NYBassYouth Collegiate & ESF Classic tournament

The ESF Mighty Oaks Bass Fishing Team had a jam-packed weekend, fishing in both the
NYBassYouth Collegiate Trail #3 on April 29, as well as hosting its first ever ESF Classic
tournament on April 30. The Mighty Oaks were able to take the win in both tournaments, with
the team of Nick Sanderson (Junior) and Dominic Begier (Sophomore) winning the tournaments
on back-to-back days.

The team arrived at Conesus Lake on Friday night and were able to game plan based on
the prefishing done by Sanderson and Begier. On tournament day, though, windy conditions
made fishing difficult. Sanderson and Begier started in the North end, hoping to capitalize on a
largemouth bite before the wind made fishing in the North end of the lake impossible. "We had
an afternoon bite in the North end but figured it would be worthwhile to start there in the
morning in case it became unfishable later in the day. We wanted to fish for the win, instead of
playing it safe and starting with smallmouth in the South," Sanderson said. Sure enough, their
gamble paid off, with two fish of their five fish limit coming in the first 30 minutes. The team
also noted seeing multiple boats pull up behind them in the first hour, trying to fish what they
had begun their day fishing.

Sanderson and Begier won the tournament with a five fish limit totaling nearly 23lbs, to
edge out the next closest Clarkson team by just 0.06lbs. The teams of Mete Rice (M.S. student)
and Lauren Roberts (Junior), finished with a top 5 as well, and the teams of Jacob Morrison
(Senior) and Mike Umstead (Senior), and Alex Allen (Senior) and Matt Norvilitis (Freshman) all
caught fish and avoided a 0, earning valuable team of the year points.

On Sunday, the team traveled to the Oneida River, where they would host the team's first
ESF Classic tournament. The event was planned by team members, who wanted another
opportunity to fish competitively in the Spring semester, as well as include and fish against other
high school and college anglers. Originally planned for Oneida Lake, wind again made things
difficult, and forced the tournament to be moved to the Oneida River due to safety concerns.
However, the tournament still drew a good turnout, and had teams from ESF, Morrisville, and
several other universities and high schools.

While the tournament launched out of the river, fishing was tougher than expected.
Several teams made the long drive to Onondaga Lake, including the winning team of Sanderson
and Begier. Though they made the decision late in the day, fishing the lake for merely 2 hours
was enough to secure the win, with 96 inches for the length of their best five bass. Fellow
Mighty Oaks Alex Allen (Senior) and Conner Grant (Junior), also made their mark, with an
impressive 3rd place finish fishing entirely within the Oneida River. Both teams credited the
Megabass Magdraft as a key bait, and Grant for introducing them to it. "I'm really just stoked to
see everyone having some of their best days on the big bait, I get more excited when they're
catching them than when I am," Grant said.

With the last two tournaments during the semester in the books, the team looks forward
to the final two NYBassYouth Trail events on Cayuga Lake June 3 and 4. Importantly, with a
win on Conesus Lake, the team of Sanderson and Begier stayed alive for the team of the year and
a Bassmaster Nationals berth. Begier concluded, "After the weekend Nick and I had, bringing
home the first two wins of the season, there's only one thing on our minds - win the rest and
push for that nationals bid,".