August, 2025

jeff, terry & Bruce 1, 2, 3 at holiday park

Reminiscent of this time last year - Jeff laps field

Very good day at Holiday Park. Weather was good, overcast and a breeze. We got lucky for August.  Considering we have a 1:00 weigh in and a 3 fish limit we had a good weigh in. 

WELL !!!!! don’t look now, Jeff had a fantastic day and caught a 5.84, 5.84 and a 7.16 kicker (all three received bonus points) for a total weight of 18.84. What a day Jeff had. Jeff made up 59 points on Mike who currently holds a 5 point lead over Bruce. Bruce has a 1 point lead over Tony for the top three.  There is only a 15 point difference from 1st place to fifth place. Very close at the top. 

Jeff ran away with this tournament and took 1st place with 18.84 and won big fish pot with a 7.16 pound kicker. Terry had a great day with 9.92 pounds for a second-place finish and a bonus fish of 5.73. Bruce also came in with a very nice bag of 8.70 pounds and a 5.73 bonus  bass to round the top three. Congratulations to the top three.

Shout out to LA and Barry who had good showings  of 5th and 6th place finishes.

Next Tournament will be on 9/7 this will be our last 1:00 weigh in and 3 fish limit.  Location T.B.D.

July, 2025

jeff, nick & Bruce 1, 2, 3 at Holeylands

Jeff & Dimas Tie for Big Fish

Wow it was hot as hell !!!!!!! It's very important to stay hydrated during these hot months. Tony took a pack of the liquid IV in the morning a drank a lot and still felt a little dizzy when he stood up. (It was this time last year that Bill got dizzy and nearly fell overboard during a tournament.) We have to take the heat seriously. Especially when we hit a certain age!

Fishing was good but there were a lot of smaller fish caught. Jeff, Nick and Bruce found the area and pattern that produced 2 plus ponders. Jeff took 1st place with 8.15 pounds and shared the big fish pot with Dimas, both with 3.74 pounders. Nick captured 2nd place with 7.54 pounds, and Bruce rounded off the top three with 7.27 pounds. Congratulations to the top three.

Glad to hear Raul fished with the club.

Next tournament is on August 10th. Location T.B.D.

Last month Tony did not get any reports and you forced him to pick the location, you see how that worked out. Please pre-fish and send reports. 😊

Great job by Mike at the weigh in.

June, 2025

terry, tony & javier go 1, 2, 3 at MM 34

Anthony comes back with 2 over 5 lbs

What a great tournament for June at MM35. Fishing was very good, weather was breezy most of the day. Terry took first place with 14.05 pounds and won club big fish points with a 5.45 pounder. Also received 10 bonus points for that bass. Tony captured 2nd place with12.89 pounds. Javier rounds the top three 12.56 pounds. Congratulations to the top three.

Shoutouts go out to Anthony who has been in and out of the club many times seems to be back for good and turned out a great performance with two bass over 6 pounds. Great job !!!!!!!!

Barry our newest member finished 4th with 11.68 pounds. Not to mention this youngster is 88. Congratulations Barry.

Glenn seems to be getting better every tournament and turned in 9.97 pounds at the scale.

Next tournament July 13th. Remember the months of July, August and September the club voted on 3 fish limit and weigh in's will be a 1PM.

GUYS PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR OWN WEIGH IN BAGE WITH YOUR FISH AND ENOUGH WATER TO KEEP THE FISH HEALTHY TO THE SCALE. THIS WILL MAKE MIKES JOB A LOT EASIER. THERE WERE A FEW GUYS NOT USING THIS PRACTICE. This slowed down the weigh-in and made it more hectic than it has to be.

May, 2025

norbert, terry & mike at sawgrass

Terry Grabs Big Fish of Day

Beautiful day on the water fishing. The weather was overcast all day. Never have seen the water this low. Storms were rolling in as we finished the weigh in. Lots of fish were caught. Average weight of a bass caught was 1.44 pounds. There were bait fish everywhere. I could not get big fish to bite. I used the spook, Mega Fluke and big Senko, jerk baits and Rapala.

The top three found bigger fish. Norbert took first place 10.91 pounds had a 3.08 kicker, Terry captured second place with 9.25 pounds and won the big fish pot with a 3.52 pounder. Mike rounded off the top three with 8.70 pounds and had a 3.09 kicker. Congratulations to the top three, job well done.

New club member Barry was voted in after the tournament. He came to our club from the same club Dimas, Mike and former member Joe came from. Good guys to be associated with. Good luck Barry.

Next tournament will be on June 22nd location to be determined.

April, 2025

Nick, mike & jeff are tops are Kissimmee

Mike Lands Biggest Bass in Bass Rattlers History!

Once Again, Kissimmee "Drops the Mic" for Big Bass of the Year!

WOW let’s say this this loud and clear, Mike Havens caught a 10.58 monster bass! The biggest and heaviest bass this club has ever caught. Very few anglers can clam that accomplishment. Congratulation Mike, well done. With that 22 bonus point catch and finishing 2nd place catapulted him to 1st place for A.O.Y. Once again, Lake Kissimmee is the place the likely Big Bass of the Year will come from! Unless of course...

On the opposite side of the coin Tony managed to put his boat in about 8 inches of water and had to get an airboat to get him out. I have to say I was very embarrassed and pissed off. Club members stayed with me until the airboat came to pull me off while snapping pictures and videos. I deserved all the bad jokes that followed.  

The club had a great tournament with lots of big bags at the scale. I was surprised that we only weighed in 4 five pound plus bass (Mike 10.58, Nick 5.29, Jeff and Bill weighed in 5.07 pounders).

Honorable mentions: It was a pleasure seeing Bill and AKA (Jack) coming down to fish with the club. I got the pleasure of fishing with one of my best friends Bill for three days. Lets wish Bill a safe return from China, he is leaving later this week. Jack and Bill will be returning for the Placid tournament in November.  Thank you to Terry for shopping for the Hams and Hots and cooking them up for two days. Thank you, Javier for that delicious Lamb treat & the Key Lime pie! Tony's sneakers were a little on the tough side though. Thank you to Mike for his part in running a flawless two day tournament.

