Steve Croll - American Bass Association of Eastern PA and NJ

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Official Publication of:
The American Bass Association
of PA & NJ
617 Hamaker Road
Manheim, PA 17545
Steve Croll (L) & Stan Sypeck used their years of local
knowledge and experience to prevail for a tough win at Onieida L.
June rolled-in quickly this
year, and it seems only weeks
ago that we were simply looking forward to the first event
of 2011. Now, it’s late June and the first half of our 2011
circuit is behind us with 10 teams already knowing that
they qualified for the 2011 Highway Marine Classic to be
held in October on the Potomac River. In addition to the early Classic
berths, several of our teams are still trying to earn that coveted Team-of-theYear Title (AOY) which, just as with the pro tours, acknowledges the Team
who consistently performed well throughout the 6 event regular season.
Then, there is the annual Rookie Team Award being decided. One of our
newest teams is seriously in the hunt and on course to win that award and
quite possibly finishing in Second Place overall. Although I wasn’t
planning on naming names, here’s the scoop. Our #1 Team in the 2011
points race after the Oneida Lake event is the defending 2010 AOY Award
winners Bill Albright & Mike Czaplinski with 598 points (having 1 win and
2 second place finishes), and our Top Rookie Team at the half-way point is
Justin Hatton and Mike Sentore with 590 points (currently in second
overall). With another 3 events to go the points race will surely heat up as
several teams still have a shot at moving up. Keep posted on how the 2011
AOY race plays out by reading each edition of our newsletter. We’ll shall
continue our efforts to provide you the information you want so that we may
all learn more and become better anglers. One oddity is that after 5 years of
service as editor and numerous interviews with our Top-5 teams after each
event, I have yet to have any team repeat the same exact pattern. This fact
proves that any of our teams has a shot to win any one of our events. Its
something to chew on before the next event.
D. Stewart, Editor
Editor’s Soundings:
Editor: David P. Stewart
Board Members:
Fred Eurick, President
Mark Dilatush, Vice-President
Marc Shoenfelt, Tourn. Director
Jerry Madden, Secretary/Treas.
Paul Renaldo, Youth Dir.
David P. Stewart, Editor
Contributors:
Marc Shoenfelt
David Stewart
Website Address:
www.bestbassteams.com
Facebook: The ABA-PA/NJ
is now on Facebook thanks to Mark
Dilatush. He set it up for us to enjoy.
Check out the photos and comments.
Calendar of Events:
NEXT Conference Call
TO BE ANNOUNCED
Letters/Comments/Information may
be sent to the editor via e-mail at
dstew1@comcast.net or by phone
at (609) 598-6176.
ON THE COVER:
Several teams awaiting the start of the 2011 Empire Challenge on Oneida Lake
Tournament Directors Corner
Cover Shot:
By Marc Shoenfelt, ABA-PA&NJ Tourn. Director
Fred Eurick (front deck)
and Sam Silvestri appeared as if they
were fishing in a cloud on a foggy
morning at Oneida Lake in June 2011.
Couldn’t resist taking this photo which
proved to be good enough for the cover.
Note: The best part of this photo is the
rare image of Sam actually standing up
to fish. You won’t see that sight often.
Marc’s column will return sometime this summer. We decided
to give him some time off to focus on his business. We also
appreciate Marc’s dedication & efforts as Tournament Director.
D.P. Stewart for
Marc
Shoenfelt
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Steve Croll, Phelps, NY (L) & Stan Sypeck, Sugarloaf, PA won the 2011 ABA-PA/NJ
“EMPIRE CHALLENGE” with an 8-bass limit of largemouths that weighed
25.08 lbs.
Brewerton, NY - Sunday June 19, 2011 - On a clear morning 25 Teams gathered at the public boat
ramp at Oneida Shores County Park in preparation for the 2011 Empire Challenge presented by
the American Bass Association of PA & NJ. Greeted with calm conditions and favorable winds,
our anglers ventured out into the expanses of Oneida Lake in search of post-spawn bass with the
hopes of catching enough weight for victory. At the afternoon weigh-in the team of Steve Croll
and Stan Sypeck beat the odds on their home water to take the First Place Awards and the
$1,238.00 cash prize. Read on to learn more about how Steve & Stan won the event plus how the
rest of the Top-5 patterned those finicky post-spawn bass.
