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Bouldin & Debelis Win Frosty New Hampshire BASS Federation Yamamoto Fall Open
Story by Dave Andrews*

October 5, 2003

Fittingly, Yamamoto baits dominated the last tournament again, as was the case in September's  New Hampshire BASS Federation Championship. Here is the story and results of the October Yamamoto Fall Open:

The New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Federation held its final open tournament of 2003 on Sunday, October 5th out of Ossipee Lake Marina in Freedom NH. Forty-eight teams braved cold temperatures, a fog delay, and then strong winds to fish the season's final event. A severe cold front that passed the previous day put the bass in a bad mood come tournament time. Post front conditions, passing clouds, and strong northwest winds were the weather pattern for the day. As often in such conditions, the bass locked up and remained inactive for most of the day. Following a 40-minute fog delay, the boats took off from outside Ossipee Lake Marina. Clearing skies and freshening winds greeted the anglers on the morning run. Approximately half of the field chose to stay in the protected bays of the Lake Ossipee chain, while the other half headed toward the big lake. Daytime high temperatures struggled to get above 50° F, while lake temperatures ranged from 52 to 56° F. These temperatures were down 10-12 degrees from the previous week.

State Team members began checking in at 3:45 p.m. to help with the afternoon weigh-in and it soon became clear that fishing was indeed tough. Only four 8 fish limits were checked in. One of those limits belonged to the Granite State team of Eric Bouldin and Dave Debelis who brought 18.36 lbs. to the scales to outpace the field and win the Fall Open. The team collected $1485 plus two paid spots in the 2004 State Championship. Bouldin and Debelis worked a run and gun pattern, essentially junk fishing. They stayed in the back bays and worked topwater (gold zara spook) and spinnerbaits in the morning, then switched to a texas rigged 5 inch green-pumpkin Yamamoto Senko in the afternoon. They worked shallow, weedy areas and caught fish sporadically throughout the day. They caught just 8 keepers and finished with 5 largemouth and 3 smallmouth bass.

Finishing in 2nd place and taking home $1080 was the Back Bay team of Dave Andrews and Scott Leppanen. This team focused most of their attention on the main lake while targeting smallmouth bass. They finished with 6 fish that weighed 16.38 lbs. The big bass of the tournament, a beautiful 4.91 lb. smallie, anchored their catch. The veteran Triton Team had a good early morning bite by working gold 3/8 oz. Gambler spinnerbaits across shallow main lake flats. When the clouds rolled in, the bite died and the team was forced to switch to hunting largemouth in the backwaters using 1/4 oz. cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula grubs.

The team of Jason Faro and Robin Royston took third place with 16.31 lbs. These veteran tournament anglers paired up for the first time and earned $765. Robin claimed the team struggled in the morning, and fishless at noon, made a key decision to change patterns. They moved from deeper breaklines to shallow cabbage patches where they targeted smallmouth bass by flippin' watermelon Bass Pro Shops tubes and cinnamon colored Yamamoto Hula grubs to the weed patches. They closed the day with 5 smallmouth and 1 largemouth bass.

The team of Fritz Von Beren and Dave Petretta claimed fourth place by virtue of an 8 fish limit that weighed 16.23 lbs. This team worked crawfish colored Timber Tiger crankbaits and hair jigs along a shallow rock pile in 6-8 foot depths to score their limit. They had a slow, all day bite and wound up catching 9 keepers. They caught mostly smallmouth bass and stayed in the back coves and ponds.

Veteran husband and wife team Alan and Betty Denise from the Windham Hill Bass Anglers finished fifth with 7 smallmouth bass that weighed 14.57 lbs. Alan and Betty fished the main lake and worked breaklines from 3-28 feet. They had one solid fish on a Pop-R in the morning, then switched to smoke-blueflake colored Yamamoto Hula grubs rigged on a ¼ oz. leadhead to fill the balance of their creel.

The top 5 teams all won prize bags courtesy of Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. Finishing in 6th place was the team of Dan Lewis and Mike Lasquade with 14.08 lbs. In seventh place and getting the final paycheck was the team of Hall and Buckingham who weighed 12.85 lbs.

Lunker Smallmouth of the event went to Andrews/Leppanen who caught a 4.91 lb. monster on a gold Gambler spinnerbait. The team of Huntley/Lohmiller who used a Zoom trick worm in shallow weeds to catch the 3.07-lb. fish captured lunker Largemouth. Both teams won $205 plus a bonus $125 for using Mega Strike Attractant on their baits.

The final tally showed that 142 bass were weighed-in with all fish returned safely to Ossipee Lake. Stand-in Tournament Director and Federation President Rob Frye did an outstanding job of running the event and the folks at Ossipee Lake Marina were particularly accommodating.

2003 Team of the Year Award

With the final event of the year in the history books, it is time to crown our Team of the Year. With two second place finishes in the first 2 Opens, it looked impossible to catch the father/son team of Jim and Tyler Hanatow of Monadnock Bass Masters. Indeed, their lead proved insurmountable as they compiled 552 points to win the title. Jim and Tyler will receive their Team of the Year Trophy at the Banquet and will have all their entry fees paid for next season. Finishing second with 538 points and receiving two free entry fees for next season was the team of Dan Lewis and Mike Lasquade. Third place with 528 points and one free entry fee went to the team of Dave Andrews and Scott Leppanen.

The New Hampshire B.A.S.S. Federation had another successful season and would like to thank everyone who attended our events. We look forward to seeing you next year at the Spring Open. Special thanks to our main sponsor, Yamamoto Custom Baits and to all our sponsors: Red Bull, The Alliance (Triton Boats/Mercury Outboards, Skeeter Boats/Yamaha Outboards), Mega-Strike, Strike-On, Pennzoil Marine, Quantum/Motorguide, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster, Berkley Powerbait, Citgo, Chevy, Kumho Tires, Eagle Claw, Armstrong Tools, Northern BASS Supply, Keep Alive, Mepps/Mister Twister, Back Bay Boat -n- Sled, Lucky Craft, Luhr Jenson, Stealth Stik, Plano Molding Company, Zylas, Cul-M-Rite, Netters Inc., Falcon Rods, Hog Sticker, Stealth Charger, HotSpot Outfitters, J&D Embroidery, Aqua-Vu, Busch Beer, Harris Trophy and Diamond Cut Jeans.

* Author Dave Andrews is Vice President of the New Hampshire BASS Federation.

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