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May
16 2009
Kirk
Wagner, Don Kausch, Bill Booth, Darin Hoover, James Hitt, Tom Semanick
are all smiles after top place finishes in the 2009 MBFN Upper Bay
Tournament Trail event held out of Dundee Marina. Booth took first in
the boater division while Hoover lead the non-boater group.
Booth
and Hoover Prevail on '09 Upper Bay Tournament Trail Event
RESULTS>>>
By Tony Lohr
In the pre-light hours of dawn on May 16, 2009 a caravan of
anglers entered the winding causeway that leads to
Gunpowder
State park
. Sporting Frogg Toggs and various rain suits, the anglers gathered
their gear and headed toward the opaque waters of Dundee Creek. This
gateway to the
Gunpowder
River
and Chesapeake Watershed, is home to heron, nutria and several fish
species including the coveted largemouth bass. Each angler anticipated
the half-light of morning, when dark skies faded to a delicate gray,
eyes drawn on the horizon, eagerly peering at the ashy confluence of
rippling water and stormy skyline. Dawn brought with it a myriad of
variables. Anglers would be forced to contend with stained water in the
mid sixties, wind and an unrelenting incoming tide, all under a shroud
of ominous sky, which threatened rain throughout the day.
Boater Bill Booth of Mud Bug Bassmasters recalls the day
as, “One of the best fishing days of his life.” Booth claimed first
place in the boater’s division by being in the right spot at the right
time, coupled with the proper presentation. Booth decided on a petite
jig to comb the lush grasses of
Dundee
. Booth spent four days pre-fishing, canvassing the area, looking for
silver and olive bucket mouths, looming in the marshy setting. With more
than consistent action all day Bill had his limit by eight and had begun
upgrading his catch by eight thirty. By eleven thirty, he had a livewell
housing 16lbs 3oz of scaly largemouth.
Champions Choice Bassmasters’ Don Kausch spent the day in
the back of a
Dundee
cove during the wake of a carp migration. He focused his casts on the
clearings near the grass where he’d seen the bass bedding during a
pre-fish outing. The bites came in clusters throughout the day as Kausch
used soft plastics to methodically pick apart the area he had isolated.
The eight bites Don received that day were enough to load his boat with
a 14lb 9oz helping of largemouth earning him his 2nd place
title.
Kirk Wagner, of UpperBay Bassmasters II spent some time
pre-fishing and setting up a plan for this event. He motored to his
first spot only to find that the winds had churned up his grassy area
and made the area difficult to fish. Wagner opted to relocate to a back
up area, a small pocket in
Dundee
, only to find several other anglers perusing the area. To complicate
matters further, Kirk’s trolling motor had decided to start wailing
like a jackhammer at a construction site. As the competition trolled
away from Wagner’s spot, he settled into the area and began throwing
his 5 inch green pumpkin Zoom lizard in to the spawning pocket he’d
found. Competitors did not notice the fish on the beds due to the
stained water, but Wagner was confident in their presence from the time
he’d spent pre-fishing. Despite the raucous bellows of his trolling
motor and navigational issues due to wind, Wagner was able to boat seven
keepers earning him third place in the boaters side of the competition.
He credits his success in part to gracious competitors. When his
opponents noticed him catching fish on this spot they didn’t crowd him
or try to get in on the action, instead they allowed him his space,
holding good sportsmanship above victory.
“Some of the field’s misfortune was my good fortune,”
noted Wagner. “Every now and then you gotta get lucky.”
The combination of luck and practice helped Wagner land his
11lb 12oz bag in third place.
First place non-boater Darin Hoover of Big Stix Bassmasters
also spent his day working the grasslines of
Dundee
creek. During a pre-fishing trip
Hoover
found fish bedding in the
Dundee
area so he informed his boater, first place boater winner, Bill Booth.
Collectively they decided to stay in the
Dundee
area.
Hoover
began his day throwing some topwater lures and spinnerbaits near the
mouth of Saltpeter Creek. After being unsuccessful,
Hoover
decided to slow things down and tied on a 5 inch green pumpkin Senko and
began throwing it to clumps of grass. The anglers positioned themselves
about twenty-five feet off of the shoreline and began focusing on
isolated clumps of grass in the area where
Hoover
had spied some bedding fish.
Hoover
also boasts boating more than one short fish whose stubbiness was due to
excessive bed fanning.
Hoover
remarked that some fish had worn down their tails into fringy stumps.
Hoover
and his partner landed over forty fish that day, mostly in the two and a
half to three pound range. They continued to pound the area hoping to
cross paths with a six-pound leviathan to add a kicker to the livewell
but the intermingling wasn’t fated. He just kept casting his mangled
Senko out there until the fish wouldn’t take it anymore. Apparently
Hoover
’s bait of choice was in short supply and he had to raid his partners
stash to help him land his 15 lb 12 oz limit securing his first place in
the non-boater division.
James Hitt of Quick Release Bassmasters had a quick limit
of nice bass by nine-thirty before he started upgrading to his hefty 12
lb 7oz bag that earned him second place in the non-boater field.
“The secret was knowing where the beds were. Sometimes it
pays to fish a week early,” remarked Hitt on the strategy that earned
him a hearty bag. Hitt spent the day focusing on beds he’d discovered,
during a low tide, nestled about twenty yards off of the shorelines of
Dundee
. Most of the people rode over the beds, which remained clandestine due
to the murky water. Hitt’s method of finding a target area then
strafing it thoroughly with soft plastics proved effective.
Tom Semanick of Bayside Bassmasters credits his partner Don
Kausch for helping him boat his third place 12lb 7oz bag. Kausch made a
last minute decision to stay in
Dundee
, which paid off for both of them. Like other victorious anglers in this
tournament, Semanick stayed in
Dundee
and fished the grass beds with soft plastics. The bites came in flurries
and Semanick found himself carefully minding his Senko to assure he
would not miss any of the limited action. Both boaters and riders caught
fish all day giving them consistent action, though many were throwbacks.
Both anglers managed to beat out a limit and enjoy a day of quality
action.
Dwayne Smith of Port City Bass Anglers landed this
tournament's big fish. This colossal collection of fin and tail tipped
the scales at 5lbs 3oz. Smith finagled his jewel out of the grasses of
Dundee
as well, except this beauty was hoisted from the water clinging to a
white spinnerbait, not a soft plastic bait. Smith landed his lunker by
focusing on the inside edges of the grassline where the water had a
clearer, more suitable clarity.
Tournament director Mike Day and his crew of volunteers
kept the weigh-ins moving quickly, assuring accuracy as each angler
weighed in his catch. Thanks to Mike and his crew of volunteers, the
tournament ran smoothly and the fish were released back into the creek
safely.
Victory, for the most part, seemed to lay hidden in clumps
of grass not too far from the launch, a reminder for anglers quick to
get on pad to pause as to not overlook the obvious. Although, it is
difficult to launch into the inviting tidal waters of the Chesapeake
watershed and not succumb to the temptation to explore the expanses of
reedy shoreline or traverse the turbulent and sometimes harrowing areas
of open water, in search of the proverbial parcel of water that is home
to a winning bag of bass.
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