Nick kicked ass and TOOK first place with an impressive 29.09 two day weight total. It was impressive watching him catch bass after bass. He never strayed from his main area and had to work hard for every bite. Job well done. 

Mike captured 2nd place with 21.70 pounds and caught tournament big bass with that monster 10.58 pounder. Jeff rounded off the top three with a respectful 19.71 pounds and won the first day big bass pot with a 5.07pounder.

Congratulation to the top three.  Next tournament will be on May 4th only three weeks away. We need to find a location A.S.A.P.

Note from Bill: Seeing everyone again reminded me of how fortunate I was to fish with you guys for over 20 years. Thanks for letting me participate in the fun and camaraderie. You know I love you all.

Just a reminder that due to my overseas trip, the May tournament website update will be delayed.

March, 2025

tony, bruce & nick - 1, 2, 3 at Holiday Park

Bruce takes Nick down MMA-style on his boat!

WOW, what a great day for catching BASS. Weather was great and apparently the conditions were perfect for the larger bass to be eating. There were 3 bass over 4 pounds Mike won big fish with 4.85, Bruce had a kicker of 4.29 and Tony caught a 4.07. Five bass over 3 pounds. Six 10 pound bags were caught. I would say that is a good day of fishing !!

Tony took first place with 14.88-pound bag. That’s three top three tournaments to start the year. Bruce captured 2nd place with 13.71 pounds. Nick rounded off the top three with 12.94 pounds. Mike took home big bass money with a 4.85 pounder: that’s two out of three big fish winnings. Congratulations to the top three.

Rumor has it Bruce & Nick got into it while on the water. (Something about dinky sized live-wells, and Nick telling him to toss back a 4 pounder.) Sadly, there is no photographic evidence of the epic battle, but eye-witnesses claim Bruce had Nick in a headlock before Desi tapped out and cried "UNCLE". Now THAT would have been an epic photo! By the way, as you can see from the photo below, they kissed and made up later.

Also in the rumor department, Jeff says he's giving you guys 1 more tournament head start before he comes back and puts a hurtin on y'all to claim his 53rd consecutive AOY award.

Next tournament will be held at Grape Hamock. Lake Kissimmee for our 3 day 4/11th, 12th and 13th and I'm, coming!

Please let Mike know once again if you plan on fishing.

HOW THEY DID IT:

Tony - Spook early, went to the jerk bait, then finished the day on Flukes. Fished the south canal.

Bruce - Flukes, pegged with a weight and drop-shot style, spinnerbait, crankbait & a weighted stickbait.

Nick - said he got his on a 14 inch worm, but he also claims he's packin 9", so I'm guessing it was a 10" worm at best.

Please forgive me for the liberties I take when doing the website. You have no idea how much I miss you all. I can't fish tournaments any more because my hand and fingers have gotten worse, much worse. All the "easy" remedies have failed and the surgery is out of the question because it will immobilize my hand for almost 3 months. I wouldn't be able to work and that is just not happening. At Kissimmee, I will fish, but not hard and with a stiff brace on all day. I'm coming to be with you ugly guyz and share some good times. But seriously, if somehow I win, you really do need to consider hanging it up!

February, 2025

mike, dimas & tony on top at Sawgrass

Without a trolling motor, Mike delivers a win & a big fish.

Sawgrass produced lots of bass, most in the 1 lb – 2lb range. Two bass were caught over 3 lbs,  Mike weighed in a 3.74 and Tony weighed in a 3.30 pounder. The weather was hot water was very low.  Lots of big gators everywhere on the banks sunbathing. Water was so low we saw lily pads that were now on dry land. Terry still wanted to go into the flats and look for some bigger BASS and found himself on top of a patch of saw grass that he got stuck in. Terry and his partner LA had to get out of the boat pulling sawgrass from the back on boat then had to get back in and use the boat motor to back out about six inches at a time. They had to repeat this process for about two hours to get the boat off the sawgrass.

I want to welcome LA as a new member of the club, she got a good taste of what can happen out there as Terry’s non-boater. We all know how that feels in one way or another.

Mike took 1st place with 8.37 lbs and won the big fish pot with a 3.74 pound bass. Mike BROKE his brand-new boat in with a victory and big fish. Second place went to Dimas with 8.14 pounds. Tony rounded off the top three with 7.60 pounds.

Next tournament will be held on 3/2 a quick turnaround. Location T.B.D. Please pre-fish, we need to fish where the fish are 😊

HOW THEY DID IT:

Mike said he caught all his fish on a black & blue whacky rig.

Dimas stayed in the East canal and worked a Fluke & Mag Trick Worm.

Tony pulled out the Rapala in the morning, then the Mega Fluke (big surprise) later on.

(Thanks to Mike & Norbert for the photos below.)

January, 2025

tony, norbert & bruce take top spots at mm 34

Tony shakes off the rust and also nabs big fish.

Great day on the water, lots of fish caught by the club. Most fish caught were 1.5 to 2 pounds. Lots of fun, we missed Bill, Jeff, Nick, Ozzy and Ryan. Great news to see Javier joining the club again. (There's apparently no truth to the rumor that's why Bill left the area.) Hopefully next time we see Mike he will have a new 2024 Nitro z20 with a 250 mercury, congrats Mike. The top three need to reply back with what they used to catch there fish and location. THIS WILL HELP THE CLUB GET BETTER. Congratulations to the top three.

Tony captured 1st place with 10.36 pounds and took big fish pot with a 5.40 pounder. Norbert took 2nd place with 9.25 pounds and Bruce rounded off the top three with 8.70 pounds. Terry & Javier missed out on the top 3 spots by fractions of a pound. Dimas struggled with boat issues which hindered his effectiveness. Jorge nabbed a nice Peacock.

HOW THEY DID IT:

Tony: Rapala and Mega Fluke caught all the fish. Canal after the second bridge.

