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Renegade Bass Q2 Ottawa River
July 14th 2012
“Drink plenty of water!” “Stay hydrated!” These were the words of caution repeated
again and again by the shore staff as they performed the morning boat check for
the second Renegade Bass tournament of 2012. In his morning announcements,
Tournament Director Tom Hooper even went so far as to say “It’s only a tournament-your health is the most important thing. If you start showing signs of heat stroke,
get off the water.” With temperatures predicted to reach 35oC and a humidex of
40oC, there were valid concerns, but try to tell that to 150 seasoned tournament
anglers all vying for a share of the $17 500 total purse for the day, in addition to
a number of prizes donated by various sponsors. The Ottawa River, at Rockland,
was like a millpond at 7:00 a.m. as the anglers headed out for nine hours under the
hot sun. Fortunately, a light breeze picked up a couple of hours later, making the
conditions more bearable, and the anglers always had the option of running from
place-to-place, if only to cool off. Even on a hot day, 60+ mph feels pretty good.
While walking away with a cheque in your pocket feels great, in the back of every
angler’s mind is another goal...qualifying for “The Classic”. Only the Top 40 teams,
based upon the total weight of their catch during five events, will have the
opportunity to compete in the two-day Classic to be held on a body of water
determined by a draw held at the 4th qualifying tournament. The Classic Champions
will become the proud owners of a shiny new Ranger Z119 bass boat powered by
a 200 HP Evinrude HO outboard motor rigged with a Motorguide trolling motor and
top-of-the-line electronics from Lowrance; a prize package valued at approximately
$65 000. Regardless of how they perform in the Classic, the team that finishes in
first place after the qualifying tournaments will earn the title Team-of-the-Year and
two (2) Home Theatre Systems consisting of 2 large screen TV’s and Surround
Sound Stereo.
In this, its 17th season, the Renegade Bass series has managed to attract some
very high-calibre anglers from both Ontario and Quebec. Among the names you
might recognize are Bob Izumi, Reno Viola, and BenWoo as well as that of our
knowledgeable and jovial Master of Ceremonies, “Big” Jim McLaughlin, one of
Canada’s best known anglers. Ably assisted by angler Mike Brown, Jim manages to
handle the weigh-in, entertain the crowd, and encourage younger spectators to take
up fishing by distributing free rods, reels, and lures thanks to the generosity of our
sponsors Berkley and Shimano.
Despite the very stiff competition, it was one of our local teams that earned top
honours on Saturday. With a weight of 19.82 pounds, the team of Pierre Guay and
Denis Desjardins walked away with the $5000 first-prize cheque, an additional $500
from Ranger boats as the top-finishing registered team driving a Ranger bass boat,
and the $250 Rhodes and Williams appreciation award because they purchased
their boat insurance from R & W. Had their boat been equipped with an Evinrude
outboard, they would have received a $500 gift certificate for Evinrude products at
Orleans Boat World and Sport and, had they purchased the boat at OBW & S, they
would have received an additional $350. Not bad for a day’s work, even under the
hot sun.
You can’t get much more local than Pierre Guay, who lives in the Rockland area.
This was his first RB victory in 12 years of competition, so it’s particularly sweet
that it finally happened on what could be considered his “home water”. Despite
having fished the Ottawa River on countless occasions, he and his wife spent five
days pounding the water in an effort to find a reliable concentration of good bass.
Obviously, their hard work paid off. For partner, Denis Desjardins, this was his
second victory. In 2002, fishing with Jack Richardson, he won the Ottawa River
event, also held at Rockland. Hard work plus experience—a powerful combination.
When interviewed following the tournament, Pierre divulged that, based upon the
pre-fish, a decision was made to concentrate on largemouth bass rather than a mix
of largemouth and smallmouth as they have done in the past. They focused on a
couple of areas, not spending more than $15 on fuel for the entire day, fishing thick
cover over a sand bottom. The stable weather leading up to the tournament left
them confident that the pattern established in practice would serve them well. Pierre
and Denis would like to thank their sponsors: SonXPlus, River Rock Inn, Rockland
Marine, FISHNTECH, Lamoureux Home Hardware and Steamatic.
In second place, only 0.42 lb. back, were Gary Rayner and Mark Robinson,
frequent visitors to the Renegade Bass stage. Winners in 2002 on the Rideau River
and again in 2010 on Newboro Lake, they are most proud of being named 2002
Team-of-the-Year. While Guay and Desjardins concentrated on a couple of areas,
Rayner and Robinson chose a run-and-gun approach, hitting shallow cover up
and down the river targeting largemouth bass. All of their fish were caught on GLX
Loomis flipping sticks using 65# Power Pro line and 1 oz. Lunker Lure Grassmaster
triple rattleback jigs. They left with a $2300 cheque for their efforts.
A weight of 18.4 lb. earned third place and $1200 for brothers Corey and Spencer
Gaffney. Tournament winners in both 2008 and 2009, they are no strangers to the
Top 10 in Renegade Bass tournaments. Though young in appearance, they share
a wealth of experience and natural talent. Like Guay and Desjardins, they spent
their day carefully dissecting one area. They concentrated on offshore structure,
believing the bass would move to deeper water due to the high temperatures. Only
one of their fish was caught close to the bank. Utilizing Gary Yamamoto Senkos,
topwaters, and Texas-rigged craws they took fish on a weed flat, the adjacent deep
edge, and a deep weed mat. Catching over 30 fish, they had their limit by 9 a.m.
Interestingly, not one of the Big Fish prizes for the day went to any of the Top 20
teams. Earning $1100 for weighing in the big bass of the day was the team of
Joe Figueira and Morgan Cignini, relative newcomers to the series. Their 5.91 lb.
largemouth not only earned a sizeable cheque, but made a point—fish hard right
up to the end of the tournament. Returning from their prime locations, they found
themselves with a few minutes to kill at the end of the tournament. Rather than
checking-in early, they fished a shoreline across from tournament headquarters
and, with five minutes to go, landed the big one. A cheque for $450 went to Kevin
Collins and Mitchell Lett for their 5.62 lb. bass, while Robert Lalonde and Alex
Schafer earned $300 for their 5.44 lb. catch. It’s very unusual that the prize money
is spread so widely.
Through the generosity of a number of our sponsors, Renegade Bass is able to
offer a number of rewards programs in addition to regular prize pool. Had Figueira/
Cignini been registered for the G. Loomis Skeleton Crew Challenge, their big bass
would have earned them an additional $500. However, it does earn them the lead
in the Yokohama Biggest Bass of the Year competition sponsored by Goldwing
Autocare. At the end of the season, should it still be the largest bass weighed-in,
they will receive two sets of Yokohama tires complete with installation, balancing
and nitrogen fills. For the second tournament in a row, the team of Scott Lefebvre
and Rob Yantha, who placed 4th, won two Cumara rods as registered Shimano
Platinum Cup participants. They currently lead the standings as the registered team
with the highest total weight for the season. At the end of the season, the topplacing Classic qualifier registered in the program will have his 2013 entry fee paid
($750) and will also receive a gas card ($125). If both members of the team are
registered in the program, they will each receive the above amounts. At the end of
the season, including the Classic, any team using a Motorguide trolling motor
qualifies to win a new Tour Edition trolling motor if they have the largest total weight
for the year.
The team of David Chong and Doug Brownridge currently hold the lead with 26.15
lb. Last, but definitely not least, there are the Lowrance/Navionics draw prizes. At
each tournament, any team using a Lowrance fishfinder qualifies for a draw for 2
Navionics chips. The team of Fern Campeau and Carl Boileau won the draw for Q1
and Roberto Straccini and partner Brett Miller won for Q2. At the end of the season,
one of the 31 qualified teams will win a pair of Lowrance HDS5 Gen 2 units.
Despite the high temperatures, the vast majority of fish caught were returned safely
to the waters of the Ottawa River thanks to the use of the Shimano Water Weigh-in
System which ensures that the bass are in water throughout the process. After their
trip to the scales, they were taken to one of the two Shimano Live Release boats for
re-introduction to the river at locations far from the tournament site, a procedure far
superior to releasing them at the docks.
Renegade Bass would like to thank the Town of Rockland for its hospitality. The
park and launch facilities are outstanding. Marine 200 (Cornwall) will host Qualifiers
3 and 4 on the St. Lawrence River (Lake St. Francis) on Saturday, August 11th and
Sunday, August 12th with the weigh-in at 4:00 p.m. each day. If you can’t join us,
visit our website at www.renegadebass.com and click on the “WATCH LIVE” icon
to the view the weigh-in on-line thanks to the efforts of executive member John
Henry. You can also join the 50 000 listeners tuning their radios to Team 1200 AM
on Saturday mornings from 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. for the Renegade Bass Radio Show
hosted by Paul Shibata--an hour of tournament updates, interviews and tips.
Top 20 Results
TEAM
Pierre Guay/Denis Desjardins
Gary Rayner/Mark Robinson
Corey Gaffney/Spencer Gaffney
Scott Lefebvre/Rob Yantha
Lorne Sugrue/Kavin Trudeau
Mike Brown/Jeff Henckel
Fern Campeau/Carl Boileau
Jean-Charles Goulet/Pierre-Hugues Lussier
John Ebbers/Mike Vandenberg
Andy Kinstler/Dave Roy
Eric Lamarche/Eric Danis
Chris Roy/Wincell Spence
David Chong/Doug Brownridge
John Martin/Wayne Jackson
Ryan MacCallum/(S)Julien Desjardins
Jean Martin Landry/Pat Milot
Kerry Clouthier/Ken Dagenais
Jeff Bussiere/Stephane Crete
Mike Desforges/Jay McCormack
Duane Clifton/Dave Western
BF1=Big Fish
BF2=2nd Big Fish
WEIGHT
(lb.)
19.82
19.40
18.40
17.47
17.46
17.33
16.56
16.42
16.37
16.31
16.23
15.83
15.65
15.34
15.33
15.24
15.10
15.00
14.95
14.86
BF3=3rd Big Fish
CASH PAYOUT
$5000 + $500 RC
$2300
$1200
$1000
$900
$800
$700
$600
$500
$400
$250
$250
$250
$250
$250
$200
$200
$200
$200
$200
RC=Ranger Cup
BIG FISH
TEAM
Joe Figueira/Morgan Cignini
Kevin Collins/Mitchell Lett
Robert Lalonde/Alex Schafer
WEIGHT
(lb.)
5.91
5.62
5.44
CASH PAYOUT
$1100
$450
$300
TEAM OF THE YEAR - TOP 6
TEAM
Scott Lefebvre/Rob Yantha
Pierre Guay/Denis Desjardins
Gary Rayner/Mark Robinson
Corey Gaffney/Spencer Gaffney
Carl Roy/Eric Clemot
Mike Desforges/Jay McCormack
WEIGHT
(lb.)
34.29
34.10
33.22
31.90
31.46
31.25
Visit us online at www.renegadebass.com