Some news hot off the press From the Better Late Than Never department of Space Coast Bass Finatics:
Former club member Jim Folks of Melbourne fished the BFL gator division event on January 5, 2013 at Lake Okeechobee as a boater. He hauled a 5 fish limit weighing 19 pounds 2 ounces to the scales to finish in 5th place in a 199 boat field. He took home a $1202 check for his efforts. Full boater results can be found on the FLW website.

Current club member Jimmy Blount of Rockledge fished the co-angler side of the same event and he amassed a 5 fish limit for 12 pounds and 1 ounce to finish in 8th place earning $451 for his hard work. Full co-angler results can be found on the FLW website.

Way to go Mr Folks and Mr Blount! We are proud of you. Keep it up!

The Space Coast Bass Finatics launched onto the Kissimmee Chain via Lake Cypress on January 27th continuing their monthly tournament series.  The father and son team of Clyde and Raymond Taylor of Palm Bay continued their exemplary season with their 3rd win out of the first 5 events.  This time they weighed a 5 fish limit totaling 18.60 pounds including a 7.11 pound lunker caught by Raymond that was the tournament's biggest fish. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John earned 2nd place
with 5 fish for 11.33 pounds.  Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill took 3rd with 5 fish for 10.96 pounds.

The Space Coast Bass Finatics fished the last tournament of 2012 out of the Overstreet ramp on Lake Kissimmee on December 16th. This is the first SCBF tournament in recent memory where the weather wasn't terrible. Most of the competitors found the bass cooperative as two thirds of the tournament field brought a 5 fish limit to the scales. The father and son team of Clyde Taylor & Raymond Taylor of Palm Bay outclassed the field weighing a stout 17.08 pounds of bass to win the tournament. They found a better class of fish than the rest of the field without catching any giant fish (their biggest was a solid 4.70 pounder) they still managed to beat their closest competitor by over 5 pounds. The team of Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne earned a second place finish with 11.82 pounds. Their bag included a 5.76 pounder by Kopf that was the tournament's biggest fish. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill rounded out the top 3 with 11.04 pounds.

Another month has passed, so it's time for yet another windy Space Coast Bass Finatics tournament. This time the adventurers trekked to the Alligator Chain to battle the fish, the elements, and each other. Before it was over, one unfortunate, perhaps a little clumsy soul, would find himself in the lake.

The team of Jimmy Blount, of Rockledge, and his son Ryan Blount, of Cocoa, emerged victorious with 5 fish for a grand total of 9.73 pounds. Their bag was punctuated by a 2.58 pounder which was this tough tournament's biggest fish. Mike Hampton, of Malabar, and Tim Kopf, of Melbourne, weighed 5 fish for 7.38 pounds to earn second place. Third place went to Mike Calloway, of Titusville, and Cliff Semonski, of Oak Hill who brought 5 fish weighing 6.69 pounds to the scales.

The Space Coast Bass Finatics brought their monthly team bass tournament to Lake Poinsett on October 28. Hurricane Sandy churned up some high winds for the competitors but also seemed to coax the fish into an aggressive feeding mood. Palm Bay's Clyde Taylor and his son Raymond Taylor outclassed the field with a 5 fish limit that tipped the scales at 19.32 pounds to win the tournament. Their bag was anchored by a 7.19 pound giant by Clyde that was the tournament's biggest fish. Leslie "Cork" Hope of Rockledge and Gene Dowdy of Cocoa weighed 5 fish for a stout 15.05 pounds to secure second place. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John earned a third place finish with 5 fish totaling 13.04 pounds.

Eleven boats launched onto the waters near the origin of the St. John's River at Lake Washington to kick-off the club's 2012-2013 season. Historically, this place has been the site of some of the toughest tournaments this club fishes, but something was different this time around. The team of Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne amassed a 5 fish limit totaling 17.14 pounds to narrowly win the tournament. Jimmy Blount of Rockledge and his son Ryan Blount of Cocoa were right on their heels with their own 5 fish limit which tipped the scales at 17.09 pounds to finish a really close second. Their bag was punctuated with the biggest fish of the tournament, a 6.18 pound beauty that Jimmy caught. Clyde Taylor and his son Raymond Taylor of Palm Bay weren't far behind with 5 fish for a stout 15.99 pounds to earn third place.

So, it seems that anyone that volunteers their wife and friend to cook the club food wins the tournament this season. Anyone care to test that theory at Lake Poinsett?

Thanks to Mrs. Kopf and Clay Pudvah for preparing and providing the delicious post tournament barbeque!

Members in attendance voted to change the name of the club to Space Coast Bass Finatics. Expect to see LERA Bass Club on many club things for some time yet as it will be a gradual transition to the new name.

The LERA Bass Club held its annual invitation only Classic tournament out of Lake Cypress on August 26th amidst the arrival of Isaac's outer bands. The team of Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John bagged a 5 fish tournament limit for 13.08 pounds to win the tournament. Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne earned second place with 4 fish for 11.12 pounds. Their bag included the tournament's biggest fish at 4.93 pounds caught by Hampton. Third place was secured by the father and son team of Clyde and Raymond Taylor of Palm Bay who weighed 4 fish for 10.47 pounds.

The new season starts at Lake Washington on September 30th. The full schedule will be announced on this site when available.

Mike Calloway and Cliff Semonski had a stellar regular season finishing 10 of the 11 tournaments in the top 3 to win the club's Bassmasters points championship. In case you were wondering, in that 11th tournament, they finished in 4th place. Don't blame Mike for that, he was out of town that month. Anyway, that kind of consistency is a really good way to run away with a points championship and challenge all time club records for total points and weight for a regular season. They fell a tiny bit short on both counts, but it was a fantastic and humbling effort for the rest of us nonetheless.

Mike Hampton and Tim Kopf finished second in the points standings and deserve an honorable mention for their effort this season. They weren't that far behind the ridiculous pace set by Calloway/Semonski. Hampton/Kopf had 6 top 3 finishes of their own including 2 wins this season. Good work gentlemen.

The LERA Bass Club held its final tournament of the 2011-2012 regular season tournament July 29th on East Lake Tohopekaliga. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John sacked the biggest 5 fish limit tipping the scales at 14.46 pounds to win the tournament. Their catch included a 4.58 by Iler that was the tournament's biggest fish. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill earned second place with their own 5 fish limit weighing 13.89 pounds. Tim Kopf and Clay Pudvah both of Melbourne took third with 5 fish totaling 10.90 pounds.

For the second tournament in a row, LERA Bass Club competitors braved interesting conditions brought on by a tropical storm. This time around Tropical Storm Debby was stalled about 250 miles west of the Lake Tohopekaliga tournament site and produced constant, albeit of varying intensity, rains and gusty winds throughout the day. Ten boats accepted the challenge and launched onto Lake Tohopekaliga out of Whaley's Landing on June 24. Bob Barnette, of Port St. John, and Dwayne Haga, of Titusville, lobbied to shorten the tournament to 2 pm due to the inclement weather prior to the start of the event. Their request was denied and they would take advantage of that ruling more than anyone else. They sacked a five fish limit totaling 20.34 pounds to win the event. Their catch included an 8.87 pound lunker Haga caught around 2:45 pm which ended up being the tournament's biggest fish and propelling them to the win. Mike Hampton, of Malabar, and Tim Kopf, of Melbourne, took second with 5 fish totaling 16.05 pounds. Mike Calloway, of Titusville, and Cliff Semonski, of Oak Hill, finished third with 5 fish for 14.28 pounds.