Tag: Rocky Ledge Tackle

Deja Vu in the Bridgewater Triangle

July 11, 2021 0 Comment

Yesterday, twenty anglers fished the fifth Eastern Division event of the season on Lake Nippenicket. This was our second time at the Nip this season, after having to relocate an earlier event due to high winds.

That previous event was won by Valber Santos in the final hour, when he put an 18.75 on the board, bumping Bruce Levy, who’d had the lead most of the day, down to second.

Both anglers, I’m sure, went into this second event with a lot of confidence. But they weren’t the only ones fishing…

I went out last Thursday, and the bite was tough as hell. Others I’d spoke to who’d also fished that day had the same experience. The tropical storm system that rolled through on Friday had them in a funk the day before, and that seemed to carry over to Saturday as well.

I did not fish this event, but the bite was tough down in Brewster where I was fishing, and the final standings for the Nip mirrors my experience, with only six anglers catching limits, and many of those fish on the smaller side.

Some good ones were caught, though, including a 22-inch beast hauled in by Joe Fournier. I’ve fished many events there where a fish that big wasn’t big enough for lunker at the Nip (I caught a 6.4 there once and it was not the biggest fish of the tournament), but luckily for Joe his fish was the biggest of the day, by 2.5 inches!

The Nip doesn’t only have big bass, it has monster pickerel as well, which Patrick Brown learned when he nailed a long 24.50! Almost big enough for a state pin, definitely big enough for pickerel lunker.

In his second event of the year, Donald Davis found himself in the money once again, putting up 64.75 and notching a fifth place finish in his storied MAKB career. And once again, doing so out of the old sit-in! =)

Joshua Jackson also found himself in the money for the second time this year, landing in fourth place again, this time with 66.75!

Adding more cash to his pickerel winnings, Patrick Brown pulled off a third-place finish with 71.25!

I checked the standings at some point in the morning and Bruce had a commanding lead, around 20 inches if I recall correctly, maybe more. He looked poised to get a little redemption after the last event there.

Typically I turn the standings off two hours prior to an event ending, but I forgot to set an alarm this time, and I didn’t even think about it until the tournament was nearly over. At 1:44, I checked the standings and reigning Angler of the Year Joseph Daddeo had closed the gap considerably, sitting at 73 inches, just .75 behind Bruce.

So I turned the standings off, thinking it’d add a little drama to the event if Joe could pull off a last-minute upset.

Shortly after 2 PM, all the way down on Cape Cod, I heard Bruce cursing, because four minutes after I turned off the standings, Joe put up a fish that pushed him into the lead, adding another 3.25 inches to his final score (76.25) and giving him the win!

Déjà vu for Bruce, but still another solid finish on an already great season.

Great job to everyone who got out there and put up fish. The Nip can be tough on any day and the weather definitely didn’t help this time.

Congrats to everyone in the money! Awesome job. =) And thanks to Don and Bruce for running this one!

Check out the full standings here.

Fireworks Came a Month Early This Year

June 29, 2021 0 Comment

July is usually the month of fireworks, but there were plenty in Week 2 of June’s monthly online challenge!

No one entered fish during Week 1, so the game was wide open when Week 2 started. Matt Conant set things off quickly, putting up nearly 90 inches his first day out, but Ken Wood laid a hefty 92 inches on the board on my first day out, overtaking Conant for the lead. He was able to increase that total to 97.50, naively thinking he had a good shot at winning it all.

But with his work week starting on Sundays and Week 2 not ending until Monday evening, Ken gave Matt too much time on the water unopposed, and he retook the lead with 99.75. Joe D’Addeo wasn’t far behind with 95.75, and Derek Brundle and Christopher Alves were making runs with 90.75 and 89 inches, respectively. But when Week 2 ended, Conant still had the lead.

Four anglers took to the water during Week 3, but none could catch the leader. Five more tried in the final week, but last month’s winner Steve Hedges was the only one to break 90 inches. Unfortunately his 91.75 wasn’t enough and Conant wins his second monthly online challenge of the year (he won the first of the season in April).

Matt and Ken tied for lunker, with both of them putting up 20.75-inch tanks. Their second biggest bass determined the tie-breaker, though, with Ken’s 20.50 besting Matt’s 20.25 for the lunker win!

Check out the final results here on Fishing Chaos.

