2013 BPS Lake Simcoe Open Press Release

Thanks to all those who competed in this year's event and we look forward to your support in 2014. A special thanks to all the Aurora Bassmaster volunteers who helped make this tournament run so smoothly;Bass Pro Shops,all the sponsors and the CSFL.
Wil

For Immediate Release: October 22,2013
Orillia, Ontario Canada: In what may have been the most difficult conditions yet for the annual Bass Pro Shops (BPS) Lake Simcoe Open, 148 hardcore tournament anglers battled it out on the waters of Lake’s Simcoe and Couchiching on Sat. Oct.19, 2013. The team with the heaviest five bass at the end of the tournament would win. The top prize for the five heaviest bass would be a guaranteed minimum of $13,000. With high winds causing tough boating conditions in the big lake, several teams elected to stay in ‘Cooch’ ... or returned there early to fish. Others remained on the Lake Simcoe, yet unlike previous BPS Lake Simcoe Open’s, the record-setting smallmouth this lake is renowned for, simply did not want to cooperate. The lowest weights in the history of this event were the result. Yet as is always the case, some team would figure them out and in 2013 that was the husband and wife team of Simon and Melanie Frost who brought in 22.85 pounds worth of smallmouth bass for the win. Simon Frost told the weigh-in crowd, “All of our bass were caught on tube jigs using 5lb Power Pro braid and a 12 lb XPS floro leader.”

The BPS Lake Simcoe Open is hosted annually on the third Saturday in October by the Aurora Bassmasters and it has become recognized as the premier one day bass fishing tournament in the country. Not only does it provide a record payout of well over 100% back to anglers, it usually provides some of the finest trophy bass fishing opportunities at a time of year when record-setting bass usually begin to group up in fairly traditional areas. This year, everything simply appeared to be behind schedule with warmer than normal water temperatures and unstable weather playing a large role in the lower catch rates. “This is still one very exceptional smallmouth fishery”, said Melanie Frost to those rain-soaked spectators at the weigh-in. As was the case last year, that weigh-in was MC’d by former tournament champ and owner of Just Fishing magazine Big Jim McLaughlin. The Competitive Sport Fishing League (CSFL) headed by Andy Pallotta and his wife Vita provided all the weigh-in equipment, staff and expertise to run this event.

For the first time since the event started largemouth played an important role in this tournament. Greg Klatt and partner George Schneider caught 19.65 pounds worth of largemouth that were good enough for second place and a cool $5,000 cash award. Greg Klatt remarked after the tournament that “Largemouth were really not in our gameplan at all, but when it was noon and our smallmouth were nowhere to be found, we switched gears and areas and fished for largemouth. We caught those bass on soft plastics in less than two hours and would probably have caught several larger ones if we planned more time to spend on them.”

Notables:

• The optional Shimano Pay to Play ($1,520 contributed by competitors and $1,520 matched by Shimano) was awarded to the 2nd place team – so on top of their $5,000 cash award, Klatt and Schneider won an additional $3,040. They also won the Berkley Big Largemouth award that provided them with $1,000 worth of Berkley product and 2- $100 gas cards. Total value of their 2nd place prize package is valued at over $9,200!

• The biggest bass overall was won by Glenn Thompson and Andrew Poitras with their big 6.05 pound smallmouth. That earned them $1,000 worth of product plus 2 $100 Gas Cards and 2 Revo reels

• The Hummingbird/ Minn Kota Award was valued at $2,000 and went to the top placing team running a Hummingbird/ Minn Kota combo... which just happened to be Simon and Mel Frost- topping their take home to $15,000

We’d like to thank the Sponsors of the 2013 BPS Lake Simcoe Open: Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats, Jack Links, Boater Exam , Hummingbird/ Minn Kota, Berkley, CSFL, Shimano, X Zone, Mustang, Set the hook, Rapala,
Maple Lodge Farms, Aurora Bassmasters, City of Orillia and Big Jim

Prizes were awarded to the top 18 teams.

COMPETITIVE SPORT FISHING LEAGUE
2013 BASS PRO SHOPS OPEN
LAKE SIMCOE, OCTOBER 19, 2013
Position Angler Co-Angler Weight Largemouth Smallmouth Contingencies Prize
1 SIMON FROST MELANIE FROST 22.85 Minnkota/Humminbird $13,000
2 GREG KLATT GEORGE SCHNEIDER 19.65 5.25 (Berkley) Shimano Pay to Play $5,000
3 CHRIS VANDERMEER JEFF SLUTE 18.75 $3,000
4 DEREK STRUB MIKE DESFORGES 18.35 $2,500
5 BARRY GRAVES JASON GOUGH 18.1 $2,000
6 JAY HAYASHI TREVOR PARKER 17.6 $1,000
7 DAVE JOHNSON TOM NEVILLE 16.85 $800
8 RYAN JOHNSON CALLUM JOHNSON 16.05 $750
9 JOHN SHIELDS SHAWN GRIM 15.6 $700
10 GLENN THOMPSON ANDREW POITRAS 14.95 6.05 (Berkley/Lunker/Overall) $650
11 ANDREW BONELLO TIM BONELLO 14.4 $600
12 BRIAN GARDY MIKE REID 13.85 $550
13 MARCEL CARTWRIGHT CARRIE CARTWRIGHT 13.5 $500
14 JASON GODIN ANTHONY BURGESS 12.95 5.2 (Lunker) $450
15 CARL LINKER MIKE LINZMAJER 12.7 $400
16 MAT HOLLAND PATT CAMPBELL 12 Mustang Floater Suit
17 JOHN MACDONALD STEVE HAWKINS 11.8 Mustang Floater Suit
18 TONY COLLUCI NIKO TERPSALES 11.65 X-Zone Lure Package

I want to thank all the sponsors for this event and everyone else invovled!! This has to be one of the best sponsor supported events in Ontario. I REALLY hope everyone continues to support this event, it is probably the best payout for a 1 day event around and would be ashame if it dies. The thought of catching a 7lber on any cast will keep me coming back!