July 2022

ozzy, terry & norbert go 1, 2, 3 Sawgrass

LAST MINUTE PRE-FISHING SAVES THE DAY

First off we need to thank all the members that pre-fished in the past 4 weeks. Just proves how important pre-fishing is to the club. We always try to fish where the fish are. Sometimes the T.D has to wait until the last week to pick the best location. Sawgrass turned out to be a very good location, found by Terry, Dimas and Anthony 4 days before Tournament day, THANK YOU !!!!!

Ozzy had the best day on a good day of fishing and captured first place with 13.44 pounds. Terry took 2^nd place with 12.78 pounds. Norbert rounded off the top 3 with 12.28 pounds and won Big fish with 4.18 pounds. Congratulations to the top three !!!!!!!!!!!

Next Tournament August 14^th We will need pre-fishing reports. If you want a different location than the normal ones, we need to get out and Pre-fish !!!!

June 2022

Jeff, Dimas & Terry go 1, 2, 3 MM 34

JEFF HAULS IN MASSIVE BAG TO REMAIN HOT

Well we did not see that coming. Other than Jeff "the vacuum" having one of his best days, most of us had one of our worst. The Alley was not on fire as it's been past weeks. There were only 4 guys that caught five fish limits. Jeff tore them up and captured 1^st place with a very impressive bag that weighed 22.26 pounds with a 5.40 pound kicker. Dimas took second with a 12.67 pound bag and won the tournament big fish at 5.73 pounds. Terry rounded off the top three with 7.49 pounds, even though he only caught 2 fish and had a nice 4.96 lb. kicker. When you consider that Jeff didn't catch em flipping or pitching, and there was no significant top-water bite, his bag was pretty impressive. This performance enabled him to re-widen his AOY lead to 31 points over Nick in 2nd place. And Dimas made a whopping jump from 11th to 7th place. Congratulations to the top 3. Lets find a good location for July.

Anthony Pagan needs one more time fishing with a club member to be eligible to qualify to be voted in. Would be nice if we can get it done before the next tournament.

May 2022

Mike, Nick & Jeff go 1, 2, 3 at Lake Ida

"King Mike" Defends his turf

Lake Ida proved to be challenging for most, but “King Mike” proved that home field advantage and time on the water are still valuable advantages. His 12.01 pounds was tops, along with his big bass of 3.52 pounds. No giants were caught on this day, but 8 out of 10 anglers did manage to bring in limits. Mike got out of bed 5 minutes before the launch, stopped home for lunch at noon, and had his boat back at the house before most of us got on the road. Just kidding, of course. But living up to the pressure of fishing on his home turf was weighing on his mind even before the launch. He delivered!

Nick finished strong again in 2^nd with 10.36 pounds and Jeff still finished 3^rd despite a 2 dead fish penalty. Norbert & Ozzy, who hardly moved from the launch site, came in 4^th & 5^th.

In other news, Tony didn’t catch any birds this time, but Bill did snag a duck. And Nick was picking fights with random boaters at the Ida boat ramp.

In the Angler of the Year race, Nick keeps the pressure on Jeff for the top spot. He narrowed Jeff’s 16 point lead down to 11 with his 2^nd place finish. Mike’s strong outing helped him leap-frog over Ozzy & Bruce to grab 3^rd place. Bill & Tony are still mired in a funk, wondering WTF happened?

Perhaps the line of the year so far came from Ozzy. When some of the guys were having a hard time removing Bruce’s 5^th and tiny fish from the live-well. “Just open the drain and it will slide right out”, shouted the Oz Man. Yes, there were some very tiny fish brought in. If we didn’t have permits, it would have been one quick weigh-in!

April 2022

Jeff, Norbert & Nick go 1, 2, 3 at Lake Kissimmee

Norbert lays down the Lunker Bass gauntlet with a massive bruiser!

This tournament had a little bit of everything - except lots of bass.

