Johnson Report

Oh, summertime bass fishing. Visions of topwater action (buzzbaits!), warm water and being able to actually fish in Pennsylvania! Or, the reality of high winds, jet skis, water skiers, and big boats clogging the boat ramps. For several years the PVBA members have traveled to Oneida Lake in central New York for a weekend of fishing that is almost always the highlight of the season for numbers of bass and size. This year we arrived to high winds and if you haven’t tried to fish Oneida on a windy day – well, let’s just say that you can run but there is (almost) no place to hide. Saturday was tough due to the wind and high fishing pressure from other large tournaments being held on the same weekend. Never-the-less, 37 fish were brought to the scales although that number is far below what we expect at Oneida. The Saturday weigh-on was closely contested with John Kirkpatrick (11.43 lbs.) and Jack Kirkpatrick (10.53 lbs.) taking the top two spots after traveling down the Oneida River to find calmer waters. Closely following in 3rd place was Jeff Nurk with 10.35 lbs. Lunker was caught by Tim Johnson at 3.2 lbs. This was Jack Kirkpatrick’ first limit so a big congrats to Jack K. Sunday brought far less wind and at one point mid-day the water became as calm as glass. Fishing, however, didn’t improve but remained challenging. The weigh-in was a bit better with 40 fish brought to the scales compared to 37 on Saturday and the 1st place bag caught by Tim Johnson at 13.56 lbs. was the best of the weekend. 2nd place went to Harry Nurk with 10.58 lbs. and in 3rd was George Agentis with 4 fish going 10.36 lbs. George also had lunker at 3.50 lbs. Our third tournament of the June/July stretch was held on our home waters of the Delaware River. The Delaware River can be extremely frustrating but at times can produce some surprising catches. With a 4 fish tournament limit as dictated by state law to allow culling, 1st place was taken by Fred Kelby with 4 fish weighing 8.53 lbs., 2nd by John Kirkpatrick with 4 fish at 6.90 lbs, and 3rd went to John Hoffman who had 2 fish weighing 6.28 lbs. John Hoffman’s bag included a 4.91 lb. lunker that is one of the largest bass we have seen on the Delaware River in quite some time. A total of 27 fish weighing 44+ lbs. were brought to the scales. With 3 tournaments remaining, the Angler of the Year race has taken shape with Harry Nurk having a lead over none other than Jeff Nurk. It’s a father and son battle with John Kirkpatrick and Carl Bernhart trying to stay within striking range. Jeff Nurk came within 1/16” of being skunked on the Delaware and with the best 8 tournament finishes counting towards AOY and only 9 tournaments in this season’s schedule there is no room for error. Our next stops in August are back to the Northeast River (where do those spring lunkers go in the summer?) and a new tournament location on the Choptank River where no one in the club has previously fished. It could be interesting!

April and May represent the spring portion of PVBA’s tournament schedule. Each year we migrate south to fish the tidal waters of the Potomac River and the Upper Chesapeake Bay. Traditionally, the Potomac River has been a high point for the club due to its well earned reputation for lots of bass and big bass. But the focus of our spring fishing has evolved to a deep appreciation for waters closer to home – the Upper Chesapeake Bay or more commonly known as the Susquehanna Flats. Whether you launch in the Northeast River, at Elk Neck State Park, Havre de Grace or on the Sassafras River, very good fishing is nearby. Our first two tournaments of 2007 were scheduled for the Potomac River in mid-April. A nasty nor’easter cancelled the Sunday tournament but the season opener on April 14 was won by Carl Bernhart who brought in 4 bass weighing 11.90 pounds. Way to go Carl! Second and third place went to a father-son combo, Harry and Jeff Nurk. Our third scheduled tournament was on April 28 out of the Northeast River. What a hog fest!! Twenty-five bass exceeding the minimum 15” in length were brought to the scales averaging 3.43 lbs. per fish. Three fish exceeded 5 lbs. with G. J. Agentis taking lunker with a 5.62 lb. beast. His boat partner, yours truly, weighed in a 5.44 lb. bass. Still, it takes a limit to win and first place went to Jeff Nurk with 15.62 lbs., second to Harry Nurk with 13.86 and third to last year’s Angler of the Year John Kirkpatrick with 11.97 lbs. Our final spring tournament launched on May 12 out of Elk Neck State Park. Fish were abundant with several anglers reportedly catching one to two dozen fish during the day. When the scales were closed, Carl Bernhart had won his second tournament of the season with 15.63 lbs, followed by Harry Nurk with 15.20 lbs and John Hoffman with over 11 lbs. A total of 30 fish averaging 2.82 lbs. per fish were brought to the scales. If you not fishing the flats, you might be missing the best tidal bass fishery in the mid-Atlantic region. Find grass and you’ll find bass.