Norbert: Flukes & Gambler cut-tail worms. Fished the first cut on the north side..

Bruce: jerk bait & weighted stick-bait.

Next tournament is scheduled for February 9th.

(Thanks to Jorge for the sunrise & peacock photos below.)

November, 2024

jeff, tony & mike go 1, 2 & 3 at kissimmee

AOY race for 3rd through 6th intensifies

Great tournament at Lake Kissimmee. Weather was great a little windy in the afternoon. The two-day tournaments are a lot of fun. . The top three was a lot closer this tournament. Jeff took 1st place with 21.49 pounds and had a nice kicker that weighed 4.62 pounds and won Saturdays big fish pot.  Tony captured 2nd with 18.62 pounds with a nice 5.40 pounder. Mike rounded off the top three with 18.28 pounds and won big fish points and the money for Sunday’s weigh in with a nice 6.06 pounder. Congratulations to the top three .

Jeff has a 148-point lead in a stand-alone 1st place. Dimas looks to have 2nd locked up.

Mike did a great job for a seamless weigh in and putting this tournament together.

32 points separate 3rd to 6th place. It will be interesting how this shacks out when you can throw out your worst 2 tournaments.

Club took a vote yesterday for the April 2 day, looks like Kissimmee got the majority.

Next Tournament will be on December 8th tournament location T.B.D.

October, 2024

jeff, dimas & terry go 1, 2 & 3 at okeechobee

Dimas is having a career best year - opening up his 2nd place lead

Reports point to water being dirty in most places, fishing was tough for most. Weather was great, overcast  and cool. Tough day with limits and weights. Jeff assumed the top spot once again with 10.36 pounds. Out of the last 10 tournaments Jeff has finished in the top 3 places 10 times. 4 first place , 5 second and 1 third place finish, very impressive. Dimas took 2nd place with 10.03. Dimas has finished in the top three 4 times and Terry rounded off the top three with 7.38 pounds. Terry has finished in the top three 3 times.  Way to go top three, congratulations. Bill landed the tourney's biggest bass at 3.74 pounds.

The AOY race is sewn up for Jeff, who once again proves his consistency & dominance. Dimas is very close to locking up 2nd place as he expanded his lead over 3rd place to 50 points with only 2 tournaments to go. The tight race to watch will be for 3rd this year as there are 4 anglers within 11 points (Terry, Bruce, Norbert & Mike). But don't forget, after the "drop 2" rule takes over it could dramatically change the order of those 4 anglers.

Next tournament will be the 3-day out of Kissimmee Nov. 8, 9 & 10. Mike will send out more information as we get closer. 

September, 2024

nick, jeff & tony go 1, 2 & 3 at Holeylands

The Secret is No Gas Motor!

Not a bad day at holy Lands. Did not fish as predicted by pre-fishing reports. 

Tony now has spun his hub twice and both times at Holeylands. Crazy! He was only able to fish the big lake and did well.

Nick took first place with 8.92 pounds and had a nice 3.96 pounder. Jeff again finishes in the top three with a second-place finish with 7.82 pounds and caught big bass of the tournament with a 4.73 pounder. Tony rounded off the top three with 7.16 pounds and had a nice 4.51 kicker. Terry also caught 4.07 pounder; Ryan also caught a nice 4.18 pounder. Well done by the top three, congratulation.

Top six is very close. Might come down to when you decide to drop two tournaments. Will be interesting !!!!!!!

Next tournament T.B.D. weigh in time changes to 3:00 along with a 5 fish limit.

The only photos I have are this one of Terry, 5 sent by Glenn, and 2 of the night sky at 5:20 am

August, 2024

jeff, mike & terry go 1,2,3 at sawgrass

The Heat Once Again Plays a Role

Sawgrass was a tough tournament unless you made a good decision to go up to the spillway. First, second, third and big fish (Nick 3.30) came from that area. It was a very hot day !!!! No breeze. This heat is serious, and we should all hydrate the night before and before we take off in the morning. Jeff did not miss a beat and took first place with 8.04 pounds as he keeps the streak going and has not placed out of the top three all year. Mike captured 2nd place with 7.82 pounds despite suffering heat issues and passed out. Good thing he sat in the boat seat before. He stopped fishing around 11.00 and went to his truck to cool down. Terry also had a good day and rounded off the top three with 7.60 pounds. Congratulation to the top 3 😊 !!

Regarding this heat: After my "incident" last month, I spoke to my doctor to see if it was something I need to be concerned about. He told me that if this was a "one-of" incident, there was no need for panic - and it was a one and only experience for me. 2nd, along with Tony's hydration suggestion, he urged me to keep the Carotid Artery (in my neck) as cool as possible with a wet towel at all times! He also mentioned that heat effects everyone slightly differently. Age is but one factor. Genetics, diet & lifestyle also play into it. We should all heed his advice!

No more Gold Bullion allowed to pay BF or dues! Bring exact change!

Next tournament 9/8 location T.B.D.

July, 2024

dimas, bruce & jeff go 1,2,3 on the Alley

New 3 fish limit enforced for first time

MM 35 proved to be much tougher than last month. It was hot and the Bass were not as aggressive. Dimas is making his move on the top spot of A.O.Y. he finished 1st with 9.92 pounds and won big fish for the tournament with a 5.70 pounder. Bruce broke the ice with a 2nd place finish with 6.83 pounds and is closing in on the top three. Jeff rounded off the top 3 and finished in 3rd place with 6.28 pounds. Jeff continues to dominate , has not finished out of the top 3 this year. Congratulations to the top three. Job well done by Mike with another flawless weigh-in. Next tournament will be on August 11th location T.B.D.

