October 17, 2026

Monponsett Pond

Conditions

Air Temp:  48 deg F

Water Temp:  52 deg F

Wind:  NNW 10-15 mph

Sun:  Cloudy and overcast 

Winning Pattern

Coikes and jigs in offshore weed

With a last minute change of tourney locations from Lake Winnisquam to Monponsett Pond, there was high drama in the 2026 AOY race.  As the favorite to win at Winnisquam, Justin Canada was confident he had a shot to climb ahead of Bill Barrett in total points and take home the 2026 AOY Trophy.  To pull off the upset, Canada would have to beat Barrett by at least 7 lbs, a tall order but definitely possible at Winnisquam. And then the venue changed to Mopo due to adverse weather at Winnisquam, and Canada was concerned.  Barrett had a solid track record at Monponsett and beating him by a wide margin would be tough!  But just 30 minutes after takeoff, Canada thought it might actually be possible!

Immediately leaning on his expertise with FFS, Canada found a group of fish not far from the ramp and started landing keepers before most other anglers had their lines in the water.  Probing offshore weed clumps with his FFS, Canada used a Coike and a Jig to entice Mopo largies to bite.  And when a 5.90 lb stud was one of the first fish in his livewell, he knew things were breaking his way.  Following the same pattern in other areas of the pond, Canada was able to cull up to about 16 lbs by mid-day.  A few small upgrades put him at his final weight of 16.21 lbs and he knew that Barrett would really have to catch them if he wanted to hold on to his lead in the points race.

At the same time that Canada was crushing tanks on FFS, Barrett was fishing hardcore old-school, throwing spinnerbaits in the wind.  Like Canada, Barrett landed two solid keeper early, which was a massive boost to his confidence.  But as the day wore on, he struggled to upgrade and his milk run of honey holes dried up.  With barely 10 lbs in the well at noon, the demons of doubt started creeping into Barrett's head, making him wonder if he was about to give it all away.  It's those moments that define an angler.  Some will fold and just give up, while others keep moving forward regardless of the odds. Bill Barrett is definitely the latter, as he never wavered in his desire to succeed and to win, and with only minutes left in the day he landed two solid chunks that brought his weight up to 13.35 lbs, kept him just close enough to Canada, and earned him his first SSBM Club AOY Trophy! 

Congratulations to Justin Canada for a great victory and an incredible run in the 2026 AOY race. And congratulations to Bill Barrett for an amazing performance at Monponsett and a well-deserved AOY Trophy!