The 2006 season ended with unseasonably mild weather but as we find ourselves in the dreadful month of February winter has arrived with an attitude. February has to be the worst month of the year for a bass fisherman in the Bucks County area. For most of us, its been at least two months since fishing season and we are still 6-8 weeks from getting back onto the water - and ice fishing doesn't count!! Never-the-less, the PVBA membership has been busy organizing the tournament schedule for 2007. The 2007 season will feature tournaments on some of the top tidal waters in the U.S. as well as one of the top tournament destinations in the northeast on Oneida Lake. Its hard to imagine but at this moment the the Oneida Lake area has any where from 100 - 140" of snow on the ground. Each fishing season is unique and 2006 saw John Kirkpatrick's persistence in fishing the PVBA tournament schedule rewarded with a PVBA Angler of the Year title. Several club members demonstrated their skills in other tournaments as additional members began to fish the District 9 ABA tournament trail and club member Dale Gorrell finished well in the ABA National Tournament on Kentucky Lake while qualifying for the FLW Stren circuit. And last but not least Dean Pacella and Dale Bernhart teamed up to win an Angler's Choice tourment on Oneida Lake. Finally, 2006 saw the passing of Milt Rhoads, a long time PVBA member who was instrumental in the development of the PVBA and just this week we learned of the loss of club member Mike Phelan. Mike joined the PVBA for the 2006 season and quickly became friends with everyone who met him. He will be missed. So remember, fish safe, fish hard, but most importantly have fun out there.

October is a month of transition in the mid-Atlantic region as the last vestiges of summer give way to some serious fall weather. For the PVBA that change over occurred hours before the annual Classic tournament as the temperature dropped like the proverbial rock. For the 2006 Classic, the club returned to the Pocomoke River for the second consecutive year to determine which 2-person team would take the Classic title. The PVBA Classic is a no entry fee tournament for members who qualify either through participation during the regular season or by finishing in the top 50% on a points basis. Unlike the regular season tournaments that are fished on an individual basis, the Classic is fished as a team format. There were five teams that made the trip and all reported success while pre-fishing on Friday. As seems to happen wherever we travel for the annual Classic, the weather was about to undergo a serious change prior to Saturday’s launch. When we arrived at Shad Landing the air temperature was a balmy 36 degrees (frost on the docks!!) versus a water temperature of 64 resulting in a fog that was so heavy you couldn’t see 50 yards. Yet somehow the duck hunters on the river could see well enough to start blasting away at 6:45. Fifteen minutes later the fisherman very tentatively made their way into the river and the tournament was on!! An hour or so later the fog had lifted to bluebird skies and shortly thereafter the wind started blowing. If there is a single characteristic to be said about fishing the Pocomoke River it is that you had better keep your Golden Rule handy because you will be using it over and over and over. And bring the needle-nose pliers for extricating your lures from the throats of some very large pickerel. The Saturday weigh-in had 4 of the 5 teams bringing in 7 fish limits but only 1 fish exceeded 2 lbs. In other words, it was a weigh-in that resembled the B.A.S.S. Classic weigh-in at the Pittsburgh Convention Center in 2005. Three of the five teams, including the leading team of George Knab and Tom Weston, had fished upstream of Snow Hill and all had limits with stick baits being the go to lure. The team in second place, Tim Johnson and G. J. Agentis, fished near Pocomoke City and reported a strong Chatterbait pattern. Weston and Knab finished the day with a 2.2 lb. lead that seemed to be insurmountable given the lack of decent fish. Sunday morning was a chilly 38 degrees with a bit of fog but the water temperature was now down to 60 degrees. The club only fished a 6 hour day on Sunday to allow for driving time back to PA and fishing was clearly slower than on Saturday as no team caught more than 4 keepers. Tom Weston and George Knab had 4 keepers and with Saturday’s weight had a 2-day total of 14.44 lbs. to take 1st place and the $496 first place check. Plastics were again their go to bait with two of their keepers coming shortly before the weigh-in. Second place was taken by Tim Johnson and G. J. Agentis who had the big bag of the day with 4 keepers totaling 5.39 lbs. including the tournament lunker of 2.47 lb. Their 2-day total was 13.34 lb., falling one agonizing keeper short of challenging for the win. Johnson and Agentis caught most of their fish on a Chatterbait plus a few fish on a spinnerbait. Johnson and Agentis split $277 for their efforts. Finishing in 3rd place were Carl Bernhart and Paul Moyer who totaled 11.48 lbs. and split $181 for their efforts. Everyone had a good time and the camaraderie was excellent.

