Central Florida Bass Anglers

Another fine start for the Toughest Central Florida Bass Club going. Weather for the day was very good with heavy clouds most of the morning and sunny in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 90's, winds out of the Northeast 5-10mhp and no sign of rain. There was lots of dock talk about nice fish being caught during practices. Most Teams had a good Toad and a flip bite going but it was sounding like the Teams were all fishing close together. I practiced Monday with my father, Marshall Bloom, we saw a few teams on the water during the day. We found some schooling fish in Lake Minneola and caught them on Rattle Traps and Carolina Rigs. I noticed that the water came up 8 to 10 inches since Monday due to all the strong storms through the week. I think this was why there were No 20lb sacks at the scales this time. Blast off, it looked like half the boats went North some stayed close to the ramp and the others went South. 1st Place went to the Team of Nate Bloom and Tom Burk. The team earned a $404.00 cash pay out that will help the fuel cost for a little while. We started out fishing some schooling fish and had a small limit by 8:00am throwing a Carolina Rig Gitem Warlock (junebug/silver) then the bite slowed so the Run and Gun method was next. Tom Burk caught our biggest fish, a 3.90 on a Texas rig Gitem Warlock (junebug/silver) fishing some sticks on a shoreline in Lake Palatlakaha. We Flipped all day and never could get a bass to hit but in the last 2 hours of the day Tom wanted to try an old spot out that we didn’t have a chance to practice at and we managed to land our 2nd biggest fish, a 3.75lb bass on the Gitem Toad (black/Red flake) this fish put us on top with the winning weight of 12.25lbs. We caught 8 keepers, 3 shorts, 1 Mud fish, and 1 Cat fish. Nice job for a tough day. 2nd Place went to the Team of Bob and Jimmy Demola who were very close to taking first place with a 5-fish limit weighing in at 12.21lbs. The Team focused on Lake Cherry where they put together a pattern running Cane Toads (brown/white) and Flipping Gambler Ugly Otters (black/blue). Their biggest bass, a 4.90 fell for the Ugly Otter flipped in some thick cover. The team said they lost some nice bass on the Toad that would have been the difference for 1st but they were happy with their day’s finish. This is a New Team for the Club this year and this is their highest finish so congratulations and keep it up. 3rd Place went to the Team of Paul Frauenhoffer and Fay Rowles which once again Fay was M.I.A. but no worry’s because Teddy Sullivan came back to help out. The duo found fish on Lake Cherry also Flipping Gambler worms (blue emerald) and one of their 4 fish weighed in came on, dead sticking a Devil Horse. The Teams 4 fish weighed 11.60lbs with their biggest bass weighing 5.23lbs, nice fish. This means that one more fish could have made the limit and maybe the difference for 1st place. (I’m glad you didn’t have it, and so is the Demola’s, LOL.) Thanks again Teddy for the help, I’m sure Fay will be happy with your efforts. Good job you two. 4th Place went to the Team of the Reid Watkins(A.K.A. Doc) and Hans Forsell with 3 fish weighing in at 9.45lbs, very nice fish. Doc said they caught them on Rattlin Rouges (black/chrome) on the out side grass line. The two also lost some big ones that straighten out their hooks. (Sounds like a fish story to me) Thursday during practice Doc caught a 13.5lb giant which he did have some nice pictures to prove it. That’s a fish of a life time, it’s to bad you didn’t catch it on Saturday. Good finish guys. Big Bass for the Day went to the Team of Mike and Steve Warner weighing in at 5.88lbs. The brothers fished Lake Hiawatha throwing Toads (black/blue) to weigh only 2 fish for the day but they still walked away with some nice cash in their pocket. They caught the Big fish on the 3rd cast. Nice Catch! Recap: Thanks to Bitters Bait and Tackle for the raffle items donated to the Club. For your information Chip and John got Disqualified, they did have a limit of fish around 9+lbs and lost a giant at about 9am on a toad. The team was making a wake in a No Wake Zone which they did get a ticket for. This made the Angler of the year race a bit more interesting, with Chip and John not making any points for the DQ. Now taking 1st place in points is Nate Bloom and Tom Burk with 900, moving up 3 places to 2nd place is Reid Watkins and Hans Frosell with 805, tied for 3rd is John Brazzell and Mike Brown with 800, and Paul Frauenhoffer and Fay Rowles also with 800, 5th place is Brent Wysong and Jeff Holland with 775, and Chip Dover and John Ricketson move to 6th place with 765. Only 3 limits were caught, not counting Chips and Johns, water came up 8 to 10 inches in 1 week, Lake Cherry still the best fishing, 8 zero’s, 4 dead fish, and Lake Toho Downtown ramp voted in for the Classic. Lake Kissimmee next up, C-ya there.

The Long-Run Pays Off By Nate Bloom As Central Florida fished the 4th Tournament of the year, the Teams were in for a Hot one. A hot bluebird day was expected. Highs reached the upper 90's which made for a long day and an occasional breeze helped. The Club met at Hickory Point early in the AM to be prepared for the HT3 Tournament going out, (did anybody get a count on how many boats showed for that) which was said to have 80 to 100 boats, so we could get a head start on the blast off. By the way, thanks for all the help in the morning, it went very well. There had been lots of talk of good bass being caught in Lake Griffin . That talk proved to be correct. We blasted off close to 6:00am which did get us out in front of the HT3 trail, so that plan worked well. It seemed that a lot of teams ran to the HWY 19 bridge first thing and some toward the Long Run to Lake Griffin for hopes of a big bag. I had a friend tell me to check out Lake Apopka which is like 90 minutes away and I chose not to, I talked with Chip Dover during practice and he said he was told the same thing, to check out Lake Apopka . We should have listened, it turned out to be good advice. 1st Place went to the New Team members Mike Tucker and Tyler Lovelace who made the Long Run to Lake Apopka where the team has been on fish for two months. They fished an area near a spring throwing Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits to bag a whopping 27.07 lbs. on a very tough day for most. They had a limit by 9:30 am as a local fisherman was sitting directly on top of their spot. This made the duo cover the outskirts of the spring which seemed to work out well for them. The team caught a 6, 6.99 and then a 7.11 pound hog which was the Big Bass of the day. They caught their fish around mid morning and decided to head back toward the ramp to be on the safe side. The two forgot though was that the Lock Master takes a lunch break between 12:00 and 1:00 pm so the team waited an hour before locking through. Mike said since they caught those big fish early, none were gut hooked, but they had a bad feeling that they wouldn't make it due to the long day of hot weather and the rough ride back. The Long Run paid off, and this is the team's first win with us, so congratulation guys. The team was in 17th place overall going into the day, this should move them up closer to the top 10 with some of the other teams struggling. Great finish guys! 2nd Place goes to the Team of Chip Dover and John Ricketson who also made a Long Run, but to Lake Griffin . The team scored four of the five fish weighed in on Gitem Toads (a black/blue flake) in the Emerald Marsh area. Weighing in a nice bag of 14.97 lbs. They started out in the morning on the 19 bridge fishing for more than an hour, but had no luck so they moved to Lake Eustis to an area Chip had found during practice. Still no luck by mid morning, so they moved into Haines Creek and couldn't get anything going there either, so they continued on to Lake Griffin . They said that they didn't have a bite until 12:30pm and only had seven bass all day. The team made their way back into Lake Eustis where Chip caught the team's last keeper at 3:00pm on a Chatterbait, (that he spent an hour painting and detailing). That keeper put the team into the money; it weighed 5.42lbs. Another great showing you two, this should give the team a commanding lead for Anglers of the Year. Good job and thanks for throwing and mentioning Gitem Baits. 3rd Place goes to the Team of Fay Rowles and Paul Fraunenhoffer who had to use a sub partner because Fay was out. The team also made the Long Run to Lake Griffin and brought in the Big Gun Teddy Sullivan who helped put Paul on some good fish in Lake Griffin , also in the Emerald Marsh area. They caught fish using Flukes and their primary bait being Texas rig worms. It was a very slow bite for them, but the duo caught 15 plus keepers all day and said they had a great time fishing together. Paul had a good smile at weigh-in knowing that their bag of 13.56 lbs. was indeed good enough for 3rd. I thank Teddy for coming and helping Fay out while he was gone, it was good seeing you Ted. Think I'll use you next time on Harris (LOL). Great job you guys Fay will be really happy. 