With several years of NEPVA Bass Trail tournaments under their belt, including tournament wins, Lunker Awards tied together with a tackle box full of accolades, six of the Top-NEPVA Anglers hit the highways heading south to Maryland for a taste of National PVA Bass Trail competition. (The National PVA Bass Trail is a sanctioned B.A.S.S./ESPN tournament trail.)
"The National PVA format is a little different than the NEPVA format, in that it is a two-day event. Day #1 is strictly PVA Anglers competing against one another with volunteer boat captains as their guides. On Day #2 the PVA Anglers and their boater captains pair together for a Team Tournament," says NEPVA Angler Mike Guilbault.

Competition is considered 'Hard Core' as National PVA Anglers travel the country collecting tournament points vying for the coveted opportunity to compete in the Grand National Championship. According to Don Jenkins, a PVA National Tournament Angler from Pennsylvania, the Grand National Champion has an opportunity to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Classic World Championship.
Friday night's pre-tournament registration line consisted of over ninety PVA Anglers, including NEPVA Anglers, Mike Guilbault, Mike Gurn, Lon Hilde, Ken Mumford, Frank Vogeli and Jim Wallack. Each PVA Angler paid a $160.00 entry fee to compete, along with sharing the additional fuel cost of running the high power bass boats provided by their draw partner captains for two-days of competition.

When the scales were finally closed on Day #1 New Hampshire's NEPVA Angler Jim Wallack was crowned the Potomac River PVA Champion. Wallack's crown jewel, a 2004 Ranger 175VS Bass Boat, powered by a Mercury 125HP EFI, equipped with a Minn Kota electric Trolling Motor and Garmin Electronics is valued at $18,500.00.
With his son Jacob at his side, Jim Wallack accepted his 1st Place Potomac River Championship plaque and the keys to his new Ranger Bass Boat, while his wife Donna and the rest of the NEPVA contingents cheered with New England pride. Wallack's boat captain Bill Lucas received a Plaque, $500.00 1st Place check, and a Minn Kota Trolling Motor.

"It was quite an exciting day, filled with some heart throbbing events," revealed Wallack. I had my limit by 11:00 am by dragging a 4" florescent green Ring Worm on a split-shot rig across a rock jette. But, between 11:00 am-2:00 pm the bite was extremely slow so we decided to move to a main river power plant. And, that's when we lost our power," said Wallack with a wry smile.

It appears Wallack and his boat captain Bill Lucas (Lucas is a Gold Medal Fire Fighter from LaPlatta, MD who saved three children and an adult in a house fire.) were coming off plane when they hit a submerged log, damaging Lucas's lower unit. Nursing the damaged craft for the next forty minutes Wallack and Lucas made their way back to the Smallwood launching area.

"Bill and I weighed in my five bass limit weighing 11.12 lbs, which immediately took over the lead. But, I was sweating bullets as I waited and watched over sixty anglers from the rest of the field slowly come to the scales and my lead decreased from pounds to ounces," recalls Jim Wallack. 

NEPVA Anglers finished in the following order after Day #1 competition; Ken Mumford-22nd 3 bass @ 5.09 lbs, Lon Hilde 31st 2 bass@ 4.14 lbs, Mike Gurn 35th 3 bass @ 4.08 lbs, Mike Guilbault 53rd 2 bass @ 3.03 lbs, and Frank Vogeli 70th 0 bass.

Day #2 was National PVA Team Tournament Day and Potomac River Champion Jim Wallack decided to spend the day with his family in Washington, DC by visiting the Arlington National Cemetery. "With Bill Lucas's boat down, I just didn't feel right fishing with another boater so I chose not to compete in the Team Tournament."
Wallack's win was a motivating factor for his NEPVA fellow anglers as two anglers from the New England PVA Bass Trail utilized their angling expertise by placing in the Top-10. NEPVA Top Angler Frank Vogeli and his boater partner Mark Braune weighed a five-bass limit tipping the scales at 11.05 lbs to claim 6th place, while Mike Guilbault and his boater partner Jeff Pheps carried 4 bass to the scales weighing 11.00 lbs.

Our 4.05 lb Lunker Largemouth earned us an additional $780.00, but the thrill of that bass trashing through the weeds still sends chills down my back," says Guilbault. Adding with a dollar size smile, "I had all the confidence in the world on landing that Lunker, thanks to the Power Pro line on my Shimano reel!"
Heading north on highway 95 our NEPVA Anglers proved that they are indeed worthy competitors in the National PVA Bass Trail.

God Bless and Best Bass'n