Read More - Renegade Bass

XVII
Renegade Bass Classic
September 15th & 16th 2012
The 2012 Renegade Bass Tournament Series ended with something between a
bang and a whimper last weekend, September 15th and 16th. After five grueling
qualifying tournaments, the Top 40 teams faced one final challenge—the two-day
Classic tournament on Muskrat Lake at Cobden. At stake was a share of the $10
000 prize pool or the ultimate prize of a new Ranger Z119 bass boat rigged with
an Evinrude E-Tec 200 HP outboard, Motorguide Tour Edition trolling motor and
Lowrance HDS sonar/GPS units; a prize package valued at $60 000.
Muskrat Lake is generally considered to be a bit of a “fish factory” with healthy
populations of pike, walleye, lake trout, sturgeon and, of course, both largemouth
and smallmouth bass. This 14 km long but narrow lake is almost unique in
structure. The western side of the lake contains shallow, weedy flats which drop
quickly into deep water, providing sharp weed edges which are home to sizeable
populations of largemouth bass. In contrast, the eastern side consists of steep rock
bluffs. In some areas, 10’-30’ deep feeding shelves extend from shore; in others,
a mere boat length from shore puts the angler in 100’ of water. On this side of the
lake, the smallmouth is king.
This has been an unusual season on many bodies of water. Perhaps due to the
extremely low water levels, the higher than normal temperatures and a series of
thunderstorms in early September, Muskrat Lake had developed a serious algae
bloom. In some areas it was like fishing in pea soup. Traditionally, at this time of
year, the majority of teams would be focusing their attention on the largemouth
bass. This year, the three practice weeks leading up to the Classic had proven one
thing; for some reason, the largemouth weren’t biting. The anglers were forced to
concentrate their efforts on the smallmouth side of the lake. As a result, the lake
fished “small”. Prime areas looked like parking lots, with 3-4 boats competing for
the few bites available. Eighty of the top anglers in Eastern Ontario and Western
Quebec struggled to bring five-fish limits to the scales each day. “It was a tough
day out there” was heard time after time as the competitors crossed the stage.
Even the more successful teams acknowledged that it was one of the toughest
tournaments that they had ever fished.
Despite the tough fishing conditions, someone always manages to find some good
fish. Leading the pack on Day 1 was the team of John Martin and Wayne Jackson,
both from the Kingston area, whose five bass weighed 17.14 lb. Close on their
heels were P.J. Burns and Dale Goodrow, Renegade Bass rookies, with a weight
of 16.87 lb. In third place with a weight of 16.49 lb. was the team of Carl Roy and
Eric Clemot, winners of the Mississippi Lake qualifier back on June 30th. Big fish
honours for the day, and a cheque for $780, went to Scott Lefebvre and Rob Yantha
for their 5.48 lb. “hawg”. In fourth place, Scott and Rob were among the local
anglers who were felt to have a “home field advantage” coming into the Classic. At
the end of the day, eleven teams were within three pounds of the lead, including
such notables as Team-of-the-Year (TOY) winners Jean Martin Landry and Patrick
Milot, third ranking team in the TOY race, Mike Desforges and Jay McCormack,
and Paul Shibata and Craig Lister. Paul Shibata is the voice of the Renegade Bass
Radio Show and one of the keys to the success of Renegade Bass.
Sunday was an entirely different day. Saturday’s afternoon showers and high winds
had presaged a significant cold front. A number of boats appeared at the launch
site covered in frost. Dense fog blanketed the lake. Tournament Director, Tom
Hooper, made the call. The tournament would be delayed until it was deemed safe
travel down the lake. Using their electric trolling motors, anglers cruised slowly
through the calm waters in front of the launch site chatting with friends, drinking
coffee, rigging tackle or simply looking anxiously into the fog, hoping that it would lift
as they watched precious seconds of fishing time disappear. Finally, at around 8:20
AM., the boats were instructed to line up for the trickle start. With a 3:00 PM weighin, the pressure was on. Once again, the eastern shore and the smallmouth bass
bore the brunt of the attack though, as the day progressed, a few teams, perhaps in
desperation, actually challenged the largemouth bite.
