Calloway/Moore Set Club All-Time 2 Day Weight Record in Win at Okeechobee

Tony Ciavarella

Cliff Semonski picked the wrong month to be out of town for work.

Nine teams made the trek to the massive and plentiful waters of the fabled Lake Okeechobee to compete in LERA Bass Club's April 28-29 event out of Harney Pond Canal. The lake did not disappoint as competitors brought seventeen five fish limits to the scales including five bags over twenty pounds and ten fish over six pounds.

Mike Calloway and David Moore, both of Titusville, caught 25.97 pounds the first day and 21.50 pounds the second day to win the event. Their two day total of 47.47 pounds broke a 9 year old all-time club record for total weight by a little less than a pound. Their first day weight of 25.97 was the heaviest bag of the tournament and ranks 4th all-time for heaviest single day total weight at any LERA Bass Club tournament.

Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne earned second place with a two day total of 41.48 pounds. Leslie "Cork" Hope of Rockledge and Bill Bryant of Melbourne made a tremendous comeback on day two to finish third with a two day total of 30.14 pounds. Hope/Bryant weighed the heaviest bag on the second day, 21.54 pounds, which included two fish over six pounds.

The biggest fish of the tournament was a 7.50 pound lunker caught by Daville Williams of Palm Bay on the first day. David Moore's 6.70 pounder was the biggest fish of the second day.

Calloway/Semonski Catch 20.44 Pounds in Win at Harris Chain

Tony Ciavarella

Twelve boats launched onto the pea soup colored waters of the Harris Chain's Lake Eustis to compete in LERA Bass Club's March 25th tournament. As often happens on this chain of lakes, it was feast or famine for the competitors. It appeared as though Mr Calloway and Mr Semonski got tired of second place, a place they've found themselves in 4 times this season. Determined to not let that happen again, Titusville's Mike Calloway and Oak Hill's Cliff Semonski reigned supreme with a 5 fish limit weighing a whopping 20.44 pounds. Alan Elder of Melbourne and Daville Williams of Palm Bay earned second place with 4 fish totaling 15.94 pounds. Their total was punctuated by Elder's 7.03 pound bucket mouth which was the biggest fish weighed at the event. Eric Amos and Gary Brill both of Titusville took third with 5 fish totaling 12.68 pounds.

FWC, Hydrilla, and the Kissimmee Chain

Tony Ciavarella

Winter Haven's The News Chief newspaper recently ran a lengthy article about the FWC's efforts to control hydrilla on the Kissimmee Chain. The story has some history about the weed's presence on the chain and what FWC has been doing about it lately. The article discusses some of the reasoning behind the FWC's strategy. It's an interesting read if you what to know what's going on. Check out the full article on The New Chief's website.

Hampton/Kopf Sack Over 20 Pounds in Win at Cypress

Tony Ciavarella

Ten boats launched onto Lake Cypress on the Kissimmee Chain to compete in the LERA Bass Club's February 26th tournament. A passing warm front produced an increasing ENE wind and cloudy skies which presided over the event with a delightful ominousness that seemed to foreshadow the interesting day two of the top three teams would have. The team of Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne out classed the field amassing a whopping 21.46 pound 5 fish limit which included a 7.4 pound lunker by Hampton. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill weren't far behind with an 18.55 pound 5 fish limit of their own to take 2nd place. Third place went to Tony Ciavarella of Viera who managed to only bring 4 fish to the scales for 15.21 pounds, but one was a giant 9.90 pounder which was the biggest of the event and the season so far.

Calloway Excelling in BFL Gator Division

Tony Ciavarella

The second BFL Gator Division event of the 2012 season was held at C. Scott Driver Park on Lake Okeechobee on February 18th. Surprise, Mike Calloway was in the top 10% of the full 200 boat field again. This time he amassed a 5 fish limit that tipped the scales at 18 pounds 10 ounces to finish in 14th place taking home $530 for his stellar efforts. Mike is now in 4th place overall in the Gator Division standings with 3 events remaining. He's only 21 points off the leader's pace! Awesome stuff Mr. Calloway!

Jim Folks wasn't far behind with 16-6 of his own finishing 26th and earning $340.

Calloway/Griffin Have Dream Day at Toho

Tony Ciavarella

No, not every damn story on this site is about Mike Calloway and no I've never written a story about tournament prefishing before and you shouldn't look for another one ever, but this story is different. It's the kind of thing a person dreams about for a lifetime. It's the kind of thing that never really happens to you unless your name is Dean Rojas. You see, Mike Calloway and his pal Lloyd Griffin decided to spend a day on Lake Toho in January to learn something before our club tournament and have some fun. They didn't go home at 3pm. They didn't even go home at 5pm. They fished until the sun went down, and they'll never forget what happened in that last hour of the day.

Blounts Win and Bryant Raises Bar for Big Bass of Year at West Lake Toho

Tony Ciavarella

Twelve teams competed in the LERA Bass Club's January 29th tournament launching out of West Lake Tohopekaliga. One day after the PAA Team Challenge sacked many 20+ pound bags for 3 days, competitors in our event found the conditions tougher on the Kissimmee Chain. Well, that and those guys are just better. Anyway, Jimmy Blount and his son Ryan Blount of Rockledge won their second tournament in a row with a 5 fish limit totaling 11.80 pounds. Leslie Hope of Rockledge and Bill Bryant of Melbourne finished a close second with 4 fish for 11.69 pounds. Their catch was anchored by Bryant's 6.69 pound lunker which earned him big bass honors for the tournament and took over the lead for Big Bass of the Year. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill took third place with 5 fish weighing 10.74 pounds.

FWC Considers Hydrilla as Tool to Improve Lake Apopka

Tony Ciavarella

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which has been battling aggressive non-native hydrilla with herbicide and other tactics across most Florida lakes, is considering allowing the nuisance weed, which can expand by more than 1000% a year, to take root in Lake Apopka to improve the lake's hunting and fishing.

Calloway Finishes Near Top at 1/14/2012 Okeechobee BFL

Tony Ciavarella

Mike Calloway decided to hang up his BFL veteran co-angler hat and put on his big boy pants and fish the circuit as a boater this year. In the Gator Division season opener at Lake Okeechobee on 1/14/2012 out of Roland Martin's Marina in Clewiston, his risk paid off as he sacked a 5 fish limit weighing 16 pounds 6 ounces to finish 20th in the 200 boat field earning him a $395 check for his efforts. Congratulations Mike! That's an excellent finish especially considering that it's his first event as a boater and I'm sure he was happy to better fellow competitor Mr. Jim Folks, but I doubt Mike is satisfied with that effort. The confidence he gained from this experience will just make him more hungry to win. Good luck in the remaining events!

Blounts Win LERA Bass Club's December Tournament at Kissimmee

Tony Ciavarella

Twelve boats launched from Overstreet's Landing at Lake Kissimmee on December 18th to compete in the LERA Bass Club's last tournament of 2011. A cold front that passed through the night before made for tough fishing on the Kissimmee Chain, but the team of Jimmy Blount and his son Ryan Blount, both of Rockledge, were not deterred by the weather conditions or battery problems with their boat. They sacked the only tournament limit of 5 fish to win the tournament with 9.82 pounds. Eric Amos and Gary Brill, both of Titusville, took second with 4 fish totaling 8.23 pounds. Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay weighed 4 fish totaling 8.10 pounds to finish a close third. Elder punctuated his effort with a 2.95 pounder that was good enough to claim the tournament's big bass prize.