4th Place again goes to the Wood Brothers Dale and Guy. They brought in a 5-fish limit weighing in at 11.49 lbs. The team worked the mouth of the Dead River throwing Toads in some Hydrilla to catch four keepers and then moved to Little Lake Harris in the residential canals throwing spinnerbaits to cull through eight more keepers. This team has been on a much improved season, so look out. This finish for them has moved them into 3rd place in the points race for Anglers of the Year with 655 points. Keep up the hard work you two. Another respectable finish. Recap: Several teams made the Long Runs to find fish and it paid off for most of them (the fuel companies appreciated the business). Five teams weighed in limits, so fishing was tough. Maybe next time I won't mention where the fish are, or will I? Points race continues to get shook up with leaders Chip and John in 1st with 765, Nate and Tom in 2nd with 700, Dale and Guy in 3rd with 655, John and Mike in 4th with 640, and Reid and Hans in 5th with 620. There were three fish that were caught in Emerald Marsh that were tagged by Fish and Game Officers and all were said to be very skinny. Only four dead fish for how hot it was, that's really good guys. Don't forget to keep ice in the live wells as best you can to keep that temp down and add some catch and release chemical, If you don't have this you need to get some. All this does help the fish. That was a good start to the morning with everybody paid up and on the water ready to go. Point of Order, Rich Craig did a fine job calling the numbers, maybe we'll vote that in. Tim Fay gave it up bad when he called me at 11:00am to tell me that he was leaving due to his live well not working, He said he had four fish in the boat for about 9 lbs. The other teams thank you for that! Sorry about your live well, but if that happens call first before you throw out your catch we could have done something. It's a club, were here to have fun and do a little bragging when you can, so call and ask for help first to all others. Thanks to Neal, Chip, Matt, and Club members for making everything run smoothly. See all at Clermont.

May 06 Going Old School At Toho! By Nate Bloom When I think of old school, I think of Big hair, Bell bottoms, Slow Worming and Converse All Stars. I think John Ricketson still has the Bell bottoms some where in his closet and Chip does have that 70's look going for him. This was all Slow Worming that took the top spots and lots of patience. The team of Chip Dover and John Ricketson finished 1 st place with a weight of 23.23lbs and a 7.19lb bass to help their bag. All but the team's big fish were caught on the Old School Culprit worm. They fished a stretch of Hydrilla to catch all there fish. The big fish fell for the old Rattle trap which John thought would be a good selection for the area. With this finish the team managed to take over the Anglers of the Year race by 10 points over team Nate Bloom and Tom Burk. This also puts the team 100 points ahead of 3 rd place. Great Job you two. The 2 nd place team of Dave Gadzak and Greg Biesecker were making a good showing with an impressive bag of 20.78lbs. The teams' first bag over the exclusive 20lb mark and their best finish in the club has given this team a new feeling of confidence. They worked three different areas to yield their catch, concentrating on Hydrilla and pads in clear water, throwing Junebug Old School worms and flipping Gitem Sugars to entice their fish. The big fish of their bag weighed in at 6.97lbs. Good Job guys. Taking 3 rd place was the Team of Josh Rowsky and Sean Heyer. Having a slow day flipping the Gitem Sugar in thick cover and only getting several bites they still brought in 20.71lbs. They also had the Big Bass of the Day weighing 9.49lbs. That's definitely the bites to get. This is the second tournament fishing together due to missing the first tournament on Monroe . Seems like their clicking well. Way to go guys. Walking away with the last bit of the money and 4 th place was the Team of Guy Woods and Brother Dale Woods. They caught their fish throwing toads on the South end of the lake. They said color didn't matter because they were running out of them so fast. That's always cool to not have to worry about that. They weighed in 20.25lbs. Not to bad for a couple of Woods Brothers. Recap, 29 boats entered and 25 teams weighed a fish in with the average fish weighing 2.76lbs that's pretty good. Four 20+ lb bags weighed in. I personally am still upset that Chip and John took over the points lead and I'm still not sleeping well. There was a 9.62lb bass weighed in at Monroe , a 9.83lb from Marian which is still holding down the biggest of the year so far by the Warners, and a 9.49lber on Toho. Some real nice fish, I'm glad someone is taking pictures. I thank all who work hard to keep things going smoothly Neal, Chip , Chad , Matt ect… and those who took the time to fill out the Angler Profile sheets also the pictures. Sorry it took me so long on the story I was a way for a week after the tournament. Thanks, and see you at the Harris Chain of Lakes. April 2006 Big Bags at little Lake Marian The second tournament of the season seemed to be a hot stop for some teams as the scales were put to the test. Lots of teams practiced Friday and decided to stay the night and enjoy the accommodations of the Paradise Inn. There was talk amongst the guys of good findings of quality fish for such low water conditions during there practice. Lots of teams had put together a pattern on a couple different techniques, from toads to flipping. Several teams had high hopes for our Saturday start, thinking the big fish were sure to bite. That was true for the top five Teams who seem to get all the right bites. 1 st place goes to the Team of Mike and Steve Warner. By only getting five keeper bites and making no mistakes to land them, the brothers were happy they did so well, and were glad they got to share a very memorable moment together. The team waited until the end of the weigh-in to bring their fish to the scales and had a whopping total of 26.61 lbs which pushed out 2 nd place finishers by a mere .35 lb. And to put the icing on the cake, they took Big Bass honors with a 9.83 lb pig. They also take over Big Bass of the year with that one. Way to go guys, that's fabulous! The team stayed fairly close to the launch site, on the Southwest shoreline, and flipped a Gambler Craw (emerald blue/orange belly, which are the Gator colors) into the Kissimmee grass to all five of the Right Bites. Great catch and a Great Job! 2 nd place Team and 1 st place point leaders, Nate Bloom and Tom Burk had another good finish with another record catch for the team. The heaviest five fish they have ever weighed-in was a 26.26 lb sack and they “Got ‘em with Gitem”. The team fished the Northwest end of the lake and flipped the shoreline to catch all there fish. They caught 25 keepers all day with 15 shorts. Fortunately,they never missed a fish and caught them on the Gitem Bug (junebug/blue ) and the Gitem KO (a senko type bait in junebug). The team had the second big fish of the tournament, weighing 8.90 lbs and also a 6.33lb fish that helped anchor their bag. Great Job! 3 rd place Team of Chip Dover and John Ricketson came in with a limit weighing 23.76 lbs and also had a 7.41 lb hog helping that weight. The team fished the Northwest end as well, and caught 23 keepers plus a dozen shorts all day flipping the shore line. Using some Gitem and Gambler baits in craw pattern,s they had no trouble keeping the fish interested in what they were offering. By some of the other teams lower finishes, Chip and John move up 3 places into 2 nd place for the point race. A quote by Chip “ I've never weighed in 23 lbs and not won a Club tournament” a quote by Nate “ Now you have”. A very nice job. 4 th place and last pay back goes to the Team of Mark Corns and Kreis Sellers with a limit weighing-in at 17.80 lbs, that included two solid fish, a 5.53 and a 5.39 adding to their weight. The team fished the East shoreline and flipped craws and threw Flappin' Shads in Kissimmee grass to land there catch. Well done guys. The Anglers of the year race is on, and keeping the lead is 1 st place Team Nate Bloom and Tom Burk, this team is on fire with 395 points. On the move up the chart is 2 nd place Team Chip Dover and John Ricketson who are five positions back from the leaders with 370 points. All tied up in 3 rd place are the Teams of Reid Watkins/ Hans Forsell, and father and son combo Bill and Jimmy Anderson with 345 points. Staying consistent in 5 th place is the Team of Fay Rowles and Paul Frauenhoffer with 340 points. With West Lake coming up it could be a point shift if the weather gets nasty. Notes: I heard a lot