PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - Fishing as a co-angler, Canada's Mark Rorke of the Ontario BASS Federation Nation took top honors today at the BASS Federation Eastern Divisional bass fishing tournament wrapping up today on Lake Champlain.
After three days of competition, the 36-year-old member of the St. Catharines Bassmasters scored a winning weight of 48 pounds, 9 ounces, consisting of smallmouth bass.
Rorke, an employee of superstore warehouse retailer Costco, advances to the BASS Federation Nation Championship to represent Canada and the Ontario BASS Federation Nation to compete for the amateur bass fishing title. The event is set for January on Alabama's Lake Neely Henry.
"Champlain is much shallower but it fishes like Lake Erie," remarked Rorke, a skilled angler on the Great Lakes fishery. "I'm very comfortable with a tube jig and it worked quite well here."
Rorke relied on a 3 ½-inch soft plastic tube (watermelon/black flake) rigged on a 3/8-ounce jighead. The rig was fished on 10-pound Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon line spooled on a Shimano Sedona spinning reel with a 6 ½-foot medium/heavy action Quantum Tour Edition rod.
Rorke found the smallmouth plentiful on a tapering flat extending from 6 to 17 feet located in the Inland Sea region of the lake. An important feature to the area was the presence of isolated vegetation that offered ambush cover for the smallmouth preying on an abundance of baitfish roaming the area.
"The key was to make extremely long casts and having experience in detecting light strikes," he added. "The fish were not hitting aggressively at all. I'd get a soft, mushy feeling through the rod that was the fish lightly biting the lure."
"The water was also ultra-clear and that improved the bass' ability to see the baitfish," he added.
The eight Federation Nations competing in this regional championship advanced their top anglers to the championship to join Rorke, the Ontario representative. Other qualifiers are Chris Novack (Connecticut), Eric Femiak (Massachusetts), Scott Nadeau (Maine), Brian Morin (New Hampshire), Joe Matt (New York), Joel St. Germain (Rhode Island) and Sean Alvarez (Vermont).
Massachusetts won state bragging rights as the division's top Federation Nation with its 12-angler team accounting for a collective score of 394 pounds, 12 ounces. Rhode Island was second with 389-7. Connecticut was third with 381-13 and Vermont fourth place with 360-3.
The final qualifying event for the Federation Championship is next week, when teams from six states compete at the BASS Federation Nation Mid-Atlantic Divisional. The competition is set for the Potomac River at Waldorf, Md., Sept. 27-29.
