The Bassmania Classic VIII (2004)

Class Among the Classic

Hard work and dedication was required to qualify for the Bassmania Classic VIII this season. On Labour Day weekend out of the Town Docks in the Village of Baptiste , the weather was spectacular, the scenery was breathtaking and the community of Baptiste and Bancroft offered its finest hospitality.

Day 1 of the Classic started with sunshine, winds from the west providing a slight inconvenience but not overbearing, and all 48 teams checked in and ready to go. With the Canadian flag flying high and the National Anthem playing, the cottagers, family and friends joined the competitors anxiously awaiting the start of the Bassmania Classic VIII.

As each team blasted off, speculations of who was likely to win whispered through the crowd.

As the hour of 4:00 pm approached so did the competitors. All teams were to check in and prepare for the official weigh in.

Utilizing the CSFL Pro Bass staging system, the 2003 Classic Champions, Bob Adler and Joey Crumpton, took stage left providing an opportunity for the remaining 47 teams to take stage right – the hot seat.

The defending champions experienced mechanical difficulties shortly after blast off. As such, their game plan was slightly shifted as they found themselves using their trolling motor for the remainder of the day. They were hopeful that their weight would be enough to hold a top 10 position.

Jeff Souter and Tony Holebshen hauled in the big smallmouth of the day at 4.74 lbs and Jim McLaren and John Lott captured big largemouth of the day at 5.31 lbs. At the end of Day 1, the leaders Andrus Kung and Reece Wolanski weighed in 18.21 lbs of bass caught while flipping a stretch of wood all within one shoreline and a Power Pro team, Paul Rich and John Daciuk, followed hot on their heels with 16.51 lbs of fish.

Mike Miller, fishing as an individual and favoured to place on this body of water, sustained an injury early in the day, which possibly cost him the event. After Day 1, Mike Miller weighed in 6.96 lbs. Along with Mike Miller, there were four other anglers fishing as individuals: Craig Lefebre, Jeff Hanley, Jim Becher and Rick Stuart. With one less rod in the water, these anglers had their work cut out.

Also participating in the Classic VIII were three husband and wife teams: Casey Creber and Leona Creber weighing in 2.88 lbs, Terry Munro and Kaleen Burns weighing in 5.9 lbs, and Morgan Cignini and Marina Pusic weighing in 11.4 lbs after one day of fishing.

The team of John MacDonald and Jim MacDonald, currently holding first place in the CSFL Pro Bass Tour, weighed in 9.79 lbs for 5 fish, with the Western Team of the Year, Gerard Cocks and Scott Murison, not far behind with 9.24 lbs. While Dave Johnson and Jeff Evans tied it up with Marc Kelly and Mike Correa with 11.54 lbs, Barry Graves and Jason Gough pulled in 12.73 lbs of bass. The home team of Scott Bird and Mark Hamilton lived up to their expectations weighing in 13.87 lbs while our television celebrities Leo Stakos and Ron James fell short on Day 1 with 8.92 lbs.

Now that Day 1 was behind them, and 12 lbs was the average weight of the day, this event was still anyone’s game.

Day 2 of competition – the pressure was on. Only the top 20 teams at the end of the day would proceed to Day 3. With 90% of the field ready to blast off towards Elephant Lake , it was apparent it was a do or die situation. Elephant Lake being the shallow lake of the two and largemouth being the choice fish of the event, Elephant could not be overlooked.

Mechanical difficulties did not end on Day 1. Prior to blast off on Day 2, Paul Rich and John Daciuk, currently holding second position, experienced boat problems. With the assistance of a fellow Power Pro team, Jason Spring and Lee Ardouin, Rich and Daciuk were outfitted with that team’s back up boat and were up and ready to go just a few minutes after official blast off. It was a regular “pit stop” on the water; incredible teamwork.

As family, friends, cottagers, and local residents made their way to the tournament site, the second day of competition was closing in. One by one the boats became visible.

As luck would have it, Jason Spring and Lee Ardouin ended up with their own mechanical problems that cost them an opportunity to make the final 20.

As the weigh in came to an end, the leaders from Day 1, Andrus Kung and Reece Wolanski held on to their lead by weighing in 14.48 lbs giving them a total weight of 32.69 lbs. Although they took the lead once again, they made it clear that they knew that the game was far from being over as they were competing against the finest anglers this province had to offer.

The big smallmouth of the day weighing in at 3.9 lbs went to Dave Johnson and Jeff Evans, and the big largemouth of the day came in at a whopping weight of 5.41 lbs by Stephen Collins and Shane Smith which largemouth captured the Overall Big Fish prize of the event.

It became apparent that if you did not have over a total of 20 lbs the chances of making the final cut was not going to happen. As anglers, family and friends anxiously awaited the announcement of the top 20 teams proceeding to Day 3, everyone was treated to a BBQ dinner with all the fixings. A special thank you to Pepin’s Valu Mart for the use of their barbeques and the chef, Vito Telesca, for his culinary experience in making it a wonderful meal.

