The New York Division 23 of the Toyota Bassmaster Weekend Series, operated by American Bass Anglers, will wrap up its regular season on Aug. 17, 2013, at the Great Sacandaga Lake.
The competitors will launch at Northampton Beach Campground, located at 328 Houseman Street in Mayfield, N.Y. Anglers may begin fishing at safe light. Registration begins at 4 p.m. Aug. 16 at Northampton Beach Campground. To register for this tournament, see www.americanbassanglers.com/proddetail.php?prod=733.
Anglers fishing the Boater Division may weigh in up to five bass. Co-anglers may weigh in up to three bass. For New York fishing license information, call 518-402-8843 or see www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6091.html.
Great Sacandaga Lake, also known as Sacandaga Reservoir, covers about 24,707 acres of Fulton, Saratoga and Hamilton counties in the southern part of the Adirondack Park in northeast New York. The lake dates to 1930 with the damming of the Sacandaga River. It averages about 32 feet deep, but drops to more than 74 feet deep in places. The name comes from a Native American word meaning “land of the waving grass.”
During the Aug. 27, 2011, BWS tournament on Sacandaga Lake, John P. Damphier of Johnstown, N.Y., won the Boater Division with a five-bass tournament limit weighing 11.73 pounds. He anchored his bag with a 2.38-pounder. Damphier caught most of his fish on a jig fished around rocks and grass in 19 feet of water. Harold K. Miller Jr. of Washington, Pa., won the tournament big bass title with a 3.63-pounder.
In the Co-Angler Division during that tournament, Reed Poulton of Schenectady, N.Y., landed a three-fish division limit going 6.86 pounds with a 2.68-pound kicker. Poulton caught most of his fish on topwaters around weeds, but caught his biggest fish on a green pumpkin grub fished in 35 feet of water. William B. Adams of Piscataway, N.J., won the Co-Angler Division lunker competition with a 3.08-pounder.
Slated for Sept. 21-22, 2013, the two-day divisional championship will be held on Lake Oneida out of Oneida Shores County Park near Brewerton. At the end of the season, one BWS angler will win the opportunity to compete in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic.
For more information on this tournament, call Joe Angelone, tournament manager, at 256-777-6152 or ABA at 256-232-0406. On line, see www.americanbassanglers.com.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.