Day 1 was led by Boater Roger Shirkey Sr. From Delaware with 14.28 and Big Fish of the Day with 4.39 and Co Angler was Larry Taylor also from Delaware with 9.47 and also Big fish of the day 3.28.

Going into Day 2 was a rough start due to fog, we had to delay take off until approximately 8:40am Sunday. It was a much harder day on the water. Daniel Rodriguez Maryland boater had Big Bag of 9.50 on day 2 with Lunker of 4.01 and Jim Goins Maryland Co Angler had Big Bag of 7.74 Lunker was Nathan Routzahn from DC. However, Roger Shirkey Sr. was able to pull out the winning 1st place overall with a two-day total of 20.16, and Jay Clark pulled out first place for Co Anglers of 15.97.

The District 15 NSF, which encompasses the states of New Jersey and Connecticut was hosted by the New Jersey Bass Federation on September 27 and 28, 2025, on New Jersey largest lake, Lake Hopatcong.  With the typical September bass fishing doldrums in full swing, the field of 22 Boaters and 22 Co-Anglers found the fishing challenging as no pattern could be established, and the big fish bite was nearly non-existent.

In the Boater Division, 15 New Jersey anglers and 7 Connecticut anglers vied for the top prizes, and even more importantly, an automatic berth into the 2026 TBF National Championship.  Not unexpectedly, the New Jersey anglers, who are much more familiar with the lake, dominated the top spots.  Winning the Boater Division was New Jersey’s Giovanni Martino with a two-day 10 fish total weight of 24.32 pounds.  His win also made him the Boater qualifier from New Jersey to the National Championship.  Close behind in second was New Jersey’s Derick Olson with 23.63 pounds.  Rounding out the top three was New Jersey’s Manuel Cruz with 21.86 pounds.  The top Connecticut Boater was Matthew Marinelli who finished in fourth place with 20.49 pounds.  That finish made him the Connecticut Boater qualifier to the National Championship.

In the Co-Angler Division, which also had a 15/7 breakdown, the top two spots were separated by only 0.16 pounds.  Taking that Division was New Jersey’s Charles (C.J.) Tuite.  His total weight of 14.97 pounds was just enough to hold off the second-place finisher, New Jersey’s Robert Stock who had 14.81 pounds.  The win will send Tuite to his first TBF National Championship.  Third place went to Connecticut’s Jason Myslak with 12.82 pounds.  This finish will also send him to the National Championship as Connecticut’s Co-Angler Qualifier.

Special thanks to the Connecticut Bass Federation and its President James Johnson for its participation in this event.  Also, the New Jersey Bass Federation would like to thank the Bass University for its donation of a one-year subscription, hat and buff as raffle prizes.