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Sim and Touhey win with smallies on BR!

Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:56 pm
by RenegadeBass
CHARLES SIM AND NIGEL TOUHEY WIN WITH 19.1 POUNDS

July 9th, 2016: Rideau Ferry, Ontario

Sim and Touhey Make it Rain on Big Rideau Lake

Renegade Bass held its second qualifier of the season on July 9, 2016 out of Rideau Ferry Marina on Big Rideau Lake. On a day that saw several thunderstorms and lots of heavy rain, wind, and hail blow through the area, most teams were able to tolerate the rain because the bass were biting so well. In fact, it took nearly 18 pounds just to crack the top ten, and the top ten teams were separated by little more than one pound.

But it was the veteran team of Bass Master Classic qualifier Charles Sim and Nigel Touhey that separated themselves from the pack, bringing in a 19.1 pound limit of smallmouth bass to earn the team their third Renegade Bass victory.

“We ruled out largemouth during our practice period, and instead focused on putting together a plan to really understand what the smallmouth were doing” shared Charles Sim. “We found that they were relating to structure that extended out from shore, but had not yet made their way out to the main lake humps and shoals”. Once the team narrowed their focus on these specific areas they ran the lake looking for similar structure in order to hone in on the most productive areas during the tournament. “I am running the new Evinrude E-tec G2 motor this year, and despite all the running around the lake during practice I actually burned very little fuel. It makes the decision to run around looking for new areas a lot easier on the wallet”.

On tournament day the team caught their fish on a variety of drop shot baits, including the 3”Jackall CrossTail shads in 20 – 30 feet of water. “I throw my dropshots on a G. Loomis NRX rod paired with a Shimano Sustain reel. You want a smooth drag when you’re battling those strong brown bass, and they don’t make them any smoother than that. I hear a lot of stories of guys losing big fish right beside the boat. Those big smallies always seem to have one last run in them when they get close to the boat, and if your drag isn’t able to react smoothly, there isn’t enough give left in most rods to cushion against the pull of those fish and you will either break your line or pull the hook out of their mouth. Your set-up, especially when fishing with light line is crucial to being able to land those big fish” advised Sim.

After spending some time in the morning unsuccessfully searching for a Largemouth bite, Sim and Touhey deferred to their smallmouth plan. “We pulled up on one spot and within about fifteen minutes we had put 18 pounds in the boat. We could see the fish on the Humminbird Helix 10 and we would just drop the CrossTail shads right down on them. They ate them up everytime!” Said Sim. Charles’ story just goes to show you that your day can turn around in an instant and that it pays to keep fishing hard on tournament day. Last year’s Team of the Year Peter Bartonek and Craig Sevink shared a similar story after the 2015 event on Mississippi Lake, whereby the team had not boated a single fish until after 1 o’clock and went on to finish 2nd after a quick flurry greatly turned their day around.

The Renegade Bass pros weren’t the only ones catching fish at Rideau Ferry on July 9. While the anglers were out competing the Rideau Ferry Marina docks were chocked full of kids participating in the annual Renegade Bass Kid’s Derby. Despite the threatening weather, dozens of young anglers hit the docks for a fun day of fishing and prizes. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers who made this day memorable for the next generation of anglers.

The 2016 Renegade Bass season is shaping up to be a memorable one. After the first 2 qualifiers weights are up and teams will be in tough to make it to the Classic. At present the cut off to qualify for the Classic is nearing 30 pounds. That’s almost a fifteen pound average tournament day weight, with two of the historically bigger weight bodies of water still ahead on the schedule. Up next is qualifier three on the St. Lawrence River out of the town of Morrisurg on July 23.

The Top Ten and incentive prize winners (visit http://www.renegadebass.com for full results):

1 46 Charles Sim / Nigel Touhey 19.1 $5000 & $1000 Ranger Cup plus Evinrude
2 45 David Chong / Doug Brownridge 18.8 $4000
3 32 Jamie Plumb / Andrew Oomen 18.75 $3000
4 7 Matt Massey / Pierre Voisine 4.81 18.69 $1500 & Big Fish 2 $365
5 9 Blake Orr / Matt Tooley 4.50 18.65 $1100 & Big Fish 3 $245
6 14 Peter Bartonek / Craig Sevink 18.34 $1000
7 31 Steve Barnett / Jack Levert 18.33 $900
8 59 Dave Roy / Jason Kluver 4.84 18.23 $700 & Big Fish 1 $610
9 2 Ed Puddephatt / Kevin Moberg 17.99 $600
10 4 Corey Gaffney / Tyler Ward 17.72 $500

Blake Orr / Matt Tooley $500 Early Bird Bonus Bucks
Ed Puddephatt / Kevin Moberg $250 Shimano Platinum Angler
Nolan Leger / Dana Frauzel $250 from Rhodes & Williams
Bobby Jordan / Stefan Wenek Navionics Plus Chips

PDF version is available here.

Re: Sim and Touhey win with smallies on BR!

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 6:42 am
by ShawnD
It was a great event, fishing was decent.
Looking forward to this weekend's event on the St Lawrence.