2025 Heaviest 3 Fish Limit- Manasquan Res.
Dennis Tolentino - 11.43lbs.
2025 Lunker- Assunpink Lake
Dennis Tolentino 5.06lbs.
Heaviest Weight in 2025
Dennis Tolentino - 84.04 lbs.
Most Fish Caught in 2025
Dennis Tolentino- 35
Most Tournaments Fished in 2025- Ironman
ALL 16 Tournaments Jiggen Den
2025 Classic Winner
Jackson Fu 6 Bass totalling 15.45lbs.
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2025 SJHT Bass Classic participants
2025 SJHT Bass Classic Anglers final Day at Salem Canal 09-28-25
2025 SJHT Union Lake Open Bass Buddy Winners Circle
Congrats to this year's 2025 SJHT Union Lake Open Bass Buddy Tournament Winners. (Front L to R): 2nd Place Winners Greg & Andrea Zinni; 1st Place Team Josh & Jay Burger; 3rd Place Team Howard Brown & Jeff Davis
Day 1
Place: Salem Canal, NJ
Time: 6:30am-2:30pm
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2014
Weather: Very mild 65 Degree morning start warming up to 80 Degrees
Water Temps: 66 Degrees at start and rising to 71 Degrees by days end.
Water Clarity: Semi-Stain Pea color; Less than 1.5'
Water current and Level: Pretty Canal normal in height and flow; No major drawdowns
Best Lure: Jigs, spinnerbaits, finesse worms, and kreature baits
Depths fished: 2.0'~ 4.0''
Bass Limit: 3
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The SJHT season has come down to this moment. A moment where 19 out of 21 elegible anglers came out to battle for the this years ultimate prize and enormous winner take all purse.
This past Saturday and Sunday, Sept 20-21, 2014, South Jersey Hook this concluded there 2014 Bass Fishing Club season by holding there annual 2 Day Bass Classic Championship tournament at Salem Canal and the mighty Assunpink Lake. Earlier in the season, anglers had some decent success on the Canal. With the early arrivals and members wanting to get on the early bite, there were reports of mixed results from various anglers. Some not getting a bite to some getting there 3 Bass Limit.
Anglers had plenty of areas to which to fish and some including Al and Moe fished out of the same boat...
Back to Day 1 of the SJHT Classic:
There were a total of 22 Bass caught giving way to a total of 38.63lbs. 10 out of 19 anglers caught at least 1 Bass. We had 4 limits caught. Day 1 Lunker went 4.60lbs and was won by Moe. The overall avg. weight went 1.76lbs.
2014 Most Improved Angler Bobby led day 1 with 3 Bass weighing a total of 6.88lbs. He was followed by a former champion in Jiggen Den with 3 Bass going 5.25lbs.
Bobby's 3 Bass going 6.88lbs:
Jiggen Dens 3 Bass going 5.25lbs:
Moe's 1 Bass Lunker Winner 4.60lbs:
Other anglers Day 1 pics and weigh in:
Rob's 1 Bass Keeper:
Brian *BassHopper* 2 Bass Keepers:
Jay's 2 Bass Keepers:
pics from around the weigh-in...
a little side bet between Al *The Joker* C. and John N.I guess you can tell who won... LOL!!!
Anglers and boaters coming back in from a long Day 1:
Most anglers were catching bass, but not really the right size to take a commanding lead. The ideal weather, wind, and water clarity made for things interesting but a tough bite. With less than a 1.5lb lead, most anglers that didn't even catch a keeper felt as though with Assunpink could be decider....
Finale Day 2
Place: Assunpink Lake, Allentown, NJ
Time: 6:30am-2:30pm
Weather: Cool and slight to heavy fog. Temps in Mid 50's, warming up to a low 71 degrees. Very overcast with spitting rain mist. The sun never really came out till the end. Weathermen totally missed this call.
Water temps: 66~70 Degrees at start
Water Clarity: Down to 2.5'~3.0'
Water current and Level: at Normal pool with some wood showing along the shore line.
Best Lure: Drop-shot; Jigs; spinnerbaits, and finesse worms
Depths fished: 2.5~ 5.5'
Bass Limit: 3
With everything still up for grabs, All 19 anglers came back for Day 2 of this epic Classic. Bob held a slim lead with Jiggen Den, Jay, Moe, and even Moe hanging in wind. With the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Classic Champ Silent Assasin Jackson Fu about 4.5lbs behind, he definitely had his KVD face on upon arriving at the Pink One could cut the air with the intensity and the look of determination on everyones face.
The Pink was pretty much fished from top to bottom and East to West.... Lol!!!
Searching high and low for the fishies and using the Hummingbird new this year FF, it was almost like the dead sea.
