Well the waters have receded and so did the fish except for mud fish and catfish. SCBF did not have much of a showing for the St. John's River fishery as the word must have got out about the fishing conditions. It was a nice winter's day in Florida anyway with no mosquitoes, mild to nice temperatures and variable wind from the southeast. There were no major problems with the launch ramps except for a big wade of floating grass which the President took care of with a blast from his prop to clear it away from the ramp.

Twenty-one teams made the trek to East Lake Toho at Ralph V. Chisholm Park for the first SCBF tournament of the new season with all members hoping for good weather and cooperative fish. With new check-in and weigh-in procedures in place, overall the tournament went fairly well with a few minor glitches that have been addressed and will be fixed by our next tournament at Lake Kissimmee Oct 30 at Overstreet ramp. I appreciate everyone’s patience with our new procedures and to those who suggested a different process, thank you. Your input is welcomed.

SUNDAY 8-28-22 SAW 10 TEAMS DESCEND ON MIAMI-GARCIA FOR SCBF’s NO ENTRY FEE 2021-22 CLASSIC. THERE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE 11, BUT ONE TEAM WAS A NO SHOW EVEN AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THEM FAILED. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A TEAM HAS FAILED TO SHOW AT A CLASSIC AFTER WORKING SO HARD ALL YEAR TO QUALIFY. AFTER BATTLING THE HOARDS OF BLOOD SUCKING MOSQUITOES AT THE RAMP, THE 10 TEAMS TOOK OFF IN THEIR ORDER OF FINISH FOR THE YEAR WITH THE WILD CARD TEAM OF ROGER AVERILL AND WILLIAM SULLIVAN CALLING THE NUMBERS.

The finale tournament of the season didn’t happen without a few obstacles thrown at us by Mother Nature and our fine friends at SJRWMD. With low water conditions, common at this time of year, and a gaping hole in the sheet pilings that retain water at Lake Washington, the finale tournament of the year required a lake change. This was accomplished by a vote of club members. Those who chose to vote decided West Lake Toho would be the site of the final tournament of the year. Even with low water there was still plenty of fishable water on the Kissimmee Chain.

With the season drawing to an end, nineteen teams showed up to battle it out. Some where battling it out for the season's top honors of Angler of the Year while others were battling it out in order to make the top ten cut and solidify their spot in this years Classic Championship. With the whole season on the line the tensions and expectations were high. The morning launch went off without a hitch and the weather was nice for most of the day until those afternoon clouds began to roll in carrying some pretty wicked lightning touching down in the middle of the lake.

With the season drawing near the end, twenty one teams came out ready and excited to give their all in order to try and jockey into the best position they can in hopes of making this years classic championship. With all but one team managing to get a limit, it was no secret that the bite was on for the Bass Finatics on Miami Garcia. With just a little over a pound and some change difference between second place and seventh place it was one of those days where every fish and every ounce can make or break you.

With good weather in the forecast and the usual bit of tournament day wind blowing, twenty two teams showed up to one of our local fishing spots to see how they line up against the competition. With a bit of a slow start due to some safety concerns the boats began launching one at a time with caution. After a safe launch it seemed that once again those who made the treacherous journey down to Sattori through all the mud and laid down trees were the ones who did the best.

It was a big weekend for the Space Coast Bass Finatics on Lake Okeechobee this year! With a long time standing record of one day total weight being broken by one team and plenty of fish being caught by the remaining eighteen teams there was no question the fish were biting. Just ask the team of Roger and Aaron Marek who successfully joined the dirty thirty club or the team of Jay Stein and Rob Branagh who made a huge move on the final day to finish just shy of the top three.

Twenty five teams ventured their way to the City Ramp on the north end of Lake Toho bright and early hoping to fill out the day pulling in some giant Kissimmee chain bass. As some waited for the new owners of the bait and tackle shop to start serving some breakfast sandwiches others were busy serving up their usual pre tournament trash talking. After having no hiccups launching all the boats the club was set loose on the water to test their skill.

Congratulations to Rob Branagh! He out classed 270 other boaters to win the first MLF Toyota Series Southern Division event of 2022 at Lake Okeechobee. His winning weights were consistent and increasing over the 3 day event weighing 15-01, 16-09, and 19-11 for a total of 51-05 to edge the nearest competitor by 9 ounces and take home the $66,500 check. Way to go Rob!