Bass Fishing Autism Awareness Fundraiser Tournament

On Saturday, October 15, the SUNY ESF Bass Team held its annual Autism Awareness Fundraiser tournament on Onondaga Lake. The annual tournament drew ten boats this year, and, with a payout of 50% and 50% to charity, the team raised nearly $400 for charity.  

The alumni team of Nate Wojslaw, Brandon Exner, and Andrew Crossway won with a total weight of 22.93lbs.  The team started off slow, but said the wind, which blew 20-30mph all day, helped their bite. "We caught a bunch of fish, and then Brandon caught the lunker in an unexpected spot to push us past the 22lb mark! We battled out the wind and the waves, and we were happy to fish for a great cause!" Nate said. The team also took home lunker honors, with a 5.93lb kicker.

The team of current students Nick Sanderson (Junior), Dominic Begier (Sophomore), and Vinnie Iacovitti (Sophomore) took second place with 16.72lbs.  Like many other teams, the wind and conditions threw them off a little bit. "Our day started off a little rough with a bunch of missed fish - they just weren't eating it right. It was tough to stay on our spots in the wind, but we ground it out and even though we only caught 5 all day, they turned out to be the right ones," Sanderson said. The sentiment of fish not fully committing to baits was echoed by many others.

The team of Logan Wood, Jason Wood, and Jude Jennings claimed the third spot with 14.04lbs. Logan and Jude, high school anglers, spent most of their day fishing deep and trying to livescope suspended fish. "For most of the day we fished out deep in 12-16 feet of water fishing structure, and we had our limit by 9am. Later on we went shallower but the wind was blowing too hard to stay on them for long. We focused on two main areas that we could stay on top of with the wind blowing and we ran into a few of the right bties," Logan said.  

Saturday was the 5th time the team has hosted an Autism Awareness Fundraiser. "Historically, it has been a great way to get members out on the water, meet some local anglers, and raise money for a good cause," team president Nick Sanderson said. The team plans to host another fundraiser tournament benefiting breast cancer in the Spring as well as continuing the annual Autism Awareness tournament in future years. All proceeds collected for charity will go to My Little Buddy's Boat, a charity dedicated to helping kids affected by autism out on the water.