Massachusetts B.A.S.S. Nation
Classic Team Trail: Wequaket Lake – April 20, 2018
There are not many of us that don’t look forward to fishing Wequaket Lake in April. The largemouth and smallmouth readily smash jerkbaits. Both species are sitting where they are supposed to be getting ready to spawn. BUT not this April. This April from hell, left most of us scratching our heads. When the tournament started the air temp was 34 degrees. The water temp was 44. It was partly cloudy with a slight breeze. By 11 A.M. there were white caps and the clouds had taken over. Tough conditions lead to a tough bite, but someone usually catches fish no matter what is thrown at them. Such was the case this April Friday at the Massachusetts B.A.S.S. Nation’s Classic Team Trail event on Wequaket Lake in Barnstable.
There is a fisherman among us that is just in his mid twenties, but is already turning heads in the Massachusetts fishing scene. I would place him as one of the top three fishermen in this state – without any argument from any of us. His name is Josh Cotier. He doesn’t own a boat. This tournament his team partner, Chip Servant, had the good sense, as would I, to let Josh run the front of the boat. They won the tournament and $925. (It is still April and Josh has won 4 tournaments.) Chip and Josh came in with 2 smallies and 3 largemouth that weighed 11.88 pounds.
This is a sport where the winners are determined by ounces - not pounds. Coming in second were two seasoned fishermen that have won many tournaments over the years: Mark Donovan and Fred St Louis. They won $475 and had a 5 fish limit that weighed 11.77 pounds. The difference between 1stand 2nd and $925 to $475 was a mere .11 ounces or just a speck above 10% of a pound. Still, with just three limits caught, they came that close to winning it all.
The Lunker was a 4.80 largie caught by the team of Jim Gildea and Warren Burrell.
Next Classic Team Trail event is May 18th on Great Herring Pond. They should be on beds and it should be a great tournament. If you want to fish it, you need to contact Ray Lentine (raylentine@charter.net), because there is a 15 boat max.