High winds and dirty water made catching a limit something that few could do. But it did offer some BIG fish, great food & drinks, and a reunion with our old friend, Jack Phillips. The highlight of the weekend - something that very few stuck around to see, was Norbert's monster 8.04 pound bass, caught on the last day of the tourney. Surprisingly, it was his only catch that day, yet it was enough to propel him into 2nd place for the weekend. The really amazing feat was that he caught her with no trolling motor and on monofilament line! Completely at the mercy of the wind and current, Norbie somehow managed to bring her to the boat. We were told paramedics were required at the scene to restart his heart after the fight was over! Ozzy also netted a nice 5.51 pounder on day one, that gave him that day's big bass pot.

Almost lost in the excitement (not really) was Jeff & Nick, once again battling for top 3 honors. This was Jeff's 3rd consecutive first place victory out of 4 tournaments this year, and Nick's 3rd top 3 finish in the same number of tourneys. Jeff was the only angler with 2 limits, while Nick & Dimas each did it once.

Jack's pasta feast on Friday night was just perfect. He looks good, for an old fart, and he even laughed at a couple of Bill's relentless jokes all weekend! He hopes to once again join us in November when we travel to the north side of Okeechobee.

One note of possible interest was that we didn't see any bass that did not have leaches in their mouths. I don't know if this parasite infestation is something for the fish & game officials to be concerned over, but it can't be a good thing long-term.

Thanks to everyone for the photos!

March 2022

Jeff, Raul & Mike go 1, 2, 3 at Holiday park

Wow great day of catching FISH !!!!! lots of Bass but a shit load of other Species of fish not native to Florida. Some of us caught fish we have never seen before. Love catching those peacocks, lots of Fun. It was nice to see Rick back fishing. We all got to meet Anthony Pagan, potential new member, fishing with Dimas. 2 more outings with different members and he could be illegible to become a full member himself..

Jeff is starting off were he ended the last two years, taking first place with 10.80 pounds. There is no slowing him down !!!!!! Raul took second place with 8.81 pounds and Mike rounded off the top three with 8.70 pounds. Bill caught a nice 3.30 pounder and won Big Fish for the tournament. Congratulations to the top three.

With 1/4 of the season in the books, the biggest news is Nick staying close to Jeff for the top spot in the AOY race, Bruce & Mike hanging tough for the 3rd place race, and Raul temporarily dropping his shotgun and picking up his rods in a big way.

Next month is Lake Kissimmee and everyone is looking forward to that one!

Further discussions and votes took place and it's been agreed that we will no longer have Associate Members, since the benefits are basically non-existent. Updated By-Laws are being drafted and reviewed for approval before circulation and posting on this website. We urge every member to read the draft sent out and comment back to Bill on any suggestions, omissions or errors.

February 2022

Jeff, Nick & Ozzy go 1, 2, 3 at Sawgrass

We had a nice tournament at Sawgrass. Weather was sunny with very windy conditions later in the day. There were a lot of very small fish caught. A few anglers found some descent fish. Jeff took first with 12.23 pounds, Nick is starting off the year on a high note and captured second place with 11.24 pounds and won big fish with a 4.62 pounder. Ozzy had a strong day and rounded off the top three with 9.58 pounds. Looks like Nick is giving Jeff a run this year and has a 8 point lead in A.O.Y. Congratulation to the top three.

Just to confirm what we voted on and need to make changes in the by-laws:

1. From this point moving forward all new members that will be boaters need a 17 foot boat or larger. Current members that have boats less than 17 foot will be grandfathered in and will not have to get a longer boat.

2. Trolling while fishing is not allowed. Exception will be if fishing brush piles you can use your trolling motor while going from one to the other not using your big motor.

3. Associate member. Concerning big fish pot for the year. You can only be an associate member for one year. If as associate member you fish and want to be included in big fish pot you have to pay to get you caught up my the month you are fishing to be qualified. You have to pay and announce you are eligible before launch. (example, If associate member want to fish in October tournament he will need to pay $50.00 to get caught up.) Only Associate and Full Members are eligible for big bass of the year pot. Guests are not eligible.