of talk about losing fish. It may be elementary , but constantly check your tackle, (line, hooks, rods, ect..) and relax, don't horse your fish to the boat. I watched several teams lose some nice fish that could have made a huge difference at the weigh-in, you can't win them all but you can be prepared. No boat problems were mentioned, that's a first. John Brazzell and teammate Mike Burton also weighed in a 7.42 lb hog anchoring down his 17.03 lb sack that was good for 5 th place. That's four fish over 7lbs weighed-in on a little mud hole. I have to say, our Club has some of the toughest Anglers out there. Great fishing! Way to go guys and a big thanks to the Club directors. And major thanks to the owners of the Lake Marian Paradise Resort. They gave us 3 nights stay at their Inn to be given to deserving club members. Next up, West Lake Toho. Dec 2005 John & Nate, use new bait, results are great For the last 3 years our club has traveled to Lake Rousseau , on the Withlacoochee River , near Dunellon. From my house in Longwood, it is the same distance to Lake Istapoga as it is to Rousseau. Yet we have 2 day tournaments at Istapoga and 1day events at Rousseau. It's 100 miles of travel , 1 million stumps and less than 1 fish per boat at the weigh in. The poor fishing could be attributed to the massive fish kill that occurred last year in the region, due to the hurricanes that flooded the surrounding woods. The tannin and debris that came into the watershed brought unoxygenated water and poisonous acids. However ,the fishing isn't the only reason to visit this place. The main draw to the area is the unmatched beauty. I went way up the river on Friday , up to the rocks & rapids. The hardwood trees were red, yellow & orange. The cypress trees were loosing their needles and the live oaks were on hills that run along the riverbanks. It was autumn, not winter up there. The lake was beautiful also, as long as you stayed in the channel. Lots of lower units found the stumps that lay in wait just under the tannic surface waters. My prediction that one of our club members would loose part of their outboard, did not come to pass, and we left the boat ramp, Saturday afternoon, with all equipment in tact. I can't say so much for our angling egos. We had 24 boats show for the tournament and we tallied a whopping 23 bass. We has ZERO limits. As a matter of fact, only 1 boat managed 3 keepers. That would be our eventual winners Nate Bloom & John Brazzell . The pair did not boat a keeper in 2 days of prefishing. They scoured the lake for a decent area with no luck. But fishing wasn't their only source of entertainment. You see, as the wind blows your boat through all those million stumps, you are bound to have the boat whack one of them. The resulting instant stop will jar a boat and it's passengers and if you don't have a solid stance....well , lets just say you could be in the drink pretty fast. Just ask John. His fall into the cool waters Friday did not score very well but his recovery and subsequent scramble back into his Ranger was with cat like quickness. Nate said he got back into the boat so fast that his clothes never got wet. It obviously did not deter their drive to win this tournament. They began their day on a long matted hydrilla line on the far western edge of the lake. Nate thought their best chance was to gamble on this spot , where the water varied from 4-7 feet, and flip all day. The pair rigged 1 1/2 oz weights and a Get 'em Bait sugar. This is a creature bait, similar to the Sweet Beaver, yet it comes a unique blue/junebug color. This bait attracted several keeper bites and resulted in a winning string of 3 bass and 9.02 lb. That's the first win of the year for the team. Way to go!. Second place went to Larry Burnett/Jeff Smitty. They caught 2 nice fish that weighed 5.72. They fished in the lake and caught their fish on a junebug Senko. They did not catch many fish but with 2 almost 3 pounders , it was enough. Good haul! Third place went to the brothers Wood. Last month , I mistakenly stated that Guy Wood had placed second. It was, in fact, Dale who caught all those fish. This month Dale needed his bro'. The pair caught 2 nice ones, one bass each, on spinnerbaits 5 minutes apart around one of the small grass islands in the first part of the lake, known as the backwaters and brought in a bit over 4 pounds. Forth place finishers Terry/Cheri Bloom had the winning pattern but couldn't quite capitalize on it. They traveled, or should I say idled, to the Rainbow River . Its about 1/4 mile up stream from the ramp and is one of the most unique, pristine areas in Florida . The laws of the river state , " not disposable food or drink containers" It's a $50 fine for each container. So all drinks and snacks had to be placed in a sports drink jug or Tupperware. Even with this restriction several competitors made the journey. The Rainbow is so clear , it makes a Rocky Mountain trout stream look murky. I saw the bottom in 20 feet. Fish could be seen everywhere, but how do you catch a bass that has that kind of visibility? 6 lb flourocarbon, a dropshot rig, a 4" finesse worm and a spinning rod. The team anchored at several ambush points and tossed the tiny rigs all day. They had success on Friday with the tactics but Saturday they could manage only 2 keepers. They had others coming to the boat but the inherent difficulty in landing bass in a current and with the weed growth the exists along the river keep them from scoring higher. Their bass weighed a bit over 4 pounds . Tim Fey tossed an old crank bait, I think he called it an "ugly duck" in the Blue Hole of the Rainbow to land one keeper. But it was the biggest of the event a 3.67 lb fish. That earned him Lunker honors and a decent check. The Angler of the Year race changed a bit. Chip Dover/John Ricketson remain in 1st with 1755. John Brown/Joe Ventrello, Jr. move into 2nd with 1625. Kevin Sevgny/Matt Gunn take over 3rd with 1535. Keith Carson/John Cox fall to 4th , due to the fact that they missed this event. And 5th place is Jerry Heidgerken/Joe Ventrello. Notes: Classic is on Harris at Buzzard Beach the 1st weekend of February.....I like Rousseau, but I NEVER want to go there for a tournament again. We don't catch fish, its so far lots of teams don't go and we don't catch fish......get it.....no limits and less than 1 fish per boat.......Reid Watkins was in the hospital a few weeks ago, we wish him a speedy recovery.........Try to get new teams to the meeting. Since we are adjusting our schedule a bit for some other trails it should free up some teams from those other trails to fish with us. ASK THEM to join.......See you at the Toho Tournament!!!! Nov 2005 TWENTY POUND BAG CLEARLY THE WINNER AT CLERMONT I had been thinking about Clermont for 4 weeks. John and I did pretty well last year with a 14+ lb sack and a second place finish. We had 15+ and came in 3rd the previous year so by simple deduction , we should come in 1st. Only problem was, we hadn't won a CFBA tournament in 19 months. This club is tough and a win is a difficult accomplishment.We decided a double prefish, both of us taking our own boat, at the same time as the Saturday Clermont local tournament was going, on might give us the best insight as to how to win at Clermont. Not many people just head down to Clermont for a day of fun fishing, so we knew no one to ask where to start. There are many no-wake zones and lots of pleasure boaters. So the only way to gain any real knowledge of the Chain was to get a lure wet. We arrived at the Clermont city ramp in time for the normal Saturday event, 1 week before our tournament. The gathering crowd looked like about 12-14 boats and the guy in front me looked familiar. Dennis Galassi had just arrived to prefish and also to try his hand in the little open tournament. He asked if I wanted to join them and I declined. I wanted to look around and try to find some fish. John drove up a few minutes later and we were going to split up. He was going South and I'd try North, up to Cherry Lake . The boats scattered and I watched where they went. A few stayed in Minehaha, some went north , some went south. No news here, but I had heard that the old ramp may be holding fish so I went that direction first. Before I left the ramp, the Craigs and Dave Gadzak showed up and I motored away. I caught a tiny fish in Minehaha and went North to Cherry. I stopped along the way to fish Cook and Wilson and still could not get bit. I fished back upstream toward the wooden bridge and I caught a nice 3 1/2 lber while casting a worm in the middle of the current. I landed a small keeper flipping but had no other bites. I accidentally found a pattern a few minutes later. I was watching my curly tailed worm swim about 6 in under the surface when I swam it past a Hyacinth patch. WHAM a 2 1/2 lber ate the worm. Hmmmm. maybe the fish were higher in the water column. I tried my newfound technique down the bank and soon had