2006 Eastern Divisional 09/20-09/22 Lake Champlain, N.Y. (BOATER) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1. Mark Rorke St Catharines, Canada ( 15 48-09 2. Brian Morin Manchester, N.H. (NH) 15 47-13 3. Scott Nadeau Springvale, Maine (ME) 15 47-07 4. Joel St. Germain Cumberland, R.I. (RI) 15 46-13 5. Richard Verry Cranston, R.I. (RI) 15 46-09 6. Sean Alvarez Rutland, Vt. (VT) 15 44-00 7. Joseph Matt Syracuse, N.Y. (NY) 15 43-07 8. James Jeffries Rouses Point, N.Y. (VT 15 42-01 9. Joshua Platt Augusta, Maine (ME) 15 41-13 10. Chris Bowker Marsfield, Mass. (RI) 15 41-05 11. Lawrence Hogue Kennebunk, Maine (ME) 14 40-01 12. Dave Andrews Bolton, Mass. (NH) 15 39-09 13. Eric Femiak Taunton, Mass. (MA) 15 39-03 14. Jay Menard South Burlington, Vt. 14 39-02 15. Steve O'Keefe Shrewsbury, Mass. (MA) 15 39-01 15. Peter Diaco Scarborough, Maine (ME 14 39-01 17. Robert Daly So Easton, Mass. (MA) 15 38-09 18. Mike Wolfenden Warwick, R.I. (RI) 15 38-06 19. Michael Ebitson Hudson, N.H. (MA) 15 38-03 20. Armand Swajian Maynard, Mass. (MA) 15 38-01 21. Scott Parker Londonderry, N.H. (NH) 15 37-12 22. Chris Novack Willington, Conn. (CT) 15 37-02 23. Robert Pepe Kensington, Conn. (CT) 15 36-15 23. Martin Look Danville, N.H. (NH) 15 36-15 25. John Knowles Oakdale, Conn. (CT) 14 36-12 26. Randy Phillips Oxford, Mass. (MA) 14 36-09 27. Scott Green Waterbury Ctr, Vt. (VT 14 36-05 28. Rob Frye Sandown, N.H. (NH) 13 36-03 29. Thomas Derocher Bridgewater, Mass. (RI 14 35-15 30. Christopher Loftus Bloomfield, N.Y. (NY) 14 35-00 31. Jose Soler Newington, Conn. (CT) 15 34-08 31. Charles Sim Ottawa, Canada (ON) 15 34-08 33. David Dziob Meriden, Conn. (CT) 15 34-06 34. Gary Kurensky Bridgeport, Conn. (CT) 15 34-00 35. Dave Garrison Gofftown, N.H. (NH) 15 33-15 36. Michael Holt Townsend, Mass. (MA) 14 33-14 37. Johnny Nee Middleboro, Mass. (RI) 13 32-11 38. Chris Marling Bracebridge, Canada (O 14 32-09 39. Robert Jeffrey Prospect, Conn. (CT) 15 32-02 40. Mark Swett Auburn, Maine (ME) 13 31-14 41. Skip Sjobeck Randolph Ctr, Vt. (VT) 13 31-10 42. Jeff Macdonald Belleville, Canada (ON 11 30-14 43. Chris Bielert Danbury, Conn. (CT) 12 30-13 44. Woody Henyan Campbell, N.Y. (NY) 14 30-12 45. Dan Morgan Gardiner, N.Y. (NY) 15 30-11 46. Todd Rana Bradford, R.I. (RI) 15 30-08 46. Jeffrey Rafuse Belgrade, Maine (ME) 13 30-08 48. Jim Lynch Gomoseen, Vt. (VT) 13 30-01 49. Todd Zup Kensington, Conn. (CT) 15 29-15 50. Kevin Lavender Amston, Conn. (CT) 14 29-13 50. Ted Barth Bolivar, N.Y. (NY) 12 29-13 52. Timothy Lyons Whitehall, N.Y. (NY) 15 29-10 53. Myron Sayers Pittsfield, Mass. (MA) 14 29-03 54. Nick Giamei Cortland, N.Y. (NY) 13 29-02 55. Brian Lytle Dover, N.H. (NH) 13 29-01 56. Rose Jeffries Rouses Point, N.Y. (VT 14 28-15 57. David LeBlanc Springfield, N.H. (NH) 15 28-10 57. Darryl Fitzgerald Livermore, Maine (ME) 13 28-10 59. Bryan Folino Cheshire, Mass. (MA) 15 28-05 60. Robert Kelley Rutland, Mass. (MA) 14 28-01 60. Richard Piette Barrington, R.I. (RI) 14 28-01 60. Mark Cavanaugh Port Perry, Canada (ON 12 28-01 63. David Banford Northfield, Mass. (NH) 13 27-14 64. Charles Shaw Coventry, R.I. (RI) 14 27-05 65. Dale Brown Alburg, Vt. (VT) 14 27-04 66. Terry Crawford Midland, Canada (ON) 13 27-03 67. Larry Halbert Barrie, Canada (ON) 9 26-12 68. Steven Parisien Batawa, Canada (ON) 13 25-07 69. Howard Richmond Charlestown, R.I. (RI) 