The 911 Bass Anglers Southern Classic Which Is Held Annually South Of The Mason Dixon Line.
This Year's Classic Was Held In Lake Anna, Virginia.
This Year's Classic Was Held In Lake Anna, Virginia.
The 911 Bass Anglers rubbed elbows with some of America's finest bass anglers at the B.A.S.S. Elite Series Tournament on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, PA, during
August of 2014.
August of 2014.
Madness On Manor Lake Tournament
June 27, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Manor Lake, Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music and Lyrics by: Scoop D’Netter
June 27, 2015
Water temperature: 80℉
Manor Madness hits Penn Warner’s lakes
It was lower than normal temperatures, and overcast skies that met the competitors at this years Manor Madness Bass Tournament, sponsored by the 911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, as members waited to launch their boats this past weekend.
Throughout the day on Saturday air temperatures would hover in the low 60º to low 70º temperature range, as the skies threatened to open up at any minute all day long. In spite of the less than optimum fishing conditions, the club saw 10 boats, and almost 20 members, take up the the day’s challenge, along with scores of family members who patiently waited at the venue’s weigh-in facility for the tournament results.
From my observations the field was about split, with half the club opting to beat the pads and grass in Scotts Creek, as the other half plied the remainder of this small man-made impoundment with a sundry of artificial baits. Although it’s hard to say, looking back, if there was an advantage to be gained by staying in Scott’s Creek, even with the wind blowing as hard as it was at times throughout the day.
With Manor Lake now having gained the reputation, and deservedly so, of a big bass lake, and with the Penn Warner chain of lakes, predominantly, but not exclusively, also having a reputation as a “Senko” worm and topwater haven (especially early and late in the day) many anglers decided to try their hand using those tried and true techniques. Along with the Senkos, buzzbaits, frogs, pop-r’s, and the jitterbugs that were thrown, however, many anglers also threw Shaky head worms, and shallow diving (square bill) crankbaits.
Scott Goddard said that he and his son Jimmy, both excellent big bass fishermen, caught a good number of bass on both the Shaky head and square bill crankbait combination... “they just didn’t get any big ones”.
Although I didn’t have much success with it, I personally, I pitched the beaver a good portion of the day. It’s my favorite bait. You might even say, I love the beaver. However, as June Cleaver sometimes admonished Ward, her husband on the television show Leave It To Beaver, Sometimes... I can be a little hard on the beaver.
Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler caught a limit of bass that tipped the scales at 11.29 pounds for first place. Mike tells us that although he and Drew didn’t hit on any one single pattern, they used Reaction Innovation swimbaits to thoroughly fish the docks and stump fields that abound within Manor Lake.
The next two place finishers, the tandems of Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett and Gregg Brown & Rick Singleton, both had sacks of bass that weighed-in over 9 pounds. Mulholland & Everett placing 2nd with 9.68 pounds of fish, while Brown & Singleton were edged out by just .48 of a pound for 3rd place.
Chad Neuman & George Wilson finished in 4th place with a 5 fish limit weighing 8.68 lbs. George Wilson (who, by the way, does not live next to Dennis Mitchell), caught the lunker bass of the tournament. So, congratulations to good ole Mr. Wilson! - on a great day’s fishing, all kidding aside.
Parenthetically, it should also be noted that the 4th place team of Newman & Wilson, edged out the 5th place team of Bresen & Ramaglia by just .01(that’s one tenth of a pound for all you guys that failed third grade math), which is a 1/16 of a ounce. Wow!
The middle of the pack saw Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia place 5th with 8.67 pounds of bass; while Bill Gartner, who flew solo and in a Herculean effort finished 6th with 8.48 pounds, fished alone.
Rounding out the event were Scott and Jim Goddard, who had really been on a tear in the weeks leading up to the tournament, bringing in some of the largest bass of the season of any of our members during the club’s “non-points” tournaments, which are held every Thursday night.
However, like the air temperatures this past Saturday, Scott and Jimmy cooled off, somewhat, and finished in 7th place. Just behind them was the pairing of Elvin Martes and The Big Show who were just 4 ounces off the Goddard’s pace with 7.08 pounds of Manor Micropterus salmoides.
Tracker Joe Alimenti & Aaron Grogan, along with Allen “AC” Cirard & Larry Graja rounded out the event. Tracker Joe and Aaron brought 6.62 pounds of bass to the weigh-in table, while AC” and Larry closed out the big board with 4.12 pounds of Penn Warner largemouth.
All told 47 bass, weighing just shy of 85 pounds, were safely caught, weighed-in, and released back into Manor Lake. It was a job well done by all the men and women of the 911 Bass Anglers Club who made the event happen, especially our club president, Allen “AC” Cirard. Thank you everyone who participated.
1st place: Mike Ziegler & Crew Cutler (picture 1)
2nd place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett (picture 2)
3rd Place: Greg Brown & Rick Singleton (picture unavailable)
Lunker: George Wilson (picture 3)
June 27, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Manor Lake, Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music and Lyrics by: Scoop D’Netter
June 27, 2015
Water temperature: 80℉
Manor Madness hits Penn Warner’s lakes
It was lower than normal temperatures, and overcast skies that met the competitors at this years Manor Madness Bass Tournament, sponsored by the 911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, as members waited to launch their boats this past weekend.
Throughout the day on Saturday air temperatures would hover in the low 60º to low 70º temperature range, as the skies threatened to open up at any minute all day long. In spite of the less than optimum fishing conditions, the club saw 10 boats, and almost 20 members, take up the the day’s challenge, along with scores of family members who patiently waited at the venue’s weigh-in facility for the tournament results.
From my observations the field was about split, with half the club opting to beat the pads and grass in Scotts Creek, as the other half plied the remainder of this small man-made impoundment with a sundry of artificial baits. Although it’s hard to say, looking back, if there was an advantage to be gained by staying in Scott’s Creek, even with the wind blowing as hard as it was at times throughout the day.
With Manor Lake now having gained the reputation, and deservedly so, of a big bass lake, and with the Penn Warner chain of lakes, predominantly, but not exclusively, also having a reputation as a “Senko” worm and topwater haven (especially early and late in the day) many anglers decided to try their hand using those tried and true techniques. Along with the Senkos, buzzbaits, frogs, pop-r’s, and the jitterbugs that were thrown, however, many anglers also threw Shaky head worms, and shallow diving (square bill) crankbaits.
Scott Goddard said that he and his son Jimmy, both excellent big bass fishermen, caught a good number of bass on both the Shaky head and square bill crankbait combination... “they just didn’t get any big ones”.
Although I didn’t have much success with it, I personally, I pitched the beaver a good portion of the day. It’s my favorite bait. You might even say, I love the beaver. However, as June Cleaver sometimes admonished Ward, her husband on the television show Leave It To Beaver, Sometimes... I can be a little hard on the beaver.
Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler caught a limit of bass that tipped the scales at 11.29 pounds for first place. Mike tells us that although he and Drew didn’t hit on any one single pattern, they used Reaction Innovation swimbaits to thoroughly fish the docks and stump fields that abound within Manor Lake.
The next two place finishers, the tandems of Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett and Gregg Brown & Rick Singleton, both had sacks of bass that weighed-in over 9 pounds. Mulholland & Everett placing 2nd with 9.68 pounds of fish, while Brown & Singleton were edged out by just .48 of a pound for 3rd place.
Chad Neuman & George Wilson finished in 4th place with a 5 fish limit weighing 8.68 lbs. George Wilson (who, by the way, does not live next to Dennis Mitchell), caught the lunker bass of the tournament. So, congratulations to good ole Mr. Wilson! - on a great day’s fishing, all kidding aside.
Parenthetically, it should also be noted that the 4th place team of Newman & Wilson, edged out the 5th place team of Bresen & Ramaglia by just .01(that’s one tenth of a pound for all you guys that failed third grade math), which is a 1/16 of a ounce. Wow!
The middle of the pack saw Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia place 5th with 8.67 pounds of bass; while Bill Gartner, who flew solo and in a Herculean effort finished 6th with 8.48 pounds, fished alone.
Rounding out the event were Scott and Jim Goddard, who had really been on a tear in the weeks leading up to the tournament, bringing in some of the largest bass of the season of any of our members during the club’s “non-points” tournaments, which are held every Thursday night.
However, like the air temperatures this past Saturday, Scott and Jimmy cooled off, somewhat, and finished in 7th place. Just behind them was the pairing of Elvin Martes and The Big Show who were just 4 ounces off the Goddard’s pace with 7.08 pounds of Manor Micropterus salmoides.
Tracker Joe Alimenti & Aaron Grogan, along with Allen “AC” Cirard & Larry Graja rounded out the event. Tracker Joe and Aaron brought 6.62 pounds of bass to the weigh-in table, while AC” and Larry closed out the big board with 4.12 pounds of Penn Warner largemouth.
All told 47 bass, weighing just shy of 85 pounds, were safely caught, weighed-in, and released back into Manor Lake. It was a job well done by all the men and women of the 911 Bass Anglers Club who made the event happen, especially our club president, Allen “AC” Cirard. Thank you everyone who participated.
1st place: Mike Ziegler & Crew Cutler (picture 1)
2nd place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett (picture 2)
3rd Place: Greg Brown & Rick Singleton (picture unavailable)
Lunker: George Wilson (picture 3)
Mega Bucks Mania Tournament
July 11, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D’Netter
July 11, 2015
Water temperature: 80º
Air temperature: 89º
Weather: Morning clouds giving way to bright sunshine and blue bird skies
Mega Bucks Mania
As dawn broke over Van Sciver this past Saturday morning, the air was thick with anticipation as the anglers readied their equipment in preparation for the club’s annual Mega Bucks Mania bass tournament.
In this (retro) event (that the more senior guys in the club may recognize as having been borrowed from Bass Angler’s Sportsman Society back in the 1990’s), Van Sciver Lake would be broken down into 6 equal segments. Each boating angler upon arrival at the ramp, would draw, at random, a section of the lake in which they would begin fishing.
Every angler, after reaching their fishing zone, would be given one hour to apply their fishing skills, and knowledge, to that section of the lake; after which, they would be required to move on to the next, sequentially numbered area of the lake, for the next hour of angling.
Then, following six full hours of tournament fishing, in each of the predetermined six zones, which would cover the whole of Van Sciver Lake, the entirety of Van Sciver would be opened up to the contestants to fish wherever they pleased.
This, then, was the backdrop for what turned out to be a grind-it-out battle between the top four boats, which saw each of them catch at least four bass per boat, weighing in at a whopping total, collectively, of almost thirty-two (32) pounds.
Two of our youngest, and most proficient 911 Bass Anglers, Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler, won this years event. Mike and Drew scored another impressive victory in this tourney, winning their second derby in as many weeks.
Ziegler and Cutler worked a Carolina ring over close-in cover to score two bass in 4 of the 6 zones they fished Saturday. After releasing they’re shorts Mike and Drew still rode away with four bass, weighing over eight and a half pounds.
Finishing second were the father son paring of Scott and Jim Goddard. Scott and Jim have been on fire this season scoring impressive tallies at every 911 derby this year.
In fact, Scott and Jim stand at the top of the 911 Point Standing Leader Board at present with 61 points.
Regarding their effort Saturday, Scott Goddard said, “Jimmy and I really enjoy this format. Moving every hour forces people to fish in an area that their not familiar with. Also, if you do get to your favorite spot you only have an hour to fish it. This, I feel, really brings out your skills as an angler.”
This past Saturday, “We caught fish in all the zones except at pike alley. We got a total of 8 bass. Only had one short, and were able to cull once. The only pattern we had all day was on plastics, but most were small so we weren’t able to cull. We tried jigs on humps, but with the format of moving every hour, it didn't give us enough time to really give it a chance. So we opted more to power fish and cover more water.”
Scott and Jimmy finished in second place with a full creel of 5 bass tipping the scale at 8.38lbs, just eighteen hundredth of a pound (.18) - or less than 3 ounces - behind Mike and Drew.
Third place was captured by a newcomer to the 911 Mega Bucks derby named Craig. Craig caught 4 fish that weighed 8.06 ounces. He wrapped up his tournament day about an ounce behind the Goddards.
Finishing fourth were the tandem of Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia with 4 fish that weighed 7.01 pounds. Jason and John are two very experienced and talented anglers who always finish strong in every tournament.
Jason and John noted that, “We were strong right off the start. At 5:35AM we had three in the boat... All within 10 minutes!” I was flipping docks while John was throwing a Pop-R and a buzzbait.
He noted that all their fish were caught jigging worms except one, which was caught on a Pop-R. Jason went on to say that they had actually landed five fish, his best being a 2.7 pounder.
He further stated that, ”I had one a little bigger than that, [the 2.7 pound bass he referred to earlier], but it died in the livewell... Had that not happen, we may have won the tournament.”
Jason also mentioned that the fish that died wasn’t gut hooked, and had been in good condition when placed in the livewell. However, Jason believes that the bass may have died by choking on a crawfish that got caught in its throat when it vomited from the stress of being caught.
Jason and John finished their comments by saying, “All and all it was a great day to be on the water with all the guys from are awesome club.”
Finally, the tournament lunker was caught by Joe Metzger. It was a beautiful fish that weighed 3.80 pounds. It was caught on a crankbait just off a hump located in zone 3. Congratulations to Joe on a job well done!
In total, 31 fish, weighing almost 60 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Van Sciver Lake. Again, the 911 Bass Anglers wants to thank the almost 50 participants, spectators, and family members who took part in the days events.
1st place: Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler (picture 1 - Mike Ziegler only)
2nd place: Scott & Jim Goddard (picture 2)
3rd Place: Craig (picture 3)
Lunker: Joe Metzger (picture 4)
July 11, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D’Netter
July 11, 2015
Water temperature: 80º
Air temperature: 89º
Weather: Morning clouds giving way to bright sunshine and blue bird skies
Mega Bucks Mania
As dawn broke over Van Sciver this past Saturday morning, the air was thick with anticipation as the anglers readied their equipment in preparation for the club’s annual Mega Bucks Mania bass tournament.
In this (retro) event (that the more senior guys in the club may recognize as having been borrowed from Bass Angler’s Sportsman Society back in the 1990’s), Van Sciver Lake would be broken down into 6 equal segments. Each boating angler upon arrival at the ramp, would draw, at random, a section of the lake in which they would begin fishing.
Every angler, after reaching their fishing zone, would be given one hour to apply their fishing skills, and knowledge, to that section of the lake; after which, they would be required to move on to the next, sequentially numbered area of the lake, for the next hour of angling.
Then, following six full hours of tournament fishing, in each of the predetermined six zones, which would cover the whole of Van Sciver Lake, the entirety of Van Sciver would be opened up to the contestants to fish wherever they pleased.
This, then, was the backdrop for what turned out to be a grind-it-out battle between the top four boats, which saw each of them catch at least four bass per boat, weighing in at a whopping total, collectively, of almost thirty-two (32) pounds.
Two of our youngest, and most proficient 911 Bass Anglers, Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler, won this years event. Mike and Drew scored another impressive victory in this tourney, winning their second derby in as many weeks.
Ziegler and Cutler worked a Carolina ring over close-in cover to score two bass in 4 of the 6 zones they fished Saturday. After releasing they’re shorts Mike and Drew still rode away with four bass, weighing over eight and a half pounds.
Finishing second were the father son paring of Scott and Jim Goddard. Scott and Jim have been on fire this season scoring impressive tallies at every 911 derby this year.
In fact, Scott and Jim stand at the top of the 911 Point Standing Leader Board at present with 61 points.
Regarding their effort Saturday, Scott Goddard said, “Jimmy and I really enjoy this format. Moving every hour forces people to fish in an area that their not familiar with. Also, if you do get to your favorite spot you only have an hour to fish it. This, I feel, really brings out your skills as an angler.”
This past Saturday, “We caught fish in all the zones except at pike alley. We got a total of 8 bass. Only had one short, and were able to cull once. The only pattern we had all day was on plastics, but most were small so we weren’t able to cull. We tried jigs on humps, but with the format of moving every hour, it didn't give us enough time to really give it a chance. So we opted more to power fish and cover more water.”
Scott and Jimmy finished in second place with a full creel of 5 bass tipping the scale at 8.38lbs, just eighteen hundredth of a pound (.18) - or less than 3 ounces - behind Mike and Drew.
Third place was captured by a newcomer to the 911 Mega Bucks derby named Craig. Craig caught 4 fish that weighed 8.06 ounces. He wrapped up his tournament day about an ounce behind the Goddards.
Finishing fourth were the tandem of Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia with 4 fish that weighed 7.01 pounds. Jason and John are two very experienced and talented anglers who always finish strong in every tournament.
Jason and John noted that, “We were strong right off the start. At 5:35AM we had three in the boat... All within 10 minutes!” I was flipping docks while John was throwing a Pop-R and a buzzbait.
He noted that all their fish were caught jigging worms except one, which was caught on a Pop-R. Jason went on to say that they had actually landed five fish, his best being a 2.7 pounder.
He further stated that, ”I had one a little bigger than that, [the 2.7 pound bass he referred to earlier], but it died in the livewell... Had that not happen, we may have won the tournament.”