June, 2024

Nick, Jeff & Dimas tame the alley

Prior reports suggested otherwise

MM35 proved to be much better than reports suggested. Mike made a good call, the club had a very nice day. Lots of limits, no 5 pounders but six 3 pounders plus and two over 4 were caught. It was hot with a nice breeze to cool it off a little. We had 6 dead fish. If you take into consideration 4 were due to live well issues that leaves 2 dead fish for the day. Nick took first place with 15.70 pounds and won big fish with a nice 4.85 pounder. Nick has proved time after time he can compete for first place if he does not miss more than two tournaments. Jeff took second with 14.82. Jeff is as consistent as it gets, in the last 6 tournaments Jeff has places 1st two times and has taken 2nd four times. Very impressive. Dimas rounded off the top three with his 2nd consecutive third-place finish with 12.12 pounds and had a 4.40 pounder as a kicker, Dimas has a good shoot for top three. 

Discussion has been made to help eliminate the number of dead fish we have seen this year. Terry the acting president along with Mike the T.D. have made a temporary decision to change the limit of fish you bring to the scale to 3 per man for July, August, and September. The club can decide on how it worked out and take a vote after the September tournament.

May 2024

Terry, Jeff & Dimas take Holiday Park

Heat and Live Well Issues Take Toll on Fish

Wow, extreme heat conditions at Holiday Park along with some live-well issues claimed an unusually high number of fish casualties. As a whole the club did very good in these conditions. Five bass caught over 3 pounds and two 4 pounders caught over 4. Bill caught a 4.40 and Terry caught 4.18 pounder.

Looking at the results we had 14 dead fish NOT GOOD !!! besides being 95 plus degrees All the dead fish came from boats that have live well issues. We can not let this go without addressing the issue. We're only 5 months into the year and we've already set a yearly record for dead fish!

Terry Kicked ass took 1st place with 13.16 pounds and had a nice kicker with a 4.16 pounder. Jeff once again finished in the top 3 with 8.92 and had a kicker with a 3.30 pounder. Dimas rounded off the top three with 8.92 pounds the same weight as Jeff. Dimas's big fish weighed less than Jeff's and that’s the reason he ended up in 3rd. Bill "The SPOOK" took the Big Fish pot with a nice 4.40 pounder  NICE JOB BY MIKE RUNNING ANOTHER FLAWLESS TOURNAMENT

Next Tournament is June 23rd location T.B.D. 

April 2024

norbert, Jeff & Nick 1, 2, 3 at placid

Norbert slams two 7+ pounders on the final day

As is usually the case on a lake, fishing was tough for the majority of the club. Jeff, Bruce, Mike were the only guys that caught limits on both days. Only 5 guys hit double digits over the 2-day event. There were however, 5 fish over 5 pounds brought to the scales, including Norbert's 2 giants on the last day, weighing in at 7.82 and 7.93 (the biggest fish of the year so far). Nick, who also has a knack for finding big fish caught a 7.38 and a 4.62, Jack landed a 5.40 pounder, and Jorge a 5.18.  

The fishing was tough with high winds on Saturday. Norbert blew it up with 25.66 pounds to take first place. Second place went to Jeff with 17.63 a.k.a. Mr. Consistent. Nick rounded out the top three with 16.88 pounds.

Special Thanks to Jack (A.K.A.) for once again providing spaghetti and his special meat sauce you can eat with a fork. If he was still a member, Jack would have finished in third place with 17.41 pounds and a bonus big bass at 5.40 pounds. For an old guy he still has it. We heard an unsubstantiated rumor that after the fun he had last weekend, Jack is actually looking at bass boats again. Perhaps the bug has re-bitten him???  He's already expressed an interest in fishing with us again at Kissimmee in November.

Terry had the worst 3-days. Had trouble with his eye on Friday and had to find a doctor in Placid to take a contact out that was stuck in too long, cost him $220. Almost cut his finger off fixing his trolling motor got 8 stitches and went out and tried to fish. The pain was too strong and he had to call it quits. On the way home he stopped and help two motorist get there car running. Got home and built a deck. Ok just joking about the way home and the deck but I would not put it past him. He is a strong dude that loves to fish. Hope you mend fast and get back on the water.

Big Fish of the Year - Norbert - 7.93

March 2024

Jeff, Jorge & Norbert go 1, 2, 3 at Sawgrass

Jeff Puts the Pedal Down, Jorge & Norbert Heat Up Late.

Guys first off Anthony and Tony J are not yet added to the spreadsheet until next month but will have this month's points added retroactively.

Nice day at Sawgrass. Lots of fish caught, including some big fish. As usual, Jeff lapped the field again with a whopping 20.38 pounds that could have been even better. This effort put him right back on top of the AOY standings, a spot we are so familiar seeing him in. He also landed the tourney's and the season's  biggest bass at 7.72, as well as a 5.84 pounder. Jorge, who started the day off slow, heated up late and captured 2nd with 11.02 pounds and had a nice kicker of 4.62 pounder. Norbert rounded off the top three with 10.25 pounds and had a 5.51 pounder as a kicker. Another noteworthy fish was caught by Bill at 5.84 pounds.

In the early AOY standings, aside from Jeff regaining the top honors, Ozzy remains firmly in 2nd place. In a temporary mirage, Bill is currently in 3rd. This too shall pass. Terry is knocking on the door of the top 3. Dimas, Norbert, Jorge & Bruce are all within striking distance.

Two new member to welcome: Anthony P is back in the club and Tony J has qualified and is a new member of the club.

Congratulation To Nick !!!!! He kicked some big ass yesterday on Lake O and won both Bass Busters and KOTG Tournaments. He fished against the big Dogs. Nick and his partner took it all!

February 2024

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

Ozzy Stays Hot, But Jeff Reminds Us Who's Da Boss.

Well, it wasn't exactly the Super Bowl, but it was a good day at Sawgrass for most. Tony's mechanic had to come out to the Sawgrass main ramp to work on his boat for 4 hours. He was unable to use his trolling motor until about 2 PM. To his credit, the mechanic showed upon a Sunday! That pretty much sums up his day. Even with that, he managed to toss 5 small bass into his live-well.

