Events fun for anglers, beneficial for Moraine
MUDDY CREEK TWP — The Butler Bass Casters weekly fishing tournaments at Moraine State Park's Lake Arthur have held a lure, or an allure, for anglers and their families for almost 20 years.
The group's catch-and-release tournaments, which attract up to 75 two-person teams each Wednesday between June and September, are both fun for participants and beneficial to the park.
“Guys like us fish 'til we die,” said club spokesman Scott Kinard of Ellwood City.
The group's weekly contests have a $30 entry fee for a two-man team boat, then run from 6 to 10 p.m. The top eight teams receive prizes and there are prizes for a championship event on a Sunday near the end of summer.
However, Kinard said the events are more about bonding and sport.
“It's more for bragging rights and generating money for the park,” he said.
“A six-pound bass is not uncommon. That will be a big one, though. There is about a 2 to 2.5-pound average.”
Those big bass, called “lunkers,” can spell victory for anybody lucky enough to pull one from the water.
Larry Schneider of Butler had the benefit of a lunker when he last won the tournament about three years ago, all while catching only three of the permitted four fish for total weight.
“It takes a lot more nowadays. These guys are good out here,” he said.
Schneider and his partner, Tim Mitchell of Meridian, better known as Slippy and Psycho to their fishing buddies, have been coming to the weekly tournaments for about five years.
“The competition is great,” Schneider said. “And, if you get a chance to win a few bucks, why not?”
Ernie Pate of Butler has been coming to the tournament since his father started it almost 20 years ago.“It's low cost, and it gives people something to look forward to in the middle of the week,” Pate said.Because of the low cost, Pate said the weekly tournament gives anglers a chance to work with new partners or bring their children and wives to compete, since the tournament is considered an open and does not require anglers to be club members.Rich Fitzpatrick of Butler has taken advantage of the opportunity, introducing his 10-year-old nephew, Cameron Wells, as his new partner this year.“My nephew's a great fisherman and outdoorsman,” he said.Wells, who said he prefers to use crank and spinner baits, can tell by the bend in his rod and the fight in the fish at the end of his line how big it will be before he pulls it from the water, adding that “the fight, then catching the fish,” is his favorite part of the tournament.Wells' biggest catch in Lake Arthur was a 4-pound, 19-inch largemouth bass, but it still wasn't the biggest living thing the duo has seen in the lake.Last month, Fitzpatrick snapped a picture on his cell phone of a large black bear swimming in the lake while they were fishing.Adam Rozic of Meridian has been attending the tournaments for about three years, but has not finished in the money yet.“Every once in a while (my brother and I) will hook something big, but not enough total weight to win,” he said.“I have seven different rods with different lures. You just rotate until you find what works.”Rozic said competitors are allowed to use electronic fish finders — devices that map the underwater topography — so anglers can choose to fish in reeds, around timber or at dropoffs.“I have many spots. I just hope one is empty,” Schneider said.Regardless of location or lure, each angler agreed the best fishing takes place in the evening, when the temperature cools. The water temperature on the lake's surface at 6 p.m. Wednesday was about 84 degrees.Each team draws numbers at registration to see who gets to set off first, so 70 boats aren't crowding out at the same time.When the tournament begins, some people speed, as fast as one can on the maximum 20 horsepower motors allowed on Lake Arthur, to the other end of the lake in pursuit of a serene angling spot, away from competitors. They must be back at the dock by 10 p.m., though, or suffer a pound-per-minute penalty on their total weight.Pate said tournament winners at the end of the night benefit from a combination of luck and skill.“Fishing's sort of like poker that way. You'd think it's all luck, but you have guys that do well consistently,” he said.“We always say fishing would be like golf, if you were blindfolded and the hole moved while you were putting.”Seeking to preserve the habitat they enjoy so much, the club presents Moraine State Park officials with a check every year for the park's Moraine Fish Habitat Fund, fueled by donations made during tournaments and reaching up to $800 per year.“Everyone is very forthcoming with it and very willing to donate,” Kinard said.“We also do things like charity events. We have a youth fishing derby every year. The kids really enjoy it.”That tournament is the John Baglier Memorial Youth Fishing Tournament.
Dan Bickel, park manager at Moraine and McConnells Mill, said donations by groups like the Butler Bass Casters greatly help in preserving Lake Arthur's underwater habitat which, at 40 years old, is slowly losing natural cover, such as fallen trees.“It's something that we have to be vigilant in adding to every year,” Bickel said.“We take (those donations) and put them 100 percent back into the lake habitat at Lake Arthur. If we didn't have funding from the fishing groups like Butler Bass Casters, that would have to come out of the park budget.”Bickel said the Bass Casters' most recent donation was used to pay for the sinking of 25 “vertical plank structures,” a kind of fish habitat, near Crescent Bay Marina. He added that volunteers built the lumber-and-concrete structures.“All the way around, we have gotten a lot of support,” Bickel said.Butler Bass Casters is part of a larger group, Keystone Bass Buddies Circuit, and is National Bassmaster Circuit affiliated.“Everything we do is documented. It's not just a bunch of guys that get together and put their money into a hat. There's a lot that goes into it with permits, insurance and statistics reports. We work with the park and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission,” Kinard said.By law, any tournament with more than 10 boats requires a permit.“We handle the fish with great care,” Kinard said.For information or to participate in Butler Bass Casters tournaments, contact Kinard at skinard@skinard.com
<b>Tournament host: </b>Butler Bass Casters<b>Place: </b>Lake Arthur, Moraine State Park. Common launches are Route 528 launch and Bear Run launch<b>Time: </b>Wednesdays, from 6 to 10 p.m. Registration begins at 5 p.m.<b>Cost: </b>$30 per two-person team, plus $1 donation to the Moraine Fish Habitat Fund<b>Rules: </b>15-inch minimum size, catch-and-release; Top eight teams with best combined weight on any four bass receive prizes, ranging from a few hundred dollars to free entry in future tournaments.<b>Contact:</b>skinard@skinard.com