Shortly after 3:00 PM, Masters of Ceremonies “Big” Jim McLaughlin and Mike
Brown, welcomed the sizeable crowd to the Classic Day 2 weigh-in and awards
ceremony. In addition to family and friends, a large number of Cobden residents
had shown up to view the festivities. As usual, “Big” Jim was a big hit, distributing
fishing rod/reel combos and other tackle provided by the Shimano to all the
children. Goldwing Autocare had set up a booth showcasing the Yokohama Tires
that would be awarded to the team weighing the largest bass of the year. Direct
Energy, one of the RB sponsors, generously ran a draw for all the adult spectators
with the winner receiving a beautiful gas BBQ valued at around $1000 and National
Pro Staff (NPS) had a booth highlighting their website NationalProStaff.com.
Thanks to the efforts of the shore staff, with able assistance of a number of
volunteers, the weigh-in process was well-orchestrated. The top 13 teams from
Day 1 were organized for a drive-by, while the balance of the teams loaded their
fish into water-filled bags for the trip to the stage. The teams were brought to the
stage in reverse order of their Day 1 standing in an effort to build suspense. The
plan went somewhat awry when Ed Puddephatt, owner of Paddletales tackle in
Winchester, and Kevin Moberg, owner of Sign-a-Rama in Nepean, both sponsors
of Renegade Bass, who had placed 37th on Day 1 with only 6.86 lb., came to the
scales with 18.41 lb, which turned out to be the catch-of-the-day.
Their bag of smallmouth was anchored by a 5.31 lb. largemouth which was caught,
quite surprisingly, in 40 feet of water. It earned them $780 as Big Bass of the day. In
contrast to Saturday, when they were only able to boat three fish, on Sunday they
were culling fish within the first 45 minutes. They had simply found an area that
was stacked with fish. While some teams shot up the rankings, others plummeted.
Teams that had been expected to do well didn’t, while some who had barely
qualified for the Classic ended up in the Top 10. Fishing is seldom predictable.
Throughout the lengthy weigh-in process, spectators were favorably impressed
by the Renegade Bass commitment to preservation of the fish population. In the
boats awaiting the drive-by, the fish were maintained in aerated livewells as they
had been all day. The Shimano Water Weigh-in System ensured that the bass
were immersed in water throughout the weighing process, even while on the scales.
They were then carefully transported to one of the two Shimano Live Release boats
where they were held in large aerated tanks. Following the tournament, the boats
returned the fish to appropriate areas throughout the lake.
Finally it was time for the drive-by. The tension built as, one-by-one, the bass boats
were towed in front of the stage to unload their catch. With both team members on
board to share the moment, they watched as their weight flashed on the screen.
The current leaders were assigned to the “hot seat”, in this case the seats in the
Ranger 118DC brought to the site by Orleans Boat World and Sport. Slightly
smaller than the actual prize boat, it nonetheless provided the spectators with
the opportunity to see what everyone was fishing for. Taking the seats for a few
minutes were Jean Martin Landry and Patrick Milot, winners of the fourth qualifying
tournament and recently crowned 2012 Team-of-the-Year, who stumbled a bit but
still managed a total weight of 27.56 lb. to place 3rd in the Classic, earning them
$2000 and the respect of all the anglers. While Milot had fished Muskrat Lake on
numerous occasions, he had never done so this early in the season. Landry had
never been on the lake prior to the Classic practice sessions. Much of their prefishing concentrated on the largemouth, but they were unable to find consistent
patterns or locations. Though they knew that many of the quality smallmouth would
still be suspended over deep water, they felt they had no alternative but to try for
them. Most of their fish came on a drop-shot rig in 10-18 feet of water near weed
lines.
It was now down to two teams. Bumping Landry and Milot were Mike Desforges
and Jay McCormack, models of consistency with 15.95 lb. on Saturday and 15.96
lb. on Sunday for a total of 31.91 lb. Desforges and McCormack, winners of the
third qualifying tournament on Lake St. Francis and third in the race for TOY, are
two of the most experienced tournament anglers in Ontario. Besides numerous
Canadian victories, both have competed successfully in both FLW and B.A.S.S.
tournaments stateside. They too focused their attention on the smallmouth bass,
running from spot-to-spot using jerkbaits and Alabama rigs to target active fish
and drop-shot rigs in 8-40 feet to harvest the less active ones. Forced to fish “old
school”, without the aid of accurate charts of GPS maps, they had spent five days
learning the lake, having never been on it before. The tough fishing conditions and
the crowding in prime areas reminded them of some of the U.S. tournaments they
had fished.
The final boat was that of Carl Roy and Eric Clemot. Carl and Eric, who have fished
RB together for the last three years, started the year by winning the first qualifier
on Mississippi Lake. Battling hard throughout the year, they ended up 7th for TOY.
Their day had been really exciting. They’d found good fish but, part way through
the afternoon, discovered that their engine wouldn’t start. The starting battery was
dead. Like guardian angels, along came Team #8, Jean Morin and Serge Carriere,
who made sure that their fish made it to the scales on time. In third place on Day 1,
they needed 15.42 lb. to win, a good weight by Sunday’s standards. As Desforges
and McCormack looked on anxiously, the fish were put on the scales. Seconds
later, the display lit up showing a weight of 17.31 lb.—they had done it; they had
won the Classic.
On stage, as the champagne was hoisted and the trophy awarded, Carl was
choked with emotion. Finally able to take the microphone, he mentioned his family
watching the live feed in Sudbury for the first time, an omen that they would win.
Referring to his second place finish in the 2007 Classic, he observed that first
place was so much better. Both he and Eric thanked the entire Renegade Bass
organization, their sponsors (Princecraft, Mercury, Laplante-Chevrolet, Buick,
Pontiac, St.-Croix rods, Mustad, etc.) and particularly their families for their support
and encouragement. Carl and Eric have had quite a year. Besides their success
on the Renegade Bass circuit, they have their own television show “Peche Evasion”
produced by Rogers TV.
After 10 days of pre-fishing, Carl and Eric had concluded that their future lay with
the smallmouth rather than the largemouth, so they put away their frog rods and
brought out the jig rods, concentrating their efforts in open water 10-15 feet deep.
The spot that had produced 16.49 lb. on Saturday was totally devoid of fish on
Sunday. They had to find another spot with similar depth and structure. It was
11:00 AM before they got their first smallmouth but then took only 45 minutes to
fill their limit, getting only five bites all day. While Carl caught most of the fish on
Saturday, Eric caught them all on Sunday. Strange, when you consider that they
were using the same technique, the same jig in the same size, colour, etc. They
both chalk up their success to a combination of hard work, lots of pre-fishing, a
good measure of skill and versatility, good decision making, and a dash of luck.
They look forward to the challenge of fishing Renegade Bass, one of the toughest
series in Canada, for many years to come.
Besides handing out the prize money to the Top 10 finishers, several other special
announcements ended the awards:
1. There were seven teams eligible for the G. Loomis Skeleton Crew Challenge.
If any one of these teams caught the largest bass of the Classic they would earn
$1000 from G. Loomis. Unfortunately there was no winner.
2. The Ranger Cup prize for the Classic ($500) went to Jay McCormack and
Mike Desforges as the top-placing team fishing from a Ranger boat. Had it been
equipped with an E-tec engine they would have received an additional $500 gift
certificate good for Evinrude products at Orleans Boat World and Sports, and had
the boat been purchased at OBW & S they would have kicked in another $350 gift
certificate.
3. Heather Bonadie of Rhodes & Williams Insurance presented a cheque for
$250 to Jean Martin Landry and Patrick Milot as the highest placing team to have
purchased their boat insurance from Rhodes & Williams.
4. The Yokohama Big Bass Award sponsored by Goldwing Autocare went to
Charles Sim and Nigel Touhey who weighed in the biggest bass of the season on
Lake St. Francis in Q4, a 6.24 lb. smallmouth. For their efforts each will receive a
set of four Yokohama tires including installation, balancing and nitrogen fill.
5. Anglers purchasing $300 in Shimano products prior to June 23, 2012 were
registered in the Shimano Platinum Cup program. The program awards the top
participating angler, after all 5 qualifying events, with their half of the 2013 entry
fees ($750) paid for by Shimano Canada and a $125 gas card. If both members of
the winning team are qualified for the Shimano Platinum each will receive the same
amount. This year’s winners were Mike Desforges and Jay McCormack, both of
whom were registered for the program.
6. Simon Lavictoire and Carl Gagnon won a Motorguide Tour Edition trolling motor
as the highest placing team (by total weight after the five qualifying tournaments
and the Classic) already running a Motorguide trolling motor.
7. The Top 10 teams in the Classic will each receive two (2) custom jerseys from
WooDoo Custom apparel.
Renegade Bass would like to thank their Classic hosts, the Town of Cobden and
the Township of Whitewater Region. Thanks to all the local residents who came to
view the weigh-ins. No tournament series would be possible without the support
of sponsors, and Renegade Bass is grateful for the tremendous support provided
by Orleans Boat World and Sport, Ranger Boats, Evinrude BRP, Shimano Canada,
Berkley, G. Loomis, PowerPro, Goldwing Autocare, Yokohama Tires, Rhodes &
Williams Insurance, Bennett’s Bait & Tackle, Paddletales Tackle, Direct Energy
Home Services, Xylem Rule, Lowrance, Navionics, Motorguide, Western Signs &
Lines, Sign-a-Rama (Nepean),J & S Service Centre, Total Battery, WooDoo Custom
Performance Apparel and NationalProStaff.com.
Our gratitude also goes to Tom Hooper, our Tournament Director, and the shore
staff (Greg Scott, Rob Arscott, and Todd Morton) who worked so diligently to ensure
that everything ran smoothly throughout the year. We also have to thank all of the
anglers who volunteered their services throughout the year in numerous capacities.
When a job needed doing, there was someone there to do it. Special thanks to
John Ebbers, Mike Vandenberg, Paolo Chiuchiarelli, John Henry, Paul Vrooman,
Brett Miller, Alex Deszcz, and Matt Massey for their assistance with the Classic.
We would aslo like to thank Dave Steen, Richard Roy, Shawn Dompierre, Brad
Guenette, Allen Martel, Troy Griese, Paul Donald Sauve, Robert Ware, Dominic
Cheung, Shane Shrestha, Edward Montgomery and Paul Tardif who volunteered
their time to serve as scrutineers for the Classic. We hope they enjoyed the day and
learned a little more about bass fishing from some of the best. For their efforts, each
received a G. Loomis hooded jacket.
Even as the 2012 season draws to a close, plans are well underway for 2013.
Results
CLASSIC XVII RESULTS
TEAM
Carl Roy/Eric Clemot
Mike Desforges/Jay McCormack
Jean Martin Landry/Patrick Milot
PJ Burns/Dale Goodrow
Simon Lavictoire/Carl Gagnon
Ed Puddephatt/Kevin Moberg
Paul Shibata/Craig Lister
Jean Morin/Serge Carriere
Scott Lefebvre/Rob Yantha
Peter Bartonek/Craig Sevink
Terry Holder/Art Cunningham
Charles Sim/Nigel Touhey
Nicolas Gendron/Jason Gramada
John Martin/Wayne Jackson
Corey Gaffney/Spencer Gaffney
Steve Barnett/Jack Levert
Chris Roy/Wincell Spence
Robert Greenberg/Chris Lawson
Leonard Horbik/Carl Donnelly
Jean-Charles Goulet/Pierre-Hugues Lussier
Greg Gervais/Steve O’Connor
Fern Campeau/Carl Boileau
David Chong/Doug Brownridge
Joe Figueira/Morgan Cignini
Dave Morin/Pete MacCormack
Bob Bird/Mike Benkie
Bob Izumi/Darren Izumi
Lorne Sugrue/Kavin Trudeau
Steve Dancy/Troy Bresee
Jeff Bussiere/Stephane Crete
Wayne Cooper/Steven O’Reilly
Gary Rayner/Mark Robinson
Jamie Hearty/Chris Patacairk
Brian Lalonde/Mitch Guay
Kerry Clouthier/Ken Dagenais
Eric Lamarche/Eric Danis
Scott Bullen/Ted Ramsey
Pierre Guay/Denis Desjardins
Andre Ouellette/Tom Cundell
Duane Clifton/Dave Western
Dave Drury/Chuck Burley
BF1=Day 1 Big Fish
WEIGHT (lb.)
33.80
31.91
27.56
26.26
25.92
25.27
24.88
24.66
23.96
23.78
23.72
23.21
23.15
22.96
22.53
22.13
21.63
21.18
20.40
20.23
19.54
19.39
18.51
17.71
17.65
17.01
14.78
14.65
14.37
13.28
13.23
13.00
12.71
11.80
11.51
9.95
9.63
9.35
4.31
0
0.00
BF2=Day 2 Big Fish
XVII
CASH PAYOUT
Boat
$4000 + $500 RC
$2000
$1000
$500
$250 + $780 BF2
$250
$250
$250 + $780 BF1
$250
RC=Ranger Cup
Visit us online at www.renegadebass.com