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QUINTE FISHING SERIES – OPENING TOURNAMENT, MAY 29TH The first tournament of the Quinte Fishing Series 2011 season took place on May 29th at the George St. ramps in Belleville. This one and only walleye event of the year saw 40 teams take to the waters starting at 5:45 a.m. for the mandatory boat checks with blast off at 7:00 a.m. The waters were calm with a hint of rain in the air but the rain never amounted to anything during the day, a nice change, and at the weigh in/prize presentations anglers were enjoying some sun!
With 17.90
lbs, Harlowe’s Kevin Truelove and Flinton’s Derek Thibault took the third place
cheque for $900.00 and in fourth spot were Ameliasburg’s Richard Weagant and
partner Jon Van Norman from Trenton receiving $400.00 for their weight of 16.85
lbs. The final place went to Marc Potvin from Belleville and Nick Monger from
Frankford with their weight of 14.80 lbs. and they took home $175.00.
The top team in the 115 H.P. and Under division went to Waterloo’s Tim Birch and Scott Boyer from Kitchener who ended up in sixth place with a weight of 14.60 lbs. These anglers received $175.00 for their efforts on the water. These anglers had planned on using Tim’s boat for the day but due to some mechanical problems had to use Scott’s boat which put them in this division. The “Back At Ya Bay” Angler Appreciation Draw was won by Aurora’s Cecil Blair and Tim Ruth from Nipigon. This award, a free draw to all participating teams, gave Cecil and Tim their entry fee back - $175.00! Our thanks to Bay Marine – our local Ranger boats dealer. Tournament Director Pete Thompson thanked all the anglers for their participation again this year and reminded them the opening bass tournament of the 2011 season is on July 2/3rd again at George St. Entries must be postmarked at least one week prior to each event and we have around 35 boats registered for this first bass tournament at the moment, he commented. Thompson also thanked QFS anglers who helped with the Blair Smith Memorial “Fishing with Kids” event that happened on May 14th in Trenton. “We had about 75 kids that came out for the morning and they had a blast, as we did, he stated. They were also treated to a free barbeque with hot dogs and drinks. “I really appreciate the moms and dads who brought their children out - it was great to see young families enjoying this great sport of fishing”, Thompson added. A number of free draw prizes were also given out and ten lucky youngsters went home with a new fishing rod/reel and some tackle.
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As the 4:00
p.m. weigh in time drew near, teams weighing in had decent weights and reported
catching a good amount of fish (20- 30) but most could not catch that “kicker”
fish to give them a top weight. Teams were allowed to weigh in a four (4) fish
limit with two fish over 63 cm in length and two fish under 63 cm but over 14”
in length. Early weights were around the 13-14 lb. range but that wouldn’t
hold up for long as Belleville’s Mat Seeley and Steve Yarrow brought in a great
weight of 21.40 lbs. to take the Series opener! These veteran Quinte anglers
had a good day and found the afternoon bite better than the morning and caught
most of their fish jigging. For the win, these anglers took home a cheque for
$2,700.00 as well as a $50.00 gift certificate compliments of
Kelsey’s/Montana’s, Belleville. These anglers also had the second biggest
walleye of the day, 6.90 lbs, and compliments of Shimano Canada, will also
receive two Shimano Cumara rods.
In second
place were Stirling area anglers, Art MacConnell and Rob Couch with a weight of
19.70 lbs. and included in this weight was the “Big Fish” of the day at 8.10
lbs. The big fish came around 11:30 a.m. and they hustled it into the weigh in
site to have it weighed to make sure they wouldn’t lose it and it paid off.
They claimed the $800.00 “pool money”, two $75.00 gift certificates from
Canadian Tire, Belleville, two $25.00 gift certificates compliments of The
Boathouse Seafood Restaurant and Big Fish plaque. Oh yes, they also
received$1,700.00 for the second place finish!
