LERA Bass Club's January 30, 2011 tournament at Lake Cypress started amidst an eerie dense fog that slowly dissipated from east to west until after 10 am. The team of Bob Barnette of Port St. John and Dwayne Haga of Titusville slipped through the fog to their fishing hole to catch the event's only 5 fish limit totaling 17.28 pounds and win the tournament. Their catch included a massive 9.04 pound bucket mouth Dwayne caught on a carolina rig that took big bass honors for the tournament and raised the bar he set earlier in the season for Big Bass of the Year. Dwayne's fish is the largest ever weighed at any LERA Bass Club event launching from Lake Cypress in the history of the club. Second place was earned by the team of Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay who brought 3 fish to the scales weighing a total of 10.59 pounds. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John finished 3rd with 2 fish weighing 4.34 pounds.

Former LERA Bass Club regular, Lloyd Griffin, who has 15 tournament wins with us, is taking his skills to the next level this year. He competed as a Pro Angler in the Bassmaster Southern Open on the Kissimmee Chain from 1/20/2011-1/22/2011 taking his 1 in 193 shot at qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic. Lloyd had a tough day one under sunny skies managing only 2 fish for 3 pounds 12 ounces which left him in around 150th place. On day two, as a cold front passed through bringing rain and wind, he rocketed up the leader board with a 5 fish limit weighing a stout 19 pounds 3 ounces. The bad news is, he didn't make the final day and he was behind the day two leader by over 30 pounds. The good news is that Lloyd's two day total of 22-15 was good enough for a 32nd place finish beating 161 other pros including some big names and earning him a check. Nice work Lloyd, we're proud of you! Good luck fishing with the big sticks this year!

After 8 months of being closed, the navigational lock between Lake Tohopekaliga and Lake Cypress, also known as the S-61 Lock and the Southport Lock, has reopened to the boating public. Work isn't complete yet, but the SFWMD has honored fishermen by allowing boats through it anyway. This means you'll be able to go to Lake Toho during the Lake Cypress tournament on January 30th. You can read more about the refurbishment effort in the SFWMD press release.

The LERA Bass Club held its December tournament at the Alligator Chain on the 19th. The post-frontal conditions made the fishing tough, but Jimmy Blount of Rockledge and Richard Boogaerts of Cocoa were not dismayed. They brought two fish to the scales that weighed a total of 5.88 pounds to win the tournament. With this victory, Blount/Boogaerts have taken over the points lead for the Bassmaster's title. Blount's 4.58 pounder was the tournament's big bass and the 3rd biggest fish of all time to be weighed at a LERA Bass Club tournament at the Alligator Chain. Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay took second place with 2 fish weighing a total of 4.11 pounds. Third place went to Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John with 1 fish weighing 2.25 pounds.

FLW Outdoors recently created the Wounded Heroes Fishing program to connect wounded veterans with volunteers for a day of fishing on the water. Show your appreciation to our service members by sharing a day with a local veteran that neither of you will soon forget. Sign up at the FLW Outdoors website and they'll set you up with a local veteran.

By far, the highlight of the day was seeing B.A.S.S. professional angler Charlie Hartley at the boat ramp after the tournament. He asked how much weight it took to win and after he found out, he said, "I think I would have actually won that one!". That guy is awesome! We're rooting for you Charlie!

As for the tournament, it was pathetic. Bob Barnette and Dwayne Haga bested the field with 3 little fish weighing a grand total of 4.21 pounds. That's right. We held a tournament on West Lake Toho and it only took 4.21 pounds to win. Mike Calloway took second by himself with 3.99 pounds and Tim Iler and his son Joe took 3rd with 3.74 pounds. Ed Brewer earned big bass honors with a 2.53 pound giant.

It seemed as though short fish were everywhere and the majority of bass over 14" in Lake Washington dressed up as mud fish and gar for Halloween at the LERA Bass Club's second tournament of the season. The team of Jimmy Blount of Rockledge and Richard Boogaerts of Cocoa weren't tricked. They managed to bring 4 fish to the scales totaling 9.38 pounds to win the tournament. Blount's 3.34 pounder was the big bass of the tournament. Second place was earned by Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay with 3 fish for 5.42 pounds. The Semonski brothers, Cliff of Oak Hill and Glen of Plant City, finished third with 4.70 pounds in 2 fish.

Bob Barnette and Dwayne Haga's monthly Lake Poinsett tournament series is restarting this Sunday, October 10 out of the Lone Cabbage ramp on the south side of 520. It's a two person team format with tournaments held on the 2nd Sunday of every month. $50/boat is all it takes to get in and that money is entirely paid back to the winners. The tournament runs from sunrise to 2:00 pm and it's open to everyone. If you'd like more information, use the contact form and I'll get you in touch with Bob.

The LERA Bass Club kicked off its 2010-2011 season with at the love bug infested Lake Kissimmee on September 26, 2010. Bob Barnette of Port St. John and Dwayne Haga of Titusville won the event with 15.41 pounds. Their bag included Haga's 6.96 that took big bass honors for the tournament. Second place went to Alan Elder of Melbourne who sacked 12.27 pounds by himself. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John took third with 9.20 pounds.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has developed the first draft of a long term black bass management plan and is looking for feedback on it. The plan is critical to the future of the freshwater fisheries in the state of Florida and you are encouraged to participate by reading the plan and taking the survey. If you are a lazy bastard, you don't have to read the plan because all the information is in the survey and you can only answer the questions you care about and skip everything else.