the USO, Orange County Choppers, Daiwa, North Jersey Marine, Keitech, the TBF, and the National Guard, among many others, this event is shaping up to be more than just a simple, club run event. It has the makings of a huge and memorable tournament.

Each participant will receive gift packs from a few sponsors and the payouts are expected to be more than 140% of the purse collected due to additional sponsor contributions. In addition, prizes such as Daiwa reels, Optimax batteries, Rangerwear gift certificates, will all be awarded in addition to the cash payouts. Orange County Choppers is sponsoring two sizable lunker payouts. The National Guard is expected to assist with boat check and parking and Nick is doing a fantastic job coordinating even the smallest of details. The weigh-in will take place aboard the huge National TBF trailer and we're trying to get as much media coverage as possible.

In addition to the event, there is also a raffle going on for a Day with a Pro where you have an opportunity to pair up with such name top pros as Pete Gluszek, Mike Iaconelli, and Terry Baksay! Tickets are being sold at numerous tackle shops and locatiosn all over the tri-state area.
The tournament will be limited so don't wait to register, we already have a few teams signed up and word has it that a few clubs plan on their entire membership participating! Information is available on this website just below this blog link.