Chester County Bass Masters held their 3rd of five opens for the 2018 season on August 4th out of Anchor Marine in Northeast Maryland.

27 Teams showed up to fish a rainy, humid, overcast Saturday in search of a 5 fish limit of Upper Bay black bass. The Upper Bay and Susquehanna river had been inundated with heavy rains for the previous weeks forcing cancellation of the BASS Elite tournament the weekend prior due to high water and floating debris piles in the river and bay. The largemouth were faced with high muddy water this TX after a week of almost record flows thru the Conowingo dam gates.

Air temps at launch were around 75. The tournament went off at 5:45 under cloudy skies with a light drizzle and a forecast of 89. Humidity was very high with very little breeze. Rain continued for a few hours until the back end of the front blew thru with 15 + winds and partly cloudy skies the remainder of the day.

Water temps were in the 79 - 85 degree range depending on where you fished. Water in the NE was off colored from all the rain and muddy on most of the flats.


Launch was on outgoing tide with low around 11:30.

Bass were hard to come by in the unsettled waters with only 5 limits brought to the scales and 2 other teams having 4 fish.



6 double digit weights were brought to the scales.
4 bass over 4 pounds were weighed in.
1 bass over 5 pounds was weighed in.

6 cash places were paid, along with 12 sponsor prizes from Susquehanna Tackle, Bass Cat, River Bottom Reels, Cabela's of Christiana Mall, Dobyns Rods, Sunoco, Hi Seas fishing line, Zee Bait Company, Solar Bat Sunglasses, Boomerang Tool Company snips and GRT Jigs.

7 boats participated in the $ 60 option pot which paid out 1 spot.


Thanks to everyone who came out to fish, we and our sponsors appreciate the support and friendly competition.

The next Chester County tournament will be a Big Bass TX on September 1st out of Anchor Marine. Entry for the Big Bass is $ 125. Teams can weigh one big bass in each of the 4 weigh in periods. Info will be posted this week on the Open page.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/881394538591363/

$ 2,634 in cash was paid along with $ 700 in sponsor prizes.

First place cash payout and championship plaques went to Duane Essick and Jay Pirollo, The pair found the right bites to bring in a 5 fish limit of 19.11 Lbs, almost a 4 pound advantage over 2nd to take home a nice chunk of change.


Included in that impressive bag was the CCBM Tournament Lunker, a 5.73 fat girl that was worth an additional $ 270 in lunker payout.
The team also received a pair of 40 % off Cards to Dobyns rods
Congrats to Duanne and Jay on a fantastic day under tough conditions.








Second place cash went to Mike Piccolo and Bill Ville who put together a nice 5 fish limit weighing in at 15.23 Lbs.

The team also won the 3rd Lunker award, a $ 50 Bass Cat Marine Parts Store gift card with a chunky 4.04 largemouth.
Congrats on a great performance.



Third place money was won by Brandon Jones who brought a 5 fish limit to the scales that topped out at 13.27 Lbs. with big fish of 4.02 Lbs.

Nice finish on a slow day bite wise.


Fourth place dough was earned by David Lewis and Ryan Savidge who weighed in a 5 fish limit for 11.57 Lbs with a big fish of 3.54 pounds, another decent limit on a rough day..


Fifth place coin went to the team of Devynn Brown and Nate Brown who weighed in a nice 5 fish limit of 10.98 Lbs with their big bass going 3.43 pounds. Great work on the day.



Sixth place and the last cash spot was collected by the team of Lou Croce and Jimmy Pitcherello who brought 3 fish to the scales for 10.24 Lbs. with a big fish of 3.92 lbs.