12 25-02 69. Drew Hanchett Severance, N.Y. (NY) 10 25-02 71. Ronald Bestwick Grisword, Conn. (RI) 11 23-09 72. Fredrick Prescott Townsend, Mass. (MA) 10 23-08 73. Art Rife Coventry, Conn. (CT) 11 23-07 74. Eric Sertl Pittsford, N.Y. (NY) 12 23-02 75. Raymond Grafton Swanton, Vt. (VT) 11 22-10 76. Craig Nealley Duxbury, Mass. (MA) 9 22-03 77. Clint Delashaw Hallowell, Maine (ME) 13 22-00 77. James Morris Milford, Conn. (CT) 10 22-00 79. Don Adams Rutland, Vt. (VT) 10 21-01 80. Lee Rogers Swartswood, N.J. (NY) 11 20-14 81. Peter Borelli Newburgh, N.Y. (NY) 10 19-14 82. Stephen Goulette St Albans, Vt. (VT) 9 19-13 83. Keith Poulin Turner, Maine (ME) 9 18-00 83. David Swett Berwick, N.H. (NH) 8 18-00 85. Chris Adams Rutland, Vt. (VT) 8 17-05 86. Steve Wilson Hollis Center, Maine ( 7 16-14 87. Dominic Boissonneau Canada, Canada (ON) 10 16-12 88. Chris Rockwell Naples, N.Y. (NY) 9 14-14 89. Bob Thornington Kirkfield, Canada (ON) 8 14-07 90. Paul Lavoie Coventry, R.I. (RI) 6 13-03 91. Edward Forbes Saco, Maine (ME) 6 12-08 92. Brian Penney Haverhill, Mass. (NH) 7 11-13 93. Wayne Barnes Belleville, Canada (ON 6 8-14 94. Mark Hamilton Springvale, Maine (ME) 4 7-06 95. Greg Roth Cambridge, Canada (ON) 3 6-04 95. Mark Goodniss Westfield, N.H. (NH) 2 6-04 -------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 69 409 980-07 2 55 381 891-02 3 66 411 977-02 ---------------------------------- 190 1201 2848-11 TEAM STANDINGS Day 3 ---------------------------------- State Lbs-Oz 1 MASSACHUSETTS 394-12 2 RHODE ISLAND 389-07 3 CONNECTICUT 381-13 4 VERMONT 360-03 5 NEW HAMPSHIRE 353-13 6 MAINE 336-02 7 NEW YORK 332-05 8 ONTARIO 300-04 INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MASSACHUSETTS Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Eric Femiak Taunton, Mass. 15 39-03 2 Steve O'Keefe Shrewsbury, Mass. 15 39-01 3 Robert Daly So Easton, Mass. 15 38-09 4 Michael Ebitson Hudson, N.H. 15 38-03 5 Armand Swajian Maynard, Mass. 15 38-01 6 Randy Phillips Oxford, Mass. 14 36-09 7 Michael Holt Townsend, Mass. 14 33-14 8 Myron Sayers Pittsfield, Mass. 14 29-03 9 Bryan Folino Cheshire, Mass. 15 28-05 10 Robert Kelley Rutland, Mass. 14 28-01 11 Fredrick Prescott Townsend, Mass. 10 23-08 12 Craig Nealley Duxbury, Mass. 9 22-03 RHODE ISLAND Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Joel St. Germain Cumberland, R.I. 15 46-13 2 Richard Verry Cranston, R.I. 15 46-09 3 Chris Bowker Marsfield, Mass. 15 41-05 4 Mike Wolfenden Warwick, R.I. 15 38-06 5 Thomas Derocher Bridgewater, Mass. 14 35-15 6 Johnny Nee Middleboro, Mass. 13 32-11 7 Todd Rana Bradford, R.I. 15 30-08 8 Richard Piette Barrington, R.I. 14 28-01 9 Charles Shaw Coventry, R.I. 14 27-05 10 Howard Richmond Charlestown, R.I. 12 25-02 11 Ronald Bestwick Grisword, Conn. 11 23-09 12 Paul Lavoie Coventry, R.I. 6 13-03 CONNECTICUT Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Chris Novack Willington, Conn. 15 37-02 2 Robert Pepe Kensington, Conn. 15 36-15 3 John Knowles Oakdale, Conn. 14 36-12 4 Jose Soler Newington, Conn. 15 34-08 