Syracuse.com - Rochester area angler wins the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open

[HuntingNY-News]

The victory was sealed with an 11th hour flurry of catches.

Rochester area angler Jim Bianchi nailed down a victory today in the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open on Oneida Lake with an 11th hour flurry of catches.

Bianchi's victory came together thanks to three good days of catches, topped off by today's 5-fish bag that weighed 17 pounds, 7 ounces.

The victory earned him $6,400, plus a Skeeter boat, Yamaha motor package and trailer, worth more than $40,000.The awards ceremony was held this afternoon in the parking lot in front of the Bass Pro Shops store at the Fingerlakes Mall in Aurelius.

Tracy Adams, of Wilkesboro, N.C., took second, with a total weight of 49 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Jacob Powroznik, of Prince Grove, Va., was third with 48 pounds, 6 ounces.

Bianchi, who lives in Rush, said one of his hot spots was discovered when he boated a big bass with "a bunch of weeds attached to it.

View full sizeJim Bianchi, of Rush, winner of the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open, holds up a nice smallmouth bass and largemouth bass that he boated during today's final day on Oneida Lake.David Figura | [email protected] 

"In those weeds were thousand of tiny crayfish as soon as I saw that, I knew there were bass in there. Either the crayfish had just spawned and the bass were feeding on (the parents), or the bait fish were feeding on the small crayfish. It was very isolated, a very small area and there were a pile of fish there - 90 percent largemouth," he said.

It was at that spot he boated the majority of fish on Day 2, he said. His 19- pound, four- ounce bag - the largest turned in by an angler in the three-day tournament -- propelled him into the lead that day.

Bianchi said he had a couple of other favorite areas and saved one for the remaining two hours of the competition today. He said he didn't hit it Day 1 or Day 2.

"About noon and 1 a.m., that's when the smallmouth get going. I told my partner we need to go to this area," he said. " We went there and I pulled in a 4-pound smallie, a 4 ½ pound largemouth and a 3- pound smallie at the end of the day.

"Before I had those three I figured I had a shot at it. When I boated those three I knew I had it."

He said his two key baits were " a jig and finesse rig, drop shot. "

The largest fish of the tournament was a 5-pound, six pound largemouth caught on Friday by Kenny Garippa, of Tobyhanna, Pa. He landed the lunker on a green, pumpkin seed-colored Senko worm with black flake. Garippa, who turned in an impressive bag of all largemouths that same day, weighing a total of 19 pounds, three ounces. However, he did not qualify for Saturday's final after a poor showing on the first day.

Tom Hill, of Lexington, Ky., won the co-anglers division, in addition to catching the biggest fish in that division.David Figura | [email protected] 

Tom Hill of Lexington, Ky, grabbed the co-angler title, combining a total weight of 27 pounds, 12 ounces over the three days. (The pros were allowed to weight five fish each day; the co-anglers, three.) With his victory, Hill won a Nitro bass boat, powered by a Mercury motor, along with a trailer.

Christopher Hill, of Clarks Summit, Pa., finished second behind Hall, with a total of 27 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Jason Shipton, of Muncey, Pa. with 27 pounds, 3 ounces.

Hill also won the Carhardtt Big Bass award for his division -- a 4 pound, 11-ounce largemouth that he caught on the second day. The fish earned him an additional $500.

The bait?

"A Texas- rigged, green pumpkin- colored brush hog," he said.

Liverpool's Brian Kelly led the co-angler division after Day 1, turned in the heaviest bag among the co-anglers (10 pounds, seven ounces) and made today's final. However, he had a bad day today and got skunked. He finished 11th overall.

"As a co-angler, you have to adjust to who you're fishing with and today we were fishing for largemouth," he said. "I only had one largemouth bite and it popped off."

The tournament started Thursday morning with 162 boats containing two angler each - a pro and a co-angler. The field was trimmed to the top 12 in each division for today's final. In total, about $250,000 in cash and prizes were handed out.

For final results from Day 3, see syracuse.com/outdoors. For more, see bassmaster.com.

PRO ANGLERS

(Winning totals include cash and equipment)

1. Jim Bianchi, Rush, NY , 52-07, $47,412

2. Tracy Adams, Wilkesboro, NC, 49-04, $16,416

3. Jacob Powroznik, Prince Grove, VA, 48-06, $12,312

4. Jamey Caldwell , Carthage, NC, 48-01, $11,016

5. Mike Morrin, Seneca Falls, NY, 47-1, $9,612

6. Michael Iaconelli, Pitts Grove, NJ, 46-14, $8,208.

7. Paul Malone, Pleasant Valley, IA, 46-08, $6,912

8. Chris Daves, Hopewell, VA, 45-14, $5,508

9. Eddie Levin, Westerville, OH, 45-07, $4,104

10. Seth Feider, Bloomington, MN, 42-09, $3,780

11. Scott Canterbury, Springville, AL, 41-15, $3,456

12. James Niggemeyer , Van, TX, 41-02, 3,240

CO-ANGLERS

(Winning totals include cash and equipment)

1. Tom Hill, Lexington, KY, 27-12, $25,500

2. Christopher Hall, Clarks Summit, PA, 27-04, $5,292

3. Jason Shipton , Muncy, PA, 27-03, $3,996

4. Vince Lawyer , Webster, NY, 26-01, $2,700

5. Shawn Phipps, Fredericksburg, VA, 25-09, $2,484

6. Destin Demarion, Grove City, PA, 24-06, $2,376

7. Kenny Woods , Oneida, KY, 24-05, 2,268

8. Thomas Hajjar, Philadelphia, PA, 21-07, $2,160

9. Stephen Collins, Hastings CANADA , 21-03, $2,052

10. Joesph Simko, Swoyersville, PA , 20-15, $1,836

11. Brian Kelly, Liverpool, NY, 19-05, $1,870

12. Chad Valentine, Rome, NY, 19-01, $1,512

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog