2004 News

Results of the October Catfish Tournament

Congratulations to our top three finishers

In the photos above, 1st place Mike Benincasa 5.69lbs 24 3/4"fish, 2nd place Anthony Scholl sr 5.65lbs 24" fish,3rd place with uncle steve Megan Benincasa 5.40lbs 24 1/2" fish.

Results of the October Smallmouth Tournament

Congratulations to our top three finishers

In the photos above, 1st place Steve Raulfs 4.47lbs 20 1/4" fish, 2nd place Jack Wright 1.94lbs 15" fish, 3rd place Rick Mawson 1.89lbs 16 1/2" fish and Hollis Laing holds a nice trout.

Results of the October Catfish Tournament

Congratulations to our top three finishers in the October Catfish Tournament

In the photos above, 1st place Pete Antoniewicz 4.86lbs 22 1/4" , 2nd place Rick Mawson 3.97lbs 23 1/4" , 3rd place Bill Marshall 3.95lbs 23 3/4".

Results of the Youth Tournament, June 26, 2004

Congratulations to all our contestants in the 2004 DRFA Youth Fishing Tournament. The weather was great, several nice fish were caught, and a total of 27 people (11 contestants plus family members) enjoyed the food and festivities in the shade at our weigh-in site at Snug Harbor Marina. Thanks to Roland Reuther of Snug Harbor Marina for providing the facilities. Thanks to Tom Zerumski for arranging for the hot dogs and rolls from WaWa and for prize bags including gifts from Yamamoto Lures, Rita's Water Ice, and AMF Bowling. Thanks to Sam Shiels for serving as weighmaster and Steve Raulfs for serving as photographer.

For a complete list of results, as well as the photos available to date, click here. Other photos will be added as available.

Results of the Club Catfish Tournament, June 19, 2004

Congratulations to our top three finishers in the June Catfish Tournament. We will post the complete results, photos, and the updated Angler of the Year standings as soon as we receive them.

1 Dale Cooley -- 7.26 lbs., 24 inches
2 Joe Tropea -- 6.50 lbs., 25 inches
3 Phil Bakanowsky -- 6.41 lbs., 25 inches

In the photos above, Dale Cooley (1st place), Joe Tropea (2nd place), and Phil Bakanowsky (3rd place), display their hardware. Dale Cooley hoists his winning entry. Phil Bakanowsky shows his third place fish. Joe Tropea shows his second place fish.

Results of the Dave Bryant Memorial Smallmouth Tournament, May 22, 2004

It was a tough day on the river as the smallmouth bass refused to cooperate for the most part. That made the following catches all the more important as they earned points in the Angler of the Year standings.

Here are the results:

1 Scott Ferral -- 1.65 lbs, 16.25 inches
2 Bill Marshall -- 1.61 lbs., 16 inches
3 Rick Mawson -- 1.51 lbs., 15 inches
4 Ed Evans -- 1.50 lbs., 16.25 inches
5 Warrent Brady -- 1.00 lbs., 14 inches
6 Dick Schroeder -- .72 lbs., 12.13 inches

The smallmouth tournament winners are pictured from left to right:
Scott Ferral, Bill Marshall, and Rick Mawson.

Shad Tournament Results, April 24, 2004

Here are the results and photos of the April 24 Shad Tournament.

1 Joe Pocetti 5.30 lbs. 23.50 inches
2 Jim Pocetti 4.92 lbs. 21.50 inches
3 Chris Hoffman 3.65 lbs. 19.75 inches
4 George Hoffman 3.51 lbs. 21.25 inches
5 Richard Hoffman 2.87 lbs. 18.50 inches
6 Anthony Scholl Sr. 1.80 lbs. 17.00 inches

Average weight = 3.57 lbs.
Average length = 20.25”

The shad tournament winners are pictured from left to right:
Joe Pocetti, Jim Pocetti, and Chris Hoffman.

May 22, 2004 - John Strada - Today I caught my all time biggest bass EVER. The scale shows 8lbs. 11oz. The first time I weighed her off camera, the scale read 8 lbs. 12 oz., but I won't quibble over an ounce. By doing some clever measurement from the photo and using the glove box lid as a reference, I came up with a length of 28 to 29 inches. I caught her under the boat house shown in the picture. She took a 7.5 in. Junebug colored plastic worm. What a thrill that was!! Hopefully, I'll get that 10 pounder before my fishing days are through. Regards, John

Environmental: Members reported the Delaware River to be muddy and high. It was also reported that at the Roebling area 35 to 36 inch stripers were being caught on bloodworms. Members also reported that it has been a bad year for herring. Steve Raulfs caught a 13 pound catfish near the turnpike bridge. (He even had a picture to prove it)

Old Business: The Shad tournament was postponed on April 17th due to bad weather causing high water and rough river conditions. It was held the following Saturday, April 24th. Approximately 24 club members participated in the tournament and six fish were weighed in with Joe Pocetti taking first place, Jim Pocetti, second place and Chris Hoffman, third place. The winners received their prizes at the meeting.

