Inside the world of Long Island competitive freshwater bass fishing

Long Island may be surrounded by saltwater filled with tasty stripers, fluke, tuna and more, but it’s also dotted with freshwater lakes and ponds that harbor America’s favorite game fish — largemouth bass. Better still, the bass fishing here is pretty darn good, leading to a loyal following of anglers devoted to the pursuit of the bigmouths, and their close cousin, the smallmouth bass.

If you’ve been bitten by the bass bug, you’ve probably dreamed at some point of becoming a bass fishing tournament pro — competing on a national level with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line and ounces sometimes separating those who finish in the money and those who don’t.

Well, there aren’t any major tournaments here on Long Island — our lakes are too small to handle the big boats and heavy pressure — but we do have smaller bass fishing tournaments.

Long Island fishing tournaments are competitive, fun and a great way to learn about catching largemouth bass. You won’t be competing for six-figure prizes here like those in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic, but Long Island’s smaller-scale tourneys have their own appeal.

“You can also earn some pocket money, merchandise and, perhaps most important, bragging rights — at least until the next tourney date,” said fishing tournament organizer Jim Jonke, 39, of Shoreham.

There are two organizations that host the majority of freshwater bass tourneys here; Slay Nation Long Island and Long Island Kayak Bass Fishing, with top prizes up to $1,000. Both organizations allow anglers to enter largemouth and smallmouth bass and require all bass caught to be quickly released. Anglers use their own equipment, ranging from the most basic of gear to high-end kayaks, flat-bottomed johnboats, rods, reels and lures.

Slay Nation events

Jonke is owner of Island Bass Pursuit, a company that hosts tournaments for Slay Nation Long Island, an affiliate chapter of the national organization Slay Nation Tournament Fishing. With Slay Nation’s format, anglers can fish from kayaks, boats, canoes or stand-up paddleboards, and as individuals, teams of two or both, he said. Slay Nation hosts several tournaments each year on Long Island, including open events where non-club members are allowed. No gas-powered motors are permitted in Long Island tournaments — or on Long Island freshwaters, for that matter — but there are “horsepower” tournaments in Connecticut and upstate New York, he said.

Under Slay Nation tournament rules, caught fish are entered using a catch, photograph and release, known as C.P.R., procedure. That requires quickly laying each scoring fish on a Ketch brand measuring board, photographing its entire length with the ruler visible and immediately releasing it into the water. The top five longest fish for each angler (or team) achieve scoring status, with the total length for all five being your score. If you are not in a competition, you can keep fish 1 foot and longer. Long Island bass typically weigh less than 5 pounds, while a fish 6 pounds and heavier is considered a trophy.

The Long Island events usually turn out about 25 competitors, Jonke said.

“For me, tournaments have never been so much about being competitive as about getting together with other anglers, sharing ideas and fishing techniques, and hanging out after the contest,” he said. “That attitude is catching on at these events while competition for the top spots remains fairly intense.”

Long Island Kayak Bass Fishing events

Mark Fehner, 36, of Manorville, is a bowling pinsetter mechanic/technician and tournament director for Long Island Kayak Bass Fishing, a partner chapter of the national organization Kayak Bass Fishing.

Fehner fishes in the events and has caught Long Island bass to 6.25 pounds, but must handle any technical issues that arise. He also must oversee judging, take photos, run the awards ceremony and hand out checks and merchandise awards to the winners. Like Slay Nation’s tournaments, Long Island Kayak Bass Fishing competitions follow the catch, photograph and release protocol.

“It’s a full day on and off the water,” he said. “So, I don’t always score as high as I’d like in the tourneys — but I love every minute of it.”

The best part

Greg Bottomley, 57, of Manorville, got his start fishing bass tournaments 25 years ago as a member of the now-defunct bass club East End Bass Anglers. The title researcher by day said he has won more than 100 tournaments.

Bottomley said he long wanted to turn pro but “never had the finances or guts to pull the trigger.” These days, he mostly competes in Slay Nation Long Island events.

“I love the competition and figuring out how bass will react under pressure and various environmental conditions,” he said. “I like fighting and releasing them, too. For me, tournaments package the most enjoyable aspects of our sport.”

Having fished Long Island lakes for 40 years and catching local bass weighing up to 7.9 pounds, Bottomley admits he has an advantage over newbies to the tourney scene. He offered some advice.