Continued on Page 4
After the event was over on Oneida L. we contacted Stan
for some information on how he and Steve patterned those
elusive and stubborn “post-spawn” bass. Fortunately, for our readers,Stan readily agreed to an interview,
and volunteered the “411” on how they located & caught a limit of 8 largemouths during a week where
most teams struggled to find any quality largemouths let alone those bigger smallies. According to Stan,
their pattern and game-plan began
many years before the pair teamed-up
when they competed regularly against
each other in local events. Both anglers
have many years of experience on this
lake and had recorded numerous very
specific spots that they found through
trial and error. Combining their skills
and knowledge,they simply ran to their
marked waypoints on their boat’s GPS
unit and fished those small spots hoping
some aggressive bass were present.
Luckily, they have more than 30 such
locations around the lake to fish so
“making-the-rounds” to fish several
until they found some agreeable bass
proved to be a sound plan. Hitting
dozens of those spots allowed them
Stan Sypeck (L) and Steve Croll with some of their largemouths that totaled
to find small schools of largemouths
25.08 lbs. to allow them to win the 2011 Empire Challenge on Oneida Lake.
holding on various out-croppings,high
-spots and mini-rockpiles located in the thick grass on the massive flats that
cover most of the lake. Fishing in approx. 8 – 12 ft. rotated between those
structural elements pitching ½ oz. – 1 oz. Stone Jigs (black-blue) into small
openings in the grass that didn’t hint that a rockpile or hump lay below. Stan
said they’d simply let the jig slide down through the grass to bottom where a
hop on the bottom was greeted with a tell-tale “thump” when an aggressive
bass decided to “hammer the jig.” Aside from the waypoints used to find the
buried structure, Stan pointed out that the wind that day played a big role as
did their ability to see those small openings in the grass that made presenting
the lures more efficient. The light winds allowed them to fish slower, be more
precise and “QUIET” which didn’t alert/spook
Mann’s Stone Jig w/ a NetBait 3” Paca Chunk Trailer
the bass.
Continued On Page 5
similar to those used by Stan & Steve for the win
Sypeck & Croll Win – Continued from Page 3
Mann’s Bait Company
1111 State Docks Road, Eufaula, AL 36027
Phone: (334) 687 – 5716 / Toll-free: (800) 841 – 8435
e-mail: sales@mannsbait.com
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He also credited their choice of fishing optics noting their
sunglasses (provided by SOLAR BAT) allowed the to see the deeper grass and holes in the bright sun and
light waves. In addition, Stan did comment that even though he and Steve have years of experience and
many spots to fish, those bass were very spotty at best, and that they had to run-and-gun around the
lake to fish as many as 30 spots trying to be on the right spot when the bass decided to bite. The fish
were in the middle of the annual “post-spawn”
and not as easily patterned. Plus, knowing the
smallmouth bite could be equally inconsistent,
they decided to focus solely on largemouths
figuring their average weight would be better.
Obviously, they called this one correctly, and
they were able to cull through enough bass to
end up with just over a 3 lb. average (while
most of the smallies caught averaged closer to
2 – 2.75 lbs.). Fishing a simple pattern and
covering water proved to be their formula for
success. Something for us all to remember.
Great Job! Hope to see you both in 2012.
Sypeck & Croll Win – Continued from Page 4
Stan’s Skeeter boat just before the launch of the Empire Challenge.
View looking east from Oneida Shores Co. Pk. ramp, Brewerton, NY
Winning Details: Lake Conditions/Bass Activity – Oneida’s water temps. ranged between 76-80 F with the color being
relatively clear for mid-summer. Fortunately, the lake hadn’t yet “turned” with it’s seasonal algae bloom. However, most of
those big smallmouths were not on the expected offshore shoals and flats, and the largemouths were reported to be buried in the
deeper grass during the transition period before most of the fish relocated to their summer haunts. The conditions did make
patterning those bigger fish of either species a real challenge for most teams.
Top Producing Baits: The winning bait was a Stone Jig (by Mann’s Bait Co.) tipped with a Paca Craw trailer (by NetBait)
[See the inset photo and Mann’s Bait ad on Page 4 above]. Our second place team reported catching most of their limit on small
3”-4” swimbaits fished on ½ oz. football head jigs. The remainder of the Top-10 teams reported that various soft plastics also
accounted for most of their catches (Senko type baits & creature baits, small swimbaits, etc.). Only a handful of bass were
caught on topwater lures which was surprising for this northern lake.