Experience Pays Off

June 13, 2021 0 Comment

Saturday, the Western Division held it’s fourth event of the year, on the stretch of the Chicopee River in Chicopee that I grew up fishing. Access is extremely limited nowadays, but we were able to secure safe parking (thanks, Paul Bunyan’s Tree Farm) to risk our gear and health getting the boats down the banks of Cooley Brook to access the river.

The first three hours of the day were a complete drenching. The rain stopped between 9 and 10 AM and some clouds lingered, which kept the bite going.
Fortunately, everyone caught fish. Unfortunately, size was at a premium.

At the end of the day, Jeremey Andrews had secured third place by making a couple late culls to total 62.50 and get by Michael Williams.

Ronel Mullen caught 66.75 inches worth of bass to claim second place. He and I went back and forth for most of the morning until…I hit the lunker, a meager 18.25, and followed with a 16-incher to snag the W with 74.25!

There was only one pickerel caught, which I thought was out of character for the Chicopee, by Russ Hatch. A 14-inch fish, but more than enough to give him that lunker pool.

We all know there’s going to be some days when smaller fish matter a lot more than they should, and it keeps the competition exciting, which Saturday was. Thanks to everyone that made it out, helped each other in and out of the brook, and to grab a bite afterward!

Head over to Fishing Chaos for the official results.

Our next event is slated for late July at the Connecticut River. Hope to see everyone there!

A Record-Shattering Day!

June 12, 2021 1 Comment

Earlier this morning, at 8:18 AM, I got a phone call. The person on the other end, voice shaking, said, “What’s the club record?”

That record—95.25, caught by me at Snipatuit Pond in 2016—has fallen.

(That was the official regular-season record. Chris Catucci put up 96.50 in a post-season event in 2020.)

I didn’t fish the Nashua River event today. I was fishing the Kayak Fishing League event and my Kayak Bass Bracket Tour match at Snipatuit Pond, of all places. I had a good day. But it doesn’t compare.

Seventeen anglers made the trek up to the Nashua River today. With 17 anglers, we’re paying out just four spots and lunker.

This is how it broke down…

Lunker Snapper – Steve O’Brien (26 lb)
Lunker Pickerel – Ray Figueroa (19.75)
Lunker- Bruce Levy (21.50)

5th Place – Christopher Nardi (72.00)
4th Place – Nate Chagnon (77.00)
3rd Place – Donald Davis (79.75)
2nd Place – Kevin P Amaral (81.50)
1st Place – Bruce Levy

Remember that phone call from 8:18 AM? That was Bruce calling. He had the tournament won at that point, and will likely hold the club record for biggest limit for as long as this group exists.

Bruce’s biggest five bass totaled a MONSTROUS…102.50!

Unreal. Holy crap. What a day! LEGEND!

For a day.

Congrats to everyone, but bow down to the GOAT!

But not for too long.

Watch Bruce discuss his epic day on The Breakdown with John Ferreira.

Check out the full standings here.

Newcomer Slays the Giants

May 30, 2021 0 Comment

The Online Challenge for May has come to a conclusion!

Bruce Levy took lead in Week 1, but only by default since he was the only one with a ticket. Matthew Conant had the lead after Week 2, but Joseph D’Addeo overtook him by an inch the night before he headed down to Candlewood Lake for the KBF Trail Event.

We know those three anglers, and many others who fished the first three weeks, but Week 4 consisted of the “unknowns,” anglers who are new to MAKB.

Ray Figueroa made a statement with a tank 20.25, which took over the lunker leaderboard, but Steve Hedges kept chipping away, inching his way closer to the top. On the final day of the tournament, fishing two different lakes, he put up a 19.75 and a monster 20.50 to not only take over the lunker leaderboard but the overall lead as well, giving him the win for the month.

As I mentioned in my Lake Nippenicket write-up, Steve has had a good week. He placed fourth at the Nip, had pickerel lunker, won his round two Knockout Series match, plus took lunker and the victory in the Monthly Online Challenge Series for May. Great job, man!

For the full standings, click here.

A Plate of Nachos Goes 1 and 2

May 29, 2021 0 Comment

Well, that was fun, right?

Twenty-one of us fished Lake Nippenicket today for the third Eastern Division event of the season. Two backed out beforehand, and two just went home, never even launching, and many left early.

Cold, wind, and rain are bad enough alone, but add them all together and it can be pretty miserable, especially if you’re not catching fish. And that was me.

