The Northeast No Limit Showdown: A Few Things…

August 1, 2017 0 Comment

To those who signed up for the Northeast No Limit Showdown, thank you! This is the first time we’ve ever done anything like this, so we appreciate you giving it a shot. Should be a great event!

That said, while I don’t anticipate any issues, please be patient if there are any bumps in the road.

To help make sure everything runs smoothly, though, I want to mention a few things:

All bass submitted must be at least 12 inches.

You may use the identifier available on TourneyX (and posted below), or you may just add the code—PWT—to an existing identifier, such as KBF’s.

Hawg Troughs only! No other measuring device is allowed in this event.

The standings page on TourneyX will only show a maximum of 12 submissions; I have set it to show 8 for this event. So it will show each angler’s biggest 8 fish submitted and an overall length of all fish submitted.

I am judging this event and also competing in it. Obviously that creates a conflict of interest. So I am going to post on our Facebook group page (in a photo album) the TourneyX photo of every fish I submit, along with each individual fish’s length and a total length of all fish submitted. This will be the judge’s photo, which looks like this:

Doing this, allowing everyone to verify my submissions, should hopefully create enough transparency to eliminate that conflict of interest.

We had 40 anglers sign up, so we’re paying out four spots and a total of $800, which comes out to:

1st – $400
2nd – $200
3rd – $120
4th – $80

We had two optional lunker pools, and they will payout as follows:

Largemouth – $115
Smallmouth: $70

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Good luck!

Bridgewater Triangle Bassin’

July 23, 2017 0 Comment

No Sasquatch or UFO sightings in the Bridgewater Triangle tonight, and for some of us, not many bass sightings, either.

We had 16 anglers for our annual night tournament at Lake Nippenicket. It was a tough bite for a lot of us—which is a common theme there—especially after it got dark. But as always a few people found some good fish.

The biggest of the night went 20.75 inches, caught by Valber Santos! Nice fish, man.

Fourth place went to me—oh no, wait, I forgot; in the last hour I was bumped down to fifth by some rude individual! Haha. So instead of taking third place for the fifth time this year, Donald Davis had to settle for fourth with a solid 70.75.

Bruce Levy was poised for a record fourth win early on, but it wasn’t meant to be this time. A respectable 73.50 inches earned him third place.

At our last tournament, Michael Curreri submitted a blurry photo of a big bass, over 20 inches, which would have bumped him up into second place. Unfortunately, because the entire photo was blurry, it had to be DQ’d. Not something we liked doing at all.

Well, he redeemed himself tonight, catching two fish—including a solid 18—in the last hour to secure second place! No blurry photos this time! He had 75 inches total.

Anchored by that 20.75-inch beast, Valber hauled in 77.50 inches of bass and walked away with the win! Nice job, man!

Congrats again to the four of you, and thanks, everyone, for coming out! Much appreciated. Wish the bite had been better.


Photo taken the moment my head exploded from lack of sleep

Check out the full results here.

Our next tournament is on August 5, at Chauncy Lake in Westboro! Register here on TourneyX. Hope to see you there.

Big Win At Winni

July 8, 2017 0 Comment

BIG congrats to Mark Johnson, who came out on top today in our very first KBF Not-a-Trail Event on Lake Winnipesaukee. A $690 payday! Nice.

Thomas Mee (aka Tom Kringle) took second, and Jason Gardner placed third. Mark and Jason previously qualified for the KBF National Championship, so their qualifying slots rolled down to Matt McGee and Frank Kulig.

We did a split lunker pool for largemouth and smallmouth. I got the biggest largemouth of the day (18.75) and Mike Elrick got the biggest smallie (18.50).

Congrats again, everyone! We really appreciate you coming out. Let’s do it again next year!

On a smaller lake.

Special thanks to Mike Sales at MGC Fishing Equipment and Supplies for the giveaway loot and swag!

Read on for a more detailed write-up courtesy of KBF’s Joe Haubenreich:

KBF TRAIL, WINNIPESAUKEE RANKINGS & REWARDS are now posted on the KBF Calendar Event web page.

23 bass yakkers whacked ’em on Winnepesaukee today. KBF was delighted by the turnout for this first New England event. Many thanks to Ken Wood and Mass Kayak Bassin for pulling this event together and making sure it came off without a hitch.

Mark Johnson posted 83.75 inches of bass on the LOWRANCE Leader Board to seize first place, which came with $690 and 100 KBF AOY Points. Mark’s performance merited a qualification to the 2018 KBF National Championship but he qualified earlier this year, so that slot rolled to Matt Mcgee of Maine, who turned in a respectable 81 inches today.

