CLAYTON, N.Y. (Sept. 8, 2014) – Grae Buck of Perkiomenville, Pa., weighed a two-day total of 10 bass totaling 50 pounds, 10 ounces to win the Bass Fishing League Northeast Division super tournament at 1000 Islands Sunday. For his victory, Buck earned $6,349.
“It was pretty crazy,” said Buck, who previously fished the FLW College Fishing circuit for Penn State University. “I couldn’t believe the size of the fish I was catching, it was amazing.
“I was up there about three weeks ago with some friends and we were just out looking around on Lake Ontario,” Buck explained. “We found a spot on a point that was just loaded with big fish. I practiced on Friday and went there and caught two that were about 5 pounds and then left the area. I spent the rest of the day just looking around for something similar, and I found one spot on the way back into the St. Lawrence Seaway that had a bunch of 3-pounders on it.
“I caught all my fish on Saturday on the spot that I had found three weeks ago, but they weren’t there on Sunday,” said Buck. “I pulled up on my other spot and my co-angler and I caught eight big ones between us in about a half an hour.
“I think I weighed in just one bass that weighed less than 5 pounds over two days. It was just incredible.”
Buck said he was running about 30 miles to his primary spot, and that he caught all of his fish drop-shotting a Jackall Crosstail Shad and a Lake Fork Hyper Finesse Worm. Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Joseph Fonzi, Gasport, N.Y., 10 bass, 41-3, $3,175
3rd: Chris Blanc, Cos Cob, Conn., 10 bass, 39-8, $2,117 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
4th: Kenny Garippa, Tobyhanna, Pa., 10 bass, 39-6, $1,481
5th: Richard McCrory, North Hero, Vt., 10 bass, 39-5, $1,270
6th: Tom Tarasoff, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 38-8, $1,164
7th: Michael Durbak, Woodbourne, N.Y., 10 bass, 38-4, $1,058
8th: Frank Guarascio, Marcy, N.Y., 10 bass, 37-7, $952
9th: Joe Zombek II, Scranton, Pa., 10 bass, 37-4, $847
10th: Michael Drumsta, Clarks Summit, Pa., 10 bass, 36-11, $741
Dennis Carnahan of Cazenovia, N.Y., weighed in a two-day total of 10 bass totaling 37 pounds, 14 ounces to win $3,175 in the co-angler division Sunday. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Richard Levesque, Swanton, Vt., 10 bass, 36-13, $1,587
3rd: David Ehrentraut, Locke, N.Y., 10 bass, 35-4, $1,059
4th: James Weible, Jonestown, Pa., 10 bass, 34-12, $741
5th: Chad Dorney, Macungie, Pa., 10 bass, 34-6, $635
6th: Kyle Gabriele, Baltimore, Md., 10 bass, 34-0, $582
7th: Cody Cutter, Harveys Lake, Pa., 10 bass, 33-3, $529
8th: Tom Cole, Mechanicsville, Md., 10 bass, 32-8, $476
9th: Wyatt Morris, Little Falls, N.Y., 10 bass, 31-0, $423
10th: Eric Ashley, Little Falls, N.Y., 10 bass, 30-15, $370
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.