Team Canada wins Pan Am fishing event

Cornwall SDG Counties Pan Am Bass Championship

The host team of the 2019 Cornwall SDG Counties Pan Am Bass Championship came out on top at the four-nation competition edging Team USA by one hundredth of an ounce to win gold at the first-ever Pan Am event held on Canadian water and soil this past week.

Team Canada’s weight average during the tournament was 38.98 pounds; Team USA’s average was 38.97 pounds.

Team USA won silver, Team Mexico took home the bronze medal with 28.62 pounds and Team Akwesasne First Nations placed fourth with 23.79 pounds.

The final standings or ‘weight averages’ of each team were determined by dividing a country’s total weight of bass caught during the competition by the number of boats (or duos).

Team Canada and Team USA each had a full complement of eight boats (two anglers per boat for a total of 16 anglers per country) while Team Mexico entered seven boats (14 anglers) and Team Akwesasne fielded three boats (6 anglers).

The 2019 Cornwall SDG Counties Pan Am Bass Championship was to have been held Thursday, October 18th and Friday, October 19th on Lake St. Francis. However, due to high winds and heavy rain on Thursday, competition was cancelled on Day One. Instead, anglers fished two sessions on Friday – 7:30 am to 11:30 am and 1 pm to 5 pm – with a weigh-in show held at Marina 200 following each session. Each boat was allowed a maximum of five bass at each weigh-in show. Weights from both sessions (maximum 10 fish per boat) were then combined to determine each team’s total weight for the competition.

“Lake St Francis did not disappoint as it really showed itself even with the cold front and strong winds,” said Bob Izumi, Captain of Team Canada and a tournament organizer. “I was so happy for Team Mexico as they had never fished for smallmouth bass. When I saw them weigh in the largest 5-fish limit of the entire event at 25 pounds in the morning session it showed me what great anglers they are. All competitors are very accomplished anglers, and every nation had bags of 20 pounds or more during the tournament. Team Canada made me proud and it’s a memory that will last a lifetime.”

All fish caught during the event were released alive following each session.

The Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association (CSIA) hosted the 2019 Pan American Bass Championship which was sponsored by the City of Cornwall and SDG Counties. Some of the event’s proceeds will go to CSIA’s Keep Canada Fishing program. The event also marked the beginning of the Canadian International Sportfishing Association which is working with similar organizations in other countries to support future Pan American Bass Championships. The ultimate goal of these organizations is to re-instate fishing competition at the Olympics. (Fishing was part of the Olympic games until 1900).

The next Pan American Bass Championship will be held next year in Mexico.

About the 2019 Pan American Bass Championship

The Cornwall SDG Counties Pan Am Bass Championship was sponsored by Cornwall Tourism and SDG Counties in conjunction with the Partnership Fund of Regional Tourism Organization 9, an initiative to build and introduce new tourism products and experiences in eastern Ontario. The Pan American Bass Championship is also being supported by the new Cornwall Tourism Development Fund. For more information on the Cornwall Tourism Development Fund, please click here.

About Lake St. Francis

Lake St. Francis is a multi-species fishery with an abundance of smallmouth and largemouth bass. Twenty to twenty-five pound five fish limits are common on this fertile section of the river. There’s more than 40 miles of fishable water for the anglers to explore.

Additional Events

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Additional Information

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Article and photo by Kevin Lajoie
www.CornwallTourism.com