MORRISBURG – The Renegade Bass Tour’s third qualifying tournament was held July 21st in Morrisburg with Kevin Selleck and John Horton winning the day.
The team won the qualifier with their 24.86 pound catch for the day. It was the second highest catch on record for a RBT event in Morrisburg. Selleck, from Spencerville, and Horton, from Ottawa, had practiced-fished the area all week to find the right spot.
“We went up-river, but not as far as Lake Ontario,” Selleck told The Leader. “We were up near Mallorytown. We have a lot of experience there.”
“We really fish from the [Iroquois] dam all the way to the lake, that’s a really good place to find the big fish,” Horton said.
Selleck said that this region is one of the nicest fisheries in Canada for small-mouth Bass.
“I mean it’s awesome,” he said.
The winning team had positive things to say about Morrisburg and are happy to be returning here for the Classic championships in September.
“The town does a great job hosting,” Horton said. “It’s impressive. You feel welcome when you’re here.”
Selleck and Horton’s win in Morrisburg is their highest finish this season on the tour.
The pair edged out last year’s winners Doug Brownridge and David Chong. In 2017, that team won Morrisburg with a 23.99 catch.
“The day went according to plan but I think we were a fish shy,” Chong said at the weigh in.
This year their 23.55 pound catch earned them second place.
Troy Bresee and Bryan Pollock finished in third place, winning $2,000 for their 23.17 pound catch.
Cornwall angler Scott Lecky and teammate Andy Kinsler finished in fourth place for the tournament with a 22.30 pound haul.
“It was all shallow water fishing,” Lecky told the audience. “The area is a great place to fish.”
Lecky’s comments were echoed by many of the anglers at the weigh-in. In fact, 14 of the teams weighed in with catches over 20 pounds.
Rounding out the top-ten, Ben Covell and Jamie Wallace were fifth with 21.76 pounds, while Alex Merkley and Corey Gaffney finished sixth with their 21.74 pound catch. Dave Western and Duane Clifton were seventh with 21.12 pounds.
Clancy Mulvihill and Jeff List, who won in the second qualifier tournament July 7th on Lake St. Francis finished in eighth place with 20.80 pounds.
Steve Barnett and Jack Levert finished were ninth with their 21.04 pound catch. A half pound penalty was assessed, moving them down to ninth in the standings. Chris Patacarik and Jamie Hearty finished tenth with their 20.44 pound haul, their highest finish on the tour this season, their first in the RBT.
In the biggest fish category, Merkley and Gaffney won with their 5.80 pound mammoth bass, edging out Bresee and Pollock who were second with their 5.78 bass. Barnett and Levert were third with their 5.73 pound prize.
There were 76 teams in the qualifier with four teams not checking in at the weigh-in.
The tour moves on to Dog Lake and Cranberry Lake near Kingston for the fourth qualifier tournament August 18th.
The top-40 qualifying teams will battle it out for the Renegade Bass Tour Classic XXIII Championship, to be held September 8-9th.