5 David Dziob Meriden, Conn. 15 34-06 6 Gary Kurensky Bridgeport, Conn. 15 34-00 7 Robert Jeffrey Prospect, Conn. 15 32-02 8 Chris Bielert Danbury, Conn. 12 30-13 9 Todd Zup Kensington, Conn. 15 29-15 10 Kevin Lavender Amston, Conn. 14 29-13 11 Art Rife Coventry, Conn. 11 23-07 12 James Morris Milford, Conn. 10 22-00 VERMONT Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Sean Alvarez Rutland, Vt. 15 44-00 2 James Jeffries Rouses Point, N.Y. 15 42-01 3 Jay Menard South Burlington, Vt. 14 39-02 4 Scott Green Waterbury Ctr, Vt. 14 36-05 5 Skip Sjobeck Randolph Ctr, Vt. 13 31-10 6 Jim Lynch Gomoseen, Vt. 13 30-01 7 Rose Jeffries Rouses Point, N.Y. 14 28-15 8 Dale Brown Alburg, Vt. 14 27-04 9 Raymond Grafton Swanton, Vt. 11 22-10 10 Don Adams Rutland, Vt. 10 21-01 11 Stephen Goulette St Albans, Vt. 9 19-13 12 Chris Adams Rutland, Vt. 8 17-05 NEW HAMPSHIRE Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Brian Morin Manchester, N.H. 15 47-13 2 Dave Andrews Bolton, Mass. 15 39-09 3 Scott Parker Londonderry, N.H. 15 37-12 4 Martin Look Danville, N.H. 15 36-15 5 Rob Frye Sandown, N.H. 13 36-03 6 Dave Garrison Gofftown, N.H. 15 33-15 7 Brian Lytle Dover, N.H. 13 29-01 8 David LeBlanc Springfield, N.H. 15 28-10 9 David Banford Northfield, Mass. 13 27-14 10 David Swett Berwick, N.H. 8 18-00 11 Brian Penney Haverhill, Mass. 7 11-13 12 Mark Goodniss Westfield, N.H. 2 6-04 MAINE Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Scott Nadeau Springvale, Maine 15 47-07 2 Joshua Platt Augusta, Maine 15 41-13 3 Lawrence Hogue Kennebunk, Maine 14 40-01 4 Peter Diaco Scarborough, Maine 14 39-01 5 Mark Swett Auburn, Maine 13 31-14 6 Jeffrey Rafuse Belgrade, Maine 13 30-08 7 Darryl Fitzgerald Livermore, Maine 13 28-10 8 Clint Delashaw Hallowell, Maine 13 22-00 9 Keith Poulin Turner, Maine 9 18-00 10 Steve Wilson Hollis Center, Maine 7 16-14 11 Edward Forbes Saco, Maine 6 12-08 12 Mark Hamilton Springvale, Maine 4 7-06 NEW YORK Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Joseph Matt Syracuse, N.Y. 15 43-07 2 Christopher Loftus Bloomfield, N.Y. 14 35-00 3 Woody Henyan Campbell, N.Y. 14 30-12 4 Dan Morgan Gardiner, N.Y. 15 30-11 5 Ted Barth Bolivar, N.Y. 12 29-13 6 Timothy Lyons Whitehall, N.Y. 15 29-10 7 Nick Giamei Cortland, N.Y. 13 29-02 8 Drew Hanchett Severance, N.Y. 10 25-02 9 Eric Sertl Pittsford, N.Y. 12 23-02 10 Lee Rogers Swartswood, N.J. 11 20-14 11 Peter Borelli Newburgh, N.Y. 10 19-14 12 Chris Rockwell Naples, N.Y. 9 14-14 ONTARIO Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Mark Rorke St Catharines, Canada 15 48-09 2 Charles Sim Ottawa, Canada 15 34-08 3 Chris Marling Bracebridge, Canada 14 32-09 4 Jeff Macdonald Belleville, Canada 11 30-14 5 Mark Cavanaugh Port Perry, Canada 12 28-01 6 Terry Crawford Midland, Canada 13 27-03 7 Larry Halbert Barrie, Canada 9 26-12 8 Steven Parisien Batawa, Canada 13 25-07 9 Dominic Boissonneau Canada, Canada 10 16-12 10 Bob Thornington Kirkfield, Canada 8 14-07 11 Wayne Barnes Belleville, Canada 6 8-14 12 Greg Roth Cambridge, Canada 3 6-04