On October 15 and 16, the first National TBF Semi-Final in District Fourteen was held at Lake Champlain out of the Ticonderoga boat ramp. The event was hosted by the New York Bass Federation (NYTBF) and started with the registration, meeting, and banquet at the Best Western in Ticonderoga. After the 2 days of official practice, the anglers from New York, Ontario, and Pennsylvania were greeted with low water and foggy conditions that delayed takeoff for an hour and a half. Even with the reduced fishing time, anglers were enthusiastic about catching lots of quality largemouth and smallmouth from the famous Lake Champlain fishery. There were many mixed bags of both species weighed in over the two days of the tournament. In the end, Brad Brodnicki from New York bested with boater field with a combined weight of 28.90 pounds. However, it was co-angler Carl Alexander from New York that had the largest total weight for the tournament at 30.20 pounds.
Both Brad and Carl will represent the NYTBF at the TBF National Championship in the spring of 2017 as boaters. Also advancing to the TBF National Championship are boaters Justin Fung from Ontario (2nd boater overall) and Robert Joseph Davidson, Jr from Pennsylvania (3rd boater overall). And the co- anglers advancing to the national championship are Matthew Davis from Pennsylvania (4th co-angler overall), and Jayson Saliba from Ontario (5th co-angler overall). In addition, New York will have the opportunity to send 2 additional co-anglers to the championship should Carl Alexander opt to participate as a boater.
It was difficult to launch and retrieve the boats in the low water conditions especially in the early morning hours. The NYTBF is very grateful for the help of the Pennsylvania officers Chris Wilson (president) and Mike Saabi (vice president) for running the ramp and keeping boats moving in and out in an organized manner. They also helped with weigh-in along with team members from New York.
The trailered weigh-in was held at the Bicentennial Park in historic Ticonderoga with the waterfall coming from Lake George into the LaChute River serving as the backdrop making for spectacular weigh-in site. Anglers were able to drive their vehicles and boats right up the weigh-in stage. Thanks are given to the Town of Ticonderoga and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) for helping to sponsor the event and allowing the usage of the park. Without great sponsors, events like this would be difficult to put on and bring in the 120 plus anglers from the
The New York federation team also won the National Semi-Final “STATE PRIDE” award with 132.35 pounds, besting both the Ontario team by almost 29 pounds and the Pennsylvania team by over 67 pounds. Prior to the tournament, each of the three federations designated their top four boaters and their top four co-anglers in the team competition. For the top boaters, New York had selected Brad Brodnicki, Bobby Williams, Garry Woodruff, and Glenn Babineau. And the top New York co-anglers included Kevin Grist, David Dumas, Stuart Morse, and Luke Musto.
About the TBF – The Bass Federation or “TBF” as we are commonly known, is the largest and oldest broad-based, independent, grassroots organization in fishing, and truly is the backbone of the entire sport. The success of the Federation in improving and furthering the sport of fishing has been monumental and continues to be felt worldwide.
About the NYTBF – New York The Bass Federation (NYTBF) is an affiliate state chapter of The Bass Federation, the original grass roots bass fishing organization whose motto “Owned by those we serve, dedicated to the sport of fishing” embodies the very essence of who we are and what we do. Our organization is committed to providing something for people of all ages and gender. We offer youth, high school, collegiate, adult and team tournaments, you need not own a boat to participate and regardless of your on the water experience we’re certain you’ll find like-minded folks within our group. We fish all across the state and with the support of our local and national sponsors we’re pleased to offer area anglers additional opportunities to enjoy New York’s diverse bass fishery.
