CALCIUM, N.Y. — Jonathan Evans won the New York B.A.S.S. Chapter Federation’s (NYBCF) season opener, June 16, on Chautauqua Lake with four fish weighing 16.3 pounds.
“Evans was obviously on the right bites to break the 20-pound mark and, while his limit fish eluded him all day, it just didn’t matter,” said Burnie Haney, public relations director for the NYBCF, on FishingWorld.com.
“Evans reports targeting bedding smallmouth along the northern part of the lake,” continued Haney. “His key presentation was a Berkley Split Belly swimbait rigged on a lead head jig fished in and around rocky shorelines in 4- to 6-foot depths. Evans believes the Berkley bait was key in generating the bites he got.”
Brad Brodnicki came in second with 15.69 pounds, and Lee Rogers earned third place with 15.38 pounds.
On the nonboater side, David Evans won with a 12.81-pound limit, followed by Jim Missel, second place, 12.79 pounds, and Larry Rovito, third place, 12.2 pounds.
The tournament drew 208 anglers. The next NYBCF tournament is July 28 on Lake Champlain. To learn more, e-mail tournaments@nybassfed.com.