This was an auspicious beginning to the 2019-2020 season, as the club filled out the entire thirty team roster for the year with a little left over. No one could have predicted the amazing turnout that we had at Ralph Chisholm Park on East Lake Toho for the start of the season. The returning members filled up twenty-seven slots and we signed up three new teams to complete our roster. This was the only time we could have fished this lake for the next nine or ten months as the lake is scheduled for a draw down and major modifications to the west, north and east sides by FWC. President Karl welcomed all the past and new members and then proceeded to instruct everyone on the club rules and what to expect at the take-off and during the weigh-in. He also reminded everyone that there would be a meeting immediately after the weigh-in was completed to discuss and vote on the proposed By-Law changes and the schedule for the next year. The launch and takeoff was very chaotic, as was expected with the limited space around the dock and narrow channel to the lake but all boats finally got started except for a few that came just a little late.
Justin Neal, fishing solo, had one of the best days on the waters of East Lake Toho that I can ever remember from our club or any other. He definitely started the year off with a huge limit to claim the top honors and set the bar far above all other participants. The first bass tipped the scales at 5.92 pounds and claimed the Big Bass honors for the day. He then add another five pounder and followed that up with three more nice bass to round out a limit weighing 20.39 pounds. He reported that the big bass came on a top water lure and worms accounted for the balance of his winning limit.
Keith Braun and Cliff Semonski landed a couple of five pounders but still came up five pounds short to claim the second place spot. Their limit weighed in at 15.37 pounds with the largest bass weighing 5.37 pounds. They used mostly horny toad top water baits to catch their limit which was still a good bag for this lake.
Third place goes to Buddy Byrd and Matt Byrd, who battled the waves on the outside of the reed lines to claim a limit weighing 11.96 pounds. Senko's was their bait of choice with their largest bass coming in at 3.12 pounds.
As expected the lake produced a lot of one pound to pound and a half fish as seventeen teams had between 7 to 10 pounds. The windy conditions and clear water filled with pepper grass and hydrilla made for a tough day on the water. After the weigh-in was completed the members present discussed the schedule and changed the December tournament date from the 22nd to the 15th which is the week earlier. The proposed By-Law changes were then read by the President and discussed, after which a vote was taken by the members present and all changes were accepted and are now part of the Club rules. These will be posted on the web site as soon as it can be done so be sure to read the new ones as soon as possible as they will affect the future weigh-ins and points.
