Syracuse.com - Bassmaster Ramada Challenge a good thing for CNY, but it's not returning next year

[HuntingNY-News]

The only New York waterway on next year's Elite Series tournament schedule is the St. Lawrence River. Also, read about angler's favorite songs and one angler who saved a giant snapping turtle this week....

Gary Walts/The Post-StandardEdwin Evers, Talala, Oklahoma, fishing in the Bassmaster Ramada Championship on Oneida lake.

The good news is the Bassmaster Ramada Challenge on Oneida Lake has been local a taste of the high-stakes world of professional bass fishing, has brought national exposure to the Syracuse area and has provided a substantial economic boast to the local economy.

The not-so-good news is that the tournament is not returning to Oneida Lake next year. The only New York State waterway on the 2013 Elite Series schedule is a Aug 8-11 tournament set for Ogdensburg of the St. Lawrence River.

That doesn’t mean B.A.S.S. tournament officials are turned off by Oneida Lake. They’re just try to give their anglers exposure to different bodies of water each year across the country, they said.

A return to Oneida Lake in the future looks promising. This the fourth time an Elite Series competition has been held here (previous tournaments were held in 2006, 2008 and 2009). Also, Oneida’s great bass fishing speaks for itself . It was rated as the 14th best bass angling lake in the country (100 waterways made the list) in an issue of Bassmaster Magazine earlier this year.

Anglers’ favorite songs

One the features of each day’s weigh-ins for the Ramada Challenge is that each angler has chosen his favorite song and that tune is played as the angler steps on the stage.

The songs vary — from hard rock to soft country. Examples include Todd Faircloth (“Born in the U.S.A” by Bruce Springstein), Boyd Duckett (“Sweet Home Alabama,” by Leonard Skinner) and Mark Davis (“I’m Going to Miss Her” by Brad Paisley).

Turtle tale

Ohio angler Brent “Brody” Broderick, whose shoulder-length hair stuck out among the mostly short-haired pro anglers this week, was eliminated after the first two days of fishing on Oneida Lake. He’ll take home a unique memory.

Courtesy of B.A.S.S.Brent "Brody" Broderick

On the weigh-in stage Friday at Oneida Shores, he said on the way home from fishing Thursday — he said he was staying at a friend’s house in East Syracuse— he came across a massive snapping turtle in the middle of the road.

Fearing for the turtle’s safety, he pulled out of his car and walked into the middle of the street, stopping traffic. He said as he lifted the estimated 35-pound turtle, it turned its head and repeatedly tried to get a piece of him.

As he carried the turtle to the road side, he said stopped motorists and passersby began jointly chanting, “Turtleman, Turtleman!

“I yelled back, ‘No, it’s Brody Man!” he said.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog