“Salt City Bassmasters Compete On Chaumont Bay”

[Jen Cardinale]

On Sunday September 18, 2011 SCBM participated in their sixth and final points event of the 2011 season. Thirty-two anglers competed in the tournament sponsored by The Alexander Law Offices. The anglers were met with a day of mostly sunny skies, light wind, and temperatures in the mid 60’s.

Boater Division:

Brian Eisch finished in first place weighing in 20 pounds 9 ounces. Eisch fished weed/rock mix areas with gobies and Gulp Alive shiners on a drop shot rig in 6-10 feet of water. Eisch states, “Thanks goes out to Craig Terpening [his co-angler] for his enthusiasm and tips. Teamwork allowed Craig and I to use each other’s tips during the day to get us each 20+ pound bags.”

Brandon Schwoeppe finished second weighing in 19 pounds 2 ounces. Schwoeppe fished rock with scattered weeds in about 4-7 feet of water. He used tubes to land the majority of his bass, but one was caught on a crankbait and another came on drop shot. All of the fish Schwoeppe caught with the exception of 1 came within the last four hours of tournament time.

Mike Donahue finished third and was able to secure the title: Angler of the Year, for the second consecutive year, weighing in 18 pounds 10 ounces. All of Donahue’s fish including his 5 pound 2 ounce division Lunker smallmouth were caught on a Mellon-pepper Texas-rigged tube flipped around weeds in 6-10 feet of water.

Co-Angler Division:

After taking a break from SCBM events, Craig Terpening returned to claim first place on Chaumont, weighing in 20 pounds even. Terpening also took the honors of catching the tournament Lunker smallmouth, also Lunker of the year, which weighed in at 5 pounds 5 ounces. Terpening fished his boater’s; Brian Eisch’s water all day, beginning on a shoal with scattered weeds in 6-10 feet of water. While fishing a tube, the day began with a slow start. However, once the sun got higher in the sky and shone on the calm water the bite turned on and by 8:30am Terpening had close to 16 pounds in the boat. When a breeze kicked up the bite slowed down and the two moved to a wind blown bank, where Terpening still fished a tube. When the tube didn’t produce big enough bass, Terpening switched to using Gulp Alive gobies and shiners on a drop shot rig (Eisch’s bait of choice) which contributed to quality fish that definitely helped increase his weight. Terpening said, “Brian Eisch really did his homework well, and as a rookie in the club he will be a potential threat to boaters in the future. He is an outstanding fisherman and person, and he learns very quickly.

Lenny Potts finished second weighing in 18 pounds 15 ounces, his largest bag to date. Potts fished drop shot for smallmouth in 4-12 feet of water in a rock/weed mix. “The fish were there, but the fishing was tough,” Pots said. At noon Potts fished 12 feet of water for largemouth and had his limit by 12:30pm. When the largemouth quit biting he again focused on smallmouth and was able to cull all the largemouth out but one.

Pat Ponto finished third weighing in 15 ponds 12 ounces. Ponto dragged tubes all day in 4-7 feet of water. Most of his fish were caught in the last 3-4 hours of the tournament when the wind changed direction and there was a slight ripple on the water.

About Salt City Bassmasters:

Salt City Bassmasters is an organization dedicated to helping its members become better bass anglers through discussion, seminars, and interactive learning. Salt City

strives to provide a competitive bass fishing tournament trail that encourages sportsmanship, fun, and learning. Lastly, Salt City Bassmasters wants to improve the knowledge of all anglers, promote ethical behavior and sportsmanship, and increase environmental awareness.

www.saltcitybass.com

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