Shortly thereafter, the moment of truth arrived. In order to avoid elimination, the competitors required 20.68 lbs or better. Therefore, the top 20 teams proceeding to Day 3 were Andrus Kung & Reece Wolanski; Barry Graves & Jason Gough; Scott Bird & Mark Hamilton; Paul Rich & John Daciuk; Dave Johnson & Jeff Evans; Pat Wong & Gary Mansholt; Barry Westall & Scott Pustai; Michael Zaharie & Barry Bertrand; Jeff Souter & Tony Holebshen; Rob Scalambra & Al Parise; Brian Rever & Russ Coull; Mike Deveaux & Al Vivian; Bob Adler & Joey Crumpton; Marc Kelly & Mike Correa; Brian Berriault & Shawn Berriault; Tom Neville & Cameron Neville; Mike Brown & Ken Brown; Jon Hill & Mark McMaster; Brent Valere & Fernand Peltier; and Paul Nardi & John Pacitto.

With special instructions delivered to each of the 20 teams, arrangements were set in motion to prepare for the move to Riverside Park in downtown Bancroft for the final drive by weigh in show.

Day 3, the final day. While the crowd anxiously awaited the boats to arrive, back at the lake, Andrew Pallotta, Thomas Clayton and the staff of Baptiste Lake Marina assisted the anglers in preparing for their trip to Riverside Park in Bancroft.

At the time of check in, Rapala aerators and bags of ice were added to each livewell in an effort to ensure the transportation to the park would go smoothly.

As the final team arrived at Riverside Park the festivities began. Reese Wolanski and Andrus Kung, holding the lead, took their seats. Already holding two titles in the Bassmania Tournament Trail, the Eastern Tour Team of the Year and the eX Tour Team of Year, would Classic Champions be added to that list?

As the first of the top 20 commenced with the drive by weigh in show, a total weight of 35.8 lbs held by Marc Kelly and Mike Correa was enough to take the hot seat. Providing great commentary this team proved to be quite entertaining.

Big smallmouth of the day went to Jon Hill and Mark McMaster weighing in at 4.4 lbs while big largemouth of the day came in at 4.8 lbs contributed by the team of Brent Valere and Fernand Peltier.

As the Midland teams of Brian Rever & Russ Coull and Brian Berriault & Shawn Berriault made their way up to the stage it was apparent their weight for Day 3 was not going to be enough to take the lead.

The Power Pro teams had a great showing with Paul Rich and John Daciuk holding the lead with a total weight of 37.53 lbs for quite some time. Although Barry Westall and Scott Pustai did not overcome the leading weight they did finish 7 th bringing the total count of three Power Pro teams making the overall top 10.

The moment of truth approached. The final 3 teams were about to weigh in. Scott Bird and Mark Hamilton pulled in and took over the lead with 39.87 lbs. Their lead was short lived when Dave Johnson and Jeff Evans approached the stage. Tipping the scales to 42.59 lbs Johnson and Evans were pretty confident they had captured 2 nd or 3 rd place.

As Barry Graves and Jason Gough pulled up to the stage and handed over their bag of fish it was determined that they required 11.88 lbs to take the lead. When questioned, Barry didn’t think they had quite enough to pull it off. As the scales registered it was apparent they had what was required to take the lead with 43.16 lbs. It was all up to the leaders from Day 2 to determine who would take home the Classic Championship title.

When Andrus Kung and Reece Wolanski’s boat was brought to the stage, Reece took the opportunity to thank each and every angler for the level of competition put forth in this Classic weekend. As they made their way to their livewells they reached in, turned to Barry and Jason and congratulated them on the Classic Championship as they declared they had no fish to weigh in. You could not have staged a more spectacular finish. It has been said time and time again that the camaraderie amongst the anglers competiting in the Bassmania Tournament Trail was remarkable. The showmanship put forth by this team qualified that saying tenfold.

As the initial shock wore off, the cheering began. Barry Graves and Jason Gough were announced the winners of the 2004 Bassmania Classic VIII on Baptiste/Elephant Lake with 43.16 lbs of bass and were awarded over $12,600 in cash and prizes. Dave John and Jeff Evans took 2 nd place with 42.59 lbs and 3 rd place went to Scott Bird and Mark Hamilton with 39.87 lbs. Congratulations to these teams and each team competing in the Bassmania Classic VIII.

Special thanks to all our sponsors Yamaha Motors; Lund Boats; Ranger Boats; Power Pro Line; Interstate Batteries; Normark/Rapala; Cardinal Scales; Goodyear Tires; Advanced Wildlife Design; Freiburger Communications and Shakedown Sounds for your support and contributions to the event. We would also like to thank the anglers for taking part in the Bassmania Classic VIII and their family and friends that came out to support the event and cheered them on.

There are many people and organizations that helped in making this event successful. As such, we would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the following:

Bancroft & District Chamber of Commerce; the Town of Bancroft; the Village of Baptiste; Country Fare & Inn; Baptiste Lake Marina; The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #181; Beth Pepin of Pepin’s Valu Mart; Ruby’s Roadhouse; Thomas and Susan Clayton; Rick and Candace Stuart; Nick Pallotta; the MacDonald Family; the Plaunt Family; Ken and Brenda McConnell; Debbie Marling; the Bassmania staff, family, friends and to each and everyone who participated in the Bassmania Classic VIII.

Vita Pallotta
Competitive Sport Fishing League