On Sunday 7-28-24, Space Coast Bass Finatics held their final tournament of the regular season on Lake Washington with 13 teams coming out to finish their season strong battling Mother Nature’s July heat wave. The rain and wind cooperated most of the day but the heat was definitely a force to contend with as the temperature went well above 90 by mid morning with high humidity and very little breeze to offer relief. Despite “the dog days of summer” with water temps in the 89-90 plus degree range, the bite was solid for most, as all teams brought at least one fish to scales and 7 teams were able to finish the day with a limit.
With an early weigh in at 2 PM, it was Brian Cole fishing alone who captured 1st place with a limit weighing 17.44 lbs including a 6.14 lb BB of the tournament he reported catching just prior to weigh in. Second place went to the team of Alan Elder and Daville Williams with an impressive limit totaling 15.98 lbs. Following closely in 3rd place with 15.24 lbs was the team of Raymond Taylor and alternate Thomas Taylor filling in for Dad, Clyde Taylor. Congratulations to the top 3 teams on a grueling hot day as they reported using a variety of soft plastics to catch their fish. Brian stated a black and blue senko was his primary bait for the day. Also congratulations to the team of Clyde and Raymond Taylor for securing the Wild Card for the Classic. They were the highest placing team in the tournament of those eligible for the Wild Card. And a big congratulation to the team of Fred Reid and John Kinchen for winning this season’s AOY race. It was close at times, but they stayed consistent and increased their lead in the last three tournaments with 2nd, 1st and 4th place finishes. Big Bass of the year went to Tom Gates with a 7.34 lb bass he caught at Garcia on 1-28-24. That is the smallest BB of the year since the 2000/2001 season that saw Tony Shobert win with a 7.11 lb bass he caught at East Lake Toho on 2-25-2001. Congratulations Tom.
As for fish care the club did a good job considering the conditions, but still saw 4 of the 49 bass weighed not surviving the day(91.84% survival rate). We need to try and do better as a club. This excellent article by AFTCO has some good information on fish care. It would pay everyone to read this article and apply some of it’s methods to help maintain your catch’s health during the day.
With the conclusion of the regular season comes the Space Coast Bass Finatics Classic. The Classic Qualifiers, including the Wild Card team voted on the location with the majority of the votes going to Garcia. The top 10 teams in points along with the Wild Card team will be challenging each other for the championship on Sunday 8-25-24 with the weigh in at 3 PM. There will be an off limits period starting at sunset Sunday 8-18-24 and ending at safe light Sunday 8-25-24. Any Classic qualifiers or their alternates who do not adhere to this will be disqualified. Also, any alternate must be a current club member to participate in the Classic. There will be no entry fee for the Classic, but there will be a $10 per team BB fee.
The following are the Classic Qualifiers including the Wild Card team:
1. Fred Reid and John Kinchen 330 AOY
2. Mike Calloway and Mike Morrison 314
3. Roger Averill and Dustin Beard 281
4. Brian Cole and Bill Groseclose 279
5. Clark Ford and Mikhal Moberg 278
6. Keith Braun and Cliff Semonski 274
7. Dwayne Haga and David Fitts 269
8. Mike and Zander Hampton 267 (99.53 lbs)
9. Don Hinman and Ken Winter 267 (98.71 lbs)
10. Alan Elder and Daville Williams 260
Wild Card Clyde and Raymond Taylor
Following the weigh in, after feasting on subs, chips and cookies arranged for by Margie Hampton and delivered by Nick and Jamie Hampton, Zander and Bryce’s parents, a meeting was held to finalize club business for this season. Thank you Hampton family for all you do for the club. We appreciate it.
The election of officers for the upcoming 2024/25 season was held. Nominations were taken, but many chose to decline for various reasons. After the votes were tallied the following are the SCBF club officers for next season:
President, Mike Calloway 19 votes
Vice-President, Cliff Semonski 17 votes
Secretary, Clark Ford 22 votes
Treasurer, Keith Braun 20 votes
A special thanks to Keith Braun for all his hard work in bringing more efficiency to the weigh in by designing an app to load all weigh data electronically to his tablet including a backup in case of any unforseen glitch. This can also be sent to Tony immediately after the weigh in for the website to be updated. No more paper weigh sheets for Tony to try and decipher the handwriting. Thank you Keith and Tony for bringing the club kicking and screaming into current day technology.
This month’s winner of the StrikeZone gift cards went to Don Hinman fishing without his partner, Ken Winter, who unfortunately contracted the Covid virus and was unable to fish. Wishing you a speedy recovery Ken. And as always a special thanks to Shawn Mecchella and StrikeZone for their continued support of our club. We appreciate your support, Shawn.
Another bit of business was discussed, although sad, it was enlightening. In June a long time member of the club, Larry Cruce, passed away after a debilitating stroke. The club honored Larry with a plaque and sympathy cards signed by most members of the club. The plaque and cards will go to his wife, Gabriella. Our deepest sympathies to the Cruce family. Larry will be remembered as an excellent angler and a force to be reckoned with on the water along with his fishing partner of many years, Tim Iler.
RIP Larry.
SO MANY BASS……...SO LITTLE TIME
