Space Coast Bass Finatics

As the club gathered for it's second tournament of the year twenty teams ventured out to Lake Poinsett in what was expected to be a tough day on the water but instead turned into a pretty decent day on the water for some with thirteen teams in the double digits and eleven teams catching their five bass limit.

First place went to the team of Tom Southwick and alternate Bob Barnette weighing in a full bag of studs averaging 4.36 pounds and anchored by a solid 6.87 pound bass bringing their total weight to 21.57 and fetching them a decent $320 payday.

As the Space Coast Bass Finatics kicked off a new season twenty five returning teams plus two new additional teams showed up bright and early Sunday morning to give it their best on East Lake Tohopekaliga. The morning went as smooth as can be expected considering the limited parking and even more limited spots to tie off your boat launching from Ralph V. Chisholm Park.

As another season has come to an end the top ten teams plus one wild card team gathered together to compete in our annual Classic championship. The day got off to a nice start with our club being the only one at the ramp leaving everybody plenty of room for parking and to stand around and swap big fish stories before safely launching right before sunrise.

Space Coast Bass Finatics regular season ended on Lake Washington Sunday the 26th of July. It's all over except for the what if's, the maybe's, and the almost could have been's for the club members who traveled to good old Lake Washington. The heat, nor the water conditions, nor the lack of anything green in the lake was going to stop this last attempt to make or break the season for the club members.

The day was hot when we started and just got hotter as the club completed the tenth tournament of the season. Twenty-four teams arrived at Blue Cypress Recreational Area or Miami-Garcia Impoundment to find the water level acceptable and the vegetation growth high but the morning temperature was 79' and climbing which was totally unacceptable. President Karl quickly got everyone started with his usual to the point instructions about safety at the take-off and boat separation in the canals.

West Lake Toho was heating up in more ways than one on Sunday May 31st. Twenty-nine teams finally arrived to try to figure out the pattern on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. The club points lead and the top ten classic qualifiers are on the line with only three tournaments left in the season. President Karl made the decision to give the club members all the fishing time that he could by moving the weigh-in to three thirty to accommodate another bass club tournament, but most of us were WELL DONE by the end of a 98 degree tournament day. Some of us were done a lot sooner!

The decision to move this months tournament to Lake Kissimmee worked out for the best as twenty-six teams arrived at Overstreet Landings launch ramp to find a much better lake level than Miami-Garcia. The check-in procedure was a little different as the teams tried to keep the social-distancing mandates from FWC. President Karl and V-P President Buddy did their best to inform each team as to the new weigh-in procedures and time check without the need for a formal pre-launch meeting prior to the start.

Space Coast Bass Finatics paid a visit to the Big "O" this month amid much uncertainty and apprehension about these trying times. Twenty-three teams made the long trip down to Glades County, at Harney Pond Canal Ramp to see what the lake had to offer and see what the changes were from last year. The water level was falling as expected and there was a definite lack of vegetation from the constant chemical spraying and last years storm damage. Conditions were a lot different from last year as the current national emergency has caused many shutdowns and cut backs on operations.

There was the usual congestion at the boat launch ramp at Big Toho Marina as there were two other groups going out on Sunday the 23rd. President Karl worked out all the details with the other clubs as to the weighin times and locations to make the end of the day go smoothly. The weather was perfect and the wind had finally subsided to a mild 5 to 10 mph, just enough to keep the bugs away. Twenty-seven teams were check in by V-P Buddy and Treasurer Jack except for Raymond and Zack Taylor, who had trailer problems and did not arrive until 8 AM, making the twenty-eight team field.

The club almost fielded their first full member roster on Sunday January 23rd, as 29 teams arrived with no alternates at Blue Cypress Recreational Area otherwise known as Miami-Garcia Lake. This has been one of our best lakes to fish over the past years but this was not one of its best days as the 45' degree air temperature and the 58' water temperature had the big fish taking a break from biting. The catch weights and big bass were down by almost two pounds on average.