Big Bags, Big Fish at Harwich as Roger Holds Off Wade for Win

Long Pond Harwich just keeps on giving in 2009. Following on the heels of a successful Easter Bunny Open that gave up some serious sacks, Avid's first 2009 calendar year club tournament was expected to provide yet more heft: combining the spawn with warming water, a falling barometer, overcast skies, fog, and a riffling breeze, meant the recipe was in place for active fish and some big springtime bags.

And so it did.

For proof just check out the standings. It took over 10 pounds just to crack the top 9. At any other time of year 10 pounds would likely be top-3 worthy at Harwich. In fact, the average weight of the 64 fish that were caught was nearly 2.5 pounds. And the majority of them were smallmouth. Pretty impressive.

So, who cleaned up? Roger Bogosh boasted his second win of 2009 — second in a row, in fact — with a 5-fish sack registering 17.20 lbs. In second was Wade Estabrooks with 5 fish that totaled 16.77. The third money spot was claimed by Bill Wright, who tallied 15.57 for his limit. Paul Carvalho pocketed the lunker prize with a 5.02 largemouth.

In addition to the notable weights at the top of the standings, it's worth pointing out that this tournament saw the highest participation of any Avid tournament since the club's inception in 2004, with 15 boats and 22 participants overall. A sure sign that our club is growing in the right direction, with highly dedicated anglers who are committed to the sport and the success of the club.

Mark your calendar for May 23 when we'll be visiting Webster — yet another spawn tournament — where even more big bags can be expected. This time the largemouths should dominate and the six-pound pool may even be in jeopardy!