The day of fishing turned out to be a mixed bag of success and frustration for the twenty-two teams that arrived at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp on US Highway 520 on February 25th. It turned out to be a big difference between last months really tough fishing as every team did weigh-in a fish this time. The Club marked its halfway point in the season with a great turn out on a very nice day with temperatures in the mid-80's and wind that came and went but never posed much of a problem. Most of the problems occurred at the ramp with our members showing off their skills at backing up, launching boats, checking equipment and getting in and out of their boats. Maybe VP William Flood should have been going over the proper procedure for boat launching along with checking live wells, lights and safety gear. President Bill was the hit of the early morning parade as he was showing off his new brand new Bass Cat Lynx boat but one missed step and he took a nasty spill giving him a big road rash on his bare lower leg. Nice boat Bill, with a little more practice things will go smoother especially after you replace that broken power pole mounting bracket and straightening that skag. We hope to see members Cass, George and Mark at our next tournament in Okeechobee. Bubba Hough has been call back to active duty and as soon as his submarine gets the leak fixed he will be shoving off then Darrell can get his new partner and continue fishing.
President Bill reminded everyone of the requirements of the FWC Black Bass Tournament Permit along with a time check and some do's and don'ts on the lake before sending everyone out in order of their chip draw.
Dwayne Haga and partner Dave Metzler showed why they are tough to beat on Lake Poinsett by out classing the field with a huge limit weighing 19.68 pounds to easily take first place. Fishing in Lake Poinsett and casting a Stump Knocker crawdad bait with a Last Cast skirt around the pencil reeds and grass islands in very shallow water was their secret to success. They capped off a great day of fishing with a giant 9.09 pound Big Bass of the tournament (caught by Dwayne) and in the process raised the bar higher for Big Bass of the Year. Way to go Boys!
President Bill Groseclose and partner Fred Reid returned with their usual five fish limit weighing 16.70 pounds for second place. Overcoming his new boat jinx, (or not), launching difficulties, slip and fall accident, broken power pole and other minor malfunctions, they recorded their sixth straight limit for the year and 30th in a row. Their bag was anchored by a nice 5.34 pounder( second largest of the day) they reported that an orange tiny torpedo accounted for most of their limit.
Third place was taken by Don Hinman and partner Ken Winter with 13.82 pounds narrowly beating out Brian Wical and partner Craig Cashion,s limit of 13.45 pounds. Top water baits was their best bait for the day.
The small creel prize was won by Clayton Clark and partner Brian Cole who fished hard all day and tried everything they could think of to get the fish to bite. The gift certificates were again donated by Shawn Mechella of Strike Zone of Melbourne along with a new fourth place prize which the club has never had. We are very lucky to have such a generous sponsor so go by and let him know. Thanks Shawn and staff for all your help.
Lake Okeechobee will be the next destination for the Club on March 24th and 25th. We will be launching both days out of the Harney Pond Canal Ramp and there will be another 60 person tournament going out on Saturday from the same ramp but no other tournament has been scheduled for Sunday. Just another day on Lake Okeechobee. Remember this will be the time to bring up any proposed changes to the By-Laws so the Club can discuss and vote on them as per Section IV-A. Please have them ready and in writing to make things smoother and easier.
SEE YOU THERE !
