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. Of the 21 teams that hit the water at safe light 13 returned with their 5 fish limit. Only 2 teams failed to weigh any fish. On that note, I would like to remind all members there is a club rule that states if any team brings fish back to the dock and fails to weigh those fish there is a penalty of 5 pts.
Congratulations to Matt Hinman and his secret alternate Jim Folks capturing 1st place with 24.54# and apparently no big fish since they didn’t weigh their biggest bass. Sliding into 2nd place was the team of Mike Calloway and William Flood with 20.90# including a 8.17# kicker caught by Mike Calloway just missing big bass by .2#. Third place went to Brian Cole and Bill Groseclose with 18.23# including a 6.27# kicker. And taking 4th place were Fred Reid and John Kinchen with 14.49# including Big Bass of 8.37# by Kinchen. Congratulations John, don’t forget to submit that to Florida Trophy Catch.
On a lighter note, condolences to Larry Cruce who was only able to weigh 4 fish since his fifth fish decided to abandon ship at the dock when he jumped out of the livewell when Larry lifted the lid while bagging his fish. Larry, if that fish was 3.27# or larger you would be fishing the Classic instead of Roger Averill and William Sullivan.
Unfortunately there are no photos of 1st place or Big Bass, but there are pics of 2nd place and 3rd place. Hopefully this will be remedied next year. In fact, next years officers are looking for a volunteer to be the official club photographer next season. If interested, please contact any club officer.
Speaking of club officers, new officers were voted on by the members present at the meeting after the weigh-in.
Next seasons officers will be:
President-Mike Calloway
Vice-president-William Flood
Secretary-Matt Byrd
Treasurer-Mike Hampton
Also, voting sheets for next year’s lakes were turned in to Matt. The 2022-23 schedule will be announced at the September tournament and the September site will be announced soon after the Classic.
Now, what everyone has been working for this season…….the Classic contenders.
1. Brian Cole and Bill Groseclose 318 pts.
2. Matt and Gary Hinman 297 pts.
3. Roger and Aaron Marek 293 pts.
4. Karl Kearcher and Brian Davidson 281 pts.
5. Mike Calloway and William Flood 261 pts. (tie breaker total wt. 160.88#)
6. Jay Stein and Rob Branagh 261 pts. (tie breaker 142.42#)
7. Matt Byrd and Shawn Callahan 255 pts.
8. Fred Reid and John Kinchen 242 pts.
9. Jack Berry and Adam Brands 230 pts.
10. Cliff Semonski and Keith Braun 228 pts.
Wild Card- Roger Averill and William Sullivan
The Classic teams voted for Miami-Garcia as this years Classic site. Please note there is an off-limits period beginning at sunrise 8-22-22 thru safe light 8-28-22 the day of the tournament. No member of any Classic team can be on the Classic waters during that period. The penalty is disqualification.
Also please note if any team requires an alternate, the alternate must be a current member of the club. Anyone else will not be allowed to fish.
I would like to extend on behalf of the club a special thanks to Shawn Mecchella and Strike Zone Fishing of Melbourne, Fl. for their continuing support of the club. As of this tournament Strike Zone has given $750 in gift cards to the club this season to be used as prizes in the tournament. This tournaments Strike Zone winner of a $50 gift card was Dwayne Haga. Congratulations to Dwayne who won the card in a drawing of boat numbers because two other teams that were drawn had already left. Guys it pays to stick around after the tournaments. You might get lucky and win something. For those that have won some of these cards, please thank Shawn when you visit the store. Let him know you and the club appreciate his generosity.
This season has been one for the books as multiple records were either set or broken:
Team Total Weight 190.98# Brian Cole and Bill Groseclose
Club Total Weight 2826.23# (1120 total fish weighed)
Team 1 Day Weight 31.83# Roger and Aaron Marek
Club 1 Day Weight 355.25# at Miami-Garcia
Total Fish 1 Day 145 at Miami-Garcia
8.00-8.99# Bass Weighed 12 (new category)
9.00-9.99# Bass Weighed 2 (new category)
10.00# plus Bass Weighed 2 (new category)
And, although it may or may not be a record, this year saw nineteen 20# or more bags cross the scale with the Marek’s 31.83# topping the list. It also became apparent a 20# bag might not be enough to make the top 3. Just ask Matt and Gary Hinman or Roger and Aaron Marek as their 20# plus bags were only good enough for 4th and 5th place at Miami-Garcia. Competition is getting tough guys, so if you’re planning on making the Classic next year or competing for AOY, you’re going to have to step it up.
Congratulations to Brian Cole and Bill Groseclose on winning AOY this year. It was a tough race and the points were tight at times as 2 teams, Matt and Gary Hinman (and their 6 alternates) and Brian and Bill flip-flopped during the last half of the season until Blue Cypress when Brian and Bill began to lock it down.
So good luck to the Classic contenders and we look forward to seeing everyone back next season starting in September. If anyone knows of someone interested in joining next season since there appears to be two teams that won’t be able to fish due to work commitments, please have them contact any club officer.
Until next month “TIGHT LINES AND BIG BAGS”.
SO MANY BASS---SO LITTLE TIME
