The Northern Bass Tournament of Champions – the Best of the Northeast

The biggest tournament of the year in the Northeast is without a doubt, the Northern Bass Supply Tournament of Champions. Sure, BASS and the FLW Series comes to Lake Champlain, but competing in these events is beyond the reach of many local anglers, due to work commitments, family, and money. Nowhere else in the Northeast can you fish for a $24,000 Ranger Boat on a local lake with an entry fee of $150.

This is the third year the event has been held, and it gets more competitive each year. While you have to qualify, there are multiple ways to get your slot. You can fish a four tournament team trail, fish a series of opens for combined weight, or finish in the top three in one of the NBS Opens.

There’s also a category for Husband/Wife teams, Parent/Child, and Paralyzed Veterans of America. Overall, $40,000 is paid out to the field of 53. The rich payout, the varying categories, and the scenic beauty of Lake Winnipesaukee make this an event like no other.

The tournament is run by Sandy Oja, one of the owners of Northern Bass Supply. NBS is run by tournament fisherman and is one of the largest tackle retailers in the Northeast. Sandy has great support from her sponsors, and it shows – Ranger Boats, Yamaha, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Lucky Craft, GYCB, Reynolds Garage and Marine and many others team up to make this a great event.

There was no doubt who the favorite was coming in to this tournament. To say the father and son team of Steve and Joe Lucarelli are on fire this year would be an understatement. They cashed checks in every tournament they fished, finished first and second at Lake Champlain the Stren Series event (winning almost $100,000), and had won the NBS Customer Appreciation event two weeks before on the same lake.

At the same time, Lake Winnipesaukee can be fickle in the fall as the fish move around and the weather changes. Adding to this, although the lake is primarily a smallmouth lake, there are a lot of good largemouth in it. In a two day event, one or two big largemouth can change the balance of power in a hurry.

At the conclusion of the first day, the usual suspects were all within striking distance. Dave Swett and Jean Coulombe led with 20.73, Steve and Joe were second with 20.63, and Alan Denise and Scott Canelas were third with 20.48. Rounding out the top five was the team of Mike Ledeux and Dave Kelley with 19.82, and Jim Gildea and Warren Burrell with 19.78.

Interestingly enough, the top three teams all had one thing in common – lots of experience on the lake. This can be critical when the bite changes and you need to run to different spots to finish out your limit.

The predominant pattern was fishing for smallmouth around bait in 20-30 feet of water. The most popular bait was a Gary Yamamoto Hula Grub on a ½ ounce head. This is a standby on the lake, and it is either fished vertically in deep water, or dragged through the sparse grass. Drop shotting a GYCB Kut Tail or Senko also worked for some teams.

On a lake like Winnipesaukee that sees a lot of tournaments, the bite is always tougher on day two, and the TOC was no exception. As the boats weighed in, it was clear the bite had been tougher. The teams of Denise/Canelas, Gildea/Burrell, and Ledeux/Kelley all weighed in 17 pound bags, insuring a check, but leaving the door open for either the Lucarelli’s or Swett/Coulombe to win a boat.

Dave Swett and Jean Coulombe took the lead when they weighed in 18.73, but it was not going to last. One of the last teams to weigh was Steve and Joe, and they blew it away with a 24.63 bag, including a corker of a smallmouth at 4.2.

The husband and wife team of Kevin and Penny Tenney won Husband/Wife, and Ryan and Jeff Roy won the Parent/Child, and added lunker largemouth to their winnings. There probably aren’t too many fifth grade kids who came in to school Monday with $500 they won fishing!

The top PVA team was Clawson and Jones, with 22.69 for the two day event.

The awards presentation was an emotional moment. Not only had Steve and Joe had a storybook year, but presenting the boat was Duane Sennett from Ranger Boats. Duane has been a long time supporter of Northern Bass, and recently had a serious bout with cancer. Steve and Joe are sponsored by Ranger, and have worked with Duane for years.

Someone complimented Steve on his great year fishing with his son Joe, and Steve corrected him –“Great year? No, it’s a great life. I’m blessed”.

And on that note, the teams drifted off to the parking lot through the falling leaves and brilliant foliage, saying goodbye to friends they won’t see for months,, already talking about next year, and making plans to be back