another strike. A 4 1/4. Now I know how I'm going to fish on Saturday John had caught 3 keepers , including a 4 but my pattern seemed stronger. We also found out that the guy who won the tournament caught his up near where I was. So we were going North. We went to an area between Wilson and Cherry ,where neither of us had been, to start the morning and John promptly caught 2 on a topwater. The area ran out and it was time to try my spot. We pulled up short so we could sneak up on the current swing and John flipped a 2 pounder . My next cast resulted in a 1 1/2 pounder who swallowed my worm. That fish was going to die , so I cut my line and retied. The next cast , I had a nice strike and knew I had a good one . John swung with the net and a 7 1/4 was in the boat. A limit at 9:00. We went up into Cook and began to flip a blue emerald Gambler craw with 1/2 oz weight and 20 lb Big Game mono. At 9:45 I had my first and only flip bite of the day. A 7.65 lb bass ate my craw and tried to leave the county. After a nerve wracking fight , John netted the fish and we never had another bite. The best 5 went 20.28 and gave us our first win in a year and a half. The second place money went to Guy Wood who was fishing alone. He landed 4 keepers that weighed 12.29. He stayed close, catching his fish in the thick Kissimmee grass along the south bank of Lake Minehaha . He scored on a tube that was flipped in the 5-6 ft depths Rob Wilson/Mario Mazzonetto ran way south into Lake Louisa and were surprised early. Rob, who lives very near the chain, nailed a 9.02 on his 3rd cast with a spinnerbait along the cypress trees that ring Louisa. They could only manage 2 more very small keepers the rest of the day, but 11.39 was good enough for 3rd. Dave Buldoc/Don Ramsey landed the only other limit Saturday.They traveled to Lake Crescent and caught their fish casting watermelon Senkos. They culled once and had a nice 4.74 in their bag. 11.15 was 4th and they took home the last money position. The standings didn't change much in the Angler of the Year race. Chip Dover/John Ricketson remain in 1st with 1585 points. In an unusual twist , the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams had disappointing tournaments. John Cox/Keith Carson remain in 2nd even though they blanked . They have 1465. John Brown/Joe Ventrello, Jr. are in 3rd with 1450 and Kevin Sevigny/Matt Gunn are in 4th with 1410. 5th is occupied by Jerry Heidgerken/Joe Ventrello with 1335 points Notes: Only 2 limits...how could you catch a 9.9 and an 8.5 in consecutive events and not win big bass? Ask Dennis Galassi, he has had 2 LUNKERS but was barely beaten out at Istapoga and Clermont......Interesting story about the guy who was arrested for cheating at a BASS tournament in Louisiana , go to www.bassfan.com .....Congrats to Josh Rowsky, he won a boat in the amateur division of the BASS open at Toho....where and on what Josh?.....I heard Hurricane Wilma did considerable damage to Clewiston, Roland Martins and Anglers Inn....John Cox/ Keith Carson came in 5th in the Fishers of Men Regional....nationals at Winter Haven....Haven't they won 2 years running there with 19+ ?....Be CAREFUL at Rousseau.. my prediction? 2 busted lower units and 12 lbs will win... See Ya There!!! Oct 2005 Awesome Flip Bite Propels Matt Gunn/Kevin Sevigny to Victory Once again it looked like the weather would hamper our tournament weekend, October 8&9 at Lake Istokpoga . There was a named Tropical Depression in the Atlantic and it was spinning off rain showers most of our practice period. Squalls moved across the lake Thursday and Friday but did not seem to hurt the fishing. I have never heard of so many teams who bagged 20 lb sacks on Friday, and remember most guys leave a location after a bite or two so as not to sore mouth the bass. I had a nice bag Thursday, but had nowhere near 20+ on Friday. Reid Watkins/Josh Rowsy had a 20 pound limit as did Mario Mazzonetto/Rob Wilson, Nate Bloom/John Brazzell, and Kevin Sevigny/MattGunn. But the fickle weather changed the bite for a lot of teams. SATURDAY: The sun was out all day and the fish cooled off a bit. There were many limits, one 24 lb bag and a 9 lber but for the most part it was a normal weigh in. The 24 lb bag was hoisted to the scales by Kevin/Matt. This was a nice haul of fish that included a 7.76. They primarily got their fish by flipping reeds in the mid-lake area of Big Island . 2nd place was recorded by John Cox/Keith Carson. They had 17.80 and scored 2 nice 5+ fish late in the day on spinnerbaits near Josephine Creek . Larry Burnett/Jeff Smitty held on to 3 rd with a limit weighing 15.67. They ran up Arbuckle Creek and cast worms & craws to likely looking eddies in the strong current. John Ricketson took over big fish for the year with a 9.02 lunker but the really big events were in store for all of us Sunday afternoon. SUNDAY: Kevin/Matt got back on their fish and nailed them again. Another 20.52 bag, including a 7.82, to set a club 2 day record of 45.33 They stayed with their flip bite, in the Big Island reeds to come away with their 1 st club win. Kevin said they looked for deeper reeds and worked both the deep side and inside part of the patches. They caught most of their fish on a Bitters muskrat, a new flipping bait that resembles the popular sweet beaver. The Bitters edition is a bit smaller and tougher and also has a fish loving aroma. They were using braid, 3/8 oz sinkers, and primarily junebug baits. What a catch! It turned out that Matt/Kevin would need every one of their fish. Another record was broken Sunday as Chip Dover/John Ricketson came in with a 5 fish limit that required 2 bags to weigh. When the scales stopped spinning the 5 weighed 29.12 lb!! Their sack incuded an 8.11, 8.24 and 8.42. Thank goodness for the exemption slips!. Chip/John added their huge bag to a 2 fish,13.58 lb. Saturday tally giving the pair a 2-day total of 42.70 and ended up 2 nd . They found a remarkable big fish reed patch in the Southern end of the lake that yielded 2 of the 8's, a 4.55 and the Saturday 9 lber. Also of note Chip shook off an 8+ on Thursday and John lost another 6-8 pound fish Sunday. All of these fish fell prey to a Gambler Craw, blue emerald , ½ oz flipped in 2 ½ ft. The area had an abundance of bait drifting through the reeds and the fish bit early. Saturday both of their fish hit in the first 30 minutes. And 2 of the 8's were in the boat in the first 20 minutes Sunday. Great weights, but not quite enough. Reid Watkins/Josh Rowsy had a great weekend. They nailed the fish Friday, and brought in a 22.71 lb bag Sunday that included a 9.91 giant. Their 2-day total, 30.80, was good enough for 3 rd place. They had the most success by pitching Mag 2 Zoom worms , junebug color, into the deeper reeds along the West bank. Reid won here last year but couldn't find a consistent bite in the places where he caught them in 2004. He said their best method of catching was to throw into the reeds and give the bait 1 hop, if there was no bite, try it again. A fast way to cover water and a great finish. Larry Burnett/Jeff Smitty captured 4 th place, the last money place. They landed 9 fish that weighed 28.08 and did their best way up Arbuckle Creek. The creek winds for miles away from the lake and the pair did their best to get lost. They ran to the railroad bridge, I know where it is, but it's some wild country up there. They fished moving water and caught fish where ever there was a current break. They mostly scored on junebug worms. Dale Wood caught the biggest fish of the tournament, and the year so far, Sunday, a beautiful 9.96 lunker that hit a horny Toad after noon. Dale said they also caught their 5+ in the same area. They had a last day weight of 15.79 with 2 fish. The Angler-of-the-Year race changed only slightly. Chip/John are still in 1 st with 1385 points. John/Keith are still in 2 nd with 1355. John Brown/Joe Ventrello, Jr. hold down 3 rd with 1330, Kevin/Matt moved up into 4 th with 1280. Jerry Heidgerken/Joe Ventrello are currently in 5 th with 1225. NOTES: What a big fish tournament!! 