Mostly Midwest and Northern Events Planned for July 23-24, 2022
ATHENS, Ala. – Anglers fishing the American Bass Anglers Open Series, American Fishing Tour, and the American Couples Series all Presented by Caymas Boats, will compete in events on July 23 and 24, 2022.
In the Open Series there are two events this weekend. The New York division is fishing the famed 1,000 Islands and the North Carolina Division will fish Lake Norman.
New York Division 23
The New York Division 23 fishes its third event of the year on the St. Lawrence River. The anglers will run out of French Creek Marina, located at 250 Wahl Street in Clayton, N.Y. to fish the Thousand Islands area. To register for this tournament, see www.americanbassanglers.com/proddetail.php?prod=14764.
One of the most beautiful and historically significant rivers in North America, the St. Lawrence forms part of the international border between the eastern United States and Canada, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The river originates at the outflow of Lake Ontario near Kingston, Ontario, and Cape Vincent, N.Y. It flows about 744 miles from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, an estuary off the Atlantic Ocean.
In places, the river stretches two miles wide and may drop to more than 200 feet deep. In addition, the river flows around numerous islands on both sides of the border, hence the name.
The Thousand Islands area offers some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the world. For smallmouth, look for areas with rocky bottoms and current in about 15 to 30 feet of water. Cast grubs or shaky head jigs upriver and dance the bait over the bottom as it flows down with the current.
For largemouth, look for weedy coves around islands. Fish the weeds with spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits, buzzbaits or Texas-rigged soft plastics. Run crankbaits parallel to weed lines. A drop-shot rig tipped with a grub, small craw, or other finesse plastic can also work in deeper areas. Some of the best fishing for largemouth bass occurs near Wellesley Island.
During a July 10, 2021, division tournament on the St. Lawrence River, Ryan Latinville of Plattsburgh, N.Y. won the Boater Division with a 5-bass limit weighing 25.85 pounds for a 5.17-pound average. He upped his average with a 6.06-pound lunker.
Brett Carnright, also from Plattsburgh, finished sixth for the boaters with five bass going 23.49 pounds. He anchored that bag with a 6.31-pound behemoth, one of two bass exceeding six pounds caught in that tournament.
In the Co-Angler Division during that July 2021 event, Casey Magargle of Turbotville, Pa. took the victory with three bass for 15.44 pounds. Magargle capped that catch with a 5.10-pound division big bass that gave the sack a 5.15-pound average.
The division wraps up its regular season at Chautauqua Lake on Aug. 27, 2022. That tournament runs out of Long Point State Park, located at 4459 New York Highway 430 in Bemus Point, N.Y. To register for that tournament, Click Here.
For more information about this tournament, call Tournament Director Jeff Randall at (256) 777-6152.
North Carolina Division 5
The North Carolina Division 5 will end its regular season on Lake Norman. The anglers will run out of the Pinnacle Wildlife Access ramp, located at 1556 River Highway (Highway 150) in Mooresville, N.C. to fish the 32,475-acre impoundment on the Catawba River.
Originally slated as the second division event for the season in March 2022, tournament officials rescheduled it for July 23. In March, a severe winter storm struck the area, bringing a drastic drop in temperatures with accompanying high winds and frosty precipitation, making boating on the impoundment unsafe. ABA officials rescheduled several other events at that time because of the same winter storm.
The largest lake completely within North Carolina, Lake Norman offers anglers more than 520 shoreline miles. It produces excellent catches of bass in the 1- to 2-pound range plus some 5- to 8-pounders with occasional bigger fish. The lake also holds an enormous spotted bass population. Some deep channels around the islands or the mouths of major creeks like Ramsey Creek can provide good action.
The division next fishes its 2-day area championship tournament on Sept. 10-11, 2022, at Lake Murray in South Carolina. That tournament runs out of Dreher Island State Park, located at 3677 State Park Road in Prosperity, S.C. To register for this tournament, Click Here.
For more information about this tournament, call Tournament Director Rodney Michael at (256) 497-0967.
The American Fishing Tour offers eleven events this weekend.
AFT Anglers will need to register onsite with the local director during their registration period at this weekend's events. Contact the local tournament director if you have questions. You can click on the Division Number and view the division's director and their contact information.
If you are not an ABA member, you can join onsite when you register. New and Renewing Members do not pay a late fee at the American Fishing Tour Event where you become a member or renew your membership.
Other AFT Event Late Exemptions include Life Members, Visiting Directors, and Active Military.
Division Date Lake/Info Ramp AFT - NJ- 10 07/22/2022 Hopatcong Lee's Marina AFT - AL - 29 07/23/2022 Guntersville Goose Pond AFT - CT- 6 07/23/2022 CT River Salmon River AFT - IL- 39 07/23/2022 DesPlaines River Big Basin AFT - MO- 64 07/23/2022 Table Rock Aunts Creek AFT - NC- 17 07/23/2022 Roanoke Water St Landing AFT - OH- 93 07/23/2022 Delaware SW Marina AFT - OK- 57 07/23/2022 TenKiller Chicken Creek AFT - IL- 39 07/24/2022 Illinois River Stratton Park AFT - MN- 44 07/24/2022 Koronis Hwy55 East AFT - NH- 2 07/24/2022 Waukewan Public Launch The American Couples Series offers one event this weekend on Kentucky Lake.
Couples Teams will need to register onsite with the local director during their registration period at this weekend's events. Contact the local tournament director if you have questions. You can click on the Division Number and view the division's director and their contact information.
If you are not an ABA member, you can join onsite when you register. New and Renewing Members do not pay a late fee at the American Couples Series when you become a member or renew your membership.
Other Late Exemptions include; Life Members, Visiting Directors, and Active Military.
Division Date Lake/Info Ramp CPL - KY- 8 07/24/2022 Kentucky Lake Paris Landing American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, T-H Marine, Garmin Electronics, Power Pole, Lucas Oil, RT Outdoors, Sportsman Card, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com, and LurePartsOnline.com.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression.
For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406
This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.
