Announcing: Forest City and Hamilton Bassmasters Interclub Tournament

Forest City and Hamilton Bassmasters are pleased to announce our 2017 Interclub Tournament to be held at Long Point Bay (Lake Erie) out of MacDonald Turkey Point Marina on Saturday September 16, 2017. The tournament is open to members in good standing of all Ontario BASS Nation clubs. We’d love to have as many teams out as possible. Additionally, the crew from GameChasersTV will be on hand filming the event for an upcoming episode. This will be a great opportunity to show how great our OBN clubs are! Rules and registration details below.

Forest City and Hamilton Bassmasters Long Point Bay Interclub Tournament
Saturday, September 16, 2017
MacDonald Turkey Point Marina, 92 Clubhouse Rd, Vittoria, ON N0E 1W0
Start Time: 8:00 am Blast-off, Weigh In: 4:00 pm

Rules: Click to Download
• Open to 2 person teams made up of members in good standing of any Ontario BASS Nation club. (Singles permitted at full team price)
• Pairings and payments for Forest City and Hamilton club members will be made in club. Other Ontario BASS Nation club teams can register by email to Mark Biesinger (biesingr”at”me.com) with payments (check, do not mail cash) sent by mail or by Interac transfer (biesingr”at”me.com – preferred method). Payments can also be made tournament morning before blast-off. Payments must be made in full to be eligible for participation, please pre-register.
• Launch at MacDonald Turkey Point Marina and then proceed to MacDonald Turkey Point Marina Gas Bar and Turkey Vegas Bar and Grill Area for blast off at 8:00. Depending on field size a metered or numbered start may be implemented (at discretion of tournament director).
• 5 fish per team, 12 inch minimum (1 pound penalty for undersized fish)- largemouth and smallmouth bass only. On catching a sixth fish the team must immediately cull before resuming fishing.
• Penalty for dead fish – 1/4 pound (4 oz. or 0.25 lbs.). No Culling of Dead Fish. Dead fish cannot be used for Big Bass Prize.
• No fishing until blast-off.
• Late penalty – one pound per minute (i.e. be within ~500 m of weigh in area at 4:00 pm).
• 16ft minimum, 250 HP maximum, $1,000,000 liability insurance minimum, working livewells, all required safety gear.
• PFD’s must be worn when main engine is on. Full Ontario fishing license for those 18 and older (not conservation). Use kill switch and lanyard for main engine. Cannot leave the boat during competition – exceptions restroom breaks and refuelling at marinas – all fishing by team must stop until all team members are back in the boat.
• No fishing with main engine on (trolling with the main engine is prohibited).
• Participants must follow all federal/provincial/local fishing and boating regulations (in particular – respect no wake zones, idle speed only in Marina etc.).
• Live well check by tournament director prior to blast-off.
• Artificial bait only, no live or prepared bait allowed, pork rind may be used.
• Competitors’ boats cannot make contact except for emergency situations (i.e. breakdown).
• Competitors’ boats must not get closer than 6m / 20 feet from each other (i.e. give competitors space, ask if you can fish the water with them).
• Be courteous and respectful of fellow competitors and other persons in the vicinity at all times.
• In the event of a tie, the team with the heaviest single fish wins, still being tied the second biggest fish, and so on. If still tied monies will be pooled and split evenly.
• Tournament director may announce changes to the above rules as needed the morning of the tournament.
• Infraction of the rules may be may result in loss of fish(es), disqualification from tournament. Tournament director decisions are final. Major incidents will be reviewed by Forest City/Hamilton executive and may result in disqualification from future tournaments for a set number of tournaments or period of time, or expulsion from club.
• Alcoholic beverages and illegal substances are prohibited from competitor boats and must not be consumed by participants during tournament hours.

Fee: $100 per team ($10 to big fish pool, $90 to prize pool) 100% payback.
Payout: Up to 30 Boats: Big Fish, 1st 50%, 2nd 30%, 3rd 20% of prize pool
31 or More Boats: Big Fish, 1st 45%, 2nd25%, 3rd 15%, 4th10%, 5th 5%
Boundaries: Inner and Outer Bay Only (see map in downloadable rules sheet)

2017 St. Clair River Results

Our first place winners, Rick Hendriks and Ian Fogarty, figured out the magic combination of variables on the fast flowing St. Clair River to record a nice 13.94 lbs limit of smallmouth! They also tied for big fish honors (4.15 lbs) with 2nd place finishers Mark Biesinger and Rick Morrison. 3rd place went to Kevin Billingsley and Sam Haynes.

With 6 tournaments now completed in the 2017 season the Angler of the Year Race is starting to heat up. Leading is Kevin Billingsley with 458 points, followed closely by T.J. Raytrowsky at 456 points, Rick Hendriks at 448, Alicia Raytrowsky at 442, Scott Howe at 439, Ian Fogarty at 435, and Jeff Collett at 432.

2017 Lakeside Evening Tournament Results

Although the “big’uns” were hard to find – nice weather, good company and a multitude of small fish to keep you on your toes made for an enjoyable evening out at Lakeside on Sunova Lake. Congrats to our 1st place and big fish winners Kevin Billingsley and Rick Hendriks.

2017 Wildwood Evening Tournament Results

With ever changing reservoir depth and water clarity, Wildwood Lake always seems to fish differently every time we visit it. This time with high water (higher then we ever seen it), hot temperatures, strong winds, and either muddied or green stained water depending on where you went, it was the very definition of tough fishing. Congratulations to our winners Pat Devincenzo and Scott Howe, 2nd place finishers Brad Cowen and Ian Fogarty, and 3rd place finishers Don Kraemer an Sam Haynes. Good job on finding some fish (and cashing some cheques….)!

2017 Pittock Lake Evening Tournament Results

Lots of shoreline flippin’ and a little bit of flippin’ out as giant thunderstorms moved into the area at Pittock Lake in Woodstock. Congrats to winners Mark Biesinger and Jacob Singleton!

2017 Pittock Lake 1st Place Mark Biesinger

First Place Winner Jacob Singleton keeping the scale dry during weigh in.

2nd Place and Big Fish Winners Marco Dariano (left) and Brad Cowen.

2017 Pittock Lake Evening Tournament

2017 Angling Sports/FCBM Canada Day Tournament Results

Thank you to everybody who came out to fish the 2017 Angling Sports Canada Day Bass Tournament at Wildwood Lake!
Congratulations to our top finishers:
1st Place: Jeff Collette & Rick Morrison
2nd Place: T.J. & Alicia Raytrowsky
3rd Place: Paul Kroisenbrunner & John Kroisenbrunner
BIG FISH: Jeff Smith & Spencer Shirley
And congratulations to Dave Harris & Jeanette Holland for winning the Shimano Fishing Contingency Prize!
Hope to see you all at our next tournament!