The Space Coast Bass Finatics were greeted by swarms of hungry mosquitoes at the Miami-Garcia Impoundment west of Fellsmere at the start of their June 30th two person team bass tournament. The mosquitoes weren't the only thing biting as a few all time club records fell amongst the rain and lightning. The top three finishers weighed the heaviest 5 fish limits at Garcia in the history of the club and finished within a pound of one another.

Mike Calloway, of Titusville and fishing without a partner, sacked a whopping 5 fish limit for 20.98 pounds to win the tournament. His weight included a magnificent 7.77 pound giant that was the tournament's biggest fish and a new club record for the biggest fish at Garcia. In addition to winning the tournament, he set the all time club record for the heaviest weight ever weighed by anyone fishing without a partner at any tournament. His catch is also the heaviest 5 fish limit ever weighed in at Garcia in the history of the club.

Finishing a close second with 5 fish for 20.39 pounds were Tony Ciavarella of Melbourne and Daville Williams of Palm Bay. Their catch included a 7.21 pounder. Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne weighed 5 fish for 20.16 pounds to take third place. They actually had the weight to finish second but a fish care penalty knocked them back to third.

The Space Coast Bass Finatics continued their 2012/2013 season at Lake Toho on May 19th.  Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill brought a 5 fish limit to the scales weighing a total of 19.94 pounds to win the tournament.  Their impressive catch included two fish over 6 pounds.  The father and son team of Clyde and Raymond Taylor, both of Palm Bay, weren't far behind.  They brought 5 fish to the scales that totaled 18.49 pounds to earn second place.  Raymond caught a 7.87 pound giant that was the tournament's biggest fish.  Larry Cruce of Titusville, fishing without a partner, weighed 5 fish for 12.80 pounds to finish 3rd.

The Space Coast Bass Finatics hauled their boats to Lake Cypress on April 28 for another round of competition along the way to determining the 2012/2013 Bassmasters. This time, the morning started out strange as we found ourselves among dozens of boats from another club. Due to the congestion, we voted to change our weigh-in from the typical 3:00pm to 4:00pm to avoid them come weigh-in time. The other guys were an interesting bunch. One of them managed to drive his rig into a ditch along side the road just prior to the ramp which resulted in his his trailer bottoming out with the boat on it. Another one of them managed to forget or otherwise lose his boat keys which would ultimately prove to be a smart move as he won their tournament with over 17 pounds caught by pitching the reeds near the boat ramp which was the only place he could go without use of his big motor.

Bob Barnette of Port St. John and Dwayne Haga of Titusville got caught up in the chaos at the launch ramp. Even though they arrived with plenty of time before sunrise, they were unable to launch their boat until 30 minutes after the rest of the club set off to catch fish. Despite the time handicap and contemplating going home instead of fishing due to their launch predicament and the extra hour of fishing time cutting into obligations at home, they set out onto the Kissimmee Chain and proceeded to lap the field. They caught an impressive 5 fish stringer totaling a stout 21.91 pounds including two fish over 5 pounds and the rest in the 3 to 4 pound range to win the tournament. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill brought 5 fish to the scales that weighed a hefty 17.68 pounds to earn 2nd place. Their bag included the tournament's biggest fish, a 7.92 pound giant caught by Calloway. Clyde and Raymond Taylor, both of Palm Bay, secured 3rd place with 5 fish that weighed in at 15.20 pounds.

The Space Coast Bass Finatics hauled their boats and dreams down to the mythical waters of Lake Okeechobee for the nearly annual two day tournament on March 23-24. This installment saw higher waters and lower weights than recent years but the big lake is still a place of wonder and bewilderment where on any cast an angler feels a sense of tempered excitement as though a giant fish may strike at any moment.

Alan Elder, of Melbourne, out fished the field of two person teams by himself to win the event with a two day total of 27.22 pounds. He weighed the tournament's heaviest bag of 17.57 pounds on the first day which included the tournament's biggest fish, a 6.93 pound beauty. Alan also caught the biggest fish on the wind blown second day, a 3.88 pounder. Everything didn't go in Elder's favor however. On the first day, one of his fish got a bit of revenge, but Alan had the last laugh. Elder hooked into a 5 pound fish and as he fought it up next to the boat with one hand and reached down to scoop it with the net in his other hand, the fish made a surge which threw Alan off balance and he wound up in the lake. Although his iPhone will never be the same and his prescription sunglasses have taken up residence on the bottom of Lake Okeechobee, Alan managed to get back in the boat with pole in hand and land the fish.

Mike Calloway, of Titusville, and Cliff Semonski, of Oak Hill, earned second with a two day total of 25.55 pounds. Ed Brewer and Don Francoeur, both of Titusville, took third with a total of 17.79 pounds.

