New season! New teams! New winners!

A swarm of hungry mosquitoes greeted the twelve teams competing in the LERA Bass Club's 2011-2012 season opening tournament at Lake Washington on September 25th. Leslie Hope of Rockledge and Clarence Jones of Cocoa started their rookie season with the club in stellar fashion by bringing a five fish limit weighing 17.20 pounds to the scales to win the tournament. Their catch included two fish over 4 pounds. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Cliff Semonski of Oak Hill earned second place with five fish weighing 16.36 pounds. Their catch included a 5.26 pounder by Calloway which was the biggest fish weighed at the event. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John rounded out the top three with 9.75 pounds.

The LERA Bass Club held its annual Classic tournament at Lake Cypress on August 28th. The top 10 teams in regular season points competed in this invitation only tournament. The team of Mike Calloway and Gary Brill, both of Titusville, weighed a 5 fish limit totaling 12.87 pounds to win the tournament. Second place was earned by Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John who weighed 5 fish that totaled 11.06 pounds. Mike Hampton of Malabar and Tim Kopf of Melbourne took third with 5 fish weighing a total of 8.10 pounds.

Larry Cruce and Tim Iler finished the 2010-2011 LERA Bass Club season with the most points to win their third Bassmaters title with the club. Their point total of 370 was one point shy of the club's all time record. They missed the record by one fish which got away at the boat at the season finale at East Lake Tohopekaliga.

Dwayne Haga's 9.04 pound giant from Lake Cypress in January earned him Big Bass of the Year.

The LERA Bass Club held its final regular season tournament on July 31st at East Lake Tohopekaliga. The summertime heat was oppressive and the fish were mostly uncooperative, but as always seems to be the case, some of the competitors figured out how to catch them. Mike Calloway of Titusville, fishing with two handicaps, brought the only 5 fish limit of the tournament to the scales to win the event with a total of 11.48 pounds. This win is even more impressive because he fished without a partner and invited a fellow club member to fish out of his boat as a competing team. Calloway's catch included a 3.94 pounder that edged out two other competitors by a tenth of a pound or less to take big bass honors for the tournament. Second place was earned by the team of Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John who weighed 4 fish for a total of 10.56 pounds. Third place went to Bob Barnette of Port St. John and Dwayne Haga of Titusville with 4 fish for 7.72 pounds.

On June 6, 2011, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved a long term black bass management plan aimed at making Florida the undisputed bass fishing capital of the world. There are some interesting aspects to this plan that include hatchery and stocking activities as well as habitat management and a new TrophyCatch angler recognition program that documents and rewards anglers for releasing bass over 8 pounds with special categories for fish over 12 pounds. You can read all about this new plan at the FWC Website.

Eleven teams ventured onto the Kissimmee Chain to compete in the LERA Bass Club's June 26th tournament out of Whaley's Landing on Lake Tohopekaliga. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John continued their hot streak in dominating fashion weighing a 5 fish limit that totaled 22.46 pounds to win the event. They had 2 fish over 6 pounds and one in the five pound class. This marks the fourth win out of the last five tournaments for the team and all but seals up their third seasonal points championship with the club.

Eric Amos and Gary Brill, both from Titusville, weighed a five fish limit of 16.49 pounds to finish second. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Jim Folks of Melbourne took third with 15.52 pounds.

The LERA Bass Club's May 22, 2011 tournament launched out of Overstreet ramp on Lake Kissimmee. The team of Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John brought 5 fish to the scales that weighed a hefty 16.84 pounds to claim first place. Their bag was anchored by Iler's 7.01 pound giant which took Big Bass for the event. Second place was earned by the Titusville tandem of Eric Amos and Gary Brill who sacked a 5 fish limit weighing a stout 14.50 pounds. Third place was captured by Jimmy Blount of Rockledge and Richard Boogaerts of Cocoa who's 5 fish weighed a total of 11.91 pounds.

The LERA Bass Club's April 17th tournament at the Harris Chain launched out of Lake Eustis. The team of Bob Barnette of Port St. John and Dwayne Haga of Titusville won the event in record fashion. Their five fish total of 23.49 pounds was the heaviest ever weighed at a LERA Bass Club tournament on the Harris Chain. Their creel was anchored by two seven pounders with Barnette's 7.37 pound fish also taking Big Bass honors for the tournament. Tim Iler of Port St. John and Dave Mitchell of Mims earned a second place finish with a stout 15.57 pounds. Mike Calloway of Titusville and Jim Folks of Melbourne took 3rd with 13.93 pounds.

Former LERA Bass Club dominator, Jim Folks, won the March 26, 2011 BFL tournament on the Harris Chain. His 23-11 topped the 119 boat field earning him $4,271. Congratulations Jim!

Current LERA Bass Club member, Mike Calloway, finished 6th on the coangler side with 10-3 taking home $392 for his efforts. Good work Mike!

Check out the full results at the FLW website.

Foggy mornings and low water conditions at Lake Okeechobee did not dampen the spirits of the anglers or the bass during the LERA Bass Club March 26-27 tournament out of Harney Pond Canal. Larry Cruce of Titusville, who was fishing without a partner, sacked a two day total of 34.50 pounds of bass to win the tournament. In the process, Larry set the LERA Bass Club's all-time single day record for a solo angler with 19.95 pounds on the second day. Second place was earned by the team of Steven Clark of Melbourne and Dan Newman of Satellite Beach who had an impressive two day total of 32.61 pounds. They had the heaviest single day bag of the tournament at a stout 20.22 pounds including 3 fish over 5 pounds. Third place was captured by Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay who bagged a two day total of 26.23 pounds. Big bass honors on the first day went to Steven Clark with a 5.78 pound swamp donkey. Tony Ciavarella of Melbourne took big bass on the second day with a 6.56 pound bucket mouth that narrowly edged out Mike Calloway and Larry Cruce by less than half of a pound.