The Southern Tier Bassmasters were sent out on a rather difficult task on Canandaigua for the third points tournament of the year. Finding the best five fish on this lake had many anglers worried, to say the least. With an average winning weight for most tournaments on Canandaigua being between eight and twelve pounds, the hopes for a blockbuster weight were less than optimistic. As the points race for Angler of the Year and the Six Man Team heated up, Canandaigua was ready for the field of 28 competitors.

Ted Barth's name has become almost synonymous with Southern Tier Bassmasters. Being the founding president of the club, a volunteer on the State Federation Tournament Advisory Board, involved in the beginning of our junior chapter, and just an excellent person and competitor, Ted has represented the club extremely well. Barth has competed on three Six Man Teams for Southern Tier(on Champlain, St. Lawrence, and the Mohawk River) and several Six Man Teams for Chautauqua Lake Bassmasters.

Barth headed into the Canandaigua tournament with only one tournament on the water prior to that day. And, after a finish that was below personal standards, Barth was determined not to repeat the performance. As history would have it, he did not. With a five fish limit of largemouth weight 13.13 pounds, Barth took first place, and a valuable 100 points toward the club standings.

Barth, who is sponsored by Liv-O-Lure (www.livolure.com), had his plan fall perfectly into place. There were few adjustments made during the day, "All I had to do was re-locate the better fish." Those better fish were on a deep weed line in eleven to thirteen feet of water near deeper water. This spot was originally found while prefishing for the previous tournament that Barth fished on Canandaigua in 1998 or 1999. He checked up on them a week before the tourney and they were still there. With two buoys out, Barth simply worked between the markers all day long.

Most of Barth's winning limit was caught before 11:00, but one fish was culled at 12:30. All of his fish were caught on a 5" Senko rigged wacky style, a medium action Daiwa spinning rod, and 10 lb. green Berkley XL line. "Because of the extremely clear water, I made very long casts, so as not to spook the fish." He would deadstick the bait "until it either hit bottom or I got a bite." Because this was where the fish were supposed to be and they hit what they were supposed to hit, Barth added, "I love it when a plan comes together."

In second place was John Siejak with a weight of 12.76 pounds. This limit set a new club record for a five fish limit in a points tournament. Having come through the ranks of the junior chapter, Siejak has been a part of Southern Tier since 1999. As a Non-Boater in a good position in the standings after the first two points tournaments, this finish came at an opportune time. "The points races are still up for grabs, but this helped me keep my head above the water."

Siejak drew Gregg Seal for this tournament, the same boater that he did for the Keuka points tournament. "We had fished together already, and we worked together well. We mainly fished his spots that day and it just so happened that I got the bite that separated us." That bite was from a 5.37 pond largemouth which took lunker for the tournament. While fishing a Pop-R for smallies over ten feet of water, the fish hit. "I thought was a nice smallmouth when he hit, but he drove instead of jumping. I then figured it was a pike. I'm sure glad it wasn't." Siejak added, "Not only is that my largest tournament bass, that's the biggest largemouth I've ever caught."

Most of Siejak’s limit came before 10:00, including the lunker. "When most of our smallmouth spots turned up dry, we needed to hit some back up spots to solidify our limits. I hit a dock I found in practice and pulled off a fish that helped me." The fish that Siejak was on were in groups for the most part, and most came from shallow weeds or docks. "We weren't on a pattern per say, we caught fish from shallow and deep weeds, docks, wood, and rocks."

All the fish in limit, except for the lunker, were caught on 5" Senkos rigged weightless Texas style, a 7' medium action BPS Extreme Rod, and 8 lb. green Berkley XL line. This set up secured a second place finish and the first time Siejak has placed in a senior tournament. Siejak added, "A thank you is in order to the members of Southern Tier Bassmasters for all the help they have given me. It has really been appreciated."

 The Third Points Tournament of the 2002 season was a great success and Southern Tier Bassmasters would like to thank their sponsors for their support.

- John Siejak