It’s been a busy two months since my last update and there’s a lot of news to cover. The regular PVBA tournament season wrapped up with club tournaments on the Northeast River, the Delaware River and Lake Wallenpaupack. A new PVBA Angler of the Year race has been decided and qualifying for the year-end PVBA Classic has been finalized. So let’s start with the final three tournaments. The Northeast River tournament was held on 8/26 with Harry Nurk bringing two very nice fish to the scales that weighed 7.46 lbs including a 4.63 lb. lunker. Second and third places went to GJ Agentis (2 fish - 6.38 lbs.) and Carl Bernhart (2 fish – 4.18 lbs.) respectively. A disappointing total of 14 fish were brought to the weigh-in totaling 30 lbs. in weight. Next was the Delaware River tournament on 9/9 where 19 members brought 30 fish to the weigh-in that weighed 46 lbs. The Delaware River has seen some really nice weigh-ins in 2006 and we hope that this is a positive sign of the health of the river. Harry Nurk continued his recent hot streak with another winning bag of 4 fish weighing 8.61 lbs including a 3.52 lb. lunker. GJ Agentis again came in second (3 fish – 5.02 lbs.) and Tim Johnson came in third (3 fish – 4.85 lbs.) The final 2006 tournament was held on 9/23 at Lake Wallenpaupack. The Angler of the Year race was on the line as were the final qualifying slots for our year-end Classic on the Pocomoke River. George Knab brought 4 fish to the scales weighing 6.73 lbs. to take 1st place. George is a new club member in 2006 so a big congratulations to George for his first winning bag! In 2nd place was our new 2006 Angler of the Year John Kirkpatrick with 3 fish weighing 5.09 lbs. Rounding out the money winners was Tim Johnson in 3rd place with 3 fish and 4.93 lbs. The Angler of the Year race was very exciting with John K. and Carl Bernhart battling it out week after week. Carl failed to catch a keeper in the last tournament on Lake Wallenpaupack leaving the door wide open for John K. who gladly took home the AOY title. For the Classic to be held on October 14 and 15 at the Pocomoke River we have a total of 18 members qualified. For 2006, the PVBA held 10 one-day tournaments with an average of 16 members at each tournament. We weighed in a total of 260 fish for the season that weighed a total of 526 lbs. for a 2.02 lb./fish average. As a whole, the club averaged 1.64 fish/angler/tournament day. Overall it was a very solid season. This past year we added nine new members who have brought new enthusiasm to the club and for the first time we have two father-son combinations fishing together. 2006 PVBA Final Standings Angler of the Year 1st place – John Kirkpatrick 756 points 2nd place – Carl Bernhart 696 points 3rd place – Harry Nurk 681 points 4th place (tie) – Tim Johnson and GJ Agentis 629 points 2006 PVBA Total Weight 1st place – Carl Bernhart 51.30 lbs. 2nd place – Tim Johnson 42.94 lbs. 3rd place – Harry Nurk 35.79 lbs. 4th place – GJ Agentis 35.36 lbs 5th place – John Kirkpatrick 34.86 lbs. See ya’ on the Poke!!

