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Team of the Year and 2nd Place Mike&Mary Nabulsi
The fourteenth season of the Quinte Fishing Series came to a close with
the Quinte Classic on September 19 & 20th at the George St. ramps
in Belleville. Forty eight teams, who had qualified from their best three
tournaments over the summer, left Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. under calm
winds and waters. These weather conditions allowed a number of teams to
make long runs to “big water” and most made that decision pay off over the
weekend.
Day one had all teams checking in by 4:00 p.m. and although the leader
board changed a number of times, Oshawa’s Jay Martin and Brad Arnott claimed
the day one lead with a great bag of smallies at 20.90 lbs. Last
tournaments big money winners, Danny Elliot and Ed Bunnett, also had a good
day just .10 lbs. behind at 20.80 lbs.! The husband and wife team of Mike
and Mary Nabulsi stood in third with 19.60 lbs. which gave them an early
edge in the “Team of the Year” race as the leader in this race, Mat Seeley,
had boat trouble and after changing boats could only weigh in 7.55 lbs.
Day two – weather, specifically, FOG! Officials and anglers were greeted
at daybreak with a wall of heavy fog and although at George St it looked
clear by 7:00 a.m., to the east and west it was socked in. Tournament
officials checked conditions every half hour after that but, especially to
the east, conditions did not improve until after 8:30 a.m. With another
check at 8:45 a.m., tournament officials,
Pete Thompson
and Rick Somerville, made the decision to go and because of the two hour
delay decided to extend the day from the scheduled 3:00 p.m. check in to
4:00 o’clock.
During the day from 12:00 noon till 2:00 p.m., the final cast off in the
Blair Smith Memorial “Fishing with Kids” took place with 15 young anglers
taking part. First, second and third place prizes were handed out in three
age categories with many of these young kids stepping off the stage with big
grins on their face and all with fishing products in their hands. Our
thanks to the Smith family for these events in memory of one of “our own”
Blair and to sponsors/business’ that assisted with prizes.
Even with the shortened day, a few teams still made the run to the lake
and most were rewarded for their efforts. Weighing in first was the
Nabulsi’s and with another good bag of smallmouths of 19.55 lbs., they took
the early lead with a total weight of 39.15 lbs. The other top teams from
day one all took a shot at overtaking the leaders but Mike and Mary’s weight
could only be beaten by one team – the day one leaders. With another good
bag day two of 19.95lbs, Jay Martin and Brad Arnott claimed the title of
Quinte Classic Champions with a total two day weight of 40.85 lbs. These
Oshawa anglers took home $3,800.00, a $50.00 gift certificate from
Kelsey’s/Montana’s, Belleville and product bags from Mark’s Work
Warehouse. On stage Jay said, “I have to really thank Brad today as I
couldn’t prefish this week and he came down and found the spots we used this
weekend. We fished three or four spots all weekend and we were lucky and
got the quality fish we needed”.
The Nabulsi’s, from Roslin, claimed $2,800.00 for the second place spot
and got most of their fish on a new, soft plastic bait they manufactured
from their company, Bass Magnet Lures. In third with a total weight of
34.05 lbs. were Colin Hunter from Holland Landing and Mississauga’s Alvin
Tung with another smallie bag and they received $1,800.00. The
Asselstine’s, Ben and Darcy from the Napanee area, took the $1,000.00 fourth
place cheque for a largemouth weight of 33.80 lbs.
Fifth place went to Courtice’s Richard Campbell and partner Paul Downer
from Brampton with 33.55 lbs. and they took home $600.00 as well as another
$220.00 for the top team for the tournament in the 115 H.P. and Under
division. The final payout went to Napanee’s Randy Cronkwright and partner
Phil DeFosse who had 33.50 lbs. and they received $400.00. Randy and Phil
also caught the “Big Fish” of day two, a 5.45 lb. smallmouth, that netted
him another $960.00!
The “Big Fish” of the weekend went to Napanee’s Tom Davies and Dusty
Craven who weighed in another smallmouth at 5.90 lbs. on Saturday and this
gave them $960.00 cash , big fish trophy and a $150.00 gift certificate
compliments of the Bass Magnet Lure Company, our Big Fish Sponsor.
Going into the Classic, the “Angler/Team of the Year race was very close
with Matt Seeley holding a slim 1 point lead, 10 points to 11, over Mike and
Mary Nabulsi. With Mat having motor trouble on Saturday, it opened the door
wide open for the Nabulsi’s and they drove their Triton right through it and
took the “Team of the Year” title with the points ending up 13 to 23 in
their favour. For their efforts over the year, Mike and Mary took home a
15’ Polarkraft aluminum boat, 15 H.P. Mercury four stroke motor and
Northtrail trailer. Mike on stage stated, “We’ve had a great year and we
want to thank Pete, Rick, Margo and staff for running a great Series. The
comradery, competiveness but also the fun we have here is great and you
don’t see it in some other circuits”. Mat gave it a good go on Sunday
weighing in the biggest bag of the weekend, 22.40 lbs. showing his true
competiveness and it was enough to give him second spot overall for the year
and free entries for the 2010 season. Mat thanked his good friend and
partner, Scott Palmer, for his support and his sponsors, especially Canadian
Tire, a sponsor of the Series also.
The top team in the 115 H.P. and Under Division went to Belleville’s
Ryan Somerville and Larry Courtice who ended up with 108 points. These
anglers will also receive free entries for the 2010 season and they also
took home $500.00 in cash. Second in this category were Tweed’s, Ron
Ellery and John O’Brien from Brighton.
A new and special award was handed out this year in memory of a former
Series angler, Blair Smith. This award went to the top angler for the year,
between the ages of 26 and 39, the years that Blair fished the Quinte
Fishing Series. On the Smith family’s behalf, tournament director
Pete Thompson
was happy to present the award to Mat Seeley.
The final award, the Frazee Award, given to a team who shows true
sportsmanship, dedication to the Series, a love of fishing and a cheerful
and helpful manner went to Glen Thompson and Joan Whalen.
A number of draw prizes donated by local businesses and fishing
manufacturers were drawn and thanks was given to: Marshman Jewellers,
Belleville, Humminbird, Minn Kota and Merland Park Resort, Picton.
In his closing remarks,
Pete Thompson
thanked the staff, especially his weigh master Rick Somerville, who works
hard to run first class events and also the great anglers who support this
growing series. “Our sponsors are tremendous and we have been very
fortunate over the years. With the economy the way it is at this present
time, I thank them for their continued support”.
Committee members will be meeting next week to review the 2009 season and
dates for 2010 will be decided by the end of October with entries for the
2010 season being accepted after November 15th, 2009.
With our thanks to our valued sponsors: Canadian Tire, Belleville,
Belleville Sport and Lawn, Benton Fry Ford Lincoln Sales, Reid’s Plumbing &
Heating, The Boathouse Seafood Restaurant, Rawdon Refrigeration, Art’s
Signs, Merland Park Resort, Line X –Kingston, Mill Valley Natural Spring
Water, The Belleville Fish and Game Club, McInroy-Maines Construction Ltd.,
Quinte Outdoor Sports, Mark’s Work Warehouse-Belleville, Skevy’s Outdoor
Specialties, Montana’s/Kelsey’s-Belleville, Mercury Marine, Rose’s Scale
Ltd., Shimano, Redwing Tackle-Ajax, SWE Autoglass, Polarkraft boats, Bass
Magnet Lure Company,
www.quintefishing.com, Northtrail trailers, Humminbird, Minn Kota, and
Bay Marine.
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