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.

Our February 2011 tournament was held at the Miami-Garcia Impoundment on 27th. The fish were in an aggressive mood and nine of the ten competing teams took advantage using their skills to bring tournament limits of five fish to the scales. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John totaled 19.02 pounds to win the tournament. Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay took second with a total of 14.15 pounds. Jimmy Blount of Rockledge and Richard Boogaerts of Cocoa finished a close third with 14.03 pounds. A total of six fish over four pounds where weighed with a solid 5.25 pounder earning Larry big bass of the day.

Current LERA Bass Club member Jimmy Blount finished 7th on the Co-angler side of the 2/12/2011 BFL Gator Division event on Lake Okeechobee with 14 pounds 10 ounces. Just behind him was former LERA Bass Club member Jackie Barber with 13-10 which earned him 11th place. On the Boater side, former LERA Bass Club member Jim Folks finished 32nd with 14-08. Check out the full results at the FLW website.

LERA Bass Club's January 30, 2011 tournament at Lake Cypress started amidst an eerie dense fog that slowly dissipated from east to west until after 10 am. The team of Bob Barnette of Port St. John and Dwayne Haga of Titusville slipped through the fog to their fishing hole to catch the event's only 5 fish limit totaling 17.28 pounds and win the tournament. Their catch included a massive 9.04 pound bucket mouth Dwayne caught on a carolina rig that took big bass honors for the tournament and raised the bar he set earlier in the season for Big Bass of the Year. Dwayne's fish is the largest ever weighed at any LERA Bass Club event launching from Lake Cypress in the history of the club. Second place was earned by the team of Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay who brought 3 fish to the scales weighing a total of 10.59 pounds. Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John finished 3rd with 2 fish weighing 4.34 pounds.

Former LERA Bass Club regular, Lloyd Griffin, who has 15 tournament wins with us, is taking his skills to the next level this year. He competed as a Pro Angler in the Bassmaster Southern Open on the Kissimmee Chain from 1/20/2011-1/22/2011 taking his 1 in 193 shot at qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic. Lloyd had a tough day one under sunny skies managing only 2 fish for 3 pounds 12 ounces which left him in around 150th place. On day two, as a cold front passed through bringing rain and wind, he rocketed up the leader board with a 5 fish limit weighing a stout 19 pounds 3 ounces. The bad news is, he didn't make the final day and he was behind the day two leader by over 30 pounds. The good news is that Lloyd's two day total of 22-15 was good enough for a 32nd place finish beating 161 other pros including some big names and earning him a check. Nice work Lloyd, we're proud of you! Good luck fishing with the big sticks this year!

After 8 months of being closed, the navigational lock between Lake Tohopekaliga and Lake Cypress, also known as the S-61 Lock and the Southport Lock, has reopened to the boating public. Work isn't complete yet, but the SFWMD has honored fishermen by allowing boats through it anyway. This means you'll be able to go to Lake Toho during the Lake Cypress tournament on January 30th. You can read more about the refurbishment effort in the SFWMD press release.

The LERA Bass Club held its December tournament at the Alligator Chain on the 19th. The post-frontal conditions made the fishing tough, but Jimmy Blount of Rockledge and Richard Boogaerts of Cocoa were not dismayed. They brought two fish to the scales that weighed a total of 5.88 pounds to win the tournament. With this victory, Blount/Boogaerts have taken over the points lead for the Bassmaster's title. Blount's 4.58 pounder was the tournament's big bass and the 3rd biggest fish of all time to be weighed at a LERA Bass Club tournament at the Alligator Chain. Alan Elder of Melbourne and Wayne Smith of Palm Bay took second place with 2 fish weighing a total of 4.11 pounds. Third place went to Larry Cruce of Titusville and Tim Iler of Port St. John with 1 fish weighing 2.25 pounds.

FLW Outdoors recently created the Wounded Heroes Fishing program to connect wounded veterans with volunteers for a day of fishing on the water. Show your appreciation to our service members by sharing a day with a local veteran that neither of you will soon forget. Sign up at the FLW Outdoors website and they'll set you up with a local veteran.