Tom Zerumski reported that so far he has around 10 people to help at the Big Cat Shootout. TOM COULD STILL USE MORE HELP!

Dick Schroeder is looking into purchasing a digital camera for the club tournaments.

The Smallmouth tournament is Saturday may 22nd. Joe Newton, Bob Bonczyk and Curt Kirby have volunteered to help at this tournament.

The youth tournament will be held on June 26th with or without a boat. It will be decided at the May meeting where it will be held.

The striped bass paper tournament will be held on June 5th.

Vice-President Steve Raulfs asked for volunteers for a weighmaster at the June 19th Catfish tournament.

New Business: Vice-President Steve Raulfs asked for volunteers to help out doing some of the little things for the club, such as, bringing the trophies to each tournament, bringing the magazines to the meetings or to help line up speakers for the meetings. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bob Murray from Delaware Valley Outdoors gave an interesting and informative presentation on smallmouth fishing.

Pete nominated VP/Steve Raulfs for the position of President. Nominations are still open for Vice-President and President. Nominations and Election will be decided at the May meeting. We really do need people to fill these positions.

Club members discussed why more people don't attend the meetings. It was suggested to hold our meeting on a different day or at another location once in a while. One location mentioned was Snug Harbor Marina in Croydon. There will be a question in the May newsletter as to what you think is the reason for poor attendance. Please take the time to fill it out and send in your opinion. Your response could help us help you.

The winner of the 50-50 drawing of $10.00 and a gift bag was Dick Schroeder.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40pm.

February 26, 2004 - Eileen Kicinski -     Some notes from Bob Murray's presentation to the club members at our meeting on February 26th.
    Bob Murray spoke at our February meeting on Shad fishing in the Delaware river. This is Bob's own opinion, he thinks Shad fishing is declining on the Delaware river, he said he would like to see it come back. He thinks less people are fishing for Shad and asked club members why they think this is happening. Some of the members said they thought it was because the Striper fishing has been so good.
    Bob also said that there is repairs being done on the New Hope bridge and you can't anchor or fish near it. He said the spawning numbers are about 500,000 per year. The first shad appear in the lower Delaware Bay in early march when the water temps reach 41 degrees and increases when the water warms to 45 degrees. He also said that when the water is muddy the spawn will not survive.
    The first Shad generally reach the New Hope area during the First 2 weeks of April with the water temps at 46 to 50 degrees and peaking at 51 to 54 degrees. They travel at a rate of 4.5 to 8 miles per day.
    As far as equipment, Bob recommends a 61/2 to 71/2 ft. rod with a light to medium action with 6 to 8 lb. test on your reel. The best shad darts and flutter spoons are1/16 to 1/4oz. and the basic colors of red and white or chartreuse and white. Bob also said to invest in a long handled net. To minimize the snagging of debris on your lure, try tying a cut rubber band on your line between the split shot and flutter spoon. This keeps your line from getting junked up. You will still need to clean it, but not as often. Look for areas to fish where the channel is narrower, this puts the fish in a more confined and tighter space. Bob said that muddy water makes for tough conditions, you should move up in size of dart and use brighter colors. With Lighter conditions, where you have sunlight, it makes for better fishing. He also said that the positioning of your boat is very important. The longer your anchor rope the better. The proper anchor and rope is a must.
    Note: Bob Murray stated that Smallmouth bass are being caught as far south as the Tacony Palmyra Bridge.

February 5, 2004    A new addition for our web site. I have added a Member Forum section to our Member Services page. Kurt Volk emailed and suggested the addition. This is a good way to stay in tune with the members about fishing and boating on the Delaware. Check it out!

January 8, 2004 The newsletters for the year of 2003 are now posted on the web site. Look for them in the Member Services area. Thanks to Pete AtoZ for getting them to me.

January 2, 2004 For those Club members that have emailed asking for the newsletters for the last half of 2003 to be posted. As soon as they are made available to me, I will put them up on the web site.

January 1, 2004 At the December monthly meeting, all officers that had served the Club in 2003, with the exception of the President, have been re-elected. The President position is open. Frank Kivler has assumed the Webmaster role for the DRFA Web Site.