Ticonderoga, NY – September 16, 2009- Ninety-six championship anglers from 7 TBF state federations and one Canadian provincial federation converged on Lake Champlain at Ticonderoga New York this week to compete in the 2009 TBF Eastern Division Championship.
The city of Ticonderoga rolled out the red carpet for the TBF anglers and made them feel right at home. Many of the anglers have been here for a week or more and some of the local businesses are already calling them by name! It is really a beautiful place and full of history, if you ever want to go to a place that treats you “like home” where you can learn some about our history and catch some very nice fish in the process…..Ticonderoga is your destination.
TBF anglers caught 49 limits of bass today out of the Champlain waters and a total of 362 fish. The Champlain Fish were HUNGRY! It was a good day!
This event is a “two in one” championship event where we track two sets of standings. All money is paid out based on where each 12 person state team finishes and a collective group…that’s one standing. Then, the top two anglers from each state advance to the 2010 TBF Federation National Championship, presented by the National Guard, the top angler as the boater and the second place angler as a co-angler, so 16 will advance from this event.
In the state standings, Massachusetts leads! The squad from Massachusetts hovered near the top all during the weigh-in but the final few bags weighed pushed them over the top with a team weight of 129 pounds and 12 ounces. It is not, however a runaway. Vermont is right behind them with 127-10, New Hampshire sits in third at 123-13, so only six pounds separate’s the top three teams. Maine and Connecticut are in fifth and sixth with 101-05 and 90-09 respectively. While New York – 84-05, Rhode Island – 82-14 and Canada – 80-06 rounds out the field. Two more days to go, 12 anglers per team fishing….. this deal is still wide open and a long way from done.
In the race for the division champion’s title and the Castrol Maximum Performer award bonus Vermont’s Matthew Applebaum has a three ounce lead over Massachusetts Angler Ed Soule. 17.06 vs 17.03
Jim Gildea, another Massachusetts big stick is breathing down their necks and holding down the third place spot with 16.15. Fourth place and the Connecticut team lead belong to Scott Janus who brought in a 16.11 bag. John Coloutti from Castleton, VT rounds out the top five with 15.05.
Other state leaders are Bruce Acox, he is 7th overall and leads New Hampshire with 15.04, Eric Guimond is in eight overall and leads the Maine state team he weighed in 14.13. The Canadian Bass Anglers Federation, TBF newest International Federation is here attending their first divisional. Their team leader is Gerard Ling, he is tied for eighth overall with 14.13. New York’s leader is Tim Post, Tim was the second angler to weigh in today, and he posted a weight of 13.14, which was good enough to hold the New York lead for the entire day. Rhode Island angler Ronald Bestwick anchors his team with 10.01.
