When guys show up at Long Pond Harwich — especially in early April — the expectation is that the fishing will be tough and that the wind is sure to blow. And usually the big chill will still be on. Well, something went wrong in 2010 because it was unseasonably warm with bluebird skies and just a slight breeze; all most unusual characteristics for an Easter Bunny Open. The giant bags of last year were missing, but there were still a lot of large fish caught, even though numbers overall were down.

Tournament hosts Avid Anglers expected the great weather and the heavy weights from last year’s event to draw a record crowd in 2010 but the event only drew 19 boats. On the plus side, there was plenty of room on the lake. On the down side, it limited the payout to only three places. One of the boats, however, was that of Mark Burgess and his partner Scott Sweeting. Mark is an Elite Series pro from Norton, Mass., who was home in Massachusetts between the Clear Lake and Smith Mountain tour events. (While Mark and Scott didn’t cash a check or take posession of a coveted chocolate bunny, they narrowly missed out on lunker smallmouth with a hefty 4-pound-plus fish.) So, we’re learning that even if you can’t knock ’em dead every year, there’s always a surprise to be had at the EBO and this year was no exception.

As for the fishing, it was a mixed bag — pun intended. Guys either had ’em or they didn’t. Several teams had multiple big fish, though there was only 1 limit. And half the field came in with none or just one fish. In all, only 34 fish were caught. It certainly wasn't easy fishing, but at least it was more comfortable than any of the previous six Bunnys! With water temps hovering in the high 40s this was definitely a pre-spawn tournament despite air temps more indicative of spawning time. Even though the weather had been warming all week and it was in the 60s on tournament day, the water hadn’t yet caught up and the fish were scattered at all depths.

Our winning team of Toby Slagle & Kevein Petersen managed to find over 14 pounds of fish. Their mixed bag consisted of 4 fish, 2 largemouth and 2 smallies. The team of Ron & Steve Proia took second place prize money and a chocolate bunny with a bag of 12.44 pounds on the day’s only limit of 5 fish. Rounding out the money spots was the team of Greg Horne Jr. and Greg Horne Sr. with a sack weighing in at 11.26 pounds for 4 fish. Lunker largemouth went to Toby Slagle and Kevin Petersen with a hawg registering 4.97 pounds. Lunker smallmouth went to Avid’s own Eric Femiak and Wade Estabrooks with a fish of 4.46 pounds.

Whether Mother Nature is beating the snot out of us, or the fish are finicky, or the pond has ice on it, or the skies are blue, we’re always grateful to those of you who make it out to help support our club and hope you all have a great time too. Next year will be sure to bring new surprises and many of the same great people. We hope to see you there. Who knows, maybe next year KVD will show up.

Place		Angler		# Fish		Weight
1.		Toby Slagle & Kevein Petersen		4		14.10
2.		Ron Proia & Steve Proia		5		12.44
3.		Greg Horne Jr. & Greg Horne Sr.		4		11.26
4.		Steve Goodman & Anthony Lopez		3		9.50
5.		Eric Femiak & Wade Estabrooks		3		8.09
6.		Dennis Jenkins & Ray Jenkins		3		7.68
7.		Kevin Magazu & Arnie Thetonia		2		6.55
8.		Bill Wright & Scott Wilkins		2		6.47
9.		Dennis Reardon		1		4.32
10.		Mark Burgess & Scott Sweeting		1		4.21
11.		Louie Guarino & John Medieros		2		3.69
12.		Paul LeBlanc & Matt Breach		2		3.49
13.		Dave Waugh & Bob Pickering		1		1.73
14.		Paul Carvalho & John Boudreau		1		1.28
15.		Dave Andrews & Scott Lappanen		0		0.00
16.		Alan Beaumier Jr. & Alan Beaumier Sr.		0		0.00
17.		Mike Caudle & Fred Naymie		0		0.00
18.		Jason Frigon & Kurt Cash		0		0.00
19.		John Shpack & Frank Ritz		0		0.00
20.		John Weagle		0		0.00