On a good note Jeff.,"The Vacuum", did what he has proven he can do at any location, and caught more than six pounds over than his closest competitor! He tore up the field with 16.35 pounds and took first place with a 5.73 pound kicker, that took the big bass pot. Bill captured second place with 9.70 pounds. He clearly needs a new scale because he kept telling everyone that his "Catch Commander" said he had a 3 pounder, which turned out to be 4.18 pounds. Ozzy stayed hot and had another top three finish. Overall, there were 7 bass caught over 2.5 pounds.

Great job by Mike our T.D. for another flawless weigh in. Special thanks to Bruce as our Treasurer. He does such a good job we don’t even notice him taking our money 😊

Next Tournament will be on March 10th. Remember that's the day we switch back to Daylight Savings Time, meaning our clocks will be turned ahead one hour at 2 am. Net effect is you lose one hour of sleep.

January 2024

Ozzy, Jeff & Ryan start the year strong at Big O

Big Fish, "Haves & Have Nots", & Boating Troubles Dominate the Day.

As is usually the case, some had big smiles, and some were frustrated as heck. Ozzy, reached down deep into his old bag of tricks and pulled out an Okeechobee classic performance, pulling in 2 beauties over 6 pounds on his way to a very solid 18.62 pound win at Lake Okeechobee. It's been a long time coming for the "O-man". He's had a rough year for sure with personal family tragedies and other issues. In fact, he woke up not feeling well physically and was heard saying that if he didn't have a co-angler depending on him, he would have called in sick and stayed home. Good thing he didn't! His 6 1/2 pounder could possibly end up as big fish of the year, you never know.

Jeff picked up where he left off, netting 15.62 pounds and a 5.29 pound kicker for 2nd place. And Ryan, who seems to thrive in January's, weighed in 12.12 pounds to round out the top 3.

On the flip side, Mike & Vince spent most of the day waiting at the docks, as Mike's steering cable snapped early in the day, which forced him to fish for a short time using only a trolling motor, until the batteries finally gave out. And Tony's brand spanking new Garmin trolling motor, refused to pair with the foot pedal or hand-held remote. He didn't discover this until he got all the way up to Clewiston. He drove back to the ramps, pulled out his boat, and met Bill who picked him up to salvage at least part of the day.

Big fish were abundant on this day, with four over 5 pounds landed. Terry skipped a soft plastic under a dock with only minutes remaining to net his 5.29 pounder. And Dimas, who's turning into the "king of canals" turned in a very solid performance of 11.57 pounds for 4th place, having only a trolling motor all day long! Some will disparage that distinction. But the truth is, you fish where the fish are, and if they're biting in the canals you'd be foolish not to try there. In this case however, Dimas had no choice in the matter, since he couldn't use his gas engine.

In a classic demonstration of how thin the margins of fish vs. no-fish can be, Norbert's boat was positioned close to and between Ozzy & Jeff's. In fact, he said he was close enough to hear Jeff's Power-Pole engaging up and down. Yet, Jeff & Ozzy cleaned up and Norbert came in with zero! Crazy!

We all felt real bad for Mike and my little buddy, Vince. Mike has once again turned in a stellar TD performance despite not being able to fish much at all. And Vince is turning into "El Sappo II". (I'll explain the joke to him later!)

December 2023

jeff, bill & dimas close out the year strong at Big O

Once again, Big O baffles most of us.

Big O humbled us again !!!! Weeks before, Slims was on fire. Mike and Dimas reported 18 pounds with 5 fish. I was talking to guys that said last weekend was the best Boy Scout Cut has ever fished. I heard Jeff saying Friday he caught a couple over 5 pounds. Lots can happen in a few days, as only four 5-fish limits were caught. One thing is for sure NOTHING stops Jeff from fishing at the top of his game. He is as consistent as anyone we have ever seen in our club. He deserves all the praises we can give him!!! He is number one for a reason, it doesn’t come without putting the work in. He knew exactly where to go yesterday. Among the many other honors Jeff earned, he also had the year's biggest bag at 21.82 pounds in August, on a day when nobody could find quality fish and his nearest competitor was 15 pounds back!

The results, Jeff took first place with 15.54 pounds (a 3.1 pound average for 5 fish). Bill finished the year strong and took 2nd place with 12.67 pounds and caught the big fish for the tournament with a 4.18 pounder. Dimas again finished in the top three for the third time on a row and rounded off the top three with 10.36 pounds. Congratulations to the top three

As for the rest of the standings, I don’t know where to begin. The top 6th through the 8th places were crazy close, you might say competition at it’s best. Jeff kicked all of our butts and finished the year with 655 points he was never threatened. Second through 6th was a race to the end. Dimas over passed Nick and finished in second. Nick missed 4 tournaments and still  took 3rd. Nick might be able to give Jeff a run for his money next year with the new rule that allows you to drop the scores of your two worst tournaments. Norbert took over 4th by 1 point over Tony, who finished 5th. Mike took 6th and passed Terry by 1 point to round off the top six.

Congratulations to the top six. It did not stop there. Ryan came in 7th by passing Terry by 1 point pushing Terry to the eight spot. 3 points were the difference between 6th and 8th. Doesn’t get much closer than that.

Even more congratulations to Ryan who started out the year in January by landing the biggest bass of the year at 7.71 pounds, and finished the year by landing a great new boat!

Mike did an outstanding job as T.D. and has agreed to another year. Bruce as well did a terrific job as treasurer and has also agreed to another year. Terry agreed to be the president now until the end of time. 😊

Next Tournament is January 7th and probably at Lake O. But final location T.B.D. by Mike.

Below are photos from our End-Of-Year banquet held at Bokampers.

November 2023

Nick, Dimas & Jeff take top honors at Big O North

Once again, Big O reminds us who's in charge.