Further discussions have resulted in language that will help clarify the Club's position. In order to qualify for the Lunker Bass pot you must have paid the full $60 BEFORE the last tournament of the year. So that means even a `Member or Associate Member who fishes one or a handful of tournaments and catches a fish that might hold up as big fish of the year, if they want that fish to be eligible, on the morning of the final tournament in December, they must pay up whatever they owe to match the $60 contributed by all other members. NO EXCEPTIONS!

January 2022

Nick, Bruce & Jeff go 1, 2, 3 at Lake O

This was one of the better tournaments this club has had at the Big O. Great Tournament. Job well done by all. It is nice to see two new names on the leader board. Nick kicked some ass and came in first with 13.88 pounds and had a 4.62 kicker. Bruce is on a roll with two very good showings in a row. Bruce captured 2^nd with 12.56 pounds and won big fish pot with a 4.73 pounder. Jeff did not disappoint and rounded off the top 3 with 10.47 pounds. There was a ONE pound difference from 3^rd to 7^th. Great start to a new year. I see Bruce and Nick fighting for top spots for A.O.Y.

This month's tournament was outstanding. Everybody caught lots of quality fish. I can only speak for myself, I caught at least 30 Bass and 4 Peacocks. Most were just under 2 pounds. That’s a good day in my book !!!!! I fished with Joe Smith, a potential new member. Great guy a very good angler. He is ready to join the club, but he needs to fish with at least one more guy before the next tournament. If you are going to pre-fish give Joe a call.

Now for the results. Robert has his cape off and is flying in to be on the top. He took first place for the second time in in five months and has moved in to second place with a very nice bag 13.66 pounds. Nick came in second with 12.23 pounds and is moving up the standings. Jeff the vacuum continues to dominate with a third place finish with 11.90 pounds.

Congratulations to the top three. Norbert caught Big Fish with a 3.63 pounder. Point of interest, Terry dropped his biggest fish in the water at weigh in and was only able to weigh in 4 fish. It sucks when that happens !!!!! Rick got what he wanted and fished alone BUT still made it rain dollar bills 😊. You go Flo Rider.

It might be premature to make predictions, especially since Jeff has been so consistent the last 3 years. But we're smelling a real battle this year for the top 3 spots between Jeff, Robert, Nick, and Tony. We already know Robert is more than capable. He’s won the AOY award many times in the past. For him it’s more a question of IF he can make it to the tourneys. And Nick, although one of the youngest members, looks like he’s ready to take a step up and join the big guns. Tony has lived in the top 3 for many years now, so his presence there won't shock anyone. Should be fun to watch!

We'd also like to thank Rick for continuing to contribute to Bill's grandkid’s college funds. He has now paid him $4,173 one dollar bills, and still owes back taxes on 11 other tourneys! Love ya Rick, and you NEED a new hearing aid!

REMEMBER IN JUNE, JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, WEIGH IN TIME CHANGES TO 1:00.

Jeff, Nick & Terry Go 1, 2, 3 at Kiss

April 2021

First off, a big shout out to a few guy’s that went the extra mile to make our trip more enjoyable. Jeff, Bruce, Raul prepared, cooked and cleaned up before and after every dinner. Raul, Mike & Vince helped most of us get our boats in and out of the water. It was good to see Vince out there with the guys. And Tony did his usual outstanding job of coordinating and running the whole tourney. The fishing wasn’t great for most but a few guys really kicked ass. There were only five guys that caught limits at both weigh-in's, they were also the only guys to catch five fish at any weigh in. Congrats to Jeff, Nick, Terry, Robert and Tony. We all had a great time bullshitting, eating and drinking. The food was good, the liquor smooth, and the B.S. was in overdrive. That’s what its all about, you learn more about the guys in the club every time we have a weekend tournament.

Jeff won yet another tournament with 25.95 pounds and caught a nice 5.84 pounder. His consistency is truly remarkable. So far, he's won 3 of the first 4 tournaments, and finished 2nd in the one he didn't win! Nick made it a very close race and was on fire too. He captured second with 25.46, only 1/2 pound from winning. He also had the BIG fish of the tournament with a 6.36 pounder. Eye witnesses confirm that he almost had a real monster fish, but she escaped. Terry, who took third, was very consistent, bringing in and catching 2 pounders all day. He weighed in 22.37 pounds. Terry also had a beast on the line who managed to escape. Robert took third with 15.80 pounds. There were 5 fish brought in that weighed in over 4 pounds. Congratulations to the top three, thank you to all for making this tournament a great time.