Thomas Mee was two inches behind Mark. At second place, his winnings came to $345 and 97 KBF AOY Points. Thomas qualified to compete for $100K next March on Kentucky Lake…which might be about the time he’s ready to take a break from Connecticut’s lingering wintry weather.

Like Mark, Jason Gardner (ME) is already Paris-bound. Taking third place, he pockets $115 in winnings plus 94 KBF AOY Points. The slot he would have taken went, instead, on past Mike Elrick (MA, 79.25″, 5th place) to Frank Kulig (MA, 78.50″, 6th place).

We appreciate all who turned out for this TRAIL Series Tournament. We’re looking forward to our return next year. Congratulations to those who fished their way to the top!

Click here for Rankings & Rewards.

Click here Photos & Details.

Register for the Lake Winnipesaukee KBF Trail Event

June 26, 2017 0 Comment

Okay, folks, the registration and tournament info pages for the KBF Trail event we’re hosting on Lake Winnipesaukee on July 8 are live!

Lake Winnipesaukee KBF Trail Event

This event is open to KBF members and non-members, though non-members pay an additional $25 admin surcharge on top of the $50 entry fee. This surcharge can be used toward a KBF membership within one week of the end of the tournament.

At 30 anglers, AOY points will be awarded to all participants who are KBF members at the time of the event, and at least five National Championship slots will be awarded. Payouts go to 10% of the field (not a 10% payout overall, as the graphic kind of suggests), and the minimum payout for first place is $1,000! It goes up from there. If we reach 100 anglers (or possibly 50), NuCanoe will award to the winner a brand new NuCanoe Pursuit. Expect additional prizes and raffles as well.

The host venue is Funspot in Laconia (579 Endicott Street North). We will meet there in the parking lot on July 8 at 5 AM for a brief Captain’s Meeting, and then again at 5 PM (inside, second level party room) for check-in and the awards ceremony.

Please register as early as you can. The more anglers who sign up early, the more it encourages others to do so as well. And I would suggest finding lodging as soon as possible, as this is event is very close to July 4 and places to stay nearest to Winnipesaukee will likely become harder to find the closer we get to July.

For all the tournament info you need, click here. To register, you can do so here on TourneyX.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Beast Mode

June 24, 2017 0 Comment

Another tournament down!

Crazy day, weather-wise. The morning was windy and cloudy with a bit of sun. After a few hours the rain came barreling in and poured on us for another three hours or so, and then the wind calmed down and the sun came out and cooked us for the last two hours.

We had 14 anglers today and paid out three spots.

The bite was tough for me. I had one 11.25-inch dink until about 9 AM, then added a 15.50. I hopped over to Robbins Pond around 10 AM and was able to cobble together a limit of small fish. My last—and biggest—entered my net at 1:56 PM, four minutes before the tournament’s end.

Despite my struggling, plenty of fish were caught by the other guys. Some big girls, too, and one absolute BEAST! That would be Bruce Levy’s 23-inch slooooooob!

(Adding insult to our injury, he also had a 20.25.)

Bruce thought he didn’t have a scale, but it was in his yak all along. Bummer. The fish was over 7 pounds all day, though. No doubt.

And of course it was tournament lunker. Hard to beat a fish that big. Congrats, man!

Taking third place for the third time in a row (and fourth time this year): Donald Davis. He had a respectable 70.50 inches (as did Domenic Eno, in fact; but Don had the bigger fish for the tie-breaker). He pulled this off even after taking an old-man nap during the rainstorm.

Though the fish didn’t come easy for me today, I somehow managed to haul in a decent limit of 75 inches. That was enough for second place.

And for the third time this year, Bruce Levy comes out on top, taking home the trophy, the money, and Edmar! Anchored by two big fish, Bruce laid 84.75 inches down on the board today. Dude is on FIYA! Congrats, man!

As always, I appreciate everyone coming out.

Our next tournament is an evening/night tournament at the Nip on July 22. We will be fishing from 4 PM till midnight. If you plan on fishing with us, make sure you have the appropriate lights on your person or kayak.

Before that, though, we will be hosting the KBF Trail Event on Lake Winnipesaukee. This one goes down on July 8 (click here for details).

Sloppy Firsts

June 11, 2017 0 Comment

Great turnout today! We had 17 anglers, paid out four spots and lunker.

Tough bite for some of us. I couldn’t put anything together today. Two fish, and that was a struggle.

But as always, some people found fish.

In his first MAKB tournament, Steve Scott took fourth place, with a solid 73.25 inches. Good meeting you, man!

Third place went to Donald “Dropshot” Davis. He caught seven of his nine fish on the dropshot, for 74 inches even.

Shawn Renes doesn’t get to fish with us often, but when he does he usually does pretty damn good. Today was no exception. Shawn hauled in a hefty 78.50 inches worth of of bass, with a 17.75-inch kicker that took the lunker prize as well.

For the second time this year, first place went to Bruce Levy. Bruce fished the thick slop, way back in the stuff most fishermen overlook, and as often is the case, it paid off. He sealed the deal with 81.50 inches courtesy of his trusty “black and blue.”

You can see the full results here.

This was our biggest turnout yet! Thanks to everyone coming out. We appreciate it. It was a good time, as always.

Congrats, fellas. Great job out there!

The School Kid Takes Us to School

May 25, 2017 0 Comment

I’m heading up to Maine, so no big write-up today. Check out the final standings here.

Lots of dinks, but some got into some good ones. We paid out four spots. Deeka Collins took 4th, Donald Davis came in 3rd, 2nd place went to Valber Santos, and 1st place—by a healthy margin—and lunker went to 15-year-old Hunter Leger in his very first kayak tournament! Awesome job!

Congrats, everyone! Thanks for coming out.

The next tournament is on June 10 at A-1/Stump Pond. Hope we see you there!

Lunker of a Lifetime

May 9, 2017 0 Comment

Glen Charlie is in the books!

We had ten hardcore manly men show up for this one. Prior to launch, it was relatively calm. A little windy, sprinkling a bit, not bad at all. But literally the moment we launched the wind ratcheted up to…oh, 90 mph or so, and it started to downpour. I struggled to get out into the main lake and over to the coves. I could barely move the kayak.

Thankfully the coves and some other areas weren’t bad.

And because Mother Nature is a cruel beast, the moment we beached our yaks at 3 PM, the rain stopped, the clouds broke, and sun came out. Pretty sure I heard it laughing at us. Haha.

Anyway, Mark Johnson took third place with 70.75 inches. He also took home the money for lunker with an absolute SLOB largemouth (21.50″) that weighed 8 pounds! Unreal, man. Congrats!

Kyle Freddrick Dudley also got in on the lunker action with the only smallie caught. Not an 8-pounder, but close (11.75″).

Due to an open-mouth deduction and a judging mistake on my part, I announced Mark as the second-place finisher at the lake. However, Anthony Tempesta actually placed second with 71 inches even.

I managed to get on an early bite in one of the coves, starting with a 19.50-incher, which was tournament lunker until Mark crushed that dream. I caught seven fish total, with my biggest five going 81.50, good enough for first place.

I caught all but two of my fish on a Rocky Ledge Tackle Swimming Spinnerbait (such a killer bait) and the other two on a Fat Ika (also killer).

Congrats, everyone! I appreciate you guys coming out, especially in that kind of weather.

You can check out the full results here

Next tournament is Lake Boon in Stow on May 20. Hope to see you there!

The Season Opens with Strong Wind and Big Waves

April 18, 2017 0 Comment

Our first tournament of 2017 is in the books.

All right, guys. I’m about to head up to Maine, so no big write-up today (by my standards, anyway).

The day started off fairly nice. A little chilly, a little windy, but comfortable. Then it just got worse and worse, and I’m pretty sure there were two-foot waves at the end of the day. Crazy.

Anyway, we had 15 anglers. The bite was fairly tough, but fish were caught.

Taking third place and lunker: Donald Davis. His five went 57.25 inches, and his biggest was 19.25.

I took second place with 60.50 inches. My biggest fish of the day was a fat 15-inch crappie. Haha.

And taking first place: Bruce Levy. His best five went an even 67 inches.

You can check out the full results here

Congrats, fellas!

And thanks for coming out, everyone. Robert, I hope you’re doing all right.

Next tournament is Glen Charlie Pond on May 6. Hope to see you there!

The Season Kicks Off on Saturday, April 15!

April 13, 2017 0 Comment

Our first tournament of the year is coming up on Saturday, April 15 at Billington Sea in Plymouth. If you would like to participate, REGISTER HERE at TourneyX.

Use the code in the description to bypass the entry fee requirement. We will be taking payment at the ramp. Hope to see you there!