The 2013 season came to end with our final tourney of the year, at Watchaug Pond.
The fishing for this tourney was probably the toughest we had for any tournament, and the scales showed it! And while the weigh-in for our final tourney was quick and the fish were few, this was not typical of the season overall.
2013 was a year of big weights and great competition!
Our season opener at Chapman Pond, in Westerly, RI, got things off to a start in a BIG way, with three anglers weighing in bags over 16 lbs, 1 over 15 lbs. and another one at just under 15 lbs.! And the ball was rolling!
And while these would end up being some of the best weights for the entire season, the rest of the tournament season was equally as good with regard to overall quality.
When the season was over, we had another new record for the Angler of The Year, with Curt Snow weighing in 83.55 lbs. This broke the record set last year by Curt. Steve Burke weighed in 82.95 lbs., also breaking the old mark of 82 lbs.
Another record that had been in place since 2002 was the overall creel record, which was broken this year by Rich Williams. Rich weighed in 22.74 lbs. at our SRIBA Classic on Amos Lake. Curt held the old record with a 21.77 lb. bag that was caught at Billings Lake.
Because Rich’s record was set during the club classic, the old record will still stand for the regular season stats, but Rich’s incredible weight will hold the overall record. Good job, Rich!
Steve Burke weighed in the biggest single bass of the season, with a 6.20 lb. kicker that was caught at Quaddick Reservoir! This fish easily took the title for biggest fish of the season 🙂
On another note, the Angler of The Year race was the closest we’ve ever had in the history of SRIBA! At the end of the tournament schedule, a margin of just .60 lbs.!
The Classic points race was also tight right down to the end of the season, with the 4th and 5th place spots coming down to the final tourney and being decided by just one point.
This was probably the most exciting season in the history of SRIBA with regard to Angler of The Year and Classic points races.
And, to wrap up this post, here’s a summary of some of the more interesting stats from the entire season:
Angler of The Year – Curt – 83.55 lbs. (New SRIBA Record)
Classic Points Standings (out of a possible 270 points)
1st: Curt – 250
2nd: Bob – 241
3rd: Steve – 240
4th: Mitz – 216
5th: Andrew – 215
Lunker of The Year: Steve – 6.20 lbs. – Quaddick Reservoir
Biggest Winning Weight of 2013
Classic: Rich – 22.74 lbs. – Amos Lake (New All Time SRIBA Record)
Regular Season: Andrew – 16.59 lbs. – Chapman’s Pond
Most Tournament Wins
Andrew – 3 – Chapman’s Pond, LOI, Indian Lake
Most Tournament Lunkers
Mitz – 2 – Wordens Pond – 3.67 lbs., The River – 4.11 lbs.
Curt – 2 – Echo Lake – 4.52 lbs., Indian Lake – 4.38 lbs.
Top 5 Weights for the Regular Season
Andrew – 16.59 lbs. – Chapmans Pond
Roger – 16.36 lbs. – Chapmans Pond
Curt – 16.12 lbs. – Chapmans Pond
Steve – 15.28 lbs. – Chapmans Pond
Steve – 15.19 lbs. – Wordens Pond
Anglers Who Caught Bass Over 5 lbs.
Steve – 6.20 lbs. – Quaddick Reservoir
Andrew – 5.13 lbs. – LOI
Bob – 5.32 lbs. – LOI
Curt – 5.52 lbs. – LOI
Rich – 5.75 – LOI
Until next time, fish on!