“Wherever you fish, don’t get discouraged and don’t be afraid to try new things,” he said. “On tournament days, however, limit your lures to those you have the most confidence throwing.”

Bottomley said novices can learn from watching tournaments on TV or by reading magazines like Bassmaster. He also recommends getting kids involved.

“I ran with a tough crowd when I was younger, but fishing gave me an opportunity to break out of that pack and be myself,” he said. “Even today, competing on the water and concentrating on the fish frees my mind.”

Joe Doherty, 35, of Bellmore, has fished both the Long Island Kayak Bass Fishing and Slay Nation tournaments.

“There’s good people at all of these events,” said Doherty, who has caught bass to 6.4 pounds in local waters. “One of the guys from LIKBF volunteered to help me wire and rig my new kayak when I was starting out. Another, noticing I didn’t have a landing net at my first tourney, gave me one of his to keep. I also like that at both LIKBF and Slay Nation tournaments, everyone is conservation minded — they want to protect the fish, waters and environment. It really is a great scene.”

Good sportsmanship

Samantha Viniotis, 38, from Lindenhurst, is a custom rod builder and co-owner of Knot Your Rods and Plastics LLC, also in Lindenhurst. She said she fishes the Slay Nation tournaments mostly with her husband, Shawn Viniotis, and sometimes by herself. As an experienced saltwater angler, she is just now discovering the thrill of largemouth bass fishing.

“My biggest bass so far is about 15 inches long [about 2 pounds], so I haven’t gotten on the leaderboard yet,” said Viniotis with a laugh. “What I really like about these events is the sportsmanship of it all. I’m not a very competitive person, so it’s all the other things that really appeal to me. I really like how everyone gets together to share a pastime we all love, and that the water is mostly calm and the boats aren’t very loud or fast.”

Fehner suggests beginning with online tournaments rather than diving right into in-person competition. Kayak Bass Fishing hosts one every month between May and November, he noted. To enter, join the organization, fish any lake in the state you select on your own time and log your entries.

“They are low pressure, plenty of fun and a great way to learn tournament rules like those that govern the correct procedure to photograph, enter and release your catch,” Fehner said.

Fehner also advises anglers not to be overwhelmed by all the decked-out fishing kayaks they’ll see if they stop by to scout a tournament. More important than a $5,000 kayak, serious electronics package with navigation and fish-finding equipment and the greatest tackle is fishing hard, learning the rules and understanding how and where to find fish, he said.

“You’d be surprised how often anglers with simple setups finish in the money,” Fehner said.

Major league fishing

Mandel Pettus, 52, of Rocky Point, is Long Island’s only full-time professional tournament angler. He was the top amateur angler on the national B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Tournament Trail in 2014. Pettus participates in the Major League Fishing Toyota Series (MLF) but occasionally competes in local events as well.

He pointed out that on Long Island you will likely fish against the best anglers living within maybe 100 miles. On the pro trails, you’re against the best in the world.

Pettus said he thrives on high-level competition, but also thoroughly enjoys local tournaments because there is less pressure, lower costs and he can get home the same day he fishes. On the road he said he can spend a week practicing, staying in a hotel and anteing up $1,800 just to enter.

“It costs . . . about $7,000 for a week for food, lodging, gas, tackle, etc., plus you really do need a top-of-the-line boat, motor and electronics to compete on the bigger waters like Lake Champlain, St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario and Cayuga Lake,” he said. “At 243 acres, Lake Ronkonkoma is the biggest lake on Long Island. Lake Champlain is 278,480 acres — and those tourney-winning fish can be anywhere.”

Tips from the pro

For those who aspire to the pro level, Pettus said “having a big bank account” helps. He also recommended starting out fishing as a co-angler (an amateur angler who fishes from the back of a pro’s boat during a tournament) to learn the ropes and what it means to be a professional on tour. “I did that for five years before turning pro, and it really helped,” he said

At any level, Pettus said the most important thing is to trust your instincts. He noted that during his first pro event, going up against 250 anglers on Lake Kissimmee in Florida, his electronics crashed before he left the dock.

“With no other options, I fished on instinct and finished 33rd,” he said. “It goes to show that your knowledge, skill and trust in your ability can help level the playing field, whether competing at home or on a far bigger stage.”