Love fishing the Big O, ONCE AGAIN THIS LAKE CAN BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES. The weather was perfect for fishing, no wind some cloud cover. Unfortunately those conditions are not ideal for catching Bass. Dimas had a nice couple of days and was the only guy to have limits on both weigh ins. There were only 5 guys that had limits for both days: Jeff, Tony, Terry, Dimas and Norbert. As a whole it was not a great tournament for catching bass but it was as always fun spending time with your brothers. Always love that part of the three days.  Nick had another good tournament and captured first place with 18.18 pounds and won big fish for the tournament with a nice 5.84 pounder. Second place went to Dimas with 15.86 pounds. He's been coming on strong the last few months. Jeff continues to stay hot and rounds up the top three with 15.31 pounds and won the second weigh in big fish with 4.07 pounds. Honorable mention to Bruce for catching a 4.96 pounder, Dimas with a 4.07 pounder. The top 6 has made a big shift at the top. 

In what has turned into the Jeff & Nick show, 2023 has laid witness to just how good these 2 anglers are. Jeff has missed 2 tournaments, yet has remained at or near the top of the heap nearly all year. Nick, who has missed 4 tournaments, was in 10th place just 2 months ago! Last month he climbed into 7th. And right now sits in 2nd place with one month to go!

Dimas has clawed his way into third, Tony held steady in 4th, 3 points out of 3rd and 11 out of second place. The top six are as close as we have ever seen. Looks like it will come down to the December tournament at Slims according to Mike. There are 6 anglers with legitimate shots at 3rd place - the last money spot in the standings. We all want to thank Mike for running a flawless 3 day tournament and season. Outstanding job Mr. T.D.

Hope Glenn is feeling better after hurting his back Sunday, hope you have a speedy recovery.

October 2023

Jeff, Nick & Dimas take top honors at Big O

The lake reminds us about how fast things can change.

Just when you think you've got a solid game plan, Lake Okeechobee says "hold my beer".

Several anglers who spent days on the lake pre-fishing or fishing other tournaments were reminded how fast "the Big O" can make your head spin. Overnight fronts turned clean, calm waters, into rough dirty ones just like that. 

Still, Jeff found a way to get to the top of the leader board once again with 10.91 pounds. It was Jeff's 5th win this season, despite missing several tournaments. Nick, who had the day's biggest bass at 5.73 pounds, finished 2nd with 10.47, followed by Dimas in 3rd with 8.97 pounds. Only 4 anglers caught 5-fish limits.

With only 2 months to go, the AOY races for 2nd through 6th are still up for grabs. Jeff is in great position to win his incredible 6th consecutive Angler of the Year! He has long since set the new benchmark for excellence and consistency.

On a sour note, he also took a nasty fall, landing on his shoulder. We hope the injury isn't serious and that he heals up quickly.

Next month is our multi-day away tournament at the north end of the lake, where some very big bags have been caught lately. More importantly, der be sum fine bourbon to be had!

Sorry, we don't have any pics of big fish and top three this month. But I do have one of Dimas's big fish and my lady with a cigar and some amazing photos that she took around sunrise. I helped Mike record the weigh-in numbers, and can't do it all gents.

September 2023

nick, norbert & ryan go 1, 2, 3 at sawgrass

Nick goes from 2 dinks to a quality bag at the buzzer!

It was so hot yesterday, I broke a sweat just thinking about going outside. 

Lots of DINKS caught. - except for Bill's fish, who one day hope to grow up to be called dinks.  First place went to Nick with an impressive bag for any day at 11.79 pounds, Norbert came in second with 9.92 and Ryan rounded off the top three with 7.98 pounds. Congratulations to the TOP 3 . Big Bass for the day went to Tony with a 4.51 pounder just edging out Ozzy’s 4.40 pounder. Other nice size fish were caught by Norbert & Nick at 3.96 pounds each.

We all had to listen to Nick's story about how he only had 2 measly dinks most of the day until he found a spot and a pattern and hit paydirt, all at the very end of the day. We love to bust his chops, but the truth is, he found a way to make it happen, again. So hats off to him.  

Very close race at the top of the leader board. Jeff has a 30 point lead over Norbert and Ryan, who are both are tied for second with 442 points, Tony is within striking distance of second by only 18 pts. Mike is also in the hunt just 5 points behind Tony.  

If you haven’t heard Glenn had a terrible day yesterday. He got a flat, when the roadside assistant showed up they could not get the tire off, lug nut was stripped. They had to call a tow truck long enough to tow his car and boat to bring Glenn to a tire store. A costly day for Glenn. I told him this shit happens, give him a call, he needs some encouragement.

Somehow, the message is not getting through! BRING YOUR WATER BAG AND MESH BAG TO THE WEIGH-IN! We only had 1 bag at the scale and that creates a log jam. 

We are still missing a Club fishing bag. Please check your gear!

Next tournament will be on 10/08. Location T.B.D. by Mike.

August 2023

Jeff, jorge & nick take top 3 on alley

Jeff makes definitive statement with this big win!

What a terrible tournament for the club, one of the worst performances we can remember. You have to go all the way back to June of 2020 to find a worse performance, with the exception of Jeff "The Vacuum", of course. There's no way to sweet-talk this one - Jeff simply cleaned our clocks.  On a day when there were no other limits caught, Jeff came to the scales with a very impressive 21.82 lbs, including the biggest bass of the day at 6.28 pounds. Jeff deserves all the praise he gets because he finds a way every tournament to bring in 5 big fish. That's 3 in a row now and he's just hitting his groove! The results for the rest of the club were just plain bad. Jorge & Nick had 5 fish between them and took 2nd & 3rd places, respectively. 

Back in June of 2020, 12 out of 18 guys got skunked, and only Joe had a small limit of 8 pounds at Holiday Park. 

The conditions were very hot, water temps were 89 degrees. It was good to have Ozzy back and he did manage to grab a 4.51 pounder, which was good enough to give him 4th place. 

Next month, our tournament is set for September 10th. 

We are still missing a Club fishing bag. Please check your gear!

July 2023

Jeff, dimas & bruce rule holey lands

Despite missing tournaments, Jeff back on top in AOY race!

Holey Lands was better than most of us thought it would be. Vegetation is making a good comeback! let's hope the water management people don't return to their old ways of destroying it. Give those small fish a chance to grow up into big beautiful bass!  