As usual, Billy the Spook's predictions (formerly known as Billy the Greek) were a bit off the mark. He had forecast a bottom third finish for himself and that Rick would finish dead last. Well, the Spook came in 6th place, and Rick finished 2 spots above last. He promises to have deeper discussions with his Shaman (Robert - a.k.a. Superman) before making his next set of predictions.

Below are some photos from the weekend, and a really cool video shot & assembled by Raul.

Jeff, Tony & Terry Go 1, 2, 3 at MM 34

March 2021

Great tournament on the Alley. Lots of Bass caught and 67 Bass brought to the scale. What a day on the water. Jeff took first place with 9.14 pounds, Tony captured 2^nd with 8.59 and Terry rounded off the top three with 8.37 pounds. Mike won the big fish pot with a 3.19 pounder. It was also good to see old friend, Tommy Huskins back on the water. There's a chance he could be re-joining the fun soon.

Robert, Jeff & Tony Go 1, 2, 3 at Big O

Feb 2021

Again we can not hit the Big O on the right day, Big O has our number, Days before our tournament the Lake was on fire !!!!!!!! And the day after, the winds were virtually gone.

Another bad fishing day for the Club at Big O. The weather made fishing very tough. We will get it right one of these days. There were only 3 of us that caught 5 fish !!!! there were 4 guys that did not catch a fish. With that said there were a few guys that figured it out. Robert put his cape on and flew in with the win with 11.13 pounds. Jeff did not disappoint and took second with 10.63. Tony rounded off the top three with 8.37. These three guys were the top three last month at Okeechobee. Terry caught big fish for the second month in a row, this month he won big fish with a 4.62 pounder. Congratulations to the top 3 and Terry for Big fish of the tournament.

I guess Ricks dollar machine is broke 😊 😊

We voted on two items yesterday. Big Fish for the year, The person that catches the biggest fish of the year will get paid after the year end. We voted on the November 3 day, Lake Placid won hands down.

Jeff, Tony & Robert go 1, 2, 3 in season opener

Jan 2021

Not a great day at the Big O for the club. Many of us LOVE fishing the Big O, but the fact is only a hand fill of us do well. Yes it is true at any cast you can catch a 6 plus pounder as was evident yesterday with Terry catching 6.61 pounder on one of the last casts of the day. Last year’s big Bass was also caught at the Big O. But Sunday there were only 4 limits caught and 4 guys caught 2 or less bass. Yes as a club we need to fish Big O at least 4 times a year in my opinion. We need to pre-fish more. Please post your findings good or bad.. We should pre-fish Sawgrass, Ida and the alley in the next couple weeks. We have 4 weekends before our next Tournament, We would kike to give the club two weeks’ notice on the next location .

Jeff started out where he left off, finishing in first place with 14.44 pounds and caught a 12 point bonus bass at 5.84 pounds. Tony took second place with 12.67 pounds and Robert rounded off the top three with 11.02 pounds. Robert has told me he is back and is in it to win it !!!!!! Terry caught Big fish of the day with a whopping 6.61 pounder and earned 14 bonus points. If history is a judge of big fish for the year, Terry has a good chance to go all the way with this one. Lets see if this big fish helps Terry turn it around for him this year.

Next tournament is on 2/22. Lets find a great location.

Tony, Terry & Jeff finish off Okeechobee

December 6, 2020

Another very good tournament on Lake O. The weather was pretty cooperative as far as the wind goes, but nowhere near the 4 MPH predicted by forecasters. There were a lot of two pounders caught and most bags were in the 8 to 10 pound range. Tony was able to capture 1^st place two months in a row at Lake O with 11 pounds also split the big fish pot with Jorge. They both had bass weighing in at 3.07 pounds. 2^nd place went to Top Water Terry with 10.5 pounds. Rumor has it he is now throwing worms 😊 Mister consistent, Jeff, rounded off the top three with 10.19 pounds. Great day on the water today.

