Day 1
Place: NEWTON LAKE, Collinswood, NJ
Time: 6:30am-2:30pm
Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012
Weather: Chilly 55 Degree morning start warming up 77 Degrees
Water Temps: 70.2 Degrees at start and rising to 73.2 Degrees; Coolers temps as you headed towards the Blk Horse Pike.
Water Clarity: Less than 1.5'
Water current and Level: Seemed normal for the Newt but had an aweful Green skim on the surface with crazy grass
Best Lure: N/A
Depths fished: 2.0'~ 5.0'
Bass Limit: 3
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This past Saturday and Sunday, Sept 22-23, 2012, South Jersey Hook this concluded there 2012 Bass Fishing Club season by holding there annual 2 Day Bass Classic Championship tournament on Newton Lake and Manasquan Res. Going back to an old format of fishing 2 different bodies of water, Newton was tough as balls!!!
Before the 2012 season started, we were planning on fishing Day 1 at Alloway but everyone knows the deal with that fiasco and the politics that went along with that. Instead we had to deal with this mess....
Okay..onto Day 1 of SJHT Classic:
We had 14 out of 23 anglers that qualified for this classic come out and fish. There were 5 (3) Bass Limits caught with a total of 20 bass caught overall. Day 1 total weight gave up 37.02lbs with Lunker going 3.56lbs.
2011 Classic Champion Jackson "Silent Assassin" F. led Day 1 with 3 Bass going 7.90lbs. He was followed by 2012 one Half of the NorthEast River SJHT Tag Team Champion Kyle "WallHanger" S. with 3 Bass weighing 7.67lbs!
Jackson 3 Bass going 7.90lbs:
Kyles 3 Bass going 7.67lbs:
Other angler Day 1 pics and weigh in: Kerry *Big856K* S.
Dan *Crappie Jon* F.:
Jimbo M.:
Robs *Ram1212* M.:
Bill *The Hammer* L.:
Anglers watching on:
Anglers spoke about the tough bite, the thick almost impenarable milfoil grass, and the blue bird skies. Anglers reported catching bass on the outer edges of the grass line while some caught them up in the pads. Whether one was fishing in the shallows or somewhat off the banks, there was action to be had but way too many dinks made it to my line. Because the grass line had now gone pass the White horse pike area, anglers found themselves fishing pretty much anywhere they would not get hung up too much.
With half of the field running up towards the railroad bridge area and and working the deeper waters and the others heading slightly past the 1st playground area, that left the other small coves to work over with jigs, finesse worms, and the occassional crankbait. So in a nutshell, 10 out of 14 anglers brought at least 1 bass to the scales.
Day 2: Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012
Finale Day 2
Place: MANASQUAN RES., Howell, NJ
Time: 7:00am-2:30pm
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2012
Weather: Breezy with 15-20mph winds and a little chilly 53 Degree morning start warming up to 68 Degrees.
Water Temps: 70.1~72 Degrees at start
Water Clarity: Down to 4.5'~5.0'
Water current and Level: Down about 4.5'
Best Lure: Finesse worms; Dropshot; jigs
Depths fished: 5.0'~ 25.5'
Bass Limit: 3
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Momma...always said that what does not kill ya only makes you stronger....Well ladies and gentlemen SJHT anglers come in all shapes and sizes..... Case in point!
Janeen *Always in Shape* L. womening up and hanging with the fellas and later with her man!:
Always showing off and blowing out of the North, the Squan was blowing really good yet again!!!
Anglers had to have there yachts juiced up with battery power to battle these conditions...
Alright....back onto Day 2:
With Jackson leading after Day 1 and Kyle following closely behind, the Belt was still up for anyone. That is..if they caught the mother load on Day 2. The Newt was so brutal on Saturday that only 12 out of the 14 anglers came back for more on Sunday and a chance to have the come-backs of all comebacks. Not too mention.... this years title!! In the 24hrs we had previously fished, the conditions had changed greatly. We recieved a down pour of rain, preceded with a cold front to drop the air temperatures. The wind was stronger and the air temps were lower. The the water temps were pretty much identical.
With gates open at 6am, anglers were all set and ready to go. After a couple of Advil's and Wawa coffee, I had Nasty game face on. NOT!!! LOL. With the blowing winds....85% of the anglers headed towards the protected coves and the environmental section of the Squan to preserve there battery power. I headed for the 1st cove near the ranger station with no bites at all. I then said, what would the Silent Assassin do? A little voice said, "Go Deep little fella". I then transverse to the opposite shoreline with the hopes that the bass were holding on the slight to deep ledges. NADA!!! No bites, no pick-ups, nothing at all!! I was swinging the Alabama rig with vengence along with any moving type lure to cover the various was columns and ideal ambush points. Phucking nothing at all!!! By this time, I'm taking in the scenary
while also feeling like the Squan has yet again kicked my boot-tay!!!
