“It’s just a phenomenal fishery. I expect the weights to be big,” Stewart said. “I would not be surprised if the individual who wins it weighs in 60 to 65 pounds for a three-day total – and I may be underestimating with 60 to 65 pounds.”

Stewart said the fishery produces exceptional weights year-round.

“If you look at the results of local tournaments the weights are pretty much like that,” he said. You only have to go back to August 2013 for further proof. Elite pro Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, weighed in a four-day total of 88 pounds, 12 ounces – a whopping 22-pound-plus average per day – to win the Evan Williams Bourbon Showdown on the St. Lawrence River, also out of Waddington, N.Y.

“It is an amazing smallmouth fishery,” Stewart said. “I expect very few largemouths will be weighed in.”

The Eastern Division Championship is the last of six divisional finals for grass roots anglers in the B.A.S.S. Nation. Stewart said there will be 126 anglers representing seven states and two countries – Spain and the Canadian Province of Ontario – in the championship. States competing include Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

“These guys all qualified through their clubs, through their states, to make it to a state team, which is made up of 12 adult anglers and two high school students, plus two alternates. Each of the seven states and Ontario will provide seven boaters and five non-boaters. The Spanish team does not bring boats, so all of those anglers will be non-boaters,” Stewart said.

There are actually three different competitions going on in the championship, he said.

“First, they fish as a team, so we put all 14 anglers’ weights together for the three days and the state or country with the most weight wins the big prize – the boats we are giving away.”

Second, he said, is the individual competition, the big prize all the anglers are fishing for.

“The top person from each team advances to the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. When they get to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship they will fish for the Eastern Division against the same nine guys and the top angler from that group will be the Eastern Division representative in the Bassmaster Classic,” Stewart said. The Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship will be held on the Ouachita River in Louisiana Nov. 6-8.

“These are all grass roots anglers and this is one of the few ways for a grass roots angler to make it to the Bassmaster Classic,” Stewart said.

The third competition is among the high school anglers competing in the Eastern Divisional Championship, he said.

“It’s really for bragging rights. We award a trophy for the top high school team at the event. They have already had their national championship, so this is a kind of bonus tournament for them.”

 

B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional Championship

Sep 24-26, 2014

St. Lawrence River

Whittaker Park

www.bassmaster.com