Regatta Bass Tournament Takes Shape
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
28 June 2011
By Bob Frye
One year ago, there was some question as to whether the annual Three
Rivers Regatta was going to include a bass fishing tournament.
That's not the case this year.
The sixth annual Regatta Cup tournament will be held July 4 on the
Allegheny River. First place in the two-man buddy tournament will be a
guaranteed $3,000.
"Everything's a go, the fishing looks like it could be pretty good, and
we're excited to see what happens," said
Denny Tubbs, outreach and education coordinator in the Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission's southwest region office and a Regatta board
member.
Members of the Pennsylvania BASS Federation Nation will help with the
event. But, as has been the case in the past, the tournament is open to
anyone regardless of whether they're in a club or not.
The student anglers from the LaRoche College Fishing Club also will
help with weigh-ins, in what could be a precursor. Tubbs and some
others are hoping to lure FLW College Bass Fishing tournament
organizers to hold a Northern Division event in Pittsburgh.
The three-year-old tour - where college fishing teams compete for money
for their clubs and their schools -- is coming to Pennsylvania this
year. The Northern Division championship is scheduled for Sayers Lake
near State College from Sept. 1-3. The winning team there will head to
the tour's overall championship next February.
That's for another day, though. In the meantime, the Regatta tournament
is on top, and -- unlike at the 2005 Bassmaster Classic and 2009
Forrest Wood Cup -- the fishing might be pretty good.
"Depending on the weather, the fishing should be great," said Tubbs.
"The largest spawn of bass in the rivers was recorded in 2005, and
these fish could be in the 2- to 3-pound range now. With a little luck,
there could be some very large river fish weighed in."
Some recent research supports that theory. Matt Kinsey, a biologist in
the commission's southwest region office, said some survey work done on
the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers earlier this spring revealed
good populations of smallmouth bass in particular, though some
largemouth bass and spotted bass are also there to be caught.
And if the Allegheny produced the fewest fish of the three rivers, it
still provided some decent fish, he said.
Bob Frye can be reached at bfrye@tribweb.com or 724-838-5148.