Jason also mentioned that the fish that died wasn’t gut hooked, and had been in good condition when placed in the livewell. However, Jason believes that the bass may have died by choking on a crawfish that got caught in its throat when it vomited from the stress of being caught.
Jason and John finished their comments by saying, “All and all it was a great day to be on the water with all the guys from are awesome club.”
Finally, the tournament lunker was caught by Joe Metzger. It was a beautiful fish that weighed 3.80 pounds. It was caught on a crankbait just off a hump located in zone 3. Congratulations to Joe on a job well done!
In total, 31 fish, weighing almost 60 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Van Sciver Lake. Again, the 911 Bass Anglers wants to thank the almost 50 participants, spectators, and family members who took part in the days events.
1st place: Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler (picture 1 - Mike Ziegler only)
2nd place: Scott & Jim Goddard (picture 2)
3rd Place: Craig (picture 3)
Lunker: Joe Metzger (picture 4)
"After the Tournament"
The Sciver Summer Challenge
July 25, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
July 25, 2015
Water temperature: 79º
Air temperature: 89º
Weather: Hot, hot, hot: bright sunshine and blue bird skies
The Sciver Summer Challenge
The dog days of summer have recently settled into Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania; and it was under a burning hot summer’s sun that this week’s 911 Bass Anglers’ derby, The Sciver Summer Challenge, unfolded.
Prior to blast off at 5:30 am, the dock talk was all about how tough fishing conditions had been over the last several weeks at Penn Warner’s Van Sciver Lake.
Although baitfish could be seen breaking the surface of Van Sciver throughout the past few weeks of pre-tournament practice, the bass seem to have contracted lockjaw; and the expectation was, after the sun was up, that the angler’s would have to change tactics and plow the depths of Van Sciver Lake to locate and catch bass.
Scott Goddard, prior to takeoff predicted that, “once the sun rises over the trees the fishing would be tough, and the bite would probably be deep”... and he was exactly right.
When the boats finally rolled into the weigh-in stand, in Sailboat Cove on Penn Warner’s big lake, Van Sciver, it was Scott and Jimmy Goddard who scored their first victory of this year’s tournament season. Although, truth be told, this twosome can always be found in and around the top of the 911 Bass Anglers’ leader board, as these two great anglers are not only fierce, but knowledgable competitors.
The Goddard’s scored a sack of three (3) bass that weighed 8.86 pounds, with their largest fish tipping the scales at 3.70 pounds, just 5 hundredths of a pound (or 8 tenths of an ounce) off this weeks lunker, which was brought in by the second place team of Bresnen and Ramaglia.
Scott Goddard advised league president AC Cirard that, “I got one on little Van Sciver [sic] in 16 feet of water on a drop shot; and I marked a lot of fish deep, but just couldn’t get any to bite...”. “I tried all different types of lures. It seems like they are really balling up the gizzard shad and feeding on them, so that might be why we’re not getting a lot of bites.”
Coming in second this past weekend were the team of Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia. Bresnen and Ramaglia are another pair of anglers that is always at the top of the list of 911 competitors. In fact, Jason and John just moved up into the number four (4) spot in the 911 Bass Anglers point standings, for anglers of the year. Jason and John are both great (veteran) anglers that can usually be found lurking around victory circle.
This week, during very tough conditions, Jason and John managed to land three (3) bass that weighed 6.05 pounds. Jason said, “Our first fish came around 10am. I was skipping a topwater under some cover when, BAM, the lunker slammed my bait.” Jason’s lunker, by the way, weighed-in at a hefty 3.75 pounds.
Jason further advised that, “I didn’t have another bite until there was only about 25 minutes left in the tournament when John and I both caught a fish. John took his on a pop-r, and I took mine on my bread and butter lure... my 1/2 ounce jig.“
New to this weeks leaderboard were the father son paring of Allen “AC” Cirard and his son Brian. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, A.C. is a founding member of the 911 Bass Anglers club, and a real “bass master” in the truest sense of the phrase; and both A.C. and Brian have stood atop the winner’s circle many, many times in the past.
The Cirard’s finished with three (3) fish this week that weighed 4.16 pounds. A.C. tells us that he, “spent the first hour in several grassy areas of the lake fishing a Spook and a buzzbait without any luck.” He then, “moved offshore and fished deep diving crankbaits with the same results.”
The tandem’s luck turned when they hooked their first fish off a grass bed, on a drop shot rigged with a 6” black and blue lizard, at about 8am. Their second and third fish came off a Jackall Dart Hog rigged on an old school slider head. One fish came off a dock, while the other was caught on one of Van Sciver’s numerous primary points.
The rest of the field finished out like this: Barry South (fishing alone today), and the paring of Dan Surma & Matt Stepp both had two (2) bass each. Barry’s two fish weighed-in at 3.80 pounds for a 4th place finish, while Dan and Matt’s weighed at 3.65 pounds to finish 5th.
The 6th place finishers, Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler. Gregg Brown & Michael Hartman finished in 7th place. Both boat’s caught one bass per team. Mike and Drew’s fish weighed 2.86 pounds, while Gregg and Michael’s fish weighed 1.79 pounds.
The lineup of Jimmy Mullholand & Bill Everett, and Chad Neuman & George Wilson rounded out this week’s leaderboard. Neither boat landed a fish.
This week’s derby also brought about a first in the club’s 16 year history... a team disqualification.
Joey Metz and Big Show Bruce, (a.k.a. “Team Juice”) - (that’s “J” from Joe, and “uce” from Bruce), were DQ’d for being 30 minutes late to the weigh-in.
It was a heartbreaker for the pair, as they not only would have had the winning bag of bass this week (which would have been the new tandem’s first tournament victory of the year), but Joe Metzger also caught another gargantuan bass that tipped the scales at 5.50 pounds, which would have been the tournament’s lunker as well.
Turns out Big Show had dropped his watch into the livewell earlier in the day, which caused his watch to stop running. This then caused the duo to be late to the scales.
When asked what the thought about the time infraction, all Big Show could say was, “I think it’s time for a new Timex boys”... And that’s his story, and he’s stickin’ to it!
In total, 21 fish, weighing almost 41 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Van Sciver Lake this week.
Again, we want to thank club president Allen “AC” Cirard and weigh-master Tracy Grogan, not to mention all the competing anglers, spectators, and family members who helped put together, and supported this event.
1st place: Scott & Jimmy Goddard
2nd place: Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia
3rd place: Allen "AC" & Brian Cirard
Lunker: Jason Bresnen
July 25, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
July 25, 2015
Water temperature: 79º
Air temperature: 89º
Weather: Hot, hot, hot: bright sunshine and blue bird skies
The Sciver Summer Challenge
The dog days of summer have recently settled into Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania; and it was under a burning hot summer’s sun that this week’s 911 Bass Anglers’ derby, The Sciver Summer Challenge, unfolded.
Prior to blast off at 5:30 am, the dock talk was all about how tough fishing conditions had been over the last several weeks at Penn Warner’s Van Sciver Lake.
Although baitfish could be seen breaking the surface of Van Sciver throughout the past few weeks of pre-tournament practice, the bass seem to have contracted lockjaw; and the expectation was, after the sun was up, that the angler’s would have to change tactics and plow the depths of Van Sciver Lake to locate and catch bass.
Scott Goddard, prior to takeoff predicted that, “once the sun rises over the trees the fishing would be tough, and the bite would probably be deep”... and he was exactly right.
When the boats finally rolled into the weigh-in stand, in Sailboat Cove on Penn Warner’s big lake, Van Sciver, it was Scott and Jimmy Goddard who scored their first victory of this year’s tournament season. Although, truth be told, this twosome can always be found in and around the top of the 911 Bass Anglers’ leader board, as these two great anglers are not only fierce, but knowledgable competitors.
The Goddard’s scored a sack of three (3) bass that weighed 8.86 pounds, with their largest fish tipping the scales at 3.70 pounds, just 5 hundredths of a pound (or 8 tenths of an ounce) off this weeks lunker, which was brought in by the second place team of Bresnen and Ramaglia.
Scott Goddard advised league president AC Cirard that, “I got one on little Van Sciver [sic] in 16 feet of water on a drop shot; and I marked a lot of fish deep, but just couldn’t get any to bite...”. “I tried all different types of lures. It seems like they are really balling up the gizzard shad and feeding on them, so that might be why we’re not getting a lot of bites.”
Coming in second this past weekend were the team of Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia. Bresnen and Ramaglia are another pair of anglers that is always at the top of the list of 911 competitors. In fact, Jason and John just moved up into the number four (4) spot in the 911 Bass Anglers point standings, for anglers of the year. Jason and John are both great (veteran) anglers that can usually be found lurking around victory circle.
