The fifth tournament of the season occurred on January 28th on the Miami-Garcia impoundment. The weather was windy at 15 to 20 MPH mostly out of the west, but temperature was a comfortable 70 degrees. Water temperatures were in the low 70s and stained water conditions.
All teams were able to secure a full five fish bag, but smaller than usual for this body of water seemed to be common except for six fish weighing in over four ponds. Two of those were over six pounds. The largest fish of the day was 7.34 lbs. caught by the 1st place team, Tommy and Tom Gates. Their bag totaled 16.04 lbs. The 2nd place finish went to Clark Ford and Mikhal Moberg. Their big fish was 6.4 lbs. caught by Clark Ford with a bag total of 13.14 lbs. The 3rd place finish was Larry Cruce and Mike Watson. Their big fish was 4.9 lbs. caught by Mike Watson with a bag total of 12.66 lbs. Tom Gates caught the big bass of the day on the first-place team (7.34 lbs.).
Congratulations to all team participants who chose to endure the windy conditions. The Miami-Garcia impoundment provides plenty areas to fish that are somewhat blocked by winds. There was a little rain but not much. Winds were coming mostly out of the west, so most teams chose to fish inside and stayed away from the open flats on the west side of the lake … but some did venture out there.
Roger Averill and Dustin Beard won the two StrikeZone gift cards. Thank you StrikeZone for the support and long-time sponsorship. Another club sponsor GEICO, awarded a $100 gift card to the 1st place team … Thank you GEICO!
The turnout for this event was 15 boats. The sixth tournament of the season will be at Mullet Lake Park on February 25th. Hopefully Mullet Lake Park, the St Johns River and the adjoining lakes will be kind to us … last season at this location was not so great to say the least. There were several teams who caught no fish. This was due to a recent hurricane that drove water levels way high.
On a more somber note, there is some bad news that we would like to share with the club members. Roger Marek, who is a current club member is battling recurring cancer. Gary Brill, who was in the club from 2008-2012 is fighting Dementia and is currently in a facility. Dave Tripp who was in the club 2018-2022 passed away due to heart attack this past January. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families.
