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June 20th & 21st 2009
Mathews Dominates the Field in 2009 SQT By
Tony Lohr Boater
Jim Mathews of North Neck Bassmasters not only procured the number one
spot in this two-day battle in the mountains but also boated the day one
lunker earning him an impressive $970. Mathews lives in the Deep Creek
area and visits the lake regularly. He decided to spend the first day of
competition in the North Glade area of the lake focusing on docks and
offshore grass beds. His tactic was to run and gun the North Glade area
oscillating between grass beds and docks. He noted that grass was a key
factor in his success. Mathews strafed these areas with jigs and tubes
using his G Loomis flipping stick to pry his catch from the aquatic
foliage and pilings. Day one he managed to land six fish, culling once
to make room for his 4lb 6oz lunker, accruing a healthy day one weight
of 12lbs 13oz. Day
two he returned to the same areas and stuck with his run and gun tactic.
He noticed that the fish were short striking on day two asserting that
it was due to heavy pressure. He received fewer bites the second day but
was confident that if he could catch a few solid fish he could still
make the cut. Mathews managed four fish on Day two bumping his two-day
weight to 18lbs 10oz earning him first place. He credits his success
partly to his partner who was a “great net man” and also to his
friend Brian Trieschman who hauled his 22ft Gambler to Non-
boater Justin Hershman of Deep Creek Bass Anglers is obviously no
stranger to the lake. Hershman spent his days fishing the back of the
coves in the Turkey Neck and Green Glade areas of the lake. After no
success fishing a frog early on day one, he switched to a jig and heaved
it into grass boating two short fish and four keepers. Day two Hershman
and his partner returned to the area but decided to break out their
finesse gear and began the day throwing soft plastics on light line.
Targeting grassy shallow water areas Hershman began sight fishing,
hooking eight keepers, all of them being 12-13 inch cookie cutter
smallmouth. He later landed two nice largemouth jumping his day two
weight to 10lbs 6oz, which in turn pushed his total weight to 17lbs 1oz,
securing his second place victory. “Couldn’t
have picked a better partner,” boasted Hershman of co-angler Rick
Moore. “He allowed me ample time in the front of the boat. He’s the
reason I got to do what I did.” Boater
Herb Fazenbaker of Garrett Bassers spent both of his days running and
gunning the “It’s
been ten years since I’ve seen the wind blow that hard up here,”
Herb remarked. “It ruined a lot of my spots and I had to get a little
lucky.” Fazenbaker
works on the lake building docks and acknowledges the part his intimate
knowledge of the lake played in his success. When
asked of the factors that aided his achievement in this tournament, Jay
Barber of Classic Bass abruptly responded, “The grace of God”. He
and his boater partner had some trolling motor issues on both days of
the tournament, which crippled their mobility, making it even harder to
fight the wind and fish efficiently. On day one Jay and his partner were
forced to search for areas where they could escape the wind. Finding
shelter is a daunting task on Deep Creek, where the wind seems to find
its way around every point, howling into every cove. Due to their
efforts, each of them harvested three smallmouth, using soft plastics,
from the Green Glade area of the lake, leaving Jay with a day one weight
of 3lbs 6 oz. Not a record-breaking weight by any means but impressive
considering their travail. Day two started out similarly, with both
competitors battling a disabled trolling motor, and eventually being
forced to take turns running the gas motor while the other one fished.
They returned to the Green Glade area and focused on windy shoreline
points. Jay tied a jerkbait to his Cabela’s fluorocarbon line and
quickly found he’d made a tournament changing decision. By nine
o’clock Jay had his limit and closed out the day by landing a 5lb 2oz
kicker fish, the day two lunker, to his livewell ballooning his two-day
weight to a substantial 15lbs 6oz. This finned titan bolstered Jay’s
savings account by $940 dollars and secured his spot on the team. Jay
had decided not to fish the tournament but was asked to compete by his
friend Jerry Sersen, so that Jerry could fish as a boater. Sersen even
paid Jay’s entrance fee, which Jay happily agreed to pay back if he
made the team. Jay thanks his family, friends and co-workers at United
Dairy for their constant support. John
Burdette of Hub City Bassmasters devoted his two days to trash fishing
the Eight
surprised smallmouth graced the casting deck of W.T. VanMetre’s boat
on day one of the event. VanMetre also employed a run and gun method,
expeditiously hopping from the docks and grass beds of “It
was wet and windy,” replied boater Steven Lapp of Central Maryland
Bassmasters, when asked about the tournament. Lapp spent day one
throwing his crawfish colored Bomber 7a to the empty banks of North
Glade and Turkey Neck coves. He positioned his boat in ten feet of water
and worked the shoreline until he had stuffed 4lbs 10oz of largemouth
into his livewell. Lapp was only getting a few bites a day so he had to
be very cautious when landing the fish. Day two he returned to the same
area relying on the same tactics, as well as incorporating a green
pumpkin finesse worm into his fishing arsenal and using it to pry a few
smallmouth from the docks in the North Glade area. Lapp boated four more
keepers on day two pushing his weight up to 12lbs 15oz earning him a
spot on the state team for the second year in a row. Lapp thanks his
partner Doug Stierhoff for being an “awesome” co-angler. “He
did a lot to help me be successful,” boasted Lapp. Mike
Miller, a boater with Classic Bass and a local, acquired eighth place by
focusing on the southern end of the lake, particularly the Turkey Neck
and Pawn Run areas. He keyed in on docks and grass with a variety of
lures including frogs, senkos, spinners, and jigs. He only received five
bites on day one but it was enough to get a 6lb 13oz limit. He returned
to the same areas on day two, only to find that the wind and rain had
sullied the water making the fishing even more arduous. “The
wind and muddy water messed it up, bad timing plus the post spawn funk
made things tough,” noted Miller. On
day two Miller lost two fish and landed four keepers. His two-day 12lb
10oz bag was enough to earn him eighth place and the final spot on the
Maryland State Team. The
eight winners from the SQT will join Mr. Bass champion Jon Blaine and
runner up Rich Weldon, as well as Anglers of the Year from the boater
and rider divisions of the trail, on the Ohio River in September for the
Mid Atlantic Divisional Tournament. As
always, tournament director Mike Day and his brigade of volunteers did a
stellar job of making sure the tournament ran smoothly and
professionally. Hats off to he and his team for contributing their time
and efforts to the Maryland Bass Federation. The
conditions presented to anglers during this years SQT were certainly
less than favorable. The turbulent winds and inundating rains made
fishing uncomfortable and burdensome. But as always, a few talented
anglers triumphed over the elements and returned to the weigh-in with
some impressive fish. Instead of staying indoors with a steaming cup of
coffee, taking in the aperitive smell of simmering bacon like a sane
person might during a tempest, one hundred and twenty members of the
Maryland Bass Federation ventured out into open water. Proving that
impassioned anglers are as tenacious and stubborn as the brutish
smallmouth that roam the rocky shoals and sloping shorelines of |
