SCBF finish the season at Lake Washington

Mike Hampton

The final regular season tournament of the year for Space Coast Bass Finatics began in the early morning hours at Lake Washington with windy conditions, thick cloud cover, rising water and a good chance of getting rained on during the day. Luckily the wind kept the mosquitoes and bugs down and the rain did not come until after the weigh-in was concluded.

SCBF take the heat on Lake Kissimmee

Mike Hampton

The temperature was high, the wind was low, the bugs were everywhere but the fish were biting and the eighteen teams that participated in the next to last tournament of the year were happy to be there. Many teams reported catching multiple limits, with bass being caught all day and some of the largest fish coming later in the day. The day started out, as usual, with a good supply of donuts, blueberry pies and various sweets provided by Lloyd and Jennifer. Thanks a lot.

SCBF take on West Lake Toho

Mike Hampton

The Space Coast Bass Finatics came to West Lake Toho and the results were great as two club records were surpassed and the size of the big bass for the year was increased. The low water conditions, two other tournaments on the same lake and no safe access past the end of the canal into Lake Cypress, did not stop the twenty-one teams from making the best of the day. The best day for the club had been September 27, 2015 at Miami-Garcia with 18 boats and 34 anglers who weighed-in 88 bass for 234.51 pounds.

SCBF team takes Strike Zone Classic at East Lake Toho

Mike Hampton

Congratulations to Bill Groseclose and Fred Reid who came out the winner in the recent Strike Zone Bass Classic at East Lake Toho. Thirty-five teams participated in the end of the year classic out of Ralph V Chisholm Regional Park but the SCBF team weigh-in just enough at 11.14 pounds to come out on top. This was Bill's second victory in the span of two weeks at the lake as he bested all members in the Palm Bay Bassmaster tournament recently. Bruce Evans and his father had 11.11 pounds to come in second place and was anchored by a 4.4 pounder that was the Big Bass of the tournament.

SCBF travels to Harris Chain of Lakes

Mike Hampton

The low water level in our lakes have caused the SCBF to rethink where to fish for the next month or until the Spring rain's return the water to a safe level. The month of April was planned for Miami-Garcia but had to be changed to the Harris Chain of Lake's which turned out to be great for some teams and tough for others. The long drive was accented by bad roads, detours, slow traffic and poor drivers along with a (----) load of motorcycles.

SCBF at Lake Okeechobee

Mike Hampton

The twenty teams that showed up at Harney Pond Canal Ramp on Saturday and Sunday were greeted by windy conditions, muddy water and belligerent guides and a busy launch ramp. The water level was low as expected, but the lake was full of bass beds and bass if you could find them. Saturday proved to be the hardest day for most teams with 20 plus mph winds and many other boats to deal with as over 150 boats were in the BFL tournament out of Clewiston and another tournament from Orlando using the same ramp as we were and weighing in at the same time.

SCBF at West Lake Toho

Mike Hampton

Once everyone made it to the City Ramp at Lakefront Park the club fielded the most boats/teams that we have had this year as 23 teams arrived to battle it out on The Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. the weather was almost perfect except for the passing of a cold front and a drop in temperature accompanied by 10 to 20 mph winds. The lakes were choked with lily pads and hydrilla which Kissimmee Water District was diligently trying to kill off as fast as chemically possible.

Jack Berry and Jimmy Blount sweep Strike Zone Tournament at Miami-Garcia

Mike Hampton

Strike Zone Fishing kicked off their 2017 bass tournament year at Miami-Garcia Impoundment with a full field of anglers which included many of the members of Space Coast Bass Finatics Club. The forty-one teams who registered for the tournaments which will take place on three other lakes over the next few months were happy to see this exciting tournament trail begin this year. Shawn Mecchella and Jim Folks welcomed everyone back from last year along with the few newcomers at the kickoff meeting held at the store on US192 on Wednesday February 1st.

East Lake Toho's big freeze

Mike Hampton

It seems that no matter when we decide to fish East Lake Toho the weather is the biggest factor in how the way the day goes. Sunday was no different as the morning started out with 45 degree temperature's and a steady rain that kept you just wet enough to make it miserable. Then you have to deal with the muddy parking lot at Ralph Chisholm Park and a ramp that would only allow four or five boats to be tied up at once. The eighteen brave teams who showed up were determined to make the best of the day and the lake.

Lake Cypress Challenge

Mike Hampton

A foggy Lake Cypress proved to be a challenge for some teams but coupled with the unseasonably warm weather, lack of rain, low water and weeds growing at an alarming rate in the lake had many teams looking for answers. As usual some figured it out and made the right decisions on were to start and what to use which resulted in more than half the teams coming to the scales with a limit of bass. The others reported catching a lot of smaller bass and the usual war mouth perch, pickerel and large mudfish to keep the day interesting.