This week, during very tough conditions, Jason and John managed to land three (3) bass that weighed 6.05 pounds. Jason said, “Our first fish came around 10am. I was skipping a topwater under some cover when, BAM, the lunker slammed my bait.” Jason’s lunker, by the way, weighed-in at a hefty 3.75 pounds.
Jason further advised that, “I didn’t have another bite until there was only about 25 minutes left in the tournament when John and I both caught a fish. John took his on a pop-r, and I took mine on my bread and butter lure... my 1/2 ounce jig.“
New to this weeks leaderboard were the father son paring of Allen “AC” Cirard and his son Brian. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, A.C. is a founding member of the 911 Bass Anglers club, and a real “bass master” in the truest sense of the phrase; and both A.C. and Brian have stood atop the winner’s circle many, many times in the past.
The Cirard’s finished with three (3) fish this week that weighed 4.16 pounds. A.C. tells us that he, “spent the first hour in several grassy areas of the lake fishing a Spook and a buzzbait without any luck.” He then, “moved offshore and fished deep diving crankbaits with the same results.”
The tandem’s luck turned when they hooked their first fish off a grass bed, on a drop shot rigged with a 6” black and blue lizard, at about 8am. Their second and third fish came off a Jackall Dart Hog rigged on an old school slider head. One fish came off a dock, while the other was caught on one of Van Sciver’s numerous primary points.
The rest of the field finished out like this: Barry South (fishing alone today), and the paring of Dan Surma & Matt Stepp both had two (2) bass each. Barry’s two fish weighed-in at 3.80 pounds for a 4th place finish, while Dan and Matt’s weighed at 3.65 pounds to finish 5th.
The 6th place finishers, Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler. Gregg Brown & Michael Hartman finished in 7th place. Both boat’s caught one bass per team. Mike and Drew’s fish weighed 2.86 pounds, while Gregg and Michael’s fish weighed 1.79 pounds.
The lineup of Jimmy Mullholand & Bill Everett, and Chad Neuman & George Wilson rounded out this week’s leaderboard. Neither boat landed a fish.
This week’s derby also brought about a first in the club’s 16 year history... a team disqualification.
Joey Metz and Big Show Bruce, (a.k.a. “Team Juice”) - (that’s “J” from Joe, and “uce” from Bruce), were DQ’d for being 30 minutes late to the weigh-in.
It was a heartbreaker for the pair, as they not only would have had the winning bag of bass this week (which would have been the new tandem’s first tournament victory of the year), but Joe Metzger also caught another gargantuan bass that tipped the scales at 5.50 pounds, which would have been the tournament’s lunker as well.
Turns out Big Show had dropped his watch into the livewell earlier in the day, which caused his watch to stop running. This then caused the duo to be late to the scales.
When asked what the thought about the time infraction, all Big Show could say was, “I think it’s time for a new Timex boys”... And that’s his story, and he’s stickin’ to it!
In total, 21 fish, weighing almost 41 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Van Sciver Lake this week.
Again, we want to thank club president Allen “AC” Cirard and weigh-master Tracy Grogan, not to mention all the competing anglers, spectators, and family members who helped put together, and supported this event.
1st place: Scott & Jimmy Goddard
2nd place: Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia
3rd place: Allen "AC" & Brian Cirard
Lunker: Jason Bresnen
A Brawl On Van Sciver
August 8, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
August 8, 2015
Water temperature: 80º
Air temperature: 87º
Weather: Hot and sunny
A Brawl On Van Sciver
As the sun settled in the west to take its nightly repose over the bedroom communities of Lower Bucks County, 19 of Bucks County’s finest anglers prepared to take on what’s been a frugal Van Sciver Lake, in Penn Warner Park, for the last several weeks.
As most contestants knew going into this evening’s match, Van Sciver has been very stingy in giving up its bass over the past month and a half or so. A combination of sunny skies, hot daytime air temperatures, and very, very warm water temperatures has resulted in the bass virtually disappearing from the lake.
This has caused the numbers, and size of the bass being taken from Van Sciver to fall dramatically through early August. However, when all was said and done this night, it would be the father and son team of Scott and Jimmy Goddard who pulled out a victory, once again, even with conditions being less than optimum.
The Goddard tandem has been on a tear this season, finishing out of the money only once in tournament 5, on Manor Lake, where the pair finished seventh. This week also marked the second straight back-to-back derby where the boys have place first; and the duo now sits atop the 911 Bass Anglers 2015 Point Standing with 105 points.
Scott and Jim caught 4 bass all together, but two (2) were shorts. Scott said he and Jim caught all their fish between 3pm and 4pm on plastics in the shallows. He went on to say, “We tried fishing the humps, but all the boat traffic seemed to keep the fish from moving up on the humps. It was very tough... as it’s been the last few weeks.”
Finishing second this week were a couple of new faces in the 911 Bass Anglers winner’s circle, that being the bass fishing tandem of Tracker Joe Alimenti and his partner Aaron Grogan. This pair of seasoned anglers has given solid performances time and again throughout 2015, and stand in the middle of the 911 Bass Anglers pack with 53 points.
Regarding their tournament performance, Tracker Joe tells this reporter that he caught his bass around 5:00pm in the evening subsequent to towing a stranger’s boat back to the ramp, after the man and his family had broken down in the middle of the lake.
Joe said, “I caught my bass on a black and silver square bill crankbait in about 12 feet of water fishing around the barge by the power towers.” Continuing he stated that, “my partner (Aaron Grogan) got his on a Wacky Worm at 8:30pm in about 8 feet of water as we were fishing by the concrete wall in Sailboat Cove.” Grogan’s fish turned out to be the lunker for the tournament. It was a 16 3/4” brute that weighed almost three (3) pounds.
Third place was taken by a couple of old hands seen more often than not on the 911 Bass Anglers victor stand. That pairing being Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett.
Mulholland and Everett are a couple of terrific anglers who have been in the hunt for Anglers of the Year from the very start of the 2015 season. Right now Jimmy and Bill are just 10 points behind our leaders (the Goddards) with 95 points; and with the season running out, they are only two of a small group of anglers who stand any chance of catching Scott and Jimmy Goddard in the points race.
The rest of the Saturday’s derby fleshed out like this.
Chad Neuman (fishing alone) landed only one bass that weighed 2.65 pounds. Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia placed 5th with 2 bass weighing 2.42 pounds. Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler weighed in 1 fish that weighed 2.23 pounds, while Elvin Martes and Michael Hartman brought back a single bass as well, theirs weighing 1.65 pounds.
Unfortunately, AC and Brian Cirard were forced to return to the dock early with mechanical problems.
Gregg Brown, Barry South, and Craig all returned with empty livewells.
In total 11 fish, weighing almost 22 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Van Sciver Lake this week.
Again, we want to thank club president Allen “AC” Cirard, weigh-master Tracy Grogan, and the Big Show; not to mention all the competing anglers, spectators, and family members who helped put together and supported this event.
1st Place: Scott & Jimmy Goddard (picture #1)
2nd Place: Tracker Joe Alimenti & Aaron Grogan (picture #2)
3rd Place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett (picture #3)
Lunker: Aaron Grogan (shown alone - picture #2)
August 8, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
August 8, 2015
Water temperature: 80º
Air temperature: 87º
Weather: Hot and sunny
A Brawl On Van Sciver
As the sun settled in the west to take its nightly repose over the bedroom communities of Lower Bucks County, 19 of Bucks County’s finest anglers prepared to take on what’s been a frugal Van Sciver Lake, in Penn Warner Park, for the last several weeks.
As most contestants knew going into this evening’s match, Van Sciver has been very stingy in giving up its bass over the past month and a half or so. A combination of sunny skies, hot daytime air temperatures, and very, very warm water temperatures has resulted in the bass virtually disappearing from the lake.
This has caused the numbers, and size of the bass being taken from Van Sciver to fall dramatically through early August. However, when all was said and done this night, it would be the father and son team of Scott and Jimmy Goddard who pulled out a victory, once again, even with conditions being less than optimum.
The Goddard tandem has been on a tear this season, finishing out of the money only once in tournament 5, on Manor Lake, where the pair finished seventh. This week also marked the second straight back-to-back derby where the boys have place first; and the duo now sits atop the 911 Bass Anglers 2015 Point Standing with 105 points.
Scott and Jim caught 4 bass all together, but two (2) were shorts. Scott said he and Jim caught all their fish between 3pm and 4pm on plastics in the shallows. He went on to say, “We tried fishing the humps, but all the boat traffic seemed to keep the fish from moving up on the humps. It was very tough... as it’s been the last few weeks.”
Finishing second this week were a couple of new faces in the 911 Bass Anglers winner’s circle, that being the bass fishing tandem of Tracker Joe Alimenti and his partner Aaron Grogan. This pair of seasoned anglers has given solid performances time and again throughout 2015, and stand in the middle of the 911 Bass Anglers pack with 53 points.
