The Lake Winnipesaukee OPEN, brought to you by Powerpole CHARGE!, concluded on Sunday June 22nd, and 1 team basically ran away with every prize.
FULL RESULTS: https://www.weighfish.com/tournament/2025-06-22-winni-open-by-powerpole-charge/
Sometimes Lady Luck is on your side, and for team Q-SICK (Austin Cusick & Cary Cusick), Sunday was no exception!!!!
15 ALUMINUM BOAT teams descended upon the beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee to fight every weather condition known to man including rain in the morning (wow what a sarcastic surprise, more rain on a weekend in New England), overcast midday, and sunshine with 40 mph gusting winds in the afternoon. I must say, there were some incredible looking tin rigs in this thing, and a lot of brand new faces to the Aluminum Fishing Series, which we love to see!
15 boats paid out 3 spots, with both lunkers also paying out. With a 4-fish limit rule on the day, weights were going to be close at the top!
In 3rd place with a weight of 12.35, anchored by a nice 3.95 lb largie, was the Maine team of Paul Ersing & Mode Meader. These guys found their way to the AFS through the Maine Open Circuit last year and have been taking people’s money ever since. Great dudes, great fishermen! They go home with a nice $450 check for their efforts.
In 2nd place, with a weight of 12.85 lb, anchored by a nice 4.12 lb largie, was the team of Graig Guerrette & Chad Bishop. Chad has been rippin’ it up on Winni in his Fiberglass rig for a while now, but somehow managed to find a way into the AFS by talking his aluminum owning buddy into it! hahah I had my money on them to win, but they disappointed me with just a 2nd place finish. For their efforts, they go home with a nice $700 check! I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of these guys…
[NO PIC, WHICH IS A GOOD THING, CONSIDERED WE MAY NEED TO HIDE OUR WIVES FROM THESE GOOD LOOKIN’ DUDES]
In 1st place, with a nice bag weighing 14.37 lbs, anchored by the LUNKER LARGEMOUTH of the day weighing 6.21 lbs (caught in the last hour), was the team of Austin & Cary Cusick. That big fish proved pivotal in jacking up their bag weight. If that was an average 3 lber, they move down to 6th place!! That’s how close the top weights were on a very fun water day! Not to be outdone, prior to the tournament, I conducted a random drawing for a team to win the brand new POWERPOLE CHARGE and they were the winners. When they dropped that sack on the weigh scale, I knew they were going to have a VERY good day… Congratulations, gentlemen, and let me know if you need any information about this INCREDIBLE product! 1st place, Lunker LM, and a new Powerpole Charge = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Everyone should be adding a CHARGE to your bass boats. Its a smart charging device that holds a charge from AC Power or from when the big engine is running in order to distribute that charge to any battery you want! I’ve been running it for 3 months with a single 36V Millertech lithium 60aH battery, full days on the water with a Minn Kota Quest at 7-9 speed and cannot drop this battery less than 38V (it sits about 39+ at full capacity). For those looking to purchase, use this link below:
HONORARY MENTION: The Martin Brothers took a cool pic, eventhough they placed 5th, and I wanted to be in this blog, so I’m posting it. I dropped a good one that would’ve slid us into 2nd, but that’s fishing! It just wasn’t our time, but we had a blast!
Thank you to everyone for making the morning & afternoon logistics work out smoothly! I think we are on to something with how we ran this T, and hopefully we can do it again in the future. We do not have any other OPENS scheduled for the year, and are currently working on a plan to hold an OPEN on Lake Champlain next year. Stay tuned, and keep following our website and socials for updates.
To all our trail sponsors, THANK YOU!! From donations and promo codes, we appreciate you!
BENS TACKLE SHACK – Promo Code BTS.AFS10 for 10% off
POWER-POLE – We’re giving away a brand new Power-Pole CHARGE at the Winni Open!
TORRENT OUTDOORS – Promo Code AI15 for 15% off
BROKEN TWIG LANDING NETS – Promo Code afsdiscount2025 for 10% off
WOO TUNGSTEN – Promo Code WOOAFS15 for 15% off