On July 15th, 16 PVBA members returned to the Delaware River for the seventh club tournament of 2006. With heavy flooding in late June/early July still evident in the murky water and debris floating in the river, it was anyone's guess as to how difficult the fishing would be. Not that the Delaware River is ever easy! At the end of the day, 16 members brought 22 fish that weighed a total of 33 lbs. to the scales. Finishing in first place, including a 3.37 lb. lunker, was Mike McLaughlin. Mike has been a member of PVBA since before records were even kept (20 years?) and it was his first tournament victory. Mike had four fish that weighed 8.56 lb - way to go Mike!! Mike was fishing as a non-boater with Harry Nurk who finished in second place with a 5 fish limit weighing 7.25 lbs. Clearly, Harry had his boat on some fish! Third place went to Dale Gorrell who also had a limit that weighed 6.29 lbs. Those three anglers accounted for 14 of the 22 fish weighed in. The Angler of the Year Race tightened up to a three man race as Tim Johnson was skunked leaving John Kirkpatrick, Carl Bernhart and Paul Moyer three final tournaments to determine the year's most successful angler. Next stop is the North East River on August 26th.

June is always an exciting month for PVBA anglers. June means the bass season opens in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and most importantly in New York. This year the PVBA made its 5th consecutive June trip to Oneida Lake north of Syracuse, NY for a weekend of battling both smallmouth and largemouth bass. This is always a tournament where limits are the rule and the possibility of 4-5 lb. fish are for real. This year we found the fish widely scattered with more largemouths being brought to the scales than smallmouths. Two pound fish were the rule and only ounces separated the top finishers and everyone seemed to be on different patterns. Saturday’s tournament was held under blue-bird post-front skies and new member Paul Moyer took 1st place with 10.22 lbs. followed by another new member Jeff Wagner with 9.70 lbs. John Kirkpatrick closed the top 3 with 9.58 lbs. and John Hoffman had lunker with a 3.02 lb. largemouth. It is worth mentioning that both Paul and Jeff fished as non-boaters. A total of 53 fish weighing 98 lbs. were weighed in. The second day also saw 53 fish brought to the scales but with a bit more weight at 108 lbs. Dale Bernhart came in 1st with a bag of smallies weighing 12.12 lbs followed by Paul Moyer with 11.54 lbs. and G. J. Agentis with 11.51. lbs. G.J. had the second day lunker with a 2.89 lb. largemouth. Congratulations to all who participated and especially to those who finished in the top 3 and won lunker awards. For some of us following the weigh-in, it was ON TO CANADA for some evening fishing!!! July will find the PVBA heading back to our home waters on the Delaware River. Let’s hope the mud clears before we launch!!

The month of May – visions of plump females heading for the shallows for some “wild” activity. And you know what I mean because May is the month for lunkers. Then there is reality and why it’s called fishing and not called catching as the mild weather resulted in an early spawn. The PVBA visited the Upper Chesapeake Bay twice during May with a tournament launching from Anchor Marine on the Northeast River on the 13th followed by another tournament launching from Duffy’s Marine on the Sassafras River on the 20th. May is a transition month for the fish and for the weather. It can be hot or cold, calm or windy. On the 13th we had an incoming tide on a pleasant day with 20 anglers bringing 19 fish over the 15” minimum to the scales. While the number of fish caught was a disappointment the average size was just under 2.5 lbs. per fish. Carl Bernhart led the way with 4 fish weighing 10.37 lbs. including a 3.29 lb. lunker. Carl was followed by Jeff Nurk (2 fish for 5.18 lbs.) who nosed out his dad Harry (2 fish for 4.92 lbs.). Way to go Jeff!! The following Saturday we were back again with 16 anglers braving extremely windy conditions with an outgoing tide. Again, 19 keepers were brought to the scale with a 2.5 lb. per fish average weight. Carl Bernhart showed that he could continue to cast a spinnerbait for 8 hours by bringing in a very nice limit weighing 14.39 lbs. for his second consecutive win while yours truly came in second with 10.58 lbs. including a 4.21 lb. lunker. Dale Bernhart followed in 3rd with 5.55 lbs. The best news was that everyone made it back to the ramp safe and sound. We take a break for a few weeks until our annual weekend trip to Oneida Lake on June 24 and 25. Can Carl continue his streak? Last year we weighed in over 110 lbs. each day at Oneida Lake and I predict we will do even better this year so check back later and see how we did.

Finally!! Winter is over, the waters are warming and its time to kick off the 2006 season. As the PVBA often does, we started the season with two days on the Potomac River. The Potomac offers some of the best bass fishing in the nation – if you can find the fish!! We had steady rain on Saturday and cloudy conditions on Sunday. Fortunately, the winds were light both days. Overall the club weighed in some nice fish with a 3 lb. per fish average for both days. Jim Meir and Fred Kelby fished out of the same boat and were clearly the best anglers of the weekend. Way to go Jim and Fred!! New members Grant Robertson, Warren Robertson and Mike Phelan weighed in their first PVBA keepers. And finally, can Sunday afternoon traffic on I-95 possibly get any worse?!

