The battle is well and truly on as the 82 teams participating in the Lake & Trail Renegade Bass Fishing Tournament series compete to be one of the 40 teams to qualify for the fall Classic and chance to win a fully-rigged Ranger 188 VS boat, Ranger Trail trailer and a VZ175 HPDI Yamaha outboard motor courtesy of Ranger Boats and Yamaha Canada. For the first time in its 12 year history, the anglers were required to compete in two qualifying tournaments on the same weekend on the same body of water.
The Ottawa River at Rockland proved to be a real challenge for many, with an unusually high number of teams unable to bring fish to the scales on one or both days. Many of these teams had established solid patterns and locations prior to the tournaments, but heavy rains on Friday turned the main river into a dirty mess best described as 'looking like chocolate milk'. Anglers were forced to adapt by fishing back bays to find clear water; some of them travelling over 50 miles to find suitable locations. Fortunately the beautiful weather made such travel easy.
Some adapted better than others. On Saturday, the team of Will Ashcroft and Tom Cundell claimed first prize with a weight of 18.98 pounds, caught using their 'go to' flipping pattern. That they should dominate despite the poor conditions is no surprise. This marks their fourth Renegade Bass victory on the Ottawa River. They had a substantial lead over their nearest competitors, Mike Brown and Jeff Henckel who brought 16.62 pounds to the scales. Third place went to Jack Levert and Jim Palmer with a weight of 16.38 pounds. Levert and Palmer also won the $200 Ranger Cup prize which goes to the highest placing team fishing from a Ranger boat. If the boat is equipped with a Yamaha engine, Yamaha provides another $200, and if the boat was purchased from Lake & Trail, the winners receive an additional $200. Not a bad deal!
Sunday proved to be another beautiful day, with clear skies and calm waters. However, the water conditions had changed very little. A white lure still disappeared about 6" below the surface. Despite the similar conditions, a considerable amount of shuffling took place in the Team of the Year standings. Only one of the top 10 finishers from Saturday managed to repeat the feat on Sunday; the team of Doug Dolan and Mark Boisclair who were 2006 Team of the Year. First place honours went to the team of Brian Lalonde and Mitch Guay with a weight of 19.22 pounds while second place went to Chris Roy and Clarence 'Bo' Boulerice with 18.16 pounds. Roy and Boulerice were Sunday's Ranger Cup winners. For both of these teams, the turn-around was amazing. Brian and Mitch were shut out on Saturday; unable to bring even one fish to the scales while Chris and 'Bo' had only managed to catch three fish. Talk about adapting! Brian and Mitch wish to thank their sponsor, St. Lawrence Appliance Service. Third place went to Rick Mulder and John Pollard with 17.66 pounds. Rick and John had a great weekend, weighing a respectable 13.98 pounds on Saturday.
Renegade Bass would like to thank the village of Rockland for its hospitality in hosting the event and all the Renegade Bass volunteers who made the tournaments run so smoothly.
If you would like to learn more about Renegade Bass, check out their website at www.renegadebass.com. The next qualifying tournament will be held on Lake St. Francis out of Cornwall on Saturday, August 11, 2007. The Classic will be held on the St. Lawrence River out of Morrisburg on September 8 & 9. 2007.