4 over 9, 3 over 8, 5 over 7!! All time club record for 2 days, 45.33 , All time club record for single day , 29.12!! ….Voted in Harris for the Classic, at Buzzard Beach….voted in a no “ringer” clause for people joining the morning of the tournament…..unusual small bag/big weight event..2 fish 13.58, 3 fish 18.24, and 2 fish 15.79……great pictures on the web site….. Sept 2005 John & Keith Find a Haven at Winter Haven For the second year in a row, John Cox/Keith Carson found magic at the winter Haven Chain on September 10th. They won impressively with a big sack and claimed their 3rd tournament of 2005. Most club members had good practice periods the previous weekend but the guys who were on the water late Friday really hammered the willing Winter Haven bass. Keith said they caught 30 lb late Friday before and during a brief thunderstorm. Nate/John had 20+ with a 7 1/2. Joe/Jerry had 20+ also. JB had an 8.Of course, everybody wanted to weigh in those bags but ya can't do that! So they went to bed with visions of limits and lunkers dancing in their heads. John/Keith caught 5 for 19.75 on a variety of baits. They scored on spinnerbaits in Cannon, crankbaits in May and flipped some in Shipp and Lulu. They had 7-8 keepers but at the final tally the best 5 were nice fish. Last year they caught some fish in the canals between the lakes and this year they also caught a nice keeper in a canal. The cattails and pencil reeds held keepers but they never really found a strong pattern. Two locals, Will Evans/Monte Goodman, joined the club Saturday morning and proceeded to catch 18.09lb on crankbaits from the shellbed in the middle of Lulu. They nailed down 2nd place and also landed the big bass of the tournament, 8.02. Will said they live in the area and fish tournaments on the chain 2-3 times a month. Dave Gadzak/Greg Biesecker caught a limit for 3rd place that tipped the scales at 17.39. They practiced the weekend before and had a nice bag in Winterset and Idlewyld. They started in Idlewyld and had 3 nice ones, fishing frogs over the hydrilla. They switched to trick worms to finish out their limit. The then traveled to Winterset to improve their weight. Nice finish guys! The last money place, 4th, went to Chip Dover/John Ricketson. They were edged out of 3rd by a mere .03 lb Their best 5 weighed 17.36 and were all flipping fish. They scored in Lulu, Shipp, and May but caught all their fish on a sweet beaver with a 1/2 oz weight. The standings were jumbled a bit. John Ricketson/Chip Dover remain in 1st with 1185 points. Keith Carson/John Cox moved into 2nd with 1180 and John Brown/ Joe Ventrello, Jr. fell a spot to 3rd with 1150. Kevin Sevgny/Matt Gunn moved into 4th with 1080 and Jerry Heidgerken/Joe Ventrello Sr. hold down the 5th spot with 1065. NOTES: I talked to more than 1 person who was displeased that a team that joined the morning of the event , with no intention of ever fishing with CFBA again, took home some of our cash and hardware. Currently, we do not have a rule prohibiting it but maybe we should draft a by-law change in January.....I like the new resullts page......29 boats , 8 limits....the weights fell off fast after 6th place........Gotta feel bad for Ted Sullivan, brand new boat and the wiring burns up.......I hope it's ready for Istapoga....Dewey had his new rig at Winter Haven......2nd least number of fish caught this year, but an ok average weight 2.71lb....there was a tournament at W.H. the Sunday after ours, 11 lb won...Senior tournament Thursday& Friday..an old couple dragged worms around in the middle of Shipp and caught 42lb!....See you guys at Istapoga!! August 2005 John and Joe Make It Two In A Row After a windy tropical storm warm up at Toho in June, we were ready for the real thing, hurricane fishing, in July. We met at Overstreet Landing on Lake Kissimmee and sure enough we were greeted with 30-40 mph wind and some driving rain. If you have never experienced the treat of driving a bass boat across Lake Kissimmee in a 3 foot chop, you are really missing out. Holding on to your hat, tackle, and precious body parts while having your vertebrae compacted is quite a challenge. Not only was it windy but the lake levels on Kissimmee were down about 1 ½ ft since the previous weekend to make room for the new hurricane rain. This made the current through the canals in some spots reminiscent of white water rafting. At the mouth of the river and the lake, the wind and current were going against each other and there were 3' swells. Very nice. But of course we fished. Once again , John Brown/Joe Ventrello, Jr. traveled to the south end of Toho and began near the same spot they had 20lb last month. Their Horny Toad fish moved and just before the team made a decision to move also, they found some schoolers. These fish were close to Partins Ditch and would hit small, hard jerkbaits. John/Joe managed a limit that weighed 11.90 and won their 3 rd tournament of the year. Jerry Heidgerken/Joe Ventrello had a plan and stuck with it all day. They raced to the farthest point in the Southport canal before the spillway and anchored. They stayed there all day and were rewarded with a 4 fish, 2 nd place finish that weighed 9.82 lb. They threw everything in the box at the fish, crankbaits, senkos, worms, Carolina rigs and caught a lot of small fish but also left a bunch of tackle on the rocks that line the canal bottom. As the team approached their destination they could either have stopped on the left or the right side of the canal. Joe had found some fish on the left side, so that is where they began. Soon after their arrival another boat settled in on the right side of the canal and boated an 8 and a 5. Oh well, what are ya gonna do? Keith Carson/John Cox caught a limit to take 3 rd place. They went in the opposite direction of our other top finishers and fished the Kissimmee grass islands near Jacks Slough. Keith said the current would increase through the gaps between the islands and the bass would hold in the small eddies. They mostly scores on worms fished slowly. John said he lost some key fish and their 9.67lb bag should have been heavier. New members Gary Thompson/Tim McLees took the last money spot with 3 fish that weighed 7.40. They caught their bass in the canals between the lakes and targeted the current breaks with worms. The Angler of the Year standings were shuffled a bit. John Brown/Joe Ventrello moved back into the top spot with 865 points while Chip Dover/John Ricketson slid into 2 nd place with 850. Jerry Heidgerken/Joe Ventrello occupy 3 rd place with 840 and last year's Champions, John Cox/Keith Carson, have 805 points to hold down 4 th . Mark Corns/Kreis Sellers have moved into 5 th with 765. Notes: The weather forced several teams to stay home..we only had 25 boats. Big Bass at Kissimmee went to Greg Biesecker , with a 3.86lber. smallest big fish this year, but still a winner…..size is relative….Joe Ventrello was doubly lucky Saturday, noot only did he win the tournament, he won a new G.Loomis Flippin rod at the raffle…Lake Pierce was determined to be too small for out August event, therefore our back up lake , Lake Toho, will serve as our next tournament site. Lakefront Park , August 13 th July 2005 Joe & John use the Horny Toad to Win at Toho Our Toho tournament began with blustery skies and rain. The remnants of a recent tropical depression were making Toho rough but not truly dangerous. A steady 20-30 mph breeze kept the west side of the lake unfishable but that only made our determined anglers fish twice as hard on the East side .Practice was pretty good but the rain, wind and green slime played havoc on most of us. Even with the powerful weather, we wouldn't let the depression depress us. Joe Ventrello Jr./John Brown made a bee line to the southern bank of the lake at takeoff. In an area near Partins Ditch , the pair threw white Zoom horny toads and scored heavily....early. As the rains fell, the fishing was good, but when the rain stopped ,so did the bite. John said they did not catch another fish after 9:30. But before that the team managed a 5 fish limit than weighed 20.17. The area had mostly 2-4 feet of water and looked like laid over Kissimmee grass, there was some slime in the area but it was mostly in the shallower spots . Joe said a constant retrieve worked best...for John that is, you see, John caught them ALL. Joe contributed a huge amount of moral support and did a great netting job...or at least that's what John said. Great job!! Second place went to Matt Gunn/Kevin Sevigny. They found fish in the Smart Grass, also known as #%&**@ Weed. In the North Steer Beach boat trails, the team found 3-5 ft of water and flipped all the good places. It took all day to come up with their sack. Matt said they only caught 6 keepers. Gambler craws did the most damage. Their best 5 weighed 17.68. They edged out the #3 finishers, Chip Dover/John Ricketson by .14 lb to gain a bit of revenge. At the Lake Monroe event in April, Chip/John beat them by the same amount. OK boys, now we're even. Third place, for the third time in a row, went to Chip Dover/John Ricketson. They had a 2 pronged approach. Fish the North end early a, then try to flip the South end in the afternoon. John caught 4 nice keepers on a Devils Horse early and they headed south at noon. They fished along within sight of Joe/John and soon had a 10 lb limit, with no kicker fish. But the action was about to begin. At about 1 , Chip flipped a Sweet Beaver in to a pencil reed patch and had a nice one grab the bait and run right back through the reeds. The fish was hopelessly entangled in the vegetation. After running the boat into the reeds and going shoulder deep in the water to dislodge the bass, Chip was awarded with an 8.10 lber!!. Now that's a kicker! Their best 5 weighed 17.51 The last money place went to Jeff