It’s Cabin Fever Road Trip Time
Hello, Bergenites! From our February meeting date, there are only 9 weekends left until our first Bergen Tournament. Of course, hard core Bergen Bassmasters will be on the water sooner and perhaps may enter an earlier BFL or ABA tournament in March or April. All the more reason that you should take advantage of the Cabela’s Road Trip scheduled for Saturday, February 23rd. Steven Pickett of Cabela’s in Hamburg will be honoring a generous Bergen discount. Members who wish to make the trip will be meeting at the Montville Diner on route 46 West in Parsippany. After breakfast, we will be leaving via car pools at 7AM. Since the ride is not that long and Cabela’s opens at 8AM, you can expect to be back home Saturday afternoon.
And don’t forget to gather up your excess tackle or used rods and reels for Bergen’s annual swap meet on February 21st. Hopefully, we will be back in our regular large Town Hall room upstairs.
Bergen members who are eligible for the June NJBF Team Tournament on Lake Champlain must let Jason Mordhorst know of their decision on February 21st. The final roster must be signed by March 20th and turned in to the NJBF on April 11th. Boaters and alternate boaters need to provide Jason with a copy of their boat insurance. This year, the NJBF will not be collecting Boater Safety Certificates. Like a driver’s license, it is just expected that if asked, you have the necessary paperwork. As it stands now, if the Top 12 guys say YES (this, of course, is preliminary), here is the Bergen and Metro line-up.
Bergen Team:
Boaters – Pat Van Wettering, Andy Karcich and Steve Rusert
Riders – Nick Albano, Rich Gerken and Bob Murphy
Metro Team:
Boaters – Eric Lehmann, John Hayden and John Ernest
Riders – Renato Santos, Robert Burton and Rich Kalanz
Just a little editorial on the vote to eliminate 4th and 5th place payouts: No doubt a majority of Bergenites agree that this was a mistake. If all angles of this motion were discussed by 30 or more members, the results would surely have been different. How can we on one hand strive to welcome new members and non-boaters, yet remove two chances to receive modest rewards for good bassin’ results? As a Tournament Director for six years (more than any other Bergen member), it gave me great pleasure to hand out 5 checks during each meeting. A great many of the 4th and 5th place checks went to non-boaters and younger Bassmasters. If we simply reward 3 places, then for the most part, we can expect our seasoned veteran boaters to garner 90% of the payouts. I am hoping that our Bergen president, Mark Scocco and the Board will find a legal method to obtain a counter motion and another vote. Needless to say, your February attendance is quite important. In addition to this important issue, we need to discuss the Outing for the Disabled - Brian Mahoney will be talking about a date change.
Nick Albano
