Jenness magic number 9.3 nets win at annual 2-day

As for the fishing, day 1 was held on Singletary. We don’t fish this lake often, and when we do it’s usually in the fall. So past history did not give us any clue what to expect for a midsummer tournament. As it turned out, the weather was virtually perfect for fishing. The day started heavily overcast and cool (about 70), but was incredibly humid. There was hardly enough air moving to ripple the surface and for periods throughout the day the surface was like glass. There were a couple of light sprinkles during the day as well as a few spots of sunshine later in the afternoon. The wind did pick up toward weigh-in, but hardly enough to make fishing difficult. Water temp was about 80 degrees.

Six limits were brought to the scale, topped by coangler Doug MacNeill’s 11.68. Doug also boasted the event lunker in the form of a 4.73 lb. largemouth. Ed Doyle had the biggest smallmouth at 1.96 lb. Second place went to Jeff Jenness with a limit tallying 9.3 lbs. (remember that number). Coangler Jeff Lin claimed third with a limit weighing 8.35 lb.

Just a few of the successful tactics heard being discussed were topwater (early), dropshot, and chatterbait, as well as a number of soft plastic techniques.

On day 2 the action shifted to West Monponsett. As with Singletary, we tend to avoid this lake during the summer months due to the incredible amount of boat traffic and ramp congestion, and to avoid the risk of the lake being closed—as it often is during the hottest months—due to toxic algae blooms. This year, however, the lake was open and the water quality looked great, with visibility to 4-5 feet and no staining. Water temps were in the low 80s throughout the lake and there was a healthy population of offshore weed growth in many places in addition to the usual dense pads and arrowheads lining the shore.

The day started similarly to Saturday, with misty, heavy overcast for about the first hour, and very little wind. However, the clouds burned off pretty quickly and the day turned party cloudy with more sun than clouds, and the temperature and humidity climbed quickly. The lack of wind and bright conditions may have made it somewhat easier to fish, but also made it downright uncomfortable! It no doubt made the fish skittish as the results were pretty dismal; the day ranked among the worst of any Avid event (we’re talking the likes of Ashumet and Brimfield) with a total of only 12 fish caught among the 10 participants.

When it was over Jeff Jenness came out on top, with another limit that weighed 9.3 lbs., identical to his day 1 weight. Coangler John Boudreau caught just two fish but took second place because they were beauties, both over 4 lbs., totaling 8.64 lbs. The largest weighed 4.42 lb. and earned him day 2 lunker money. Dave Waugh took third with three fish weighing 4.36 lbs.

Overall, the aggregate standings show Jeff holding down first place with a total of 18.6 lbs. and 2 limits. Johnny B., on the strength of his day 2 lunkers, took second place with a total of 14.55 lbs. and 7 fish. And third place went to Dave with 8 fish totaling 11.78 lbs.

Here’s how things looked day-by-day:

Day 1

Day 2