Holland/Brent Wysong. Their best 5 pushed the scales to 14.75. They spent most of the day near North Steer Beach and caught their fish pitching worms and on Flukes.They would have had more luck except for the fact that their trolling motor malfunctioned. The motor would only work on high 36 volt and they had to unplug it to stop the motor., pretty hard to fish when you are trolling at 20 mph. The points standings were jumbled a bit. Chip/John are in 1st with 670 points, while a John/Joe and a close 2nd with 665. Jerry Heidgerken/Joe Ventrello are in 3rd with 640. Our reining Anglers of the Year John Cox/Keith Carson skipped the event and dropped to 4th , in a tie with Matt Gunn/Kevin Sevigny at 610 points. The big bass that Chip caught is currently leading that contest. NOTES: Windy,rainy.. I want to fish on a nice day, the month of June totaled the 2nd most rain in history, over 18 inches....I fished a Red Fish Tour event at Mosquito Lagoon recently....31 boats , we came in 12th. Lots of guides but since you only have to catch 2 slot Reds, anybody can win..gonna do the next one in September......Any guests who read our web site will be interested to know that of the anglers on the top 4 teams, Joe Ventrello.Jr is 15 , John Cox is 19 and Keith Carson is 18. These are young fishermen who know how to catch fish and are constantly proving that point....There are a couple of miscalculations in the standings, Chad knows about them....Get ready for Overstreets Landing!!! June 2005 Cox and Carson Crush Competitors Casting Crankbaits at Harris Our reining Anglers of the Year did it to the club for a second straight tournament at Hickory Point at the Harris Chain of Lakes ,Saturday May 7th. John Cox and Keith Carson are on a roll and have kicked up the competitive fires a notch. As you may recall, they brought in a club record 28.45 limit last month . This month they relied on a different strategy to top all of the other 33 boats in the event. Dock talk forecast a mixed bag. Lots of teams were catching fish . Reid Watkins and Josh Rowsy landed 2 big ones, 9 lbers on Friday. Chip Dover and John Ricketson caught 25 keepers in practice. Others could catch only small fish and were concerned .The Lake County Recreation folks shortened out tournament due to another organizations' tournament, the ABA, at Hickory Point. We were to weigh in at 2:30 instead of our usual 3:30. An hour can really help improve a teams' bag in a tough tournament. As it turned out we had more boats than them and many could have used the extra time. The reduced day did not affect John and Keith. Actually , John had a reduced night. It seems he went "sleepless in Deland" due to a Prom attendance that lasted well into the wee hours of Saturday Morning. Since his boat is still in the shop, he had to borrow a boat, hook it up at 4:30, get Keith, and drive to the lake . They were late launching, by 20 minutes, and also had instructions from the borrowed boats' owner to " stay close to the ramp". Stay close they did. Fishing within sight of Hickory Point the pair began at the Howey bridge and caught 2 keepers by the boat ramp. They then worked several of the deeper docks with a crankbait, a spinnerbait and with a flipped junebug worm to cull through 12 keepers . Their final limit tipped the scales at 18.14 lb. A great tournament with no sleep! By the way, Keith came in 2nd at the last BFL after his Prom........I need to go to a Prom!! A timely move and the ability to recognize not to move paid big dividend for out 2nd place team. Mario Mazzonetto/Rob Wilson started their day in Eustis and had a small limit by early morning . They moved to the North side of the lake to try to improve their sack and hit paydirt. An isolated lily pad field began to yield a bit bigger fish as they fell prey to Robs white spinnerbait. As they drifted through the small patch they culled through all the fish in the livewell and then they were really rewarded with their persistence. Rob nailed the tournaments biggest bass, a 7.66 lb lunker. Their limit weighed 17.43. After 2 poor showings so far this year, this day was a welcome relief for both of them. Glad to see you back in the money!! After catching 25 keepers the previous week John Ricketson/Chip Dover knew just where to go. They conversed all week as to the exact location they should start their casting and Saturday they decided on a grassline on the east side of Eustis. As luck would have it, John drew boat number 44 and the guys had to wait quite a while before it was their time to leave. Finally they were off and running, across Harris, idling through the Dead River , across Eustis .Chip readied his flippin' rod as John also grabbed his. Chips third flip, a 1 1/2 lb keeper. Johns 3rd flip a 3 lber. Johns 20th flip a 3lber. 5 minutes later Chip has a 2 lber and 2 minutes another 3 was in the livewell. A 5 fish limit by 7:17 am!! Not bad. They continued to cull through 17 keepers and weighed in 14.72, good enough for 3rd place. They flipped smallie beavers in several hues with 3/8 oz weights to land all the fish. The last money place went to Reid Watkins/Josh Rowsy. They had 4 that went 13.35. They scored castind Senkos and worms along the grassline near the mouth of Haines Creek. And why not a limit? Well, Josh was in charge of culling and thought they had 5. They culled through several keepers but did not realize their error until they were loading the weigh in bag. Disappointing , since they had had such a great practice but still in the money. By the way, Josh, you are fired as cull man!! The Angler of the Year standings changed a bit. John Cox/Keith Carson are on top with 535 points. 2nd place goes to Joe Ventrello/Jerry Heidgerken, 515. Moving up to 3rd with 480 are Chip Dover/John Ricketson. And tied for 4th with 475 points are Fay Rowles/ Paul Frauenhoffer and Todd Wagman/Roy Thomas. Notes:Big move in the standings for Rob/Mario , from 28th to 13th. Another steady team this year is the father/son duo of Paul Sr. and Jr. Guimarin currently in 10th. two of our new teams are doing well, William Veress/Gary Andrews are in 12th and Doug Thomas/Doug Adams reside in 16th place. Welcome back Bob Stout . Bob fished with us a couple of years ago and left the club due to job constraints .I saw him at the weigh in but did not see who your partner was, if it's Bill , tell him hello and good luck to the both of you. More notes: Who has the most weight so far this year? weight bass average John/Keith 50.96 13 3.92lb John/Chip 38.52 11 3.50 Jerry/Joe 35.26 12 2.94 Todd/Roy 30.17 14 Mark/Kreis 28.58 12 Fay/Paul 27.67 11 Matt/Kevin 27.60 10 2.76 John/Joe 25.41 13 Reid/Josh 25.11 11 Brent/Jeff 24.73 12 No one has had 3 limits, only 5 teams had brought in 2 limits. April 2005 COX AND CARSON HAMMER THE FIELD ON LAKE MONROE The wind blew and the rain fell but the fish were really feeding. That was a good way to describe our latest event Saturday April 2 at Lake Monroe. We launched at the Sanford Marina in a constant rain and 20-30 mph gusts, and everybody was concerned about their practice patterns. John Ricketson had a very good practice in Lake Monroe but the stiff wind had been blowing directly on his bank for 3 days. Brent Wysong couldn't really practice on the lake and opted for the river, south of Monroe. He and his partner Jeff Holland had a fair practice and avoided the wind by traveling almost to Lake Harney. John Cox and Keith Carson are from the area and call this portion of the St. Johns River their home waters. And it showed.......... Our reining Anglers-of -the-Year, Keith Carson/John Cox, rebounded in spectacular fashion from a lackluster opening tournament at East Lake. The pair clobbered the field and the fish, to weigh in a record 5 fish limit of 28.45 lb. They ran to the north side of the lake at the start and stayed there all day. This bank is about 4 miles long and runs from the I-4 bridge to the mouth of Debary Creek. In the past, the stretch had a thick pencil reed outer grassline and a very weedy , shallow flat behind the reeds. After our hurricane triple play last summer, the pencil reeds were thinned considerably and the weedy flat was pushed back 50 yards. This gives the bass, and more importantly the shad, an open area with several reed patches to rest in. It was the reed patches that were the main targets for Keith/John. They threw a 1-2 punch at the fish. Several fish hit spinnerbaits and Keith flipped some from the patches. They caught fish all day long and had 3 6's and 2 5's early in the day. The bass were feeding on shad that passed through the area and these baitfish were the exact size of a 1/2 oz white spinnerbait. Keith flipped with a junebug worm to land his fish.....If his boat hadn't fried the electrical system, John could have witnessed the weigh in. Picking up where they left off.....good job! Club newcomers Clint Boyles and Joe Kremer are no newcomers to local tournaments. Both are excellent , experienced anglers