1. INTRO: The “Second Annual Maine Bass Championship” (no affiliation with Mainebass.com) finals were held on August 14th and 15th on Dexter’s Lake Wassookeag and Sebasticook Lake in Newport, respectively. The winner of the two-day final tournament was the team with the most combined weight over the two days. Six teams participated in day one and 7 on day two! This seventh team arrived at the launch at Sebasticook Lake on day two expecting to participate in an open bass tournament. They had seen the state’s tournament list which listed it simply as an “OPEN” and assumed that that’s what it was to be. This team was allowed to (and seemed eager to) register for the $100 + $10 lunker event even though they only had a realistic shot at the lunker award. In order to be able to fish in this two day final, teams had to finish in the top twenty at one of the “Qualifier Events”, the first being on China Lake on July 11th and the next being on Sebec Lake July 31st. I fished the China Lake tournament and since only 7 boats participated, all teams received an automatic berth in the finals. The second qualifier on Sebec Lake saw another 6 or 8 teams to the best of my knowledge. Due to the lack of participation, the Tournament Organizers, Rob LaBelle and Mike Merrit of Bangor Bass Club, decided to “open the event to all interested teams”. As far as I can determine there were only 2 or 3 teams that fished the final event which had fished in one of the qualifiers.

2. Club information, specifics of event.

• Was the event well publicized? This event was only publicized on the “ IFW State of Maine Tournament Listing” available online. This created some confusion for at least one team as described above. Advertising for this event would have probably resulted in higher turnout since this is a unique model of competition in Maine. This was the second consecutive year the event was held. 2009 saw approximately 2-3 times the participation.

• Club contact info available? Name and phone number for Rob LaBelle were available on the State Tournament List, mebass.com and mainebass.com. 

3. Fees/Charitable Contributions/Payout:

• Entry Fees: Entry fee for each event was $100 + $10 dollar lunker pool. There was to be only one lunker pool for the two day final event, but a vote by anglers prior to day one launch provided for a lunker pool each day. Additional money was collected for this. 100% of lunker pool paid back to field after each of 4 fishing days.

• Charitable Contribution:  Rob LaBelle had indicated that “Twenty Five Percent of all entry fees after expenses” (Approximately $525 from all three events) were donated to The Charlotte White Center of Dover-Foxcroft. It was never officially announced at any of the events that I participated in exactly what the Charlotte White Center does, where they are located or how the charitable contribution garnered from the 2010 Maine Bass Championship would be utilized. There is more info about them here. 

• Payout: The China Lake qualifier saw 7 boats and paid back 1 place. No information on the Sebec Lake qualifier. The two day final on Wassookeag/Sebasticook paid back 2 places for 7 boats.

• Number of Participants: Approximately 21 teams among all three events.

4. Ramp/Access:

• The ramp at Sebasticook Lake is new and double wide. There is a long floating dock capable of mooring several boats. There isn’t much shoreline for rigs to pull up on, but was able to host several dozen boats easily during the 2009 Maine Bass Federation Fish-Off. Paved parking spaces are few and far-between but the town generally doesn’t mind if the large grassy area adjacent to the ramp is utilized for parking. There is a VFW parking lot next to the launch and this was being utilized as an overflow lot. In the past, I’ve personally been granted permission from the VFW and nearby Community Center to park rigs in case they were needed. I’m sure this event experienced the same level of hospitality. With only 7 boats in attendance, there was no need for staff direction or assistance to control parking.

5. Hosts:

• As noted above, this was a small event so it was seemingly easily run by organizers Rob LaBelle and Mike Merrit.

• Both these gentlemen were friendly and accommodating.

6. Inspection: Proper livewell, boat, trailer, truck-before and after tournament?

• Inspections were performed for all boats I witnessed entering and leaving Sebasticook Lake, although they were generally performed by one individual. Blue flagging tape was attached to each boat’s trolling motor shaft.

• It is note-worthy to say that most of the anglers are getting into the habit of performing their own inspections prior to and after the event as well since the presence of Game Wardens was expected-although they never materialized.

7. Registration: Staff, documentation required, well-managed, etc

• Again, this was a small event so registration was easily managed by Mr. LaBelle and Mr. Merrit.

• I was not asked to provide any insurance or registration documentation, although the organizers were familiar with me and probably assumed I carried the usual proof of insurance and my boat had the large orange 2010 registration decal clearly visible.

8. Pre-tournament/Safety briefing:

• “Standard Tournament Rules” seemed to apply here.

• There was a proper safety briefing that everyone understood.

9. Blast-off:

• Order of take-off was determined by drawing numbers on slips of paper from an organizer's hat.

• The size of the event ensured that blast-off went smoothly.

10. Weigh-in:

• The scales (on loan from the Bangor Bass Club) and leader board (on loan from Outcast Bass Club), were set up on a small piece of wood at the base of a tree near the side of the lake. There was no deep sink or holding tank. After weighing the first team’s fish, it was determined that the scales should be moved to stairs of the nearby public restroom in order to keep them out of the wind which was making an accurate scale reading problematic to obtain. 

• All fish brought to the scales were treated carefully by the tournament organizers, weighed with no delay and released by anglers in accordance with IFW regulations.

• Despite the snafu of windy conditions, lack of a sink and elevated table, the weigh-in seemed fair and accurate.

11. Award Ceremony:

• The small size and informal nature of the event meant that the “ceremony” was small as well. Prizes were awarded in cash after most participants had left the launch.

• Two places were paid, in spite of the fact that there were only 7 boats and the two qualifier events that saw a similar amount of entrants were “winner take all”.

12. Overall impression of event:

• The model for this series of tournaments was very interesting to me. I really liked the idea of having to qualify for an event and also really like the 2 day final format. This was the second year I fished the event and look forward to the more Maine Bass Championships in the future. I asked Rob LaBelle if he was going to hold the event in 2011 and he indicated; “only if my boss makes me”, so I am not sure if we’ll see a third annual Maine Bass Championship.

• I was a little disappointed in the turn-out, especially when compared to 2009; where the final event saw 12 teams. Twelve teams in the first year is something to build on and if any sort of advertising, even on the various (and free) bass fishing-related bulletin boards had been undertaken I think this year’s event would have seen at least as much participation. Even after opening the final event to general entry due to the poor participation in the qualifiers, the tournament organizers made no visible attempt to recruit participation. After all, these tournaments were held on the premise of raising money for charity and had even a mild attempt at advertising had been undertaken; the donation to the Charlotte White Center could have been much greater. Still, when 21 teams of bass anglers can fish for 4 days on 4 great bass lakes and raise over $500 dollars, something good was happening!

13. Recommended?

• I’m a little on the fence with this one. Had I been writing tournament reviews in 2009 I would have given a hearty recommendation to anyone that they fish this event. Again, the model of qualifying for the finals and a two day final, combined weight tournament are a breath of fresh air in the Maine tournament scene. This year however, the tournament organizers seemed non-committal to holding the event. Perhaps the lack of participation had something to do with this, but as relayed above, simple and free advertising could have kept this event on track. If there is to be another Maine Bass Championship in 2011, I’m going to wait to see how robust the advertising is prior to committing my time and resources to fishing this event and I’d recommend anyone do the same.

14. Grade:      D