7th thru 16th spots won sponsor gift cards or products from Cabela's Christiana Mall, Zee Bait Company, River Bottom Reels, Boomerang Tool Company, Solar Bat Sunglasses, Hi Seas Line, Dobyns Rods, Sunoco and GRT Jigs

First team to finish just out of the money was awarded a $ 50.00 gift card from Cabela's at the Christiana Mall.
7th position and the The Cabela's card went to Mark Ely and Jerry Gerlach who brought 4 bass to the scale weighing 9.61 Lbs. with a big fish of 2.96 lbs.








Eighth place earned a $50.00 River Bottom Reels repair/service gift card. RBR repairs any make /model reels and are located in Elizabethown, Pa.
Steve Hannah and Charles Hannah weighed in 3 bass for 8.50 pounds.

The team also won the 2nd Lunker Award, a $ 50 gift card from Susquehanna Fishing Tackle by bringing in a 4.75 pound beauty.






Ninth place earned a $ 50 Zee Bait Company card. Mike Sentore and Eric Danner brought in 4 fish for 5.39 Pounds.


Tenth place received 2 pair of Boomerang Tool Company line snips, Sean Geerlof and Stan Horne weighed 2 fish for 4.72 lbs with a big fish of 3.36 lbs.



Eleventh place won 2 pair of Solar Bat sunglasses. Sam Montalto and Jim Hauck brought in 3 fish for 4.66 lbs.





The Solar Bat sunglass model





Twelfth place earned a Hi Seas fishing line gift pack which went to Luke Shrader and Cliff Humphreys with 3 bass for 4.52. lbs.



Thirteenth place received a $ 30 GRT Jigs card, Greg Zinn and Andrea Zinn weighed in 3 bass for 4.24 Lbs.


Fourteenth place won a $ 35 Sunoco gas card, Tom Heckman and Bill Bowe had 3 fish for 4.11 lbs.


Fifteenth place took home a pair of heavy duty Dobyns zippered weigh bags, Steve Weimar and Zach Weimar weighed in 3 bass for 3.75 lbs.


Sixteenth spot received a pair of 40 % off Cards to Dobyns rods, Stephan and Paul Sirochman brought 3 bass to the scales for 3.24lbs.



1 - Essick - Pirollo - 5 fish - 19.11 lbs. - Tournament Lunker - 5.73 Lbs.

2 - Piccolo / Ville - 5 fish - 15.23 lbs. - Bass Cat 3rd lunker - 4.04 Lbs.

3 - Jones - 5 fish - 13.27 lbs. - big fish - 4.02 lbs.

4 - Lewis / Savidge - 5 fish - 11.57 lbs. - big fish - 3.54
5 - Brown / Brown - 5 fish - 10.98 lbs. -big fish - 3.43
6 - Croce / Pitcherello - 3 fish - 10.24 lbs.- big fish - 3.92
7 - Ely / Gerlach - 4 fish - 9.61 lbs - big fish - 2.96
8 - Hannah / Hannah - 3 fish - 8.50 lbs. - SFT 2nd Lunker - 4.75 Lbs.
9 - Sentore / Danner - 4 fish - 5.39 lbs.
10 - Geerlof / Horne - 2 fish - 4.72 lbs. - big fish - 3.36
11 - Montalto / Hauck - 3 fish - 4.66 lbs.
12 - Shrader / Humphreys- 3 fish - 4.52 lbs.
13 - Zinn / Zinn - 3 fish - 4.24 lbs.
14 - Heckman / Bowe - 3 fish - 4.11 lbs.
15 - Weimar / Weimar - 3 fish - 3.75 lbs.
16 - Sirochman / Sirochman- 3 fish- 3.24 lbs.
17 - Staib / Staib - 2 fish - 2.74 lbs.
18 - Waeckel - 3 fish - 2.55 lbs.
19 - Christy / Tangradi DNW
19 - Townsend DNW
19 - Rupp / Hertzog DNW
19 - Wall / Rossiter DNW
19 - Snyder / Ingemi DNW
19 - Detweiler / Lutz DNW
19 - Page / Semans DNW
19 - Ledden / King DNW
19 - Wagner DNW