The New Hampshire BASS Federation Nation held its annual State Championship on August 8/9, 2009 on Lake Winnipesaukee. A total of 74 anglers braved the summer boat traffic on the big lake attempting to qualify for the State Team which is set to fish the Regional Championship on Candlewood Lake, Danbury CT, in September 2010. The host facility for the event was the Margate in Paugus Bay.

The 37 boats launched on Saturday to bright sunny skies and cool, autumn-like temperatures that had patches of fog hovering over parts of the lake. The day warmed up quickly under mostly sunny skies and light winds. With the perfect summer weather, the lake was full of recreational watercraft and anglers trying to get back for the afternoon weigh-in had a wild ride with all of the bouncing boat wakes and a congo line of boats getting through the channel into Paugus Bay.

Once the weigh-in began, a clear leader was immediately established. Lakes Region Bass Club member and Lake Winnipesaukee master John Diaco dropped a 15.64 lb. limit of largemouth on the scales and grabbed a lead that no other angler would contest. When the scales closed on day one, Diaco would have over a two pound lead on runner up Joe Perez who boated 13.46 lbs. Back Bay angler Eric Paul, helped by lunker smallmouth of 3.69 lbs. held down the third place spot with 13.22 lbs. The 12th place cut after the first day was 11.11 lbs.

Day two started much like the first day, as near record low temperatures in the low 50’s greeted anglers on their morning run. Again, the temperatures climbed quickly once the sun came out and daytime highs averaged in the 70’s. Mostly sunny skies and light winds prevailed throughout the morning, however a wall of grey clouds moved in just after noon and the sun remained hidden for the remainder of the tournament.

The final day weigh-in provided a few surprises as veteran NH Bass Casters angler Alan Denise brought a 13.93 lb. limit to the scales that moved him into the lead with a 26.23 lb. total. Back Bay Angler Scott Leppanen hauled the day’s best limit to the scales, but his 14.18 lb. smallmouth creel would fall short and he would settle for third place with 23.88 lbs. In the end, despite only bringing four fish to the scales, John Diaco would hold on to win the State Championship with a two day total of 26.47 pounds. Diaco fished a jig and pig and a tube and targeted largemouth exclusively. His pattern involved running and gunning marina docks and skipping his jig/tube into hard to reach places. Included in his prize pack were a Quantum Energy rod and a Lowrance HDS-5. John also banked $1000 in Skeeter Reel Money for his victory.

Finishing in the runner up spot and qualifying for (roughly) his 14th State Team was Alan Denise. Alan utilized a mixed bag strategy that gave him consistent weights each tournament day. Alan relied on spinnerbaits and spider jigs to catch most of his bass, and his Day one bag was anchored by a 4.14 lb. largemouth caught out in the main lake on a spinnerbait.

Scott Leppanen finished third and targeted smallmouth bass throughout the event. His Day one fish were caught by ripping a Bomber Long A along shallow grass flats. His big bag on Sunday was caught primarily in deep water with a drop shot rig, various soft plastics and Gamma 10 lb. fluorocarbon line. This will be Leppanen’s 9th trip to the Regional Championship. An amazing accomplishment, considering he’s never owned a boat!

Finishing in fourth place was Lakes Region angler Dave Tsao who boated 23.68 lbs. over the tournament to qualify for his first trip to Regionals. Day one, Dave targeted mostly smallmouth bass for an early limit on top-water, and then switched over to largemouth bass by targeting docks with jigs. On Sunday, Dave found himself with only two fish late in the day, but found three keeper largemouth in Paugus Bay and was able to finish his limit with a Senko in one of the backwater areas.

Fifth place went to another Lakes Region Bass Club member, Jim Peake who weighed 22.70 lbs to qualify for his second State Team. Jim, a non-boater, targeted smallmouth bass and mostly fished with a Yamamoto green-pumpkin Hula-grub in 30 feet of water around rock and scattered grass. He also cashed in some shallow smallmouth bass on Senkos on day one. He wished to thank his boater partners, Shane Hutchings and Bayard Lohmiller for their assistance in his making the team.

Sixth place and the final boater spot went to Back Bay Bassmaster member Dave Andrews who boated 22.34 lbs. Andrews will be making his 17th trip to Regionals. He relied mostly on a run and gun largemouth pattern for his catch. Yamamoto Hula Grubs and Gambler Aces were his primary bait choices and he used Gamma Fluorocarbon exclusively.

The balance of the State Team is made up of the following anglers:

7th Place: Don Fales, Sunapee Anglers 22.26 lbs.
8th Place: Scott Canelas, Back Bay Bassmasters 21.75 lbs.
9th Place: Dave Debellis, Bubba Bassin 21.48 lbs.
10th Place: Doug Hume, Sunapee Anglers 21.16 lbs.
11th Place: Scott Parker, Back Bay Bassmasters 20.73 lbs.
12th Place: Phillip Erwin, Stateline Bass Anglers 20.67 lbs.

Lunker awards payed out $370 each and are as follows:

Saturday Lunker Largemouth: Tim Reardon 4.63 lbs.
Saturday Lunker Smallmouth: Eric Paul 3.69 lbs.
Sunday Lunker Largemouth: Dave Gagnon 4.54 lbs.
Sunday Lunker Smallmouth: Scott Leppanen 4.04 lbs.

Overall, there were 74 anglers that competed in this State Championship. There were 569 fish brought to the scales and 546 were released alive back into the deep water outside the Margate. This translates to 95% live release, which is pretty good considering the hot water temperatures of this mid summer event.

There are many sponsors of the New Hampshire BASS Federation Nation that we would like to acknowledge and thank for their continued support: Granite State Rod and Reel, Lil Iguana's Children’s Safety Foundation, Fox Ridge Outfitters, Toyota of Nashua, Hurricane Bassin' Worms, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Motorguide, Lowrance Electronics, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Toyota, Berkley, Booyah Baits, Optima Batteries, Evan Williams Bourbon, Bass Pro Shops, and Cabela's.

Special thanks to all the anglers for their can food donations. The anglers donations were totaling $151 dollars to purchase can goods. Also, both launch facilities, Paugus Bay Marina (Kevin and Laurie) and Irwin Marine (Jason). Many thanks to The Margate (Kate and Laurie) for the weigh in location.

Finally and most important we would like to thank Irwin Marina again. Once they heard of our angler food drive they donated half the launch fees they collected back to us for the cause in the amount of $240. This brings the food drive collection to a total of $391.