Day 1
Place: Lums Pond, Bear, DE
Time: 6:30am-2:30pm
Date: Saturday, September 15, 2018
Weather: Decent 68 Degrees start to our morning warming up to 81 Degrees
Water Temps: 71 degrees at start. Rising up to 73.5 throughout the day.
Water Clarity: Less than 2.0' visibility
Water current and Level: Normal pool level
Best Lure: Finesse worms, Jigs, crankbaits, & Shakey Heads
Depths fished: 2.0'~ 8.5'
Bass Limit: 3
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What can I say? What an incredible way to end SJHT 2018 Bass Fishing Season.
My hat goes off to all of the members that came out week in and week out to compete, bust some stones, win a couple of $$$, and just enjoy being out on the water amongst one another. A Big congrats to 4 Time Anger of Year winner Mr. Jackson Fu. He once again put on a show even when the bite was tough.
Congrats to SJHT 2018 Rookie Angler of the Year Bryson Smith.
I would be remissed if I didn't congratulate the Top 6 Anglers on outstanding finish. The numbers don't lie. Between the number of Bass caught, Lunkers, and Total Weight, I believe one can say work was put in on and off the water.
Alright....let's get to this weekends 2018 SJHT 2 Day Bass Classic. Today, 13 out of the 17 Qualifiers descended upon Lums Pond located in Bear, DE where it's a winner Take all event and the coveted 2018 SJHT Custom Bass Classic Championship Belt.
There were a total of 20 Bass caught giving way to a total of 38.35lbs. 10 out of 13 anglers caught at least 1 Bass. We had 4 limits caught. Day 1 Lunker went 3.80lbs and was won by Brian *Whoah Daddy* M. The overall avg. weight went 1.92lbs. There were 20 Largemouth Bass weighed in.
2018 3rd Place regular season angler Brian *I was feeling good* M. led Day 1 with 3 Bass weighing a total of 6.46lbs. He was followed by the 2018 Top 6th Finisher Bill *The Hammer* L. with 3 Bass going 6.39lbs. In 3rd place was Matt *Gotta Keep Catching Em* R. with 2 Bass going 5.11lbs.
Brian's 3 Bass going 6.46lbs-Day 1 Leader:
Bill's 3 Bass going 6.39lbs:
Matt's 2 Bass going 5.11lbs:
Rob's 3 Bass going 4.21lbs:
I got my eye on you.....lol
Jiggen Den's 3 Bass going 4.03lbs:
Big Al's Lone Keeper going 2.78lbs:
Trappers Lone Keeper going 2.48lbs.:
BN06 Lone Keeper going 1.15lbs:
Early Morning view from the vessel.
Moe trying to get that elusive Bass:
Kayakers fishing a point:
Carlos performing his Sea Tow Role as Al. limps back into the ramp as Steering\Tilt\Trim lever is broken and his Trolling was wired in backwards.
So with less than a .07lb difference between 1st and 2nd place, most anglers that didn't do well at LUMS Pond felt pretty good heading into Day 2 of the Mercer Lake event. With anglers doing well there last time out at Mercer, they knew there were some 5lbers and 6lbers lurking in the deep stuff.
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Day 2: Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018
Finale Day 2
Place: Mercer Lake Park, Hamilton, NJ
Time: 6:30am-2:30pm
Weather: Extremely foggy morning start. Air temps at 61 Degrees with a slight comfortable breeze. Temps warming up to 82 degrees. Blue bird skies once fog burned away. Not a bad day on the water
Winds: 5-10mph most of the day.
Water temps: 72~75 Degrees throughout greater portion of the eastern and western sections of the lake.
Water Clarity: Down to maybe 1.5''
Best Lure: Shakey Heads, Finesse senko's, crankbaits, & Beavers
Depths fished: 2.5'~ 9.5'
Bass Limit: 3
The fog was locked in and didn't want to leave.
and then came the Blue Bird Skies......
View back at Boat Ramp with Clear skies:
Food Time:
The 2018 Belt being revealed:
and now the Weigh-ins:
Brian's 3 Bass weighing 10.61 on Day 2:
Lunker going 5.15lbs:
Matt's 3 Bass going 6.37lbs:
Trappers Solo Keeper going 1.22lbs:
Bill's L. Solo Bass going 1.25lbs:
Anxious onlookers during the weigh-in:
A Little guy....thinking he's ready for Prime Time. Mercer Lake.
Summary: Can't think of a finer group of men and anglers to spend and do our weekend warrior thing on the water with. Let's get ready for this years 2018 SJBCA Bass Bowl to be held on the Delaware River Sunday, October 14, 2018.
Congrats once again to Mr. Brian *SubFish* McCulley on sealing the deal on Day 2 of this years Classic.
Congrats again to our "2018 SJHT Angler of Year for the 4 Time" Mr. Jackson Fu.
Thanks again to all,
BN06
Edited by BigNasty06 on 09/18/2018
BN06, President
Fun 2 days of fishing, just wish I could have found the big Mercer girls. Next year, I will move around a little more I think. Found myself stuck to too many spots this year.
ram1212 wrote:
Awesome job, Brian. Congrats on belt #2!!
Fun 2 days of fishing, just wish I could have found the big Mercer girls. Next year, I will move around a little more I think. Found myself stuck to too many spots this year.
Thanks for the season-end/classic report, BN.
Let the countdown begin for 2019.
Yeah Man..... After my meeting tonight at the SJBCA, I'll know more regarding this Bass Bowl and those anglers plans on being available to Fish it.
Note: Classic Report was a bit rushed and not well thought out (In My opinion) for the last Day 2 section, but I didn't want to hold out\wait too long with the Final Results. All in All, the bottom line is that the results and stats are known and hopefully can help those in the future or possibly there visit to these bodies of water.
FaceBook and Social Media has definitely changed things.
Thanks guys! It was certainly a crazy weekend! Between lost giants, lucky last second decision's and a lot of hours of nothing (over 11 hours straight), here's how it went down...
Worked a boxing event Friday night until 1AM. Home by 2. Asleep by 3. Alarm goes off at 5 but I slept through. Somehow woke back up at 5:30 and had just enough time to get down there.
The whistle blows on Lums Pond so I head over to the west bank and start fishing a big lay down. Couple casts in and I pick up the 3.8. Its a heavyweight fight in the brush but I'm able to get it out of the gnarly stuff. Another couple casts and I get slammed but lose the fish at the boat. Bigger than the last. Put the bait back in the same area and wham another big one comes out but I never get my hands on it. Check the hook and notice that the hook point has bent in like a circle hook. Put new tackle on and never get bit again on that side. Its still really early so the lost fish doesn't really bother me until later when I'm still struggling to get that 3rd fish.
About 8:30 I move over to the other bank and start fishing some reeds that are in about 2 foot of water and land the other keeper after the bait falls about an inch in. Visual catch which was just plain awesome!
Keep pounding the rest of the day but didn't have a keeper bite after 8:45!
I ended the day with 2 for a little over 6 lbs. Not as good as it could have been but I was happy being able to take the lead up to North Jersey.
Mercer Lake is covered in dense fog as we start day two. Finding my first spot was much trickier than normal. Work the area for a couple hours with nothing to show for it but a severe miss on a frog and 4 in. bass on a 4 in. beaver!
The hours roll by as I try fishing deeper water with nothing but tiny periodic pecks. At around noon, and with nothing to lose, I decide to go to the creek that I had seen on the map the night before. Keep moving towards the creek only to see a sign in the water that looks like it reads...
No, Something, something... past this point. Figured I was out of luck but as I get closer I noticed that it said rental boats! Phew.
Move into the beginning of the creek at 12:30 and pitch in the first brush pile. A couple shakes and wham... 2.5 lb-er. Another cast in and pick up a lb-er. He's hooked in the tongue, but I only have one other fish so I elect to keep it. Move up a little more and pick up a pickerel. I'm now stuck as a guy is throwing a spinnerbait across the whole creek. I wait about 10 minutes for him to move along and then hit another brush pile. Two or three pitches in and get whacked by a 3 lb-er. Holy crap, I have a limit! I was literally dead in the water 2o minutes ago. I'm now freaking out about when I should head back and decide that 1:45 should work. Not sure why I needed 45 minutes to get back to the ramp but, hey, my head is spinning right now. That left me about 15 min so I continued up the creek and picked up a small fish that wouldn't cull. Keep pitching a couple more piles and pickup a near 3 lb-er that allowed me to cull the small one. I was really pleased that it swam off strong. Freaking out now! Went from nothing to probably 7.5 or 8 lbs. with some time left. Keep moving only to come upon a log stretching the creek. Decide to throw one last cast in the brush. I shake it for almost 10 seconds and wham! The 5.11 comes flying out of the brush and slams the side of the boat. The line is under some of the brush as the fish came out the other end. I grab the net and keep pulling until it comes out of the water again and I get the net under it. The hook falls out as I pick up the fish to put it in the livewell. Of course my heart was racing so much I had to sit down for a bit. Un f'n believable!
Thanks to BN for throwing a great derby and providing the food too! I look forward to our Classic more than any other event because we get to hang out together for more than just one day and it truly has that big tournament feel. Special thanks to Rob for everything he does, including assisting everyone all year. Apologies for not being able to help you out more this season.
And of course, thank you to all the members of SJHT. This club is great because of all of you.
Congrats Brian on Classic win!! Awsome weight and nice finish on Mercer. Congrats to Jackson on another impressive AOY! Nice job BN on day 2 of classic with food and drinks for everyone! Thanks again Rob for all your help throughout year! Just recouping from back surgery, reason for the late post. Doing good a little sore, but healing well. Can't wait till next year. Good luck to SJHT in Bass Bowl!
Damn Den, hope you better soon. Congrats to the winners and thanks BN for another stellar season. I had to skip this so i could teach myself how to fish the river for my other club. Lol.
Good luck to the bass bowl competitors. Bring it home this year
Edited by Crappie Jon on 09/26/2018
"2nd place is just the first loser"