Surprisingly, lot’s of fish were caught, although mostly small ones. Weather was very hot with a little breeze. Jeff is back in his 1st place spot, after he had a nice day at the scale with 11.13 pounds and captured 1st place. Dimas had a good day bringing in the 2nd best weight with 6.72 pounds and won the big fish pot with a 4.85 pounder. Bruce rounded off the top three with a 3rd place finish and 6.17 pounds. Congratulations to the top three. How impressive is it that Jeff can miss 2 tournaments and still be in 1st place? He's that much better than the rest of us!

It was a special treat to see old friend, Dave Bradford back out there with the guys. Dave has been hanging and competing with the big sticks, and he demonstrated a little of what he's learned by catching a solid 11.79 pounds, which would have won the tournament if he was still a member.

Just an F.Y.I. Bruce and Nick had the same weight. Bruce got third place points and 2 extra points for finishing third over Nick because his big bass was bigger than Nick's. Mike and I had the same weight but did not weigh in our one pounders so we both got the 7th place points.

In Ripley's "Believe it or Not" category, Bill may have earned an entry into their record books. 5 fish totalling 3.30 pounds may have set a world record that will be difficult to duplicate or beat! You try catching 5 fish smaller than .66 pounds per fish. Take That! What's even more impressive is Bill said he culled at least twice!

June 2023

Jeff, Ryan & Glenn take top honers on Alley

Ryan jumps from 7th to 2nd in AOY race!

Wow, that was one of the toughest tournaments of the year. 95 degrees without much of a breeze and very little cloud cover. 4 guy’s seemed to figure it out and caught 5 fish limits (Jeff, Bruce, Norbert and Glenn). But it was definitely a case of the have's and have-not's. Jeff was on them from the start. He said he already had 17 pounds by 8:30! He came back from missing a tournament and sat in is his normal position of 1st place with a very impressive final weight of 18.51 pounds, blowing away the field by more than 11 pounds. Nine guys caught 3 fish or less, including a lot of folks with one and two fish.  Second place went to Ryan with 6.98 pounds and also won the big fish pot with a nice 5.29 pounder. Our newest member, Glenn,  who calls himself "the rookie", rounded off the top three with 6.94 pounds. Other than Ryan's big jump in the AOY standings, the top 6 did not see much change. Norbert hangs on to his lead, and even extended it slightly from 14 to 18 points. Congratulations to the top three.

Mike continues to do a great job at running the weigh in's. An important note to remember now, especially with the really hot months ahead. There is no excuse for being late to the weigh-ins, except those spelled out in the rules (engine problems, etc...). Even then, it's your responsibility to get your fish to another boater's livewell to be brought in on time. Every angler must do whatever it takes to be at the scales on time! If this means knocking off 10 - 15 minutes earlier, so be it. The faster we can conduct the weigh-ins and get these fish back into the water, the healthier they will be.

Also, a reminder that everybody in the club should have a fish carry bag and a net bag to weigh in your fish. This includes non-boaters. This will help getting the weigh-in's done a little faster.

Next Tournament will be on July 9th. July, August and September weigh-in's will be at 1:00 pm.

May 2023

bill, norbert & anthony take top honers on Alley

Norbert's consistency earns him top spot in AOY

It was a good tournament where most in the club caught a bunch of 2+ pound bass out on Alligator Alley, MM 34. There were lots of peacock bass caught, but not many of them weighed enough to make it to the scale. The weather was perfect. Cloud cover, windy, just enough to cool you down. 

Bill "the spook" caught on fire and won the tournament with 14.55 pounds and won the big fish pot with a bonus bass that weighed in at 6.06 pounds, nice day Bill. We checked and the last time Bill won a tournament, Eisenhower was in the White House. 

Norbert continues to make his claim to A.O.Y. He captured 2nd place with 13.99 pounds. In his last 4 tourneys he's climbed from 5th to 3rd to 2nd, and now sits on top! Not much of a stretch to predict the top 6 will look very different at the end of this year.

Anthony returned with a bang, and rounded off the top three with an impressive 13.49 pounds, nice to have you back !!!!

Just on a funny note, Terry caught a 10 pound plus snapping turtle on a Jerk bait 😊 😊

Mike, thank you for a well run weigh in. Love the check valve you put on the weigh in tub 😊

Bill made it to the arena almost on time and oh by the way, Panthers WIN - again!

April 2023

Nick, Jeff & Mike go 1, 2, 3 @ Kissimmee

Nick continues to wear the Kissimmee crown!

Kissimmee was very tough for most. 5 guys did catch two limits. Nick, Jeff and Mike were 3 of them  and took the top three positions. Terry and Jorge also caught limits on both days.  Nick dominated the tournament, as he does seem to own this lake with his style of fishing. He took first place with 23.03 pounds and won Sundays big fish pot with a 3.57 pounder. Jeff took 2nd and recaptured 1st place in the Angler Of the Year race. Mike had a good tournament and rounded off the top 3 with 18.40 pounds. Norbert caught the big fish on Saturday with a 4.96 pounder and also received the big fish points for the tournament. Congratulations to the top three. All in all, the club had a great time sitting around eating and drinking, telling fish stories after fish stories. Love that part of the 3 days. We need to make sure we keep this format for all 3 days.

Special Thanks to Jack (AKA) who went over and above in supplying the club with his famous spaghetti and meat sauce dinner with all the trimmings on Friday. He also cooked steak, potatoes and corn for Tony, Terry, and Mike on Saturday. We do appreciate all you do for the club on these three day tournaments. Unfortunately he fished with Tony who could not find fish. He had one of the worst tournaments that he can remember. He went to therapy sessions and emerged a few days later with hair growing out of his ears. Always a pleasure spending time with Jack.  He just wishes they could of caught more bass.

Want to give a big Thank You to Mike for running a perfect tournament. There is more to putting together a three day than you see on the surface. He made it seamless. Thanks for all you do. Bruce continues to do a great job as treasure. Thank you, Bruce.