Best Presentations - Pitching heavy jigs (1/2 – 1 oz) into holes in the thick grass over isolated rockpiles and high-spots in 8-12
ft. on those large flats was the “winning-ticket” for the victors. A light hop & shake on the bottom was all it took to make them
crush the jig. Our second place team fished their small swimbaits in deeper water out on main-lake shoals in 12-15 ft. using a
hoping presentation to get their attention and entice them to strike. Others reported doing well fishing plastics wacky-style or on
drop-shot rigs while others simply opted to “drag” tubes along the bottom. Seems a slower presentation was the rule with the
fish feeding heavily on crawfish as evidenced by the amount of them spit-up whole or in pieces in our livewells.
Contact: Elizabeth Kerlin
Carol Whitehouse
Call Toll Free: (866) 448-0102
e-mail: mainstreetBK@aol.com
New Location:
604 Bear Tavern Rd.
Ewing, NJ 08628
Phone: (609) 882-2922
Pge 5
Mike Czaplinski (L) and Bill Albright share their 2nd
Place Awards after a very close event that left them
only 0.03 lbs. shy of another victory in 2011.
Going into the event Mike & Bill had a pretty solid game-plan after figuring out that the larger smallies
were holding slightly deeper than most teams were fishing. They targeted bass out on the deeper drops
and points on the offshore shoals in approx. 12 – 15 ft. Those post-spawn fish were truly finicky, and as
Mike explained,many of the quality fish simply were not in the shallows feeding where one might expect to
find them during the early summer months. Most Oneida regulars are well-aware of just how shallow the
fish get on this lake, so it wasn’t surprising to find teams trying the shallower edges and tops of the
shoals in 2-6 ft. Knowing that their best chance for consistently larger fish would reguire they fish
deeper, they reasoned getting fewer bites but bigger fish was worth it if they expected to win. To make
it even more challenging, the bass were nearly inactive and not in much of a “chasing mood” warranting a
slower and more deliberate lure presentation. During our interview, Mike noted that he and Bill were
fishing smaller swimbaits on ½ oz. football-head jigs similar to those pictured on Page 7 below (made by
KEITECH). Yet, there method of presentation is what triggered those strikes. Apparently, those smallies
were mainly suspended off the deep edges of the shoals with some groups of fish periodically moving-in
along the shoals looking for an easy meal like crawfish or small perch, etc. Casting their lures out toward
the shallower edges they simply dragged them along the bottom and then periodically giving the bait a
series of sharp “hops” jumping the bait off the bottom to get the attention of any bass cruising the shoal.
Continued Next Page
Keitech USA, LLC
6 Bonaparte Point Road, Hopatcong NJ 07843
Office - 973-398-7608 / Fax - 973-601-7631
Contact: Mike Czaplinski
Mobile#: (973) 219-7428
Email: basscat@optonline.net
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SECOND PLACE – Coninued from Page 6
They told us the bites came slowly throughout
the day, but, were solid as the fish basically
“smashed-the-diminutive swimbaits” taking
Advantage of the easy-to-catch slow moving
baits. My partner and I observed the guys
fishing out further along one particular flat
along a main lake shoal where a small creek
emptied. We had caught a few keepers in
about 5-6 ft. while they were out along the
quicker drop or edge where the bottom tailed
-out down to a max. of around 20 ft. Bill
added that they fished several similar drops
& edges both out in the middle of the lake
and on the outer-most ends of those massive
Bill & Mike give us a look at some of their 25.05 lb. catch that earned
them a Classic invitation & helped to retain the 2011 points lead.
shoals that jut-out from the shore up to a
half-mile or so off the bank. He said they
wouldn’t get many bites, but when they did they were usually close to the 3 lb. size or better giving them
a better overall average weight than most of those numerous smaller keepers found in shallower water.
Their final tally of 25.05 lbs. was a good sack for a post-spawn event, however, losing a few key fish on
the day would come back to haunt them as their catch fell less than 1 oz. short of earning them another
win. Just one more good cull could have made the difference. Still,they fished well and added to their
lead in the 2011 Team AOY Points Race. And, the Second Place check for $550.00 helped to off-set
some of their expenses while also earning them the added respect of their peers for another good event.
This marked their third straight Top-3 finish in 2011 to end
the First-Half of the regular season with a solid points lead,
and as the first qualifiers for invitations to the 2011 Highway
Marine Classic to be held October 7th & 8 th on the Potomac
River, MD. After taking the 2010 Team AOY Title last fall,
they are already half-way there to defending their title as
of June 2011. Great Job Guys! Your setting the bar high
for the rest of us. We’ll see
2.8” & 3.8” Swing Impact or Fat Swing
Impact Swimbaits similar to those used
you both on the water.
by Mike & Bill at Oneida Lake in June.
Phone: (800) 619–4363 / (561) 741-4424
Fax: (561) 741-7814
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