A.O.Y was very close this year, Jeff took his 3rd consecutive title by almost 27 points after a slow start to his season. A job well done again !!!!!!! Tony had 2 good tournaments at Big O and was able to take 2^nd place overtaking Norbert on the last day. Congratulations to the top 3 . Jorge, The Terminator, finished the year in 4^th place. That's the highest finish by a full-time non-boater since 2016, when he again finished in the top 6. Robert came in 5^th despite missing 2 tournaments. And Nick rounds off the top 6. Congrats to the top six. Tony won the Lunker Bass pot for the year with his 6.69 bass which was also caught at Okeechobee back in July. Big payday for Tony, who just sold his estate for a cool 6 million. Kidding aside, it's good to see him regain the consistency he was once well known for. That magical 7 pound barrier has proven to be a bitch to overcome!

It was a great year. Thank you to the entire club for making this year special, especially with all this COVID SHIT !!!!!!!!!! We did not let it get in the way of making fishing something we all looked forward to.

Tony, Jorge & Mike Take Top Honors at Okeechobee

November 21, 2020

Even with some strong winds on day 1 the fishing was pretty good for the most part. Tony took first place with 23.07 pounds and won the Saturday big fish pot with a 4.5 pounder. Nick had the weekend's biggest bass at 5.5 pounds. Jorge the Terminator took 2^nd place with 23 pounds just .07 from winning the whole thing. Jorge has proven all year you can win from the back of any boat. He has also moved to 4^th place in the A.O.Y. standings. Mike and Robert battled it out for 3^rd place, Mike took 3^rd with 21.13 pounds and Robert had 20.19. Congrats to the top three. The standings are very close, December tournament might decide 1^ST THROUGH 6.

The weekend wasn't without mishaps. Dave got stuck, Terry had electrical problems, Ozzy sustained boat damage from very rough waves, and Nick had a trailer tire explode on the ride home.

The final month will have plenty of drama, unlike recent years. Norbert & Tony still have outside chances of swiping the AOY title from Jeff. And 5 anglers have very realistic shots at making the final 3 spots in the top 6.

BF Y-T-D = Tony @ 6.69

JEFF, NORBERT & TERRY GO 1, 2, 3 AT IDA

Mike Havens Grabs Big Fish

September 13, 2020

Wow as predicted it was hotter than HELL out there!!!! Water temps were hot, no breeze, water was high and the fishing sucked for most. Jeff, Norbert and Robert found some quality fish. Jeff kicked ass and finished in first place with 11.88 pounds. Norbert took second with 8.31 pounds and won big fish pot with a 5.88 pounder, that will show you how tough it was. Terry and Tony shared third place with 4.87 . It sucked for Robert and Dave who could not make it back in time for weigh in and Robert lost a 17 pound bag. Congratulation to the top three. Next tournament is September 13^th. Location T.B.D.

By the way, this is the first time I can recall that the top 3 from the last tourney are in the exact same order as the top 3 Y-T-D in AOY competition.

AOY LOX Results

Dimas, Tony & Jeff go 1, 2, 3 at Lake O

July 12, 2020

Big Fish Y-T-D Tony @ 6.69

Holiday Park Humbles all but Joe

June 14, 2020

Yesterday’s tournament was the worse that we can remember in the past 20 years. Not surprised, Terry and everybody else that pre-fished said this was going to happen. Well here is the startling news, 12 out of 18 guys got skunked. Out of the 6 that found a few fish that totaled only 13 Joe caught 5 of them. Congrats to JOE !!!!!!!!!!!! He went as far as you can go on the alley before it dead ends at ramps. Joe kicked our ass with bringing in the only limit weighing 8.12 pounds. Jeff managed to take 2^nd with two fish totaling 4.90 pounds and won big fish pot with a 3.14 pounder. Rounding the top three was Bill, who caught 2 fish with a whopping 3.20 pounds. It was dead out there, Hope never to see these type of results again.

