There’s no denying it. New Jersey put on a stellar performance in their home state to win the team competition in the 2011 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Mid-Atlantic Divisional presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats.
Extending their lead every day, New Jersey’s final margin of victory was just shy 44 pounds. And, they did it the old-fashioned way. Each of their 14 members ? 12 adults plus two youth ? caught at least one bass. Even more impressive, 11 of their members caught three or more.
To put those numbers in perspective, consider that a total of 152 keepers were caught in this, the toughest tournament on the Delaware River in recent memory. Of that number, New Jersey caught 50. That’s about one-third of the total catch. That pretty much sums it up.
For their winning efforts the team earned a Skeeter XZ 190 powered by a Yamaha VZ 150.
Trailing New Jersey was West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware ? in that order.
Overall individual honors went to Richard McCrone of New Jersey in a tiebreaker with West Virginia’s Chris Morrison. Chris Price, fishing for Delaware, finished third with 11 pounds even, just 1 ounce off the pace.
McCrone earned his title with a consistent and detailed plan. He fished the same shallow, brushy backwater cove all three days and concentrated his efforts by only fishing with two lures.
“I caught my first bass on the first day on a spinnerbait but then broke one off in the bushes using a jig,” he explains. “After that I stayed as close to the bank as I could and just kept tossing it into the brush and working it up and down. The bite was real slow so you had to cover water, but at the same time you had to fish each spot slowly and carefully.”
“That was the game plan I developed during practice. I just stuck with it. Heck, conditions were so bad out there you couldn’t change even if you thought something else might work better. I’m real happy about how things turned out.”
The individual state champions are Chris Price for Delaware, Paul Gietka for Maryland, Richard McCrone for New Jersey, Scott Sirakos for Pennsylvania, Mike Cumberledge for Virginia, and Chris Morrison for West Virginia.
Each top angler will advance to the 2011 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats, Nov. 3-5, 2011 on the Ouachita River out of Monroe, La.
Big Bass honors went to West Virginia’s Chris Morrison. He brought a 4-pound, 3-ounce beast to the scales today. (Morrison also weighed in yesterday’s big bass. That fish weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces.) His biggest bass earned him a MotorGuide electric trolling motor.
For more information about the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, go to www.bassmaster.com/federation-series.
2011 Bassmaster Federation Championship and Federation Divisional Championships presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats Official Sponsors: Toyota Trucks, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Mercury, Skeeter, Triton, Yamaha
2011 Bassmaster Federation Championship and Federation Divisional Championships presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats Supporting Sponsors: Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, MotorGuide, Owner Hooks, Simms
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications ? Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times ? comprehensive Bassmaster website, ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.By: B.A.S.S. News
