Pine Plains holds 23rd annual bass fishing tourney

PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains Lions Club held its 23rd annual Catch & Release Bass Tournament on Saturday, June 18.Some 60 two-person teams fished in four local ponds beginning at 6 a.m.The fishing holes were Stissing Lake in Pine Plains, Twin Lakes in Pine Plains, Hunns Lake in Stanford and Tamarack Preserve in Amenia.Each two-person team was allowed to have five fish per person or 10 fish per boat to weigh in and record toward the competition.The groups reconvened at noon for lunch and to award prizes.The three teams that caught the most pounds of fish received cash prizes, and the first-place team also received a trophy. Other acknowledgements went to the person who caught the “lunker,” or the longest bass, the person who caught the longest non-bass fish, the female who caught the most pounds and the person in the under 14 group who caught the most pounds.The first prize for most pounds of fish caught went to Charles Martin Jr. and Steven Toth. Together, they caught a total of 27 pounds 3 ounces from Tamarack Preserve.This is the duo’s fifth consecutive year winning an award at the tournament. They received second place last year and third place the year before that.They said that they enjoy participating in this tournament because not only is it local, but it offers a range of skilled fishing competitors and supports a great cause.The money raised from the tournament goes toward holding eye-sight and hearing exams.Don Spohr, a Pine Plains Lions Club member of 25 years, started the bass fishing tournament nearly a quarter century ago.After registering 24 teams during the first year, the tournament quickly ignited, reaching 86 teams during one of the years before Spohr decided to put a cap on how many teams could register.Spohr said that he believes it is important for people to get their sight and hearing checked, but lamented that most exams are so expensive.The tournament has very specific rules to ensure that the competition is fair and that the large number of competitors have minimal impact on the ponds.Everyone participating needed to have valid New York state fishing licenses. They were allowed to use only artificial lures and boats with electric motors or oars.All caught fish needed to be released. If a fish was killed accidentally, a 2-ounce penalty per dead fish was added into the total amount of fish caught.

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