Back to the Day 2 Finale:
Like last years Day 2 Finale at Stone Tavern, The Pink turned out to be the Intimadator quite literally.
Our 2014 AOY Brian *SubFish* was positioned in such a way that if the leaders faulted or didn't catch any keepers, the door could be left open for him just like he destroyed things on our last regular season club tournament on the NorthEast River, MD. and now the conclusion to yet another unique and interesting season.
Lets just say day 1 leaders found it unbelieveably hard to get a bite and even a 15" keeper. No angler caught any limits. Matter of fact only 7 Bass were brought to the scales. Only 6 out of 19 anglers caught at leasts 1 Bass. This gave way to a total of 20.33lbs and a 2.90lb avg. bass. Can you WTF?
Ladies and gentlemen, please congratulate SJHT 2013 Rookie of the Year and Now 2014 SJHT Bass Classic Champion along with 2014 Angler of the Year! Brian *SubFish* McCulley on taking this years coveted belt, Day 2 Lunker winner going 4.72lbs, and the overall monetary purse with 2 Bass going 8.63lbs giving him a combine 11.94lbs overall weight
2014 Angler of Year:
Brian *SubFish* McCulley every dog has his day:
and now 2014 SJHT Bass Classic Champion:
Salem Canal & Assunpink Lake
Brian weighed in a total of 5 Bass going 11.94lbs.
Offical 2014 SJHT Salem Canal & Assunpink Lake Tale of Tape:
Anglers Day 2 Bass Caught:
Rob's catch:
Brian's *BassHopper* S. catch:
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2014 SJHT Bass Classic Participants:
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Summary: In what has been one of our most competitive and quirkiest points race standing seasons with establish anglers, I believe I can say SJHT anglers truly were honored to come out and battle over the course of our 18 Tournament season. I'm truly honored and fortunate to have a great group of men who get along, communicate amongst one another, share tips and techniques in the meaning of bettering the club, and last but not least enjoy the sport of Bass Fishing for what it is. At the end of the day, it's nice to win and take home a $$$ prize and\or some hardware, but one can never take away the commaradie we share on and off the water, along with the memories that will last a life time.
2014 SJHT Top 3 Finishes:
Overall 2014 SJHT Point Standings:
In previous years, Action Jackson has taken and won many Classic Championships, so it's somewhat weird spreading the hardware around but he did win our 2014 Lunker of the Year Award going 6.81lbs and Heavyiest 3 Bass Limit going 15.70lbs. All caught down on the NorthEast River Flats MD. Way to relinquish the Crown Fu Man!!!
2014 SJHT Award snapshots:
Congrats to Brian "SubFish" McCulley for taking the 2014 SJHT Bass Classic crown along with his AOY award.
Thanks again to all Officers, Jiggen Den our TD, and those fellow members that helped and assisted in anyway in making this a season for the ages.
BN06
Edited by BigNasty06 on 09/24/2014
BN06, President
Congrats on the win Brian, knew pink was gonna be brutal. My day 1 I caught plenty of keepers, just couldn't find anything big. Day 2 I forgot my depth finder and had to resort to force feeding the areas I knew. Plenty of shorts as usual including one that was every bit of 2lbs lol. Caught my keeper around 1 and thought I was gonna get more judging by the bite but it never happened. I thought it did around 1:30 but it was a big catfish snagged in the belly lol.
See everyone at the winter meeting I guess. Thanks again to bn and everyone that makes this club happen, still the best club to be in in nj "2nd place is just the first loser"
Congrats on a phenomenal year Brian! U are definitely a top competitor! Also congrats to Rob on having an amazing year! I have to say u are definitely the most improved angler over the past 2 years. My year sucked cuz I couldn't fish 7 of the tournaments smh. I guess i can't complain tho, and one thing I'm proud of is the fact that I finished in the top 3 in 7 of the 11 tournaments I fished in. But I must say that overall our club has definitely improved. Most of our members have bigger boats now compared to 4 years ago when I first joined. I'm proud to be a member of this club and i see great things in our future. Also this just in: It turns out Jackson IS a human after all lol
Edited by Kyle on 09/25/2014
Thanks guys. Really appreciate the sentiments. Still shocked that I won the f'n Classic!
Well...here's how it went down. I started off the event racing with Trooper, et al down the windy Canal getting thrown around the wakes that were being created. Pretty dangerous, but exciting as well. Wish I had a picture to go with the post. BTW, I would never drive my boat like that unless it was in a tournament.
