This past Sunday marked the debut of the River Rumble, a unique four-angler team tournament spread out across four different rivers, one per division.
In play were the Charles River (Eastern), Nashua River (Northern), Sudbury River (Central), and the Connecticut River (Western).
Twenty-eight anglers registered for the event, forming seven teams. With recent rains still impacting the region, elevated water levels and increased current made for challenging conditions, especially for those fishing the main river channels. Cooler water temps further complicated things. Anglers who shifted their focus to off-river spots—backwater areas, ponds, oxbows, etc.—generally found more cooperative bass.
Early on, the Yakstreet Boys jumped out to a strong lead. But as the day wore on, the Bass Snatchers began to close the gap, helped in large part by a pair of big fish from Patrick Brown. Smells Like Fish and The River Bandits also made late pushes, but in the end, it was the Bass Snatchers who pulled off the win, edging out the Yakstreet Boys by a single inch!
Nice work to everyone who competed, and congrats to the Bass Snatchers—Patrick Brown, Mason Bailey, Gerard Elias, and Alexis Arroyo—for taking the win!
There were definitely some unknowns going into this one, especially with the need for a clean four-per-team setup, but everything came together smoothly. We’re already looking ahead to the next River Rumble, scheduled for August 17. If you missed out this time, or were on the fence, we hope you’ll jump in for the next one!
