The end of the regular season for SCBF was punctuated by the weather ( hot as usual in July ) and the points race for the AOY and the top ten " CLASSIC " berths along with the wild card winner. The check-in, launch and take off went off without a hitch just like the well oiled machine it has become for the club. The morning cool provided the only relief from the heat that the fifteen teams would see all day as the temperature went from 79 to 98 degrees and the wind would not offer much relief from that. By the end of the day most teams were happy to just get back in and enjoy the truck AC or just a little shade in the pavilion. The officers were just as beat as the rest of the hot and tired participants but they finally managed to get the scales and tank set up for the last weigh-in of the regular season.
First place went to Don Hinman and his alternate Raymond Taylor, who flipped their way to a big bag on Lake Washington weighing 12.71 pounds.
Second place goes to Brian Cole and Bill Groseclose who used Senkos in canal mouths to post 11.13 pounds
Third place goes to Mike Calloway and William Flood who moved around the lake and used yum dingers to catch 10.10 pounds
The big bass for the tournament was landed by Don Hinman and weighed in at a whopping 3.29 pounds
The drawing for the Strike Zone of Melbourne donations of two 25 dollar gift certificates goes to lucky Roger Averill and alt. Dustin Beard.
We certainly do appreciate everything that Shawn Mechella has done the whole year for the club.
That being done, the end of the season required that we look toward the next season and elect some officers and select some lakes. There were many nominations for the four officer positions but after some declines the club elected the following members to the 2023-2024 season.
President ..........Mike Calloway
Vice-President..Roger Averill
Treasurer..........Zander Hampton
Secretary..........Clark Ford
Good luck to these members who have stepped up to make the club better next season.
The Angler of the Year race was easily won by Fred Reid and John Kinchen, who finished the season with 323 points , one win, four top threes, and two big bass and bringing to the scales 61 bass weighing 155.15 pounds. Congratulations to a very consistent team. John also put the exclamation point on that by taking the Big Bass of the Year award with his Florida Trophy Catch 9.15 pounder at West Lake Toho on May 7, 2023. The top ten teams in the points race along with the wild card team was then announced.
1. Fred Reid and John Kinchen 323 pts
2. Brian Cole and Bill Groseclose 286 pts
3. Mike Calloway and William Flood 281 pts
4. Brian Davidson and Karl Kearcher 264 pts
5. Keith Braun and Phil Miller 261 pts
6. Mike Hampton and Zander Hampton 246 pts
7. Dwayne Haga and Dave Metzler 234 pts
8. Greg Pugesik and Mike Moreno 222 pts
9. Roger Averill and Jim Queen 220 pts
10. Alan Elder and Daville Williams 211 pts
11. Matt Byrd and Shawn Callahan (wild card )
There was a discussion and some nominations for the lake to fish for the "CLASSIC " and it was decided that it would be held on West Lake Toho this year. The rules for the "Classic" were reviewed by the President and a discussion and one new rule was added which will limit the tournament to the waters of West Lake Toho only as there will be no locking thru to the lower lakes. Most people agreed but there were some disappointed teams.
Finally it was time to eat which the members all joined in and enjoyed the fellowship and friendly exchanges. The food was delivered by Margie Hampton and her sister Gloria Teague who picked it up at Publix and made sure everyone got some along with some cool water. They enjoyed the weigh-in and the voting for officers especially the one for Zander, her grandson, and talking to the members.
The end of the regular season and all is well !
