The 2022 District 1 National Semi-finals was held October 8th and 9th on the Harris Chain of Lakes. It was a tough weekend due to the loss of two very important people in the fishing community. We lost Mr. Ed Fry and then one week later we lost Mr. Jeff Zesiger. Our hearts were heavy, but I know they were watching over us all.

Congratulations to Raymond Trudeau and Jon Christian from Florida and Jon Gagnon and Jeffrey Hickman from Georgia.  They will advance to the 2023 TBF National Championship.

We also want to recognize The Inn on the Green. They placed pictures of Ed and Jeff in their lobby, along with welcome notes in each anglers’ rooms. Their act of kindness goes a very long way. For full results and photos CLICK HERE

On the evening of September 16, 144 anglers met at Fisherman Central in Port Clinton, Ohio at the meeting before beginning an adventure that could change one angler’s life. After a rules and pairing meeting, they were all left with high hopes of a five fish limit on Saturday.

After Saturday’s weigh-in the top boater was Pat Upthagrove of Michigan with 22.23 pounds. The top co-angler was Mark Greco of Ohio with 14.79. However, this was soon to change for some as wind was predicted for Sunday that might affect the offshore bite.

Sunday proved to be typical of Lake Erie with the wind gusting to 20mph from southwest by noon.  Anglers were warned to plan accordingly. Weights were less on Sunday but when the scales were closed Pat Upthagrove held onto his lead and outdistanced 2^nd place Dave Slonaker with 41.94 pounds for two days. Pat Upthagrove of Michigan qualified for the TBF National Championship from Michigan. The Top co-angler was 18-year-old Dylan Phillips of Ohio with a total for 2 days of 24.53.

Dave Slonaker, Andy Fryer, and Rob Dean as boaters and Dylan Phillips, Joe Harmon, and Nathan Metz as co-anglers will represent Ohio in the TBF National Championship. Pat Upthagrove and Rylan Hamlin of Michigan will be Michigan representatives at that TBF National Championship.

Well for the third year in a row, Ontario TBF, (Canadian Bass Anglers Federation). Missed the opportunity to join New York TBF and Pennsylvania TBF, due to border restrictions. None the less 25 boaters and 25 Co- Anglers made the trek to the Host City Port Colborne Ontario, and Sugarloaf Marina on the shores of Lake Erie.

Practice started Wednesday and the competitors got on the water to get a feel for the lake. Friday evening’s Registration and rules meeting held at the Belmont bar and grill ran smooth and was full of excitement, with Anglers anxious to see who they would be paired with for the weekend.

Saturday’s start arrived with great weather conditions and flight one blasted off at 7:00 am followed by flight 2 at 7:20 am.  As the scales closed on opening day Andrew Shufelt was leading on the boater side with a massive 4 fish limit of 20.38 lbs. In second place was Mike Loughlin a ways back with 17.42 lbs. On the co- angler side, CBAF President Sean McLaughlin held a narrow lead after weighing in a 4 fish limit for 13.80 lbs

On Sunday we woke up to high winds and big waves, so we moved the launch to the Upper Niagara River. A good portion of the field had little experience on the river or none at all. So, an interesting day was in store for everyone.  A strange day for weather with clouds then sun then rain and of course some blustery winds. At the scales the talk was positive from the anglers who had better than expected days.

When it came time to announce the winners Mike Loughlin on the boater side made a huge comeback by weighing in a day 2 bag of 4 fish for 14.14 lbs for a total of 31.56 lbs  catching day one leader Andrew Shufelt who put 31.13 lbs on the scales over two days. As close as it gets and a big congratulations to Mike Loughlin on the win and a trip to the TBF National Championship next February, location TBD.

On the co-angler side the race was getting tight after some impressive early weights from the field. Day one leader Sean Mclaughlin was the last to hit the scales. Sean put his 4 fish on the scale for a total of 11.71lbs for a two-day total of 25.51 to claim the championship narrowly edging out second place co angler Jiancheng Guo who brought the biggest second day bag to the scale of 15.38 lbs for a two-day total of 24.06.

To end off the day Mike Loughlin also running a Ranger boat won the ranger cup money, a big thank you to all our sponsors and host City Port Colborne, and of course all of our volunteers who make each event run smooth and safe.

The 2022 D14 National Semi Final would see a flat lake on day 1; something rare on the Great Lakes and appreciated by the 44 boaters who got knocked around during 2 of the 3 practice days. At 6:45am most of the field took advantage of the flat water and headed out into Lake Erie looking for those 6 plus pound smallmouth but a few would remain in the bay for the mixed bite. Weigh in started at 2:45 with a lot of 1 and 2 fish bags along with the stories of 20, 30 even 40 fish being caught during the day but all under the 15in length limit. Only 4 limits on the angler side and 2 limits on the coangler side would be brought in. The first 4 fish limit would be brought in by PA State Champion Zack Borger but 4 largemouth weighing 8.95lbs was quickly erased by Brad Bodnicki (NY) who would be the 1^st leader (angler) at 13.18 but that would not stand long when Steven Call would bring limit #3 to the scales at 16.45 anchored by a 5.17 smallie which would put him in 1^st for big fish as well. Dave Wilt on the coangler side would be 1 of 2 coanglers to weigh in a limit and would end up in 1^st with 4 greenies for 10.03. The coangler side would see 4 lead changes for big fish though starting at 4.01 but near the end of the day Jason Cavanaugh would bring 2 fish to the scales with one of them a 5.17 smallie sealing big fish for the day. A few moments later Steve would find out that his 16lb bag would not keep him in 1^st when Bob Brody, last boat out, arrived with 4 fish weighing 18.20 and the days big fish of 5.56. With the field being flipped for day 2, the day 1 leader will be first boat out.

Day 2 would start out completely different. A sustained 10-15mph wind had started during the night and in the darkness you could hear the waves slapping the seawalls. Bob Brody would tell me where his keys were hidden and I knew he was going to take that ride again and go for broke. With only a 2lb lead and 1 boat short of being able to send 2 boats to the National Championship, 2^nd place sits at home wondering what else could have been done. Bob made the long run but it was not to be with only 2 fish for 5.96. The door was now open for Steve Call but he would blank so it would turn out that 3^rd place Brad Brodnicki (NY) who was 5lbs out would stick a 5 pounder and bring 2 others with it for a second solid day of 11.81lbs giving him the WIN by 0.83lbs over Brody. On the coangler side day one leader, by only ¾ of a pound, Dave Wilt would bring in only 2 for 4.11 only to watch Joe Pacholec Jr double his weight with 4 fish weighing 8.22lbs and taking the win by more than 3lbs; earning his second trip to the Nationals. Big fish for the day was angler Larry Foor 5.04 and coangler Roland Gittings at 5.72 which would be the biggest of the event.

In all, 550lbs of bass would cross the scale and a special note of thanks to all of the anglers who released 201 out of the 205 bass caught. Thank you.

Thank you to Harley Mills with helping out with the day 2 weigh in and Joe Pacholec Sr, Joe Pacholec Jr and Reuben Bartholomew who helped tear down.