Retired LERA Bass Club Space Coast Bass Finatics veteran, Jim Folks, is making a name for himself in the Gator Division BFL circuit. At the March 9th event out of Big Toho Marina on Lake Toho, Jim sacked a 5 fish limit weighing in at 19 pounds 8 oz to finish 3rd in a 167 boat field earning himself $1,768. Jim is now in 5th place overall in the Gator division standings with only 2 events remaining. Way to go Jim! We're rooting for you!

Current club member, Jimmy Blount, is fishing the co-angler side of the Gator Division BFLs. He sacked a 5 fish limit weighing 7 pounds 1 oz to finish in 28th place at take home $139. Jimmy is in 15th place overall in the co-anger standings. Excellent work Mr. Blount! Keep it up!

The Space Coast Bass Finatics brought their monthly tournament trail to Whaley's Landing on the famed Lake Tohopekaliga on February 24. The lake did not disappoint as the father and son team of Clyde and Raymond Taylor of Palm Bay caught 5 fish weighing a whopping 23.80 pounds to win the event. Their catch included a 9.33 pound giant caught by Raymond who actually hooked the fish twice with the first attempt ending in a broken line heartbreak. Many hours later they decided to go back to the same area to see if the fish was still there and Raymond caught it again, this time getting it in the boat. The fish still had the other hook in its mouth from earlier. The Taylors removed both hooks and the fish was returned to the lake after the weigh in and posing for a few photographs. The Taylors have been dominating in the club's first 6 events of the 2012-2013 season. They have won 4 tournaments and caught the biggest fish at 3 of them.

Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay earned second place with 5 fish for 14.93 pounds. Bob Barnette of Port St. John and Dwayne Haga of Titusville finished third with 5 fish for 12.57 pounds.

Some news hot off the press From the Better Late Than Never department of Space Coast Bass Finatics:
Former club member Jim Folks of Melbourne fished the BFL gator division event on January 5, 2013 at Lake Okeechobee as a boater. He hauled a 5 fish limit weighing 19 pounds 2 ounces to the scales to finish in 5th place in a 199 boat field. He took home a $1202 check for his efforts. Full boater results can be found on the FLW website.

Current club member Jimmy Blount of Rockledge fished the co-angler side of the same event and he amassed a 5 fish limit for 12 pounds and 1 ounce to finish in 8th place earning $451 for his hard work. Full co-angler results can be found on the FLW website.

Way to go Mr Folks and Mr Blount! We are proud of you. Keep it up!

The Space Coast Bass Finatics launched onto the Kissimmee Chain via Lake Cypress on January 27th continuing their monthly tournament series.  The father and son team of Clyde and Raymond Taylor of Palm Bay continued their exemplary season with their 3rd win out of the first 5 events.  This time they weighed a 5 fish limit totaling 18.60 pounds including a 7.11 pound lunker caught by Raymond that was the tournament's biggest fish. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John earned 2nd place
with 5 fish for 11.33 pounds.  Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill took 3rd with 5 fish for 10.96 pounds.

The Space Coast Bass Finatics fished the last tournament of 2012 out of the Overstreet ramp on Lake Kissimmee on December 16th. This is the first SCBF tournament in recent memory where the weather wasn't terrible. Most of the competitors found the bass cooperative as two thirds of the tournament field brought a 5 fish limit to the scales. The father and son team of Clyde Taylor & Raymond Taylor of Palm Bay outclassed the field weighing a stout 17.08 pounds of bass to win the tournament. They found a better class of fish than the rest of the field without catching any giant fish (their biggest was a solid 4.70 pounder) they still managed to beat their closest competitor by over 5 pounds. The team of Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne earned a second place finish with 11.82 pounds. Their bag included a 5.76 pounder by Kopf that was the tournament's biggest fish. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill rounded out the top 3 with 11.04 pounds.

Another month has passed, so it's time for yet another windy Space Coast Bass Finatics tournament. This time the adventurers trekked to the Alligator Chain to battle the fish, the elements, and each other. Before it was over, one unfortunate, perhaps a little clumsy soul, would find himself in the lake.

The team of Jimmy Blount, of Rockledge, and his son Ryan Blount, of Cocoa, emerged victorious with 5 fish for a grand total of 9.73 pounds. Their bag was punctuated by a 2.58 pounder which was this tough tournament's biggest fish. Mike Hampton, of Malabar, and Tim Kopf, of Melbourne, weighed 5 fish for 7.38 pounds to earn second place. Third place went to Mike Calloway, of Titusville, and Cliff Semonski, of Oak Hill who brought 5 fish weighing 6.69 pounds to the scales.