The 2005 season wrapped up my second year as Tournament Director for the Peace Valley Bass Anglers and it was my privilege to do something for a club of which I have been a member for many years. For 2006, Tom Weston takes over the duties of Tournament Director. As a previous Tournament Director Tom will do an excellent job. Every club tournament season has its highlights and its lowlights. For 2005, there were a number of noteworthy highlights.

The PVBA has put together another outstanding list of tournaments for 2006 so if you like to fish in a friendly club atmosphere drop us a line and join us.

Tropical storms, approaching hurricanes, muddy water, and just tons of debris - not exactly your typical August bass tournament. What ever
happened to the dog days of summer? August 14 found the PVBA once again on our home waters of the Delaware River. And what water it was!! The water was clear in some places and had the appearance of butterscotch topping in others. And the tide was absolutely ripping on the outgoing. And of course there were the occassional showers. Never-the-less, several anglers found fish.

Eight of thirteen members weighed in 17 bass with a total weight of 30 lbs. Dale Gorrell continued his hot streak with a 4 bass limit from the
Mud Island area weighing 7.59 lbs. Tim Johnson broke out of his season-long slump with a 4 bass limit weighing 7.2 lbs. Johnson reported catching two
limits of fish upriver on buzzbaits and spinnerbaits but couldn't find enough quality fish to win. Third place went to Ed Carr (4.92 lb.) who caught the 3.98 lb. lunker of the day just minutes before weigh-in in front of a crowd of fisherman and boaters. Way to go Ed! Our regular season concludes on September 18 at Lake Wallenpaupack.

The Angler of the Year race is between Dean Pacella and Dale Gorrell with only a point separating the two. It promises to be an exciting finish!

After setting several club records at Lake Oneida, the PVBA fielded eighteen members on Lake Hopatcong on July 10, 2004. Lake Hopatcong can be fickle
but often produces some heavy bags. That would not be the case on this day. Herbicide treatments to kill aquatic vegetation in areas such as River
Styx severely impaired fish health and fishing success. A number of emaciated bass were brought to the scales including numerous legal fish
under a pound a piece and one 18" bass that barely weighed two pounds. We witnessed the devestating impact herbicide treatments can have on fish
populations.

A total of 26 fish were brought to the scales for a total weight of 36.6 lbs. John Fleming led the way with three fish weighing a
total of 5.85 lbs. including the tournament lunker of 2.65 lbs. Dale Gorrell, a new member in 2004, continued his streak of excellent fishing
with four fish weighing 4.80 lbs. for second place. Third place was taken by Jerry Zoog who caught two healthy fish weighing 3.69 lbs. Fish were
reported to be caught on almost every lure imaginable and at a variety of depths and all but one or two fish were largemouths. A special mention must
go to Dean Pacella who placed fourth - his first tournament out of seven fished in 2004 where he placed out of the money.

The Peace Valley Bass Anglers held their most recent tournament on July 17, 2004 out of Neshaminy State Park on the Delaware River. The club considers the Delaware River their "homewaters" but often approach the river with anything from joy to downright fear. The Delaware can be might fickle and the effect of heavy recent rains were a concern. A good turnout of 17 anglers gave it their best shot on a nice sunny day with a dropping tide.
It turned out to be a better day for boating than for fishing.

A total of 17 fish were brought to the scales for a total weight of 28 lbs. Four of the fish were caught by Dale Gorrell (2 fish for 4.98 lbs. and second place) and Dean Pacella (2 fish for 4.73 lbs. and third place) who made a long trip through the C&D Canal to the upper Chesapeake Bay area. Their efforts were not enough to catch "Old Man River" Bobby Murray of Delaware Valley Outdoors who brought 4 fish to the scales weighing 5.53 lbs. Bobby probably didn't burn through more than a couple of gallons of gas. The lunker was 3.17 lbs. and was caught by Dale Gorrell. Tim Johnson (4th place) was the only other angler to bring more than one fish to the weigh-in so it was pretty obvious that there was no consistent pattern.