Regarding their tournament performance, Tracker Joe tells this reporter that he caught his bass around 5:00pm in the evening subsequent to towing a stranger’s boat back to the ramp, after the man and his family had broken down in the middle of the lake.
Joe said, “I caught my bass on a black and silver square bill crankbait in about 12 feet of water fishing around the barge by the power towers.” Continuing he stated that, “my partner (Aaron Grogan) got his on a Wacky Worm at 8:30pm in about 8 feet of water as we were fishing by the concrete wall in Sailboat Cove.” Grogan’s fish turned out to be the lunker for the tournament. It was a 16 3/4” brute that weighed almost three (3) pounds.
Third place was taken by a couple of old hands seen more often than not on the 911 Bass Anglers victor stand. That pairing being Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett.
Mulholland and Everett are a couple of terrific anglers who have been in the hunt for Anglers of the Year from the very start of the 2015 season. Right now Jimmy and Bill are just 10 points behind our leaders (the Goddards) with 95 points; and with the season running out, they are only two of a small group of anglers who stand any chance of catching Scott and Jimmy Goddard in the points race.
The rest of the Saturday’s derby fleshed out like this.
Chad Neuman (fishing alone) landed only one bass that weighed 2.65 pounds. Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia placed 5th with 2 bass weighing 2.42 pounds. Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler weighed in 1 fish that weighed 2.23 pounds, while Elvin Martes and Michael Hartman brought back a single bass as well, theirs weighing 1.65 pounds.
Unfortunately, AC and Brian Cirard were forced to return to the dock early with mechanical problems.
Gregg Brown, Barry South, and Craig all returned with empty livewells.
In total 11 fish, weighing almost 22 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Van Sciver Lake this week.
Again, we want to thank club president Allen “AC” Cirard, weigh-master Tracy Grogan, and the Big Show; not to mention all the competing anglers, spectators, and family members who helped put together and supported this event.
1st Place: Scott & Jimmy Goddard (picture #1)
2nd Place: Tracker Joe Alimenti & Aaron Grogan (picture #2)
3rd Place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett (picture #3)
Lunker: Aaron Grogan (shown alone - picture #2)
Here's the rest of the gang, in various stages of tournament mode.
Mayhem On Manor
August 22, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Manor Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
August 22, 2015
Water temperature: 84º
Air temperature: 82º
Weather: Hot, sunny and blue bird skies (cold front conditions)
Mayhem on Manor
On Saturday August 22, 2015, the 911 Bass Anglers held their annual Mayhem on Manor Fishing Derby on Manor Lake in Tullytown, PA.
This Saturday morning's event, however, was held in weather that was in stark contrast to the weather of the other mornings of that week, in that the air was cool and fragrant. Scented with the sweet aroma emanating from surrounding rolling hills of the Penn Warner chain of mountains, which surround the impoundment.
And, where as most of the prior days of that week had been very, very hot and muggy, a passing frontal system the proceeding Thursday night, changed all that; after a violent drenching thunderstorm dumped more than an inch of rain in six hours, and precipitously moderated the daytime temperatures.
It was classic cold front conditions then, sunny blue bird skies and temperatures in the mid 80’s, that confronted the competitors this tournament day; and when all was said and done it was Jason Bresnan and John Ramaglia that took the gold for this event.
Bres and Rammer now stand in fourth place in the club’s point standings and have been consistent performers all season long, and today their brilliance really shone through.
Jason broke it down this simply when explaining what he and Rammer did to take their limit of bass: We caught all “but one fish on plastic”; “the pattern was slow and long pauses” [on the retrieve], and “most fish [we caught] were in 4 to 6 feet of water.”
Finishing second (in a titanic effort, in that he fished alone and still caught his limit), was Mike Ziegler. Ziggy and his partner Cut, are presently in third place in the points standing just behind Little Jimmy Mulholand and Big Bill Everett with 111 points.
I wasn’t able to get a hold of Mike to find out exactly what he was doing, or where he caught his fish. However, when I saw him, he was skipping the docks in Scott’s Creek towards the end of the derby, and he was skipping a wacky rigged worm.
Round off the top three positions, and also with a full limit of fish, taking the bronze metal in this event, were Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett. Mull and Big Bill have been two of the club’s top anglers throughout 2015, and today they did not disappoint.
Bill told this reporter in an e-mail that he and Jimmy caught nine (9) fish total throughout the day, three (3) of those being shorts; and that they were able to cull at least one of their keepers. Bill also said that four (4) of their nine (9) fish, “came mid-morning finesse fishing”, while the remainder were taken from off of the pads.
The pair also caught a Snake Head, which they did not return to the lake.
The rest of the field finished out like this:
Finishing in fourth place were Scott and Jimmy Goddard with three (3) fish that weighted 6.53 pounds. Scott Goddard also landed the tournament’s lunker as well.
In fifth place were Chad Neuman and his partner Dave with three (3) fish weighing 4.84 pounds. Sixth place was captured by Joe Metzger and The Big Show who caught two (2) fish weighing 4.14 pounds, with Elvin Martes hot on their heels in seventh place, also with two fish, that tipped the scales at 3.04 pounds in total.
Completing this derby’s top ten finishers were Allen “AC” and Brian Cirard with one (1) fish that weighed 2.07 pounds; Bob Kersch (a.k.a. Bob the roofer) with one (1) fish that weighed 1.68 pounds, and Tracker Joe Alimenti and Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan with one (1) fish that weighed .76 pounds.
Barry South finished 11th and came back empty handed.
In total 28 fish, weighing almost 50 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Manor Lake this week.
Again, we want to thank club president Allen “AC” Cirard, and weigh-master Tracy Grogan, not to mention all the competing anglers, spectators, and family members who helped put together and supported this event.
Tight lines and see ya next time!
1st Place: Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia (picture #1)
2nd Place: Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler (picture #2)
(Mike Ziegler pictured alone)
3rd Place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett (picture #3)
Lunker: Scott Goddard (picture #4)
August 22, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Manor Lake, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
August 22, 2015
Water temperature: 84º
Air temperature: 82º
Weather: Hot, sunny and blue bird skies (cold front conditions)
Mayhem on Manor
On Saturday August 22, 2015, the 911 Bass Anglers held their annual Mayhem on Manor Fishing Derby on Manor Lake in Tullytown, PA.
This Saturday morning's event, however, was held in weather that was in stark contrast to the weather of the other mornings of that week, in that the air was cool and fragrant. Scented with the sweet aroma emanating from surrounding rolling hills of the Penn Warner chain of mountains, which surround the impoundment.
And, where as most of the prior days of that week had been very, very hot and muggy, a passing frontal system the proceeding Thursday night, changed all that; after a violent drenching thunderstorm dumped more than an inch of rain in six hours, and precipitously moderated the daytime temperatures.
It was classic cold front conditions then, sunny blue bird skies and temperatures in the mid 80’s, that confronted the competitors this tournament day; and when all was said and done it was Jason Bresnan and John Ramaglia that took the gold for this event.
Bres and Rammer now stand in fourth place in the club’s point standings and have been consistent performers all season long, and today their brilliance really shone through.
Jason broke it down this simply when explaining what he and Rammer did to take their limit of bass: We caught all “but one fish on plastic”; “the pattern was slow and long pauses” [on the retrieve], and “most fish [we caught] were in 4 to 6 feet of water.”
Finishing second (in a titanic effort, in that he fished alone and still caught his limit), was Mike Ziegler. Ziggy and his partner Cut, are presently in third place in the points standing just behind Little Jimmy Mulholand and Big Bill Everett with 111 points.
I wasn’t able to get a hold of Mike to find out exactly what he was doing, or where he caught his fish. However, when I saw him, he was skipping the docks in Scott’s Creek towards the end of the derby, and he was skipping a wacky rigged worm.
Round off the top three positions, and also with a full limit of fish, taking the bronze metal in this event, were Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett. Mull and Big Bill have been two of the club’s top anglers throughout 2015, and today they did not disappoint.
Bill told this reporter in an e-mail that he and Jimmy caught nine (9) fish total throughout the day, three (3) of those being shorts; and that they were able to cull at least one of their keepers. Bill also said that four (4) of their nine (9) fish, “came mid-morning finesse fishing”, while the remainder were taken from off of the pads.
The pair also caught a Snake Head, which they did not return to the lake.
The rest of the field finished out like this:
Finishing in fourth place were Scott and Jimmy Goddard with three (3) fish that weighted 6.53 pounds. Scott Goddard also landed the tournament’s lunker as well.