I had my kayak nearly fully rigged in my garage, and still managed not to get on the water in time to launch early with most everyone else. Because of that, every spot I went to had an angler or multiple anglers on it. Then I got stuck in the weeds and had to paddle against the wind, which was awful. I bailed at 9:30 AM, only to leave my kayak at the ramp, Power Pole down, group of people standing there gawping at it as I walked away. When I came back, the kayak was floating away and they were all just staring at it.

Pretty nice of them.

Anyway, Joe Fournier gave me a hand with that, then Nate Chagnon rolled up, and we rolled out and went to Smokey Bones, where we took the lead for a bit.


Bruce’s angry text message accusing us of sandbagging was worth it!

Anyway, a good amount of fish were caught, though. More than I expected, to be honest, but only four limits. Two of the 16 anglers that caught fish today figured something out and they led the field from the start, each holding the lead at times throughout the day.

Since I left early, I don’t know many details of how things went down, but here’s what the standings show:

Steve Hedges was already having a good week, but it just got better with his 24.25-inch pickerel taking the pickerel lunker pool.

Event lunker went to Valber Santos, who nabbed a tank 21.50-inch, 6-pounder, right after he launched.

In fifth place is Bob Pierce, who only caught four fish, but they were enough. He had 62.25.

Steve Hedges took the fourth spot, landing five bass for 64 inches. Maybe he’s not having a good week but a great one?

Ari Stonehill was contemplating leaving, not even launching. And in fact he didn’t launch with everyone; he was waiting/hoping for the weather to improve. I’m not sure it did, but he chose to get on the water despite this, and it paid off. With 71.50, he took third place.

For a while, it looked like Bruce Levy was going to come out on top. Valber Santos was in the lead, his limit anchored by not one tank but two (a 21.50 and a 20.00), but Bruce smashed a late-day 18.25, giving him the lead by more than three inches.

Valber had a 12.50. He also hadn’t uploaded a fish since 9:10 AM. It wouldn’t take much, though, to take the lead.

Unfortunately for Bruce, at 1:18 PM, Valber did just that, adding a solid 18.75 to his already impressive limit. With two 20s already on the board (not done since Peter Arruda’s win at Whitehall a few years ago), Bruce would need an epic rally to retake the lead. Lucky for Valber, it didn’t happen, and his 93.25 was plenty to beat Bruce’s 87.75. Any five-fish limit with two giants is always going to be hard to beat!

Great job, guys! Congrats! And to everyone that caught fish—hell yea! I’m glad it wasn’t awful for everyone, though I’m sure even those were catching fish suffered.

Full results can be found here.

Down to the Wire at Watuppa

May 17, 2021 0 Comment

The second Eastern Division event of the year went down yesterday on South Watuppa, the state’s fifth biggest body of water, and the biggest we’ve fished as a group.


Mike Morcone and others at launch

Notoriously stingy, Watuppa gave up some pretty decent bags yesterday, and easily the most smallmouth I’ve seen in a tournament—nine overall.

The wind also played nice until the end of the day, when a front came in, shifting direction, and pushing strong westerly gusts and some big waves toward all the anglers—which seemed to be most of the field—fishing the northeastern end of the lake. It laid down some after that, but overall it was a rare calm day out there.

Ryan Pierce drew first blood with a 16-incher just a few minutes after lines in, then Mike Morcone overtook him with a 16.75. But it would be a bit before fish started really hitting the leaderboard. An hour or so in, I believe only five or six fish had been uploaded.

As the day progressed and warmed, though, the fish got hungrier, especially the bigger fish. Every fish 18 inches and bigger was caught after noontime.

Unlike the bass, the bigger pickerel didn’t show up. With thirteen anglers in the pickerel lunker pool, I expected the winning fish to be one of the many giants that live in the lake, but Ari Stonehill’s 22.75 took home the prize.

We had a tie between John Ferreira and Patrick Brown for smallmouth lunker, with both of them hauling in a 16-incher, a pretty good-size smallie for that lake (from my experience, anyway). They will split the pot.

Tournament lunker went to Christopher Alves. He pulled up from the depths a hefty 19.50 on a dropshot.

We had 24 anglers, so we’re paying out five spots…

Derek Brundle, no stranger to making money at tournament, made a little more by nabbing fifth place with 79.25.

Fourth place went to Joshua Jackson, who submitted seven fish, all but one of which was caught after noon, and that one just before it. I believe this marks the first time Josh has “cashed a check” at an MAKB event. Right on!

Bruce Levy tossed his trusty white spinnerbait around for an early limit, even holding the lead a few times. With no kicker, though, his 81 inches was only enough for third place.

