Jeff Jenness gets first win at Sampsons

Jeff Jenness claimed his first victory as an Avid member at Sampsons Pond in Carver, MA. While he has caught bigger bags elsewhere, a win is a win -- even it it was with a limit of fish that weighed just 7.01 pounds and beat the second place finished Paul Carvalho by a mere .08 of a pound.

Jeff’s winning weight was indicative of how tough the bite was, thanks to a severe cold front that began passing through the previous day, and strong winds that kicked up during the day. On the whole there were four limits caught among the ten participants and even the lunker was on the small side -- as lunkers go -- at just a shade over 3 pounds (3.09 by ‘Big Fish’ Bill Wright). This contrasted heavily with what some anglers experienced in practice just a few days before, when several fish in the 3-5 pound range were reported and the fish were aggressive and shallow.

Reports had water temps in the 58-62 degree range and calm winds until about 10am. After that it kicked up to 10-20mph and made fishing even tougher. Some early keepers were gotten on topwater baits, but there really appeared to be no strong or obvious pattern, with other fish reportedly taken on a variety of tactics that included drop shots, senkos, spinnerbaits, and shakey head worms and creature baits. Bites came at moderate to shallow depths.

So another season is in the books and we all have to endure another long New England winter. But at least we can start back at it early next year: the 2016 Easter Bunny Open is on March 26. Can you say “brrrr?!” See you then!