In fifth place were Chad Neuman and his partner Dave with three (3) fish weighing 4.84 pounds. Sixth place was captured by Joe Metzger and The Big Show who caught two (2) fish weighing 4.14 pounds, with Elvin Martes hot on their heels in seventh place, also with two fish, that tipped the scales at 3.04 pounds in total.
Completing this derby’s top ten finishers were Allen “AC” and Brian Cirard with one (1) fish that weighed 2.07 pounds; Bob Kersch (a.k.a. Bob the roofer) with one (1) fish that weighed 1.68 pounds, and Tracker Joe Alimenti and Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan with one (1) fish that weighed .76 pounds.
Barry South finished 11th and came back empty handed.
In total 28 fish, weighing almost 50 pounds, were safely caught, weighed, and released back into Manor Lake this week.
Again, we want to thank club president Allen “AC” Cirard, and weigh-master Tracy Grogan, not to mention all the competing anglers, spectators, and family members who helped put together and supported this event.
Tight lines and see ya next time!
1st Place: Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia (picture #1)
2nd Place: Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler (picture #2)
(Mike Ziegler pictured alone)
3rd Place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett (picture #3)
Lunker: Scott Goddard (picture #4)
911 Bass Anglers Classic
September 19th & 20th, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver & Manor Lakes, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
September 19th & 20th, 2015
Water temperature at blast off - both days: Upper 80ºs
Air temperature: High 85º on Saturday, High Sunday 72º
Weather: Morning fog turning sunny with blue bird skies Saturday afternoon
Cloudy cold front conditions Sunday morning, turning sunny and (seasonally) milder in the afternoon
911 Bass Anglers Classic Day 1
As most Penn Warner Club member’s are aware, the 911 Bass Anglers Classic is not only the final fishing event of the bass fishing season for the club, it’s also the apex of the bass fishing year at the Penn Warner Chain of Lakes. The Classic is a venerable institution of Indian summer in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not to mention a well-established and enduring tradition within the tri-state areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
The 2015 version of the Classic featured almost all of the best bass anglers in the Delaware Valley, including Scott and Jimmy Goddard, both of whom were standing in first place in the 911 AOY competition as the competition kicked off; Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett, who, at the start of the derby were situated in second place in this year’s points standing; Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler, who collectively had won more 911 Bass Anglers’ Thursday Night Thunder Tournaments than any other tandem in today’s field; and Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia who’ve made a strong second half run this tourney season; and who, had they not missed a couple of derbies early on this year, might now be standing at the top of today’s leader board.
This year’s lineup of competitors are a select group of battle harden tournament anglers that began their fishing season on a cold frosty morning in March of this year at this very same lake. A day that found Van Sciver Lake the only fishable lake in the rolling hills surrounding the Penn Warner chain of lakes.
Now, on this pleasant, fog laden, late September morning, with lake visibilities of less than a boat length, 10 intrepid 911 Bass Anglers’ launched their rigs in preparation for fishing the first leg of today’s 911 Bass Anglers Classic.
As far as could be observed at blastoff the field spread, albeit, at a slow, steady, safe pace throughout the entirety of Van Sciver Lake, until that is, the fog lifted in late morning; and when that thick cloud of tiny water droplets vanished, the first day’s competition would have many, many surprises to spring upon us, including today’s winning and third place finishers.
When it concluded, as fantastic as it may have seemed to some, topping the leader board after the first day were the always dangerous angling duo of “Tracker” Joe Alimenti and Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan; and today these two guys did not disappoint.
Both anglers scored huge catches during day one of this event. Tracker Joe” landed a beautiful bass weighing 5.43 pounds and was all set to take home the lunker award. However, his partner would have none of that; taking the overall lunker award for this year’s Classic, with a breathtaking 21-1/2 inch long beauty, that tipped the scales at record 6.01 pounds. How’s that for kickin’ a little bass ass fishin’ fans?
Joe and Aaron would total up the day’s creel with an impressive sack of bass that weighed 12.74 pounds, which rocketed them in first place going into day two.
Just behind Tracker Joe and Pony Boy was another pair of talented young anglers who are always around the top of the 911 standings, and who were presumed to do well even before this event started, Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler. So as not to disappoint Ziggy and Cut ended the day with 3 fish in the sack, which weighed a grand total of 5.41 pounds.
Finishing third was a man who’s no stranger to the winner’s circle everywhere he fishes, Elvin Martes. El has won many nationally ranked tournaments and has been the 911 Bass Anglers Angler of the Year in prior seasons. Today, however, Martes finished the afternoon with only a single fish, but that fish was a goodin’ that weighed 4.32 pounds, and was a heavy enough fish to lift him into third place.
Following closely behind Elvin Martes were Allen “AC” Cirard and his new partner for this tournament Tracy Grogan, a.k.a. The Bush-Killer of Basskill Falls, Pennsylvania; or maybe it was the other way around: The Bass-Killer of Bushkill Falls, I couldn’t quite make out his handwriting.
Anyway, many know Tracy as the club’s faithful weigh-master. However, what many don’t know about him, is that Tracy is a bassin’ assassin from way-back; as he’s fished may of the nation’s most famous, or should I say infamous, ponds, streams, creeks, crevices, and rivers.
AC and Tracy finished up with a total of two bass that weighed 4.06 lbs.
In fifth place were the tandem of Joe Metzger and the Big Show, a.k.a. Team Juce. Team Juce managed to squeeze 2 bass out of Van Sciver Lake, which weighed the plush sum of 3.89 pounds. The only thing Big Show could say at day’s end was something about how much he really loves his beaver.
Finishing out the top 10 participants in today’s match were Chad Neuman and George Wilson, with a single bass that weighed 3.78 pounds, in sixth place; Scott and Jim Goddard in seventh place with two bass weighing 3.73 pounds. Following them were Greg Brown and Rick Stapleton in eighth place; Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia in ninth place, and Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett rounding out the leader board in tenth place, each with a single bass.
And that’s how the day closed out at Van Sciver Lake on this 19th day of September 2015. But remember.... the derby ain’t over until the fat fishy sings!
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Day Two
As today (Sunday, September 20, 2015) marked the final calendar day of the 2015, 911 Bass Anglers tournament season the air was filled with even more anticipation than is normally seen at most 911Bass Anglers events.
It would be safe to say, and note for posterity, that everyone, participants, staff, and family members, were all eager to see not only who would win today’s coveted grand prize, the annual 911 Bass Anglers Classic trophy, but also who would win the trophy for Anglers of the Year, as well as overall Points Champion. Not to mention, be awarded the prize for the angler who landed the overall biggest bass this year (the Lunker Award), as well as the laurels for the heaviest net sack of bass to be weighed-in this season (the Biggest Bag of Bass Award).
Day two began very, very differently from the first day of the 911 Bass Anglers Classic. As day two commenced to get underway a rainless cold front rolled into southeastern Pennsylvania, and almost as soon as the boats hurried out of Scott’s Creek on Manor Lake in Falls Township to begin the Classic, the fall season hurried in, and temperatures plummeted precipitously.
The day also saw a strong firm fixed wind blowing out of the east-northeast, with dark hoary skies overhead. It found most team’s looking for the solace of a secluded cove or bay in which to harbor themselves and catch some bass looking for clearer, unperturbed water. However, with the number of club members competing today, combined with the size of the lake this was not to be.
Another point worth noting were the water temperatures this Sunday. Having pre-fished this tournament myself, along with my partner the Sunday before the tournament, the surface temperature on Manor Lake was 89℉. Contrast that with the 81℉ surface temperature readings that were seen as we motored out of Scott’s Creek this tournament Sunday, and it would be easy to imagine that the bass might be hunkered down, suspended, or lockjawed today.
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The Classic Results
At 1:00pm, as the bass boats were being retrieved from Manor Lake one by one, each boating angler was driven “Bassmaster style” to the awards ceremony, which was held under the beautifully warm sun drenched skies, lakeside, in Motorboat Cove on the eastern shores of Lake Van Sciver; nestled between the rolling peaks of the Penn Warner Park Mountains.
As that as our backdrop, day two of the 911 Bass Anglers Classic finished up in grand style, under the shade of a spreading chestnut tree and with a comeback never before witnessed at a 911 Bass Anglers Classic event.
It was to a deafening flourish of cheers and applause, from all in attendance, that Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia received the 2015, 911 Bass Anglers Classic trophy. To the astonishment of nearly everyone in this year’s throng of Classic spectators, Bresnen and Ramaglia had made up an almost insurmountable 11-1/2 pound deficit, from day one of the Classic, to not only win day two of the event but take home the Classic championship trophy. Finishing day two with a 5 fish limit, weighing 13.68 pounds, and a Classic winning total of 14.93 pounds of bass.
