Bass Fishing Completes Another Podium Sweep
Over the weekend, the Mighty Oaks Bass Fishing Team competed in the NYBassYouth national qualifier event on Cayuga Lake. Both pairs showed out and put together yet another podium sweep, with the team of Dominic Begier (Senior) and Erich Thompson (Junior) claiming the top spot and a trip to the Bassmaster College National Championship on July 10-12! Matthew Norvilitis (M.S.) and Xavier Pearsall (Junior) took the other podium spot, taking 2nd place by a slim margin.
Ahead of the event, the anglers expected spawning smallmouth to play a big role. "History told us the winning fish would be smallmouth bass bedding mid-lake," coach Nick Sanderson said. The most recent tour-level event on Cayuga Lake was two years ago, with Adrian Avena winning. "All of Avena's fish came off spawning beds, with others in the top 10 also bedfishing." However, the warm weather accelerated the fish's progression on the North end, with most of the fish being in the postspawn phase. The midlake area Avena won in was muddied due to heavy storms just a few days earlier, making sight-fishing impossible. Instead, both teams targeted postspawn largemouth in the Union Springs area. Although fish were plentiful, actually catching the fish that they could see was difficult for Begier and Thompson, and quality seemed to be the issue for Norvilitis and Pearsall.
"We found a steady bite for the whole morning, but it lacked a whole lot of size," Norvilitis said. "Then we made some moves in search of bigger fish. We caught a few more helpers and lost a few more than that. Tough tournament overall, but of course we're happy for Dom and Erich." Later in the day, they reported losing a few key fish. Norvilitis said "We lost them on hooksets, pulling off, jumping and spitting the hook, and breaking line - which was weird because they were all on high-percentage baits." Pearsall summed it up "Got the right bites from the right fish, but we couldn't get them in the net."
"It was a grinder of a tournament for us. The morning went well, with a fish coming to hand every half hour or so. Then, we went 4 hours without a bite until we finally got the one we needed," Begier said. Thompson echoed his sentiment, "It was a roller coaster of a day. We had a decent start but it really slowed down mid-day. After about 8:30 we only got two bites the rest of the day, but they ended up being our two biggest and we ended with a pretty solid bag." The winning baits were a stickbait, neko rig, and a glidebait, which accounted for their two kickers late in the day. Despite the afternoon lull, their weight of 17.51lbs was enough to claim first and qualify for Bassmaster College National Championship.
The championship is set for Lake Cherokee, Jefferson City, Tennessee from July 10-12. This marks the first time since 2022 that the Mighty Oaks have sent a team to a national championship tournament. Current coach Nick Sanderson was among the participants in that 2022 championship, held on Fort Gibson Reservoir, Oklahoma. "That event was a huge motivator for me. It's overwhelming at first, with schools and people you normally only see on TV or magazines. The fishing is totally different, too. Pretty quickly, though, you realize that if you qualify, you belong there. I'm proud to say that Dominic and Erich belong there this summer, and I'm confident they will represent ESF, our sponsors, and New York well." Begier said "This win is definitely one of, it not my most memorable ever, but the job isn't finished". The ultimate goal is to win the championship and claim the top prize of at least $5,000, not including potential contingency prizes. The winning team also receives entry into the 2026 national championship as well as the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket, the winner of which gains a berth to the most prestigious bass fishing tournament in the world: the Bassmaster Classic. During the event, you can follow along with Dominic and Erich via the team's Instagram page, esf_bassmasters, where they will be posting daily updates. General coverage of the event can be found on Bassmaster.com.