Bill is back from Covid quarantine, and promises to catch a limit of dinks next tournament!

March 2023

Norbert, Ozzie & Terry go 1, 2, 3 @ Sawgrass

Tony nabs 2nd BF and take over 1st place in early AOY race

Another good tournament at Sawgrass. Not a lot of big fish caught, a bunch of 2 pounders. Norbert took first place with 9.70 pounds, Ozzy captured second with 8.92 and Terry rounded off the top three with a third place finish with 8.60. Tony won BIG fish for the tournament with a 4.85 pounder, that’s two big fish in a row for Tony. Congratulations to the top three. Congrats to Glenn for fishing his first Tournament as an official club member. Another job well done by our T.D. Mike !!!!

Next Tournament will be held at Lake Kissimmee (Grape hammock) Looking forward to seeing Jack and eating Jack's spaghetti and meat sauce. Yum Yum

Dates April 14,15th and 16th.

February 2023

Tony, ryan & Norbert go 1, 2, 3 @ Sawgrass

Ryan stays hot, Tony shakes off the cobwebs & grabs the win & BF

Great day at Sawgrass. Weather was almost perfect, though it did get windy later in the day. Tony took first place with 11.90 pounds and won big fish for the tournament with a 4.73 pounder. Ryan came in second with 11.84 pounds. Ryan only lost first place and big fish because of a dead fish. Very important to keep those fish alive !!!! Ryan is on a roll to start the year. This was his 2nd consecutive 2nd place and would have been the 2nd big fish in 2 tries. Norbert rounded out the top three with a third place finish with 10.25 pounds. Tony has said for years, if Norbert does not miss a tournament he is cemented in the top 3 !!! This year will be different than the last few years.  Jeff has dominated first place, not this year. He and Nick have already conceded a few tournaments this year due to other trail commitments. It looks like it will be a very close race for first and the top 3, with a NEW ANGLER OF THE YEAR. 😊

Thank you Mike for running a great Tournament !!!!!!!!

It was nice to see Rick back fishing !!!!! We also have a new member, Glenn will start earning points next month. Good luck!

Bill unfortunately had live-well issues and had to leave early. 

Next tournament will be March 5th, location T.B.D. by the Tournament Director Mike.

                   Sawgrass Results                                                     AOY Race                                 Here's how we did at Sawgrass Feb 2022     

January 2023

Jeff, ryan & mike start the year at 1, 2, & 3

Jeff keeps the pedal down at Lake Okeechobee. Ryan nets monster 7.71 pounder.

Big O did not disappoint !!!! Before we get into who placed in the top three, lets talk about the wild ride of Big fish for the tournament and possible for the year. 4 Bass over 5 lbs to include 3 bass 7 to 8 lbs. I did not have a great day until I landed a 6.83 pounder, Bill and I thought I would have big fish for the day and possibly for the year. A bass with less weight has won Big fish for the year several times. Me being who I am I wanted to put it in Jeff’s face. Well, Jeff laughed and said I think I have you beat and indeed he did when he weighed in a 7.16 pounder. As you know Jeff won  AOY last year without ever catching big fish for a tournament. Jeff had a BIG smile on his face, rightly so. Then Ryan was last to weigh in, he said he had an 8 pounder, I think Jeff’s response was I hope he weighed it with his eye’s. 😊  He did not and beat us both with a 7.71 pounder, won tournament big fish and has a shot for big fish of the year. Terry also caught a big bass that weighed  5.40 pounds. What a way to start the year!!!!!!! Want to give Mike a special thanks for a flawless weigh in and welcome back Javier! Tough break for Nick who had to attend his mandatory Woman Hater's Anonymous meeting and missed the tourney.

Jeff continues to show us he is at the top of his game, took first place with an impressive weight of 16.64 pounds. Ryan came in second with 13.33 pounds and Mike just missed 2nd by . 21 of a pound. Mike rounded off the top three with 13.11 pounds. Congratulation to the top 3. That was an exciting weigh in.

Next tournament 2/12 location T.B.D. by the Tournament Director Mike.

December 2022

Jeff, Mike & Nick Finish Out the Season in Style

Jeff Steps Up at Okeechobee to Take 5th Consecutive AOY

The Big O will humble you on any given day !!!!!!!!  yesterday was one of those days, unless your name is Jeff the Bass Vacuum. The last two weeks the lake was on fire with many 5 pound plus fish caught. Yesterday we had an average 2 fish limit caught. Jeff continues to do what he does and caught the only limit of the day. Jeff took first place with 13.11 pounds. Mike captured 2nd place with 7.82 and Nick continues to be consistent and rounded off the top three with 6.72 and won the holiday BIG fish pot with a 5.40 pounder.  Next tournament will be on 1/8/23.

The A.O.Y. results show that the competition is getting stronger every Year. Jeff and Nick battled it out every month, Jeff showed Nick who is his daddy (this year).  Jeff  kept  the pressure on and held on to first place by taking first by 11 points. Some interesting facts. Jeff has never not been out of first place, he has done that without catching BIG FISH the entire year. Nick has won big fish Three times. Nick has been very consistent this year and earned 2nd place in the A.O.Y. We have to give it up to Bruce , he has fished the entire year as a non-boater and rounded off the Top three in the A.O.Y race. The remaining of the top 6 literally was decided by the last tournament of the year. Mike had a great finish ant finished in 4th place Tony and Norbert had the same amount of points for the year, Tony took 5th due to more fish caught for the year. You have to wonder where would Norbert have finished if he did not miss two tournaments. Norbert rounded off the top 6 with a 6th place finish, and he also claimed the year's biggest bass at 8.04 pounds. Congratulation to the top six. Want to thank the entire club for a great year. January starts a new year with a new tournament director, Mike Havens is a great guy and will make a great T.D.  

Next Tournament will be on 1/8/23 at Okeechobee - Slims

Below are tourney photos as well as pics from our end of year banquet: