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2006 NorthEast Tournament of Champions

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Joe Thompson and Jerry Gerlach Win Region 4 Tournament of Champions Utilizing Non-Traditional Tactics

The much anticipated U.S. Angler’s Choice Region 4 Tournament of Champions was held on Maryland ’s Upper Chesapeake Bay September 29^th and 30^th. This outstanding event was hosted by the Cecil County (MD) Department of Tourism led by Sandy Turner, Tim Smith and their staff who went all out to ensure a spectacular week of fishing and excitement for the 86 qualifying teams entered in this prestigious tournament. BASS Elite Pro Rick Ash was on hand all three days with his beautiful Bass Cat boat, proudly wrapped with the www.seececil.com design and answered loads of Bass Cat questions

Seven Northeast divisions had eligible teams to compete in this Angler’s Choice Championship whose national sponsors include Bass Cat boats, Mercury outboards, Motorguide trolling motors, Lowrance electronics, Solar Bat Sunglasses, and Rejuvenade livewell additive. Several sponsors of the participating trails were present at registration on Thursday to offer free product to all of the anglers in the tournament. These include Chesapeake Teams title sponsor Susquehanna Fishing Tackle who handed out tackle packs, X-Citer Baits who gave away spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and jigs, ands J.O. Spice Company, the prefered spice in the Chesapeake Bay region handed out samples as well.

Following registration, all of the contestants and their guests were treated to a gourmet chicken dinner at the Sandy Cove Retreat Center in North East, Maryland complete with all of the fixin’s. While the teams dined, they were entertained by Vocal Obsession, an acclaimed acapello jazz quartet whose unique harmony enhanced the entire atmosphere of the Angler’s Choice banquet and awards ceremony. After everyone in the room wad satisfied their appetite, each division’s Angler’s of the Year were recognized and presented plaques.

Cindy Smelgus, Director of the Potomac Teams and Eastern Shore Teams divisions received a plaque honoring her efforts as Director of the Year. Following this presentation, the tournament rules were reviewed and the attendees were dismissed. A dark cloud of uncertainty remained with the teams as Friday’s weather forecast was not optimistic as a strong front was due to blow in from the west bringing rain and high winds. Many present remembered Day 2 of the 2004 Regional Championship which saw the wind increase during the day to dangerous conditions.

The first day of competition began with the playing of our National Anthem and a quick on-the-water briefing. The wind prediction had been reduced, although some unprotected areas of the Upper Chesapeake Bay caught the brunt of the cold front. With winds at 6 MPH at 7:00AM, the teams were launched in flights of 15 teams each. Navigation may not have been as big of a problem in the wind as lure presentation as many popular techniques on the bay this time of year require flat water. The 3:00PM weigh-in would determine just how tough the fishing was due to the cold front and wind.

As the Day 1 weigh-in began, it was obvious that the predicted weights were down as were the numbers of big bass usually associated with this time of year. Two trolling motors, a lower unit, and a shredded air pump belt kept a few teams down on Friday as well. Only 28 5-bass limits were brought to the scales and only 2 fish cracked the 5 pound mark. Chesapeake Teams Angler’s of the Year Roger Shirkey and Tom Turner found themselves in the lead after Friday’s opening round with 16.64 pounds followed by Tim Jones and Dave Wilder (Chesapeake Teams) with 15.13 pounds and Joe Thompson and Jerry Gerlach from the Choice Division with 15.02 pounds. Rick Jones and Dave Hankins from Chesapeake Teams stood in 4^th position while Howard Mahan and Marc Robinson rounded out the top 5 with 13.39. Danny Rodriguez and Eric McNulty (Choice) locked up the first cash award of the tournament as their 5.68 largemouth garnered day one Big Bass honors and earned them $500!

Guarded enthusiasm seemed to be the mood on Saturday as all but 86 teams returned to the launch site at Elk Neck State Park . Most were optimistic about the favorable or at least, improved forecast. The winds were due to be gentler from the southeast, and many teams knew that meant the quality bass were more likely to dine early and often. Keeping this in mind, many teams who struggled on Friday were optimistic they could rebound with a big bag today.

The contestants were launched in reverse order, most with smiles as they acknowledged the tournament officials as their number was called. The weather was indeed in their favor as the only negative they had to deal with was a few periods of light intermittent rain. Very few teams returned early and maximized their fishing time as the official end of the tournament hours were drawing near.

As expected, both the number of limits and overall size of the bass increased on Day 2. Teams seemingly out of contention on Friday virtually skyrocketed into the money with huge limits on Saturday. Most credited the lack of wind with the opportunity to present baits such as frogs, rats, and floating plastic worms and the like over both matted and scattered grass.

Howard (Les) Mahan and Marc Robinson, qualifiers from the Chesapeake Teams Division carried a 5 bass limit to the scales on Day 2 weighing 14.07 pounds giving them a very consistent total weight of 27.46 pounds and earning them 5^th place. This steadfast team, whose sponsors include Mahan Services and Mahan Real Estate Consultants, concentrated on shallow wood in an Eastern Shore tributary. They pitched black/blue combinations of plastics on 20lb. mono from their Triton boat and suffered the consequences of sharp barnacles attached to the wood which cost them a few quality bass. This was a total team effort as Les put all 5 keepers in the boat on Friday while Marc reciprocated with the same feat on Saturday. They were presented plaques and $1600 in cash for a very solid performance.  

4th place and Angler of the year team Roger Shirkey and Tom Turner

Chesapeake Teams Roger Shirkey and Tom Turner managed a very respectable 12.43 pounds on Saturday to give the Day 1 leaders an overall total of 29.07 and a 4^th place finish. They focused on shallow (2 ft.) wood cover on Friday in the wind and moved to a grass pattern on Saturday. Their two weapons of choice for the tournament were white Zoom Horny Toads and Big Mouth Spinnerbaits in chartreuse with a nickle flicker blade and a gold Indiana blade. The key was to utilize a slow retrieve on both days. In addition to the $2200 they won for finishing 4^th, they also were the top finishers in the Angler’s of the Year championship which earned them an additional $2500 in cash and prizes.

3rd place Tim Jones and Dave Wilder

Tim Jones and Dave Wilder, who compete in the Chesapeake Teams Division claimed 3^rd place in this championship, thanks to Saturday’s 14.51 5-bass limit. That gave them an overall weight of 29.64 pounds. They made a productive long run each day to lock up the third spot and earn plaques and $2800 in cash.

2nd place Rick Jones and Dave Hankins

Rick Jones and Dave Hankins had a great season in the Chesapeake Teams Division, never falling lower than second place in the AOY standings. On Saturday, they backed up their 14.63 day one weight with a 17.00 pound bag, giving them a grand total of 31.63 pounds and enough weight to secure 2^nd place. Surprisingly, Rick and Dave only caught one topwater bass and that was in practice. Their baits of choice were mostly fast-moving lures, strictly targeting aggressive bass. They searched for lightly stained water and cast spinnerbaits and Mann’s 1-minus’ around docks and grass edges. When the action slowed, they plied the same areas with soft plastic baits in green pumpkin color, but mostly relied on the shallow crankbaits in red/chartreuse patterns and chartreuse spinnerbaits with double willow leaf blades. Ironically, the wind on Friday and lack of it on Saturday did not adversely affect their bass. This talented Shimano-sponsored duo made a half-hour run each day and wanted to thank their friend Adam Bajrak for the use of his boat, a 521 Ranger which was critical to allow them to get to their fishing area, especially on Friday. Rick and Dave were presented with a new Bass Cat Classic complete with a Mercury 200 Optimax, Motorguide Trolling Motor, and Lowrance electronics for their second place finish.  

1st place Joe Thompson and Jerry Gerlach

Joe Thompson and Jerry Gerlach, who hail from the state of Pennsylvania claimed victory in this championship tournament. Qualifying from the Choice Division, Joe and Jerry were lurking in 3^rd place after Friday’s weights were calculated with 15.02 pounds. Going against the grain, they fished deep and remained “grass free” during the tournament. They decided to cast Shad and Fire-Tiger Bomber crankbaits to rock piles and along rocky points and drops in 8-10 feet of water. They actually searched for areas that were being affected by the wind and had no problem following other boats fishing in the same area. They credit their knowledge of the Upper Bay and having a multitude of back-up spots as a vital key to their victory.

They occasionally pinpointed less aggressive bass with ¼ oz. jigs and plastics in green pumpkin. They lost 4 bass on the first day they estimated to be in the 4 pound range, but executed a mistake-free final round to lock up the championship. Joe and Jerry used Shimano Crucial rods and Shimano Chronarch reels spooled with 17-pound test Gamma mono for the jigs and 12-pound Gamma for the crankbaits. In addition to being sponsored by Shimano, our champs are also sponsored by Gamma line, Pradco, and are part of the Extreme Offshore Marine fishing team running a Champion/Mercury rig.

Joe and Jerry were awarded trophies and a certificate for a new Bass Cat Cougar complete with a Mercury 225 Optimax, Motorguide trolling motor, and Lowrance electronics. Congratulations to these fine gentlemen on their accomplishment.

2nd place Angler of the year team Jeremy Birmingham and Joe Barnes

Jeremy Birmingham and Joe Barnes, Angler’s of the Year from the Eastern Shore Teams Division locked up 2^nd place in the AOY championship and collected $1500 in cash and prizes plus has their 2007 entry fees paid. Their 2-day total for this event was 22.54 pounds.  

3rd place Angler of the year team Sam Rineer and Rich VonNordeck

DelMarVa AOY’s Sam Rineer and Rich VonNordeck weighed in a total of 22.28 pounds to secure the 3^rd place AOY award, earning $1000 in cash and prizes and 2007 entries paid. Sam and Rich are sponsored by BassCat Boats, Mercury outboards, and Pop’s Marine in Toano, Virginia.

The Big Bass on Day 2 was locked up by Chris Price and Bob Austin from the Eastern Shore Division. They landed a 7.03 MONSTER which was good for a beautiful plaque and $500 in cash.

From the “What Coulda’ been “department:  

-Oneida Teams’ Marc Heivly and Bruce Reichert were reportedly on a pile of big bass, but motor problems on Friday after only ½ hour kept them off the water 

during the balance of the hours of competition.Repairs were made and undaunted, this team hit the water Saturday only to return with a whopping 19.99 pounds! No quitters here!

-Chris Swearer and Skip Walters couldn’t get their big bass to bite on Friday and made the decision to stay with them only to bring in 5.85 pounds. On Saturday,

however they made all the right decisions and weighed in the largest stringer of the tournament, a 5-bass limit weighing 20.18 pounds!

-Chris Price and Bob Austin from Eastern Shore Teams sat in 53 place on Friday with 5.26 pounds. Thanks to Saturday’s 7.03 pound lunker and 19.67 pound limit, they vaulted into 12^th place and took home $900

Thanks to Region 3 VP Rick Byrnes and Teresa Deschler from the Angler’s Choice Headquarters as well as Tournament Directors Cindy Smelgus , Dave Kilby , and all of the many volunteers who helped this event run so smoothly. We look forward to seeing you in 2007. Check the website as many events are still planned for 2006 in Chesapeake Teams Fall Trail beginning October 8^th and Potomac Winter Teams beginning November 11^th.