who have won numerous events and they are very tough to beat on the River. Saturday was no exception. They brought in a nice limit that weighed 22.40 and claimed 2nd place. They fished near John/Keith for most of the day and scored on spinnerbaits through the reeds. Welcome to the club and nice start guys! John Ricketson and Chip Dover came in 3rd Saturday with the same spinnerbait through the reeds pattern. John had found some nice fish in practice but the location was a violent ocean when they arrived in the predawn rain storm. Waves were coming over the gunnels of their 20 Ranger when they made the 1st pass down their bank and Chip lost a nice 6-7lber on his 3rd cast. A few minutes john landed the teams' 1st keeper. Reluctantly they decided to try the wind blown reed line again and the fish were really biting . Every pass netted a fish or two, we even had a near keeper jump right in the boat! The only way to fish the area was to literally drag a 15 lb anchor with the boat through the reeds to slow the boat down enough to cast the 3/8 oz spinnerbaits. In the end the pair landed 20+ keepers and brought 20.52 to the scales. The last money place were to Kevin Sevigny/Matt Gunn. They had a really nice limit of 20.46, narrowly missing 3rd( Sorry guys) .They threw, you guessed it, spinnerbaits in the reeds for their fish. The white , 3/8 -1/2 oz spinnerbaits were the weapon of choice and they also fished the reeds along I-4. They caught several limits enroute to their 4th place finish. Big Bass were to David Boldoc. He has 2 really nice fish , the largest being a 7.59 beauty. He caught hr Texas rigging a worm....along the I-4 bank.He and Don Ramsey also had a personal best 19.04 limit. The Angler-of-the-Year race tightened. Jerry Hiedgerken/Joe Ventrello have moved into 1st with 375 points.Followed closely by Kevin Sevigny/Matt Gunn with 360 and Keith Carson/John Cox with 335. There is a 3 way log jam at 4th place with 330 points. Mark Corns/Kreis Sellars, Todd Wagman/Roy Williams, and John Brown/Joe Ventrello,Jr. are all tied . Notes: This tournament was a struggle of the Haves and the HaveNots. 10th place had 14lb, pretty good for a windy day, but if you weren't on 'em you did very poorly 12 out of 34 boats had less than 5 lb.......5 out of the top 6 boats were along I-4, but were spread out.... Lots of shad and a lack of heavy cover have those fish really concentrated in that area....Harris, our next stop has really been hot, the local events have been won with 25-30lb every weekend.....See you at Harris!! March 2005 John Brown and Joe Ventrello Jr. use a last minute fish to win at East Lake For the second year in a row, John Brown/Joe Ventrello, Jr.beat the field on East Lake Toho in our first points tournament of the year. We had a 33 boat field Saturday ,March 5th at East Lake Fish Camp and as usual a lot of small strings came to the scales. This year the recent cool weather had weights very low and limits very scarce. The bedding bass had left their spawning areas for the most part and had yet to establish themselves along the weed lines. A few good fish were caught in practice, Jerry Heidgerken and Joe Ventrello, Sr. had some good fish located as did new club members Randall Coble/Randy Decker. Both teams managed to bring some fish to weigh-in but no big bags were sighted John/Joe,Jr. ran to the West side of the lake to start their day and John just about blew the field away. Bad luck set in as John lost 3 they estimated between 4 to 5 pounds. Good thing for his rock steady partner. Joe Jr. proceeded to bring in 4 keepers to keep their spirits up. Joe threw a junebug trick worm, weighted with a finishing nail to land his fish. He cast the rig onto the blown down pencil reeds and let it sink...................after an eternity he would move it and let it lay again. This slOOOOOw technique was the only way the East Lake bass wanted it. They only had 4 fish when they made their final stop, at the mouth of the canal leading back to the ramp. As Big Dog and Poppa Joe idled past ,displaying the grins of a team with a limit, John landed a 2 1/2 lber!! Their 5 bass limit gave the team 9.25 and the victory. Guess that will quiet the Big Dog...for about 30 seconds! Second place went to Daddy Ventrello and Big Dog Heidgerken. Their day started very slowly.They had no keepers by noon and their day was looking bleak. Finally, they went into the residential canals on the East side of the lake and slow worked the nail weighted trick work. They picked up 6 keepers and culled to a second place weigh of 8.87. Nice start for the new year. Dewey Nolan/Nathan Wright caught the most keepers Saturday but fell just short for the win. Their best 5 weighed 7.89 and were caught on the West side near the Toho canal outflow. Worms and Senkos accounted for their fish. Dewey said they had 9 keepers for the day and that they caught a lot of small fish. Expect to see them on the winners stage very soon! The last money place goes to Jim/Rich Craig. Jim said he had been fishing the grass line in the opposite side of the lake from the ramp when his craw felt very light, he set the hook and landed a 7.50 lunker! Not only did this one bass win big fish but landed the pair with an seasons starting 4th place , way to go !! NOTES: Last year we had a bigger turnout for the 1st event, but we averaged 33/ tournament per year. .....Lightest weights I've seen in years......the 1st tournament I fished with the club at East Lake in 1998 was the worst, I fished with Mark Corns and won with 3.23lb. I think only 4 fish were weighed in, maybe next year we will take this into consideration. We went to a tiny fish lake , we ought to go to a spawning lake where we catch bigger fish and go to East lake later............How about that Terry Bloom..... Wins wire to wire on the Amateur side of the Bassmasters Tournament at Guntersville and now is riding in a beautiful new Triton......know anybody who wants to buy an old Stratos? ....Hmmmmm..What are the odds? 2 guys named Bloom, both in our club, both win new boats at Bassmaster tournaments.... Sorry we missed the story on the Classic at Okeechobee. ....Here's what happened...New Glades county residents, Jerry Heidgerken and Joe Ventrello used their intimate knowledge of Okeechobee to out fish 27 boats and win with 25+ pounds. Joe and Big Dog stayed the week and really did a great job of constructing a winning pattern. They fished ALL over Moonshine Bay and found a migration ditch from the main lake into spawning flats in Moonshine. Even more amazing was the fact that they could find the same place 2 days in a row. For those uninitiated souls, Moonshine Bay is the most unusual place I have ever fished. It is a labyrinth of dead-end canals and shallow muck bottoms. If you go the wrong way , you are screwed. Just ask Paul Frauenhoffer. He overheated/muck filled his Johnson TWICE. Had to have it disassembled. He had muck in the thermostats! Everybody in there overheated. Anyway, Dog&Joe threw watermelon /red glitter Flappin'Shads to collect their fish. Jeff Holland/Brent Wysong had their best finish ever, 2nd place with just over 24lb. They were our 1st day leaders and had to travel to Tin House Cove for their fish. What a ride in 3 ft. swells. Anything for the fish! They abandoned Tin House Sunday and caught another limit just inside Cochrans Pass. Nice finish guys!! Nate Bloom/Tom Burke missed some good fish Saturday but came back with a vengeance on Saturday. Their 14.5lb sack was the largest of the day but they could not overtake 2nd and settled for 3rd with over 21lb. Nate had a nice 6.89 on a spinnerbait on day 2. John Brown/Joe Ventrello Jr. took 4th with 2 , 9 1/2 lb bags. They totaled 19lb and caught several on crankbaits and soft plastics in the Moorehaven Canal. Feb 2005 GALASSI BROTHERS WIN AT TOHO JOHN COX & KEITH CARSON CROWNED ANGLERS OF THE YEAR The last event of our regular season had additional drama. Rob Wilson/Mario Mazzonetto held a precarious 20 point lead going into the event, having wrestled the Angler of the Year points lead from John Cox/ Keith Carson. The young duo had been in 1st place for months but a stumble at Clermont last month, left them in 2nd with an uphill battle to fight. Rob/Mario had been here before. They have an AOY crown from 2000 and were 3rd, 2nd, 3rd the last 3 years. Additionally, they brought in a 20 lb sack the last time we fishedout of Reds Fish Camp on Toho. There was a bit of nervousness in the voices of the competitors as we blasted off. Everybody knew what was at stake. At the ramp, the word was that John/ Keith had a nice limit and Rob/Mario had 4 fish. Would those 4 fish be enough to get them within 4 places of the young guys? John/Keith had 13.71 when the scales stopped spinning, good enough for 4th place. Rob/Mario had a disappointing weight of 6.99 for 15th place and the new Champs were crowned. Congratulations, John Cox and Keith Carson!! Almost lost in the AOY race was another