With 83 inches, Valber Santos was lined up for the win…until Mike Morcone snatched an 18-incher out of bed at 2:43 PM, giving him a 2.5-inch upgrade and the win with 84.25!

Congrats to all! Great day out there.

Click here for the full results.

A Battle Between East and West

May 16, 2021 0 Comment

Yesterday, an “angler’s choice” two-pond event went down at East and West Waushacum Ponds in Sterling. The water temps were about ten degrees apart, placing the fish in different stages of spawning, with the West Pond being more or less done and the East just beginning.

Thirteen anglers took to the water for this one, and with a couple exceptions, the field stayed packed together, with nearly everyone filling out limits.

Nelson da Costa was one of the exceptions: he was the only one of us to break the 90-inch barrier, and did so on the back of the 20-inch lunker of the day. He fished steep drops of the East pond to do so. Congrats to him on his first MAKB win!

Fresh on the heels of his Elite Kayak Fishing win at Cayuga Lake, Joseph D’Addeo returned to the West Pond. He has some history there, and was the only angler to break 80 inches for second place. Hammer, as always.

Also in the West Pond, Ronel Mullen stayed shallow to take third with 76.75, barely edging out Kelvin Nova (76.00). Nice job!

Third through eighth were separated by only 3.5 inches, showing how close the pack was, and that the bite was on at both ponds. John Liriano took the pickerel lunker with a 23.25-inch baseball bat of a fish. He fished the West Pond, and from talking with the East anglers, I don’t think anyone from that Pond landed any slime darts.

Great event, and thanks to all who came out to make it such!

Full results can be found here.

I’d also like to thank the town of Sterling’s Parks & Rec Department and their town officials that welcomed us to use the ponds. They went out of their way to make it a smooth experience, especially with the parking permits!

Our next event is at the Chicopee River in Chicopee—the stretch that I grew up fishing—and I’m excited to share the experience with the MAKB crew! Hope to see you there in June!

Big Win Up da Shires

May 9, 2021 0 Comment

Yesterday was the second MAKB Western Division Trail stop, a two-lake random-draw event at Buckley Dunton Reservoir and nearby Yokum Pond in Becket.

Two very different water bodies. Buckley Dunton is timber filled, and the closest the west has in similarity with A-1 out east. Yokum is closer to a shallow kettle pond, but does harbor a population of smallmouth.

After pre-fishing both, my prediction was that numbers would come from Yokum, and lunker would come from Buckley Dunton. I was half right, as Yokum anglers struggled for limits, and a couple anglers found size and numbers at Buckley.

Twelve anglers participated (seven at Buckley, five at Yokum). Nelson da Costa was the highest finisher at Yokum, with four fish totaling 57.75 that he fought for with the light bite there.

I found a jig bite early, then found a flat with baitfish and bulldozed my way through a dozen and a half post-spawn perch (including a pin-sized one) for a couple decent largemouth and a good pickerel. I upgraded and finished in 2nd with 88 inches even.

Jeremey Andrews took first with a bladed jig/jerkbait/finesse plastics combination, finishing with 91.75 and lunker with a 19-inch fatty on the raw, cloudy day “up da ‘Shires.” Congrats and nice job, Jer!

Only two pickerel were caught on the day. Nate Chagnon hit an 18-incher over at Yokum, but the 19.75 I caught around the baitfish was the winner.

Congrats to all who placed in the money, and congrats to any KBF members that qualified for the National Championship through the MAY-hem event!

Check out the result here.

The Biggest Challenge Was the Bad Weather

May 4, 2021 0 Comment

Our first monthly online challenge is in the books!

We had 25 anglers enter this one, but with the less than favorable weather that plagued us in April, only eight submitted fish to the event. With 25 anglers, we paid out three spots and lunker, and it looks like Week 3 was the most productive week of the month.

For me, it was just a day. An hour, in fact, at our A-1 event. Right place, right time. I was only able to fish one other day for my week, and it was cold, rainy, windy, and I only caught two fish.

When all was said and done, Matthew Conant took first place and lunker, while Derek Brundle and I placed second and third, respectively.

Great job, fellas!

Final results can be found here on Fishing Chaos.

And KBF just announced that we can award National Championship for online events, so with this being the month of May, KBFs Mayhem promo means 50% of the field qualifies. Since only eight anglers caught fish, all eight qualified!

Congrats!

(Anglers must have been at least an AmBASSador-level KBF member prior to the start of the event to qualify.)