Coldwater’s Richard Hough travelled to North Bay on Aug 26-27 to fish Lake Nipissing for the annual BASS Provincial Qualifier in an attempt to represent Team Ontario in 2019 in Maine.
“Each year the qualifier is held on a different lake and this year the city of North Bay hosted 23 BASS clubs from around Ontario,” said the local angler, an OPP officer who works out of General Headquarters in Orillia.
At the tourney, anglers are paired up as boaters and non-boaters (co-anglers). Boaters are allowed a five-fish limit and co-anglers are permitted a three-fish limit.
“You are not allowed to be paired up with someone from your own club on tournament days, but you are allowed to ‘pre-fish’ with anyone,” said Hough, who is the president of the Barrie Bassmasters Club which had 18 members at this year’s event.
Hough was paired up with an angler from Aurora on Day 1; they made a 50-mile run west on the lake.
“The lake is shallow, so even with a bit of a breeze it can blow up pretty good,” said Hough. “When we finally got there, we were both able to catch (our) limit although not the better fish … found in practice.”
By the end of the day, Hough had his three-fish limit and weighed in at almost seven pounds.
“I was hoping for a couple more pounds but knew if I had a good second day there was a chance,” he said.
On Day 2, Hough drew an angler from Port Perry who liked fishing shallow for largemouth bass. However, he did not fare well on Day 1 and knew Hough had a shot to make the team.
“I couldn’t believe it when he said the day is mine and that he was not going to fish to give me a chance,” said Hough.
“I was so humbled by his actions; I kept asking him if he was okay and he said he was fine. He did not fish all day and wanted me to make the team. I had a three-fish limit by 9 a.m. but we went to a nearby bay out of the wind and I was able to find one slightly bigger. We ended up coming in on Day 2 a little earlier than the 3 p.m. check-in and I weighed in just over nine pounds, good for almost 16 pounds, total, for the two days.”
The wait was then on for Hough as each angler came in one by one for the weigh-in. When they finally announced the 10th place spot with 14.5 pounds, Hough knew he had more weight than that and had secured a spot on the team.
Hough was able to finish fifth out of almost 100 other co-anglers to secure a spot on Team Ontario for 2019. (Barrie had two other co-anglers make the team: Ed Vienneau and Bill Bowles.)
“The team is comprised of 10 boaters and 10 non-boaters who will be travelling to Lake Sebago, Maine for the Eastern regionals to try and earn a berth at the national championship, one step away from the pinnacle of fishing, the Bassmaster Classic,” said Hough.
“I made the team once before in 2016 on the Bay of Quinte and went to the Upper Chesapeake Bay in Maryland in 2017 so I kind of know what to expect at the next level.”
Now, however, he will have to wait through a long winter before getting his opportunity. "It will be worth the wait," he vowed.
Hough would like to thank his sponsors for their continued support: Gill Fishing, First Mate Lures, Denali Rods, Livingston Lures, The Rod Glove, Woo Tungsten, TH Marine team, Lew's reels, North Star Custom Baits, and Shady Rays glasses.