impressive feat. Steve and Dennis Galassi won the tournament with a limit that weighed 15.33 marking their 4th win of the year. From the information available to me, that is a record. We only fished 9 tournaments and they won 4 and remember they won the last tournament of the year in January 2004. At Toho, they traveled to the North end and settled in on an area in Goblets Cove. They found Cattail stalks in 2 feet of water and went to work. Steve said they caught about 3 limits and were successful throwing 11" worms and Devil Horse top water baits. At one point during the day, they left the spot because the fish they were landing were all the same size, 2 3/4- 3 lb. After a few minutes on the new unproductive spot, they wondered "Why did we leave? We're catching lots of fish!". So they ran back to the 1st spot and stayed until weigh in. Nice day, Guys!! Jimmy and Bill Anderson came in 2nd place with 4 fish and 15.25 lb. This was the closest the team has come to winning and I'll bet they get their elusive 1st win this year. Their bag was anchored by the biggest bass brought in this year, a 9.18 lunker! The big girl was on a bed in the extreme north end of Toho. The pair started their day in this area of the lake and stayed almost the entire time. They even went under the bridge along Lakeshore drive to find bedding bass. Nice fish !! Third place went to Ted Sullivan and Mike Faison. They targeted bedding fish also but could only get 2 of their keepers sight fishing. They also stayed on the North end of Toho. The North end was the only area of the lake that had a lot of clear water and is historically an early spawning location The rest of their limit came on topwaters and rattletraps. They had 5 that weighed 14.60. The last money place was occupied by our newly crowned Anglers of the year John Cox and Keith Carson. They made an extreme run to catch their 13.71 limit. They locked out of Toho and out of Kissimmee into the Kissimmee River . There were reports of a 30lb bag being caught down there last week and the running water attracted the team. They flipped the primary canal and several oxbow areas for their fish. The lengthy run paid off !! Final AOY standing are in ,John Cox/Keith Carson 1505 points. 2nd Rob Wilson/Mario Mazzonetto 1470. 3rd Dennis/Steve Galassi with 1460. 4th Ted Sullivan/MIke Faison with 1375 and 5th John Brown/Joe Ventrello,Jr. 1370 NOTES: Big fish of the year is now 9.18lb. Remember, this can still be overtaken at Okeechobee in the Classic. Doesn't make sense that the points race is over but the big fish race goes through the Classic, but that's the was we voted, so....Central Florida is crawling with professional bass fishermen, 3 national events in a row, 2 on Toho and 1 on Harris give us the ability to rub elbows with all the pros. Terry Bloom, Jerry Heidgerken and John Brown have been drawn to fish the Co-Angler side of these tournaments, Good Luck !! We had several new teams sign up at the annual meeting and a few teams left the club. Try to get good teams to join, we can use the new blood!! Who are those guys? We have a team that won AOY and these guys are 19 and 17 years old !! How did they get that good that soon? What can we expect from them in the future? Well , I asked them........... They both started fishing at the age of 5 . John began bass fishing at 10 and would have his parents drive their 12' john boat to the lake at the age of 14, when he joined a john boat bass club. Keith is a product of the Teen Anglers and began fishing tournaments when he was 16. John was helping the Teen Anglers and drew Keith at his first tournament. That's how they met. They continued fishing while John went to Father Lopez High School , he graduated in 2004 and Keith attends Deltona High School , he will graduate in 2005. They are both Debary residents. John fished our club beginning in 2002 partnering with Troy Agee, and used Keith as an alternate at Clermont in 2003 They estimate that they fish 30-35 tournaments a year. Again this year, they have a busy tournament schedule. In addition to CFBA, they are fishing Fishers of Men, BFL , John as a boater, Keith as Co-angler and John is fishing the no-boat side of the Eastern Everstarts . They have been quite successful. Not only winning our club championship but placing in several larger events: John ranked 7th in points in the BFL Co-Angler division in 2004 including a 2nd at Okeechobee, and 3 top 25 finishes. 11th in the Kissimmee Pro-Am and cashed a check at the Lake Eufaula Bassmaster Open, both as Co-Angler. Keith also fished Co-Angler and placed 18th in 2004 in BFL, finishing with 4 top 25 finishes and 20th in the Kissimmee Pro-Am. And the future?...both plan to pursue a career as professional fishermen. With this kind of a start, they are well on their way. Of course, expenses are a factor when starting a career in this sport. If anyone knows of sponsorship opportunity, I'm sure John and Keith would love to listen. By the way, the blue shirt Keith always wears is his lucky shirt..............See ya at the BIG O!!!!!! Jan 2005 LATE FLURRY SEALS THE VICTORY FOR NATE BLOOM AND TOM BURKE A late flurry of activity enabled Nate Bloom/Tom Burke to finish off an unusually cold bite at the Clermont Chain of Lakes , December 11th with a nice 17.33 limit.The fishing was generally poor due to the cold front that swept through Central Florida during the week. Conditions during the practice days were quite a bit more favorable, as many teams gave reports of nice catches. The water was still up a bit from earlier in the year but had receded 2 feet from the post hurricane highs. Most good stringers had been coming from the northern lakes and that proved to be the case Saturday. Nate and Tom started their day in Minneola and had 2 keepers early, including one nice 4 1/2 lber. These fish fell prey to a topwater Gator buzz in the grass that rings the lake. After an unsuccessful stop in Lake Cherry , the team left for Minneola again around 2 pm. Nate managed to land another small keeper in the canal leading to Minneola on a crankbait, but with an hour remaining, the prospect of filling out a limit seem bleak. That's when the normally talkative Nate began a conversation with some elderly shiner fishermen. These old-timers told Nate to try a specific patch of grass in Minneola, actually very near where the pair had caught their first 2 bass. With time running out, they made their way to the grass bed and nailed 2 good fish , a 4 and a 6 1/2, the latter of which hit at 3:17 pm . Their limit topped the field of 33 boats for their 1st win of the season. All I can say about that is" It's about time!!!" Congratulations !! Second place went to Chip Dover/John Ricketson with 4 bass weighing 12.49. Their fish came on 4 different lures all above the bridge going to Lake Cherry. They caught keepers on a white spinnerbait, flipping a shadow blue glitter Cricket, a watermelon Fluke and a small firetiger crankbait. The crankbait fish, a 4 lber , hit with about 10 minutes left in the contest and proved the difference in cashing a check and being in the middle of the pack. Third place finishers Terry/Cheri Bloom were .08 lb out of 2nd. That's 1/2 oz. They only had 1 fish early from Lake Cherry before they changed tactics . They ran to the mobile home park located on Lake ...uuh..... ok, I can't spell it......it's between Minneola and Minnehaha. They caught 4 keepers under the floating boat docks . These docks are deep, 25-30 ft of water under them , but the team had success finding suspended fish on spinnerbaits. Their bass were only about 4-5 feet deep. Their limit weighed 12.41. The last money place was awarded to Chad Ketchum/Paul Ketchum. They went south through Minnehaha into a small dock lined creek. They threw flukes, watermelon /purple, to catch only the 3rd limit brought in. Their 5 weighed 9.96. Good Job!! The combination of an 8th place finish by Mario Mazzonetto/Rob Wilson and the first bad finish of the year from John Cox/Keith Carson has the Angler of the Year race flip/flopped. John and Keith had held 1st place most of 2004 but lost ground at Toho and relinquished the lead after failing to bring in a keeper at Clermont. Those events moved Mario/Rob into 1st place, 1340 points, with only our January Toho tournament left to decide the Champion. John/Keith have 1320 points in other words, only 4 places separate the leaders. In third , and all but mathematically eliminated from winning AOY, is the team of Dennis/Steve Galassi with 1260 points. They would need to win and have Rob/Mario come in 17th for a shot at the title. John Brown/Joe Ventrello,Jr. hold down 4th with 1215 and in 5th is the team of Ted Sullivan and Mike Faison. NOTES: Nice turnout 33 boats but only 3 limits and what must be a record for this club, 11 Zeros. Alligator Chain was voted out and Toho, at Reds , was voted in for the January tournament. We really need to quit changing dates and locations. At our annual meