The Space Coast Bass Finatics showed up hopeful at Lake Kissimmee on April 27, 2014 after practice rumors of big fish permeated the pretournament conversation. When it was all said and done, every competing team would weigh a 5 fish limit, at least 8 fish over 4 pounds would be weighed, and the big bass of the season, Jackie Barber's seeming insurmountable 9.4 from Okeechobee, would be eclipsed twice.
The father and son team of Clyde and Raymond Taylor of Palm bay reigned supreme with a total of 24.10 pounds. They reported fishing swimbaits over grass in Lake Hatchineha and Lake Cypress. They culled several 2.5 to 3 pound fish along the way. Clyde anchored their big weight with a 9.43 pound giant female that would be the big bass of the tournament and season, at least for a few minutes. Also, the Taylor's chip ended up at the bottom of the lake so we had to penalize them 5 points for littering. Hopefully that won't come back to haunt them.
Tim Iler of Port St John and Larry Cruce of Titusville worked jerkbaits in Lake Kissimmee to earn second place with a total of 18.64 pounds. Tim casted out his jerkbait and then took a few minutes to stretch a sore muscle in his neck and back leaving his bait motionless for several minutes. Refocusing on fishing, he thought he was hung up in the grass until it started moving. A long fight ensued with the fish busting the surface a few times and going into some heavy grass. Eventually, the fish ran out of energy and Tim was able to get it near enough for Larry to scoop the fish into the net. She tipped the scales at 10.49 pounds and is the tournament's biggest fish and the leading contender for big bass of the year.
Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne flipped Yum Dingers to the grass lines near the Overstreet takeoff ramp to catch 15.71 pounds to take third. One of Mike's trailer lights shook loose on the rough Overstreet road on the way to the ramp, but he spotted it on the way out and retrieved it undamaged.
This month's small creel award, a nice "Gone Fishing" wall sign donated by Ronda L. Thorne of Showcase Property Management, was earned by BJ Biles and Jackie Barber for 5 fish at 9.39 pounds. If you need a realtor, give Ronda a call at 321-783-5000. Thanks Ronda!
The winners reported catching their fish using the following tricks:
- 1st Place: unspecified swimbaits over submerged vegetation in Lake Hatchineha and Lake Cypress
- 2nd Place & Big Bass: unspecified jerkbaits in Lake Kissimmee
- 3rd Place: Yum Dingers near the Overstreet ramp in Lake Kissimmee