Looking at the AOY standings at the half-way point, Jeff has made the biggest move as he is now in 2nd place, only 10 points behind Dave, who has slipped a little in the last 2 tournaments. Two tournaments ago, Jeff was 59 points out of first. Joe jumped from 12th up to 6th place with his big win at Holiday Park. The bottom line is with half a season to go, it's now a horse-race again. 50 or fewer points separate the top 10 positions!

Big Fish Y-T-D Norbert @ 5.80

Jeff, Robert & Ozzy tame MM 34

May, 2020

Beautiful day on the water, just what the doctor ordered. I want to start off by thanking everybody in adhering to the Corona virus guide lines we had in place yesterday, there were some slip ups but for the most part it went well. Nobody likes change and dealing with this Virus has produced some big changes.

All the pre-fishing paid off, Everybody had limits and some decent weights were brought to the scale. The weather was perfect to make it a great day of fishing. Jeff was due for a good day, he did that and took first place with 13.10 pounds and topped it off by winning big fish pot with a 4 pounder. Robert also was due to place in the top three, he captured second place with 12.11 pounds. Ozzy did a great job and rounded off the top three with 11 pounds. Dave still holds a good lead in the A.O.Y. race. Congrats to the top three, job well done. Lets do some pre-fishing to make the June 14^th tournament another success. We will need to make the decision by June 5^th to get in some pre-fishing. A shout out to JORGE who finds himself in second place in the A.O..Y , Way to go terminator 😊

We had some good discussions on live-well checks and making one of the June, July or August tourneys a Saturday tournament from 12-8pm, I like the idea, thanks Nick!!!!

Big Fish Y-T-D Norbert @ 5.80

The April Tournament was cancelled due to Corona

Nick, Dave & Javier take top spots at LOX

March 15, 2020

Loxahatchee fished like a mystery novel. There were big fish (Javier 4.15, Nick 4.40, Dave 5.40 & Norbert 5.80), but there were plenty of dinks too. 11 anglers, who shall remain nameless, failed to even break 5 pounds for their entire bags! We know from past experience and recent pre-fishing, that there are lots of bigg'ns out there, but on Sunday, despite virtually ideal conditions, only Nick was able to crack the 10 pound barrier. Congrats to him for his first victory of the season, with a nice 10.70 pound bag and kicker of 4.40 pounds. Dave had his 2nd straight top-3 finish by taking 2nd place with 8.65 and a 5.40 kicker. This allowed him to open up his A.O.Y. lead to 25 points. Javier took 3rd place with 8.04 and a 4.15 pound kicker.

Dimas just missed his 2nd top-3 finish by tenths of a pound. Norbert had the biggest bass of the day (and biggest bass of the year so far) at 5.80 pounds and took 5th place, vaulting him into 2nd place in A.O.Y.. Jorge turned in another solid performance at 6.11 pounds, which enabled him to hold on to 3rd place in the A.O.Y. race.

As always, it was just great to be with all the guys and welcome a few new-comers. Mike H., Mike B., and Carlos R. look like they will be great additions. It was also nice to meet Joe's son, Mike. He weighed in a quality fish too.

With the season now 1/4 over, it will be time for me to delve into the numbers and put out a more detailed report soon, along with some fearless prognostications. One thing I can tell you right now: NO MORE MIKES and NO MORE RODRIGUEZ'S should be allowed in the club. My head is spinning!

Next month is Lake Placid on April 24, 25 & 26, where we should see more of an off-short bite mixed in with the shallows. A reminder, there will be no meeting at Bass Pro Shops on the Thursday before the Placid tourney. That will be held on Saturday night after dinner. For the new-comers, these away tourneys are really the glue that bring all members together and friendships blossom. If you like good food, lots of fishing, bad jokes, nasty cigars, bragging, and perhaps a drink or 5, these away tourneys are just the ticket!

Big Fish Y-T-D: Norbert @ 5.80

BF Y-T-D - Jorge @ 5.20