This year’s champions talked to this reporter after the event, and stated that the winning pattern was skipping the numerous docks located on Manor Lake, with a soft plastic frog, for the victory. They also expressed their admiration and respect to the other competitors in the event, and thanked them, and club president Allen “AC” Cirard, for all their hard work, and the good natured competition they had experienced throughout the 2015 season.
The rest of the derby’s results were as follows:
2nd place: Tracker Joe Alimenti & Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan: 3 fish @ 12.74 lbs
3rd place: Scott & Jim Goddard: 4 fish @ 8.20 lbs
4th place: Elvin Martes (fishing solo) 2 fish @ 8.04 lbs
5th place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett 5 fish @ 7.43 lbs
6th place: Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler 4 fish @ 6.35 lbs
7th place: Allen “AC” Cirard & Tracy “Bush-Killer” Grogan 3 fish @ 6.12 lbs
8th place: Team Juce - Joe Metzger & the Big Show 3 fish @ 5.10 lbs
9th place: Chad Neuman & Grorge Wilson 1 fish @ 3.78 lbs
10th place: Gregg Brown & Rick Stapleton 1 fish @ 2.34 lbs
Once the award ceremonies for the Classic had been completed it was on to the day’s other big awards.
First was the award to the team of anglers who compiled the greatest number of points. These points were accrued by way of 1st place finishes, and this year’s trophy went to the father/son tandem of Scott and Jim Goddard, which amassed 145 points from their numerous 1st place victories throughout the year.
The Goddard’s were followed close behind by Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett with 133 points; Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler with 128 points; Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia with 123 points; and tied for 5th place were the teams of Chad Neuman & George Wilson and "Tracker" Joe Alimenti & Aaron "Pony Boy" Grogan with 106 points respectively.
Next came the most coveted award presented by the 911 Bass Anglers Fishing Club, that of Anglers of the Year. The trophy is awarded to the 911 Bass Angling tandem that’s caught the greatest net poundage of bass throughout the tournament season.
This award, in a moment of 911 deja vu, also went to the fishing duo of Scott and Jim Goddard who weighed in 54.91 pounds of bass. They were followed by Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett with 42.205 pound; Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler with 39.98 pounds; Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia with 48.87 pounds of bass; Chad Neuman & George Wilson with 26.39 pounds of bass, and finishing out the top 5, "Tracker" Joe Alimenti & Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan with 25.67 pounds of bass.
We congratulate all the men and women of the 911 Bass Anglers Club who placed in this year’s top 10 for the 911 Bass Anglers’ Anglers of the Year; but especially, we want to congratulate this year’s winners Scott and Jimmy Goddard.
Scott and Jimmy fished “lights out” this season. Their hard work, dedication to their craft, and astute fishing skills (not to mention the generous knowledge that they shared without hesitation with all the members of our club), was greatly appreciated; and set a tremendous standard of professionalism for every other member of the club to emulate.
Again, we congratulate Scott and Jim for a job well done!
To end the festivities Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan was presented the season’s Lunker Award in recognition of Aaron’s having weighed-in the heaviest bass this season, which parenthetically, he landed a day earlier, and which weighed a whopping 6.01 pounds.
After that it was Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia’s turn for recognition. Each of these anglers was presented with a certificate of achievement commemorating this year’s Biggest Bag of Bass. Their award winning sack weighed almost 15 pounds, came during this year’s Classic, but this time, on its final day.
In closing, I’d like to thank, on behalf of all the club’s members, our club president, Allen “AC” Cirard for all his hard work and extraordinary efforts on behalf of this club. AC represents the heart and soul of the 911 Bass Anglers and is a shining example of what each of us can strive to become, not just as anglers, but more importantly, as a “top shelf” human being.
Thank you AC.
I would also like to thank Tracy Grogan, Michael Hartman, and Jody Cirard for all of their behind the scenes efforts on behalf of the club; and, on a personal note, I would like to thank: My wife Lisa who helps me compile and tabulate all the tournament statistics, proof reads every word I write, and allows me to fish; my angling partner Mr. Joe Metzger (my bro) who took me on as a partner earlier this year and from whom I’ve learned a lot; and last, but certainly not least, Mr. Allen “AC” Cirard. Because without the efforts of AC.... I wouldn’t be fishing at all. Thank you my bro.
Well, as we like to say here in the 911 Bass Anglers newsroom: That’s all the news that’s fit to print... but only for this season. Join us in just two weeks, as we prepare to kick off the 2016 Bass Anglers tournament season, in our series opener on Morrisville Lake.
Until then everybody, tight lines and bass wishes,
Big Show
1st Place: Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia
2nd Place: "Tracker" Joe Alimenti & Aaron "Pony Boy" Grogan
3rd Place: Scott & Jim Goddard
Lunker: Aaron "Pony Boy" Grogan
September 19th & 20th, 2015
Sponsored By:
911 Bass Anglers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Dateline: Van Sciver & Manor Lakes, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Music & Lyrics by: Scoop D. Fisher
September 19th & 20th, 2015
Water temperature at blast off - both days: Upper 80ºs
Air temperature: High 85º on Saturday, High Sunday 72º
Weather: Morning fog turning sunny with blue bird skies Saturday afternoon
Cloudy cold front conditions Sunday morning, turning sunny and (seasonally) milder in the afternoon
911 Bass Anglers Classic Day 1
As most Penn Warner Club member’s are aware, the 911 Bass Anglers Classic is not only the final fishing event of the bass fishing season for the club, it’s also the apex of the bass fishing year at the Penn Warner Chain of Lakes. The Classic is a venerable institution of Indian summer in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not to mention a well-established and enduring tradition within the tri-state areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
The 2015 version of the Classic featured almost all of the best bass anglers in the Delaware Valley, including Scott and Jimmy Goddard, both of whom were standing in first place in the 911 AOY competition as the competition kicked off; Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett, who, at the start of the derby were situated in second place in this year’s points standing; Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler, who collectively had won more 911 Bass Anglers’ Thursday Night Thunder Tournaments than any other tandem in today’s field; and Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia who’ve made a strong second half run this tourney season; and who, had they not missed a couple of derbies early on this year, might now be standing at the top of today’s leader board.
This year’s lineup of competitors are a select group of battle harden tournament anglers that began their fishing season on a cold frosty morning in March of this year at this very same lake. A day that found Van Sciver Lake the only fishable lake in the rolling hills surrounding the Penn Warner chain of lakes.
Now, on this pleasant, fog laden, late September morning, with lake visibilities of less than a boat length, 10 intrepid 911 Bass Anglers’ launched their rigs in preparation for fishing the first leg of today’s 911 Bass Anglers Classic.
As far as could be observed at blastoff the field spread, albeit, at a slow, steady, safe pace throughout the entirety of Van Sciver Lake, until that is, the fog lifted in late morning; and when that thick cloud of tiny water droplets vanished, the first day’s competition would have many, many surprises to spring upon us, including today’s winning and third place finishers.
When it concluded, as fantastic as it may have seemed to some, topping the leader board after the first day were the always dangerous angling duo of “Tracker” Joe Alimenti and Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan; and today these two guys did not disappoint.
Both anglers scored huge catches during day one of this event. Tracker Joe” landed a beautiful bass weighing 5.43 pounds and was all set to take home the lunker award. However, his partner would have none of that; taking the overall lunker award for this year’s Classic, with a breathtaking 21-1/2 inch long beauty, that tipped the scales at record 6.01 pounds. How’s that for kickin’ a little bass ass fishin’ fans?
Joe and Aaron would total up the day’s creel with an impressive sack of bass that weighed 12.74 pounds, which rocketed them in first place going into day two.
Just behind Tracker Joe and Pony Boy was another pair of talented young anglers who are always around the top of the 911 standings, and who were presumed to do well even before this event started, Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler. So as not to disappoint Ziggy and Cut ended the day with 3 fish in the sack, which weighed a grand total of 5.41 pounds.
Finishing third was a man who’s no stranger to the winner’s circle everywhere he fishes, Elvin Martes. El has won many nationally ranked tournaments and has been the 911 Bass Anglers Angler of the Year in prior seasons. Today, however, Martes finished the afternoon with only a single fish, but that fish was a goodin’ that weighed 4.32 pounds, and was a heavy enough fish to lift him into third place.
Following closely behind Elvin Martes were Allen “AC” Cirard and his new partner for this tournament Tracy Grogan, a.k.a. The Bush-Killer of Basskill Falls, Pennsylvania; or maybe it was the other way around: The Bass-Killer of Bushkill Falls, I couldn’t quite make out his handwriting.
Anyway, many know Tracy as the club’s faithful weigh-master. However, what many don’t know about him, is that Tracy is a bassin’ assassin from way-back; as he’s fished may of the nation’s most famous, or should I say infamous, ponds, streams, creeks, crevices, and rivers.
AC and Tracy finished up with a total of two bass that weighed 4.06 lbs.
In fifth place were the tandem of Joe Metzger and the Big Show, a.k.a. Team Juce. Team Juce managed to squeeze 2 bass out of Van Sciver Lake, which weighed the plush sum of 3.89 pounds. The only thing Big Show could say at day’s end was something about how much he really loves his beaver.
Finishing out the top 10 participants in today’s match were Chad Neuman and George Wilson, with a single bass that weighed 3.78 pounds, in sixth place; Scott and Jim Goddard in seventh place with two bass weighing 3.73 pounds. Following them were Greg Brown and Rick Stapleton in eighth place; Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia in ninth place, and Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett rounding out the leader board in tenth place, each with a single bass.
And that’s how the day closed out at Van Sciver Lake on this 19th day of September 2015. But remember.... the derby ain’t over until the fat fishy sings!
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Day Two
As today (Sunday, September 20, 2015) marked the final calendar day of the 2015, 911 Bass Anglers tournament season the air was filled with even more anticipation than is normally seen at most 911Bass Anglers events.
It would be safe to say, and note for posterity, that everyone, participants, staff, and family members, were all eager to see not only who would win today’s coveted grand prize, the annual 911 Bass Anglers Classic trophy, but also who would win the trophy for Anglers of the Year, as well as overall Points Champion. Not to mention, be awarded the prize for the angler who landed the overall biggest bass this year (the Lunker Award), as well as the laurels for the heaviest net sack of bass to be weighed-in this season (the Biggest Bag of Bass Award).
Day two began very, very differently from the first day of the 911 Bass Anglers Classic. As day two commenced to get underway a rainless cold front rolled into southeastern Pennsylvania, and almost as soon as the boats hurried out of Scott’s Creek on Manor Lake in Falls Township to begin the Classic, the fall season hurried in, and temperatures plummeted precipitously.
The day also saw a strong firm fixed wind blowing out of the east-northeast, with dark hoary skies overhead. It found most team’s looking for the solace of a secluded cove or bay in which to harbor themselves and catch some bass looking for clearer, unperturbed water. However, with the number of club members competing today, combined with the size of the lake this was not to be.
Another point worth noting were the water temperatures this Sunday. Having pre-fished this tournament myself, along with my partner the Sunday before the tournament, the surface temperature on Manor Lake was 89℉. Contrast that with the 81℉ surface temperature readings that were seen as we motored out of Scott’s Creek this tournament Sunday, and it would be easy to imagine that the bass might be hunkered down, suspended, or lockjawed today.
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The Classic Results
At 1:00pm, as the bass boats were being retrieved from Manor Lake one by one, each boating angler was driven “Bassmaster style” to the awards ceremony, which was held under the beautifully warm sun drenched skies, lakeside, in Motorboat Cove on the eastern shores of Lake Van Sciver; nestled between the rolling peaks of the Penn Warner Park Mountains.
As that as our backdrop, day two of the 911 Bass Anglers Classic finished up in grand style, under the shade of a spreading chestnut tree and with a comeback never before witnessed at a 911 Bass Anglers Classic event.
It was to a deafening flourish of cheers and applause, from all in attendance, that Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia received the 2015, 911 Bass Anglers Classic trophy. To the astonishment of nearly everyone in this year’s throng of Classic spectators, Bresnen and Ramaglia had made up an almost insurmountable 11-1/2 pound deficit, from day one of the Classic, to not only win day two of the event but take home the Classic championship trophy. Finishing day two with a 5 fish limit, weighing 13.68 pounds, and a Classic winning total of 14.93 pounds of bass.
This year’s champions talked to this reporter after the event, and stated that the winning pattern was skipping the numerous docks located on Manor Lake, with a soft plastic frog, for the victory. They also expressed their admiration and respect to the other competitors in the event, and thanked them, and club president Allen “AC” Cirard, for all their hard work, and the good natured competition they had experienced throughout the 2015 season.
The rest of the derby’s results were as follows:
2nd place: Tracker Joe Alimenti & Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan: 3 fish @ 12.74 lbs
3rd place: Scott & Jim Goddard: 4 fish @ 8.20 lbs
4th place: Elvin Martes (fishing solo) 2 fish @ 8.04 lbs
5th place: Jimmy Mulholland & Bill Everett 5 fish @ 7.43 lbs
6th place: Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler 4 fish @ 6.35 lbs
7th place: Allen “AC” Cirard & Tracy “Bush-Killer” Grogan 3 fish @ 6.12 lbs
8th place: Team Juce - Joe Metzger & the Big Show 3 fish @ 5.10 lbs
9th place: Chad Neuman & Grorge Wilson 1 fish @ 3.78 lbs
10th place: Gregg Brown & Rick Stapleton 1 fish @ 2.34 lbs
Once the award ceremonies for the Classic had been completed it was on to the day’s other big awards.
First was the award to the team of anglers who compiled the greatest number of points. These points were accrued by way of 1st place finishes, and this year’s trophy went to the father/son tandem of Scott and Jim Goddard, which amassed 145 points from their numerous 1st place victories throughout the year.
The Goddard’s were followed close behind by Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett with 133 points; Mike Ziegler & Drew Cutler with 128 points; Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia with 123 points; and tied for 5th place were the teams of Chad Neuman & George Wilson and "Tracker" Joe Alimenti & Aaron "Pony Boy" Grogan with 106 points respectively.
Next came the most coveted award presented by the 911 Bass Anglers Fishing Club, that of Anglers of the Year. The trophy is awarded to the 911 Bass Angling tandem that’s caught the greatest net poundage of bass throughout the tournament season.
This award, in a moment of 911 deja vu, also went to the fishing duo of Scott and Jim Goddard who weighed in 54.91 pounds of bass. They were followed by Jimmy Mulholland and Bill Everett with 42.205 pound; Mike Ziegler and Drew Cutler with 39.98 pounds; Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia with 48.87 pounds of bass; Chad Neuman & George Wilson with 26.39 pounds of bass, and finishing out the top 5, "Tracker" Joe Alimenti & Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan with 25.67 pounds of bass.
We congratulate all the men and women of the 911 Bass Anglers Club who placed in this year’s top 10 for the 911 Bass Anglers’ Anglers of the Year; but especially, we want to congratulate this year’s winners Scott and Jimmy Goddard.
Scott and Jimmy fished “lights out” this season. Their hard work, dedication to their craft, and astute fishing skills (not to mention the generous knowledge that they shared without hesitation with all the members of our club), was greatly appreciated; and set a tremendous standard of professionalism for every other member of the club to emulate.
Again, we congratulate Scott and Jim for a job well done!
To end the festivities Aaron “Pony Boy” Grogan was presented the season’s Lunker Award in recognition of Aaron’s having weighed-in the heaviest bass this season, which parenthetically, he landed a day earlier, and which weighed a whopping 6.01 pounds.
After that it was Jason Bresnen and John Ramaglia’s turn for recognition. Each of these anglers was presented with a certificate of achievement commemorating this year’s Biggest Bag of Bass. Their award winning sack weighed almost 15 pounds, came during this year’s Classic, but this time, on its final day.
In closing, I’d like to thank, on behalf of all the club’s members, our club president, Allen “AC” Cirard for all his hard work and extraordinary efforts on behalf of this club. AC represents the heart and soul of the 911 Bass Anglers and is a shining example of what each of us can strive to become, not just as anglers, but more importantly, as a “top shelf” human being.
Thank you AC.
I would also like to thank Tracy Grogan, Michael Hartman, and Jody Cirard for all of their behind the scenes efforts on behalf of the club; and, on a personal note, I would like to thank: My wife Lisa who helps me compile and tabulate all the tournament statistics, proof reads every word I write, and allows me to fish; my angling partner Mr. Joe Metzger (my bro) who took me on as a partner earlier this year and from whom I’ve learned a lot; and last, but certainly not least, Mr. Allen “AC” Cirard. Because without the efforts of AC.... I wouldn’t be fishing at all. Thank you my bro.
Well, as we like to say here in the 911 Bass Anglers newsroom: That’s all the news that’s fit to print... but only for this season. Join us in just two weeks, as we prepare to kick off the 2016 Bass Anglers tournament season, in our series opener on Morrisville Lake.
Until then everybody, tight lines and bass wishes,
Big Show
1st Place: Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia
2nd Place: "Tracker" Joe Alimenti & Aaron "Pony Boy" Grogan
3rd Place: Scott & Jim Goddard
Lunker: Aaron "Pony Boy" Grogan
The 911 Bass Anglers 2015 Classic Champions Jason Bresnen & John Ramaglia
The 911 Bass Anglers 2015 Anglers of the Year and Points Champions Scott and Jim Goddard