You see any pattern developing here? LOL!!! Yes, this is what I was left with.....BN06 the Photographer!!
Alright....back to the conclusion....... Jackson held a .23lb advantage over Kyle. Jackson like 2011 SJHT Classic found himself in yet another dog fight to seal the deal. Knowing that Kyle had not really been club fishing in a while, Jackson dialed up one of his life lines and preceded to catch another 3 Bass going 3.97lbs which included a .50lb penalty for a dead fish (unfortunately gut hooked) in the windy conditions. Kyle caught another 3 Bass going 3.35lbs. Bill *The Hammer* L. caught 1 Bass that took lunker going 2.82lbs
On Day 2, there were only 11 Bass caught. Only 2 (3 Bass) limits were caught. Total weight was 13.93lbs. Unlike Saturday, 7 out of 12 anglers caught at least 1 Bass. Can you say fricking tough fishing?
2012 Angler of Year:
Jay *SmellyHooker* Niessan:
Without further adieu and wrap up of another outstanding year, I present you our first Back to Back 2011 and 2012 SJHT Bass Classic Champion
Jackson *Silent Assassin* F.:
Jackson weighed in a total of 6 Bass going 11.87lbs.
Offical 2012 SJHT Newton & Manasquan Tale of Tape:
Anglers Day 2 Bass caught:
JRunner-up Kyle *WallHanger* S. 3.35lbs:
John Niessan's 1 Bass
Bill's L. Day 2 Lunker catch: 2.82lbs/b]
[b]Big Al's C. 1 Keeper:
Rob's M. 1 Keeper:
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2012 SJHT Class Participants:
Note: Missing from pic are Jimbo and Chris N. who fished on Day 1.
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b]Summary:[/b] In what has been one of our best overal seasons with both new and old members, joining the NJ Bass Federation Nation, fishing bigger bodies of water club tournaments, and venturing outside the box, I believe I can say SJHT anglers truly were honored to come out and battle over the course of our 15 Tournament season. I'm truly honored and fortunate to have a great group of men who get along, communicate amongst one another, share tips and techniques in the meaning of bettering the club, and last but not least enjoy the sport of Bass Fishing for what it is. At the end of the day, it's nice to win and take home a $$$ prize and\or some hardware, but one can never take away the commaradie we share on and off the water, along with the memories that will last a life time.
2012 SJHT Official Classic Belt:
2012 SJHT Awards:
As we prepare for participating in this year's 2012 Bass Bowl to be held up on Lake Hopatcong, a participating angler will need to attend Wednesday's, Oct. 10, 2012 upcoming SJBCA's meeting where it will be discussed further.
Meeting starts at 8pm and typically over by say 8:45pmish (depending on the # of questions to be discussed). After this meeting, we should have a better idea on the (3) 2 Team Boater\Rider Requirements.
That's all I have. Thanks again for a great season....
Tight lines,
BN06
Edited by BigNasty06 on 09/25/2012
BN06, President
Congrats to Jackson on back to back titles sorry I missed all the fun I was in Myrtle Beach sucking up the sun Great season to all
Another fine job BN thanks for all you do !!!!!
First I want to thank all the club members for making me feel welcome and part of the #1 club in NJ. I had a great time and learned a lot from you guys. I can't imagine a better run organization. Thanks to BN for all the hours you put into making SJHT a great experience for all of us. The awards look spectacular. Thanks to Jay and John for handling the weigh-in duties. I hope to weigh-in more fish next year. Also thanks to everyone who offered a hand at the boat launches.
Congrats to the entire membership for a successful 2012 and a special shout out to the winners. Jay, Jackson and Chris you set the bar high. Everyone have a safe fall and winter. I look forward to fishing with you guys in 2013.
Jim "Murphy" T
Good morning,
Ladies and Gents. Hope everyone is enjoying the rainy weather. LOL!!
I just finished updating the official 2012 Official Schedule Tab under the Current Season section with all of the award winners and Top 10 Anglers.
As we move on to our next phase of future business of planning which Lakes to fish in 2013, rules adjustments, Re-cap of the 2012 season (Pros\Cons), NJ Bass Federation participation, Community events, Oak Pond 2nd Phase of Lake Clean-up, SJHT Financial statement, Club elections (which had been put on the back-burner since 2010) and etc., please feel free to Post, PM, email, or better yet call me up to discuss ideas and go over specific enquiries.
I know that change and flexibility is always a good thing for continued leisurely and professional growth. I always want to be on the cutting edge to venture outside the box. That is where you as members\officers play your part.