When I finally got to my spot, I had passed everyone on the way, and was about as far as you can go. I had found a little section of lily pads that produced a couple nice fish when I was pre-fishing the week before so that is where I wanted to start. A few casts in the pads and I pulled in my first keeper. Barely 12" but big enough for the live-well. More bites would follow with most fish being less than the minimum needed. Around noon I got my second keeper. Another small fish but again...big enough to weigh. About a half hour later I get my third keeper. Looks like the same fish! More bites from small fish with the occasional cull kept me busy for most of the day. I kept plugging away and with about a half hour to go I get another bite and almost land a bigger fish but comes off at the boat. Probably would have added a lb or so. I'm frustrated, but at least I have a limit of bass and will carry some weight over to Sunday.
Sunday morning arrives and I make my way to Assunpink. The clouds are thick and looks like rain but nothing is showing on the radar. I'm excited but not really sure what to do or where to start (I didn't even catch a keeper in my only day of pre-fishing here), so I decide to go directly to the middle and find the creek channel and/or the road bed. I fished an area near the channel that I could feel brush in about 8-10 foot of water for a while before finally getting a bite at 8:30. The near 5 lb'er almost ripped the rod out of my hands after jigging the worm for a second time. I'm pretty excited and feel I could have a shot at this now. I mark the area with a buoy and continue fishing it without a bite for about an hour. I decide to move over to the island for a while and get no bites over there. I then go back to find my buoy and notice that is has been removed! I asked a bunch of non-members and they all said it wasn't them. Strange.
With that spot lost, i begin working my way across the road bed picking up many 14 7/8" bass. A little while later I get another sizable bite. This time its a 4 lb'er. Wow. I'm euphoric. I have about 9 lbs in the live-well. I got a shot! I kept fishing for the rest of the afternoon, catching small bass, until a get another good bite bite with about 15 minutes to go. It's a nice 3 lb'er. I fight the fish for a moment and look down to grab my net. It's not where it should be and the fish is near the surface and I have to do something. I decide to try and flip it in the boat only to hit the side and pull the hook. The fish laid there stunned for a second and then swam off. John and Jay were nearby and can attest to that mistake. Just goes to show you that there is always room for improvement! Feeling dejected, I finish out the day without any more action and proceed to the weigh-in hoping that that lost fish would not come back to haunt me. Luckily, I had enough weight without that fish and am very proud to have won the 2014 SJHT Classic. Thanks again to everyone who makes this club so excellent.
Edited by Subfish on 09/25/2014
Way to go Brian on a great year, two really nice awards in a great club. Thanks for sharing your detailed thoughts and progression of the two days, thats pretty damn cool
I had 3 pretty solid fish that came unglued at assunpink on a lipless crankbait, I don't think these fish wouldve given me 1st place but I do think it wouldve been close....at the canal I only got 3 bites all day, the two small fish I brought to the scales and a fish that seemed pretty decent on a jig, but it went under a tree and when i set the hook the tree just sliced right through my line of 15lb test...last time ill experiment with a new line during a tournament..smh
Thanks BN for another fantastic year, it wouldnt be possible without your dedication to all of us as the club president.
Hopefully ill see everyone at the tag team event. Until then tight lines
white mike wrote:
Way to go Brian on a great year, two really nice awards in a great club. Thanks for sharing your detailed thoughts and progression of the two days, thats pretty damn cool
I had 3 pretty solid fish that came unglued at assunpink on a lipless crankbait, I don't think these fish wouldve given me 1st place but I do think it wouldve been close....at the canal I only got 3 bites all day, the two small fish I brought to the scales and a fish that seemed pretty decent on a jig, but it went under a tree and when i set the hook the tree just sliced right through my line of 15lb test...last time ill experiment with a new line during a tournament..smh
Thanks BN for another fantastic year, it wouldnt be possible without your dedication to all of us as the club president.
Hopefully ill see everyone at the tag team event. Until then tight lines
Awesome post Brian and White Mike!!!! Great detail on your day(s) on the water. The word on the street is that the canal and many other places were fishing tough lately, but then again , it's New Jersey. What does one expect? LOL!!!
Many anglers had a hard time getting any types of bites at the Canal. I was one of them. Things had changed so much since our last visit there in early August.
As for Assunpink Lake, I caught dink after dink and lost 2 good keepers along the reeds and shoreline. As the day wore on and taking some earlier advice from Kyle, I continued focusing on those areaa where they were picking up and swimming off with my jig.
Although Day#2 ultimately proved to be the difference maker, I can say anglers tried there best and it was not for a lack of effort that the weighs and number of Bass caught were down from the previous day. Anglers were swinging for the fences!!
With another opportunity to add to this years hardware, the 2014 SJHT Tag Team Belts etched with "Lums Pond", is resting in the background. LOL!!!
For those that do not know who there partners are or have questions, it's best to give me a call or text message so we can work this out before Sat. Oct. 25, 2014. Since this is outside of the regular season trail, anglers may pre-fish up to the day before the tournament. Almost like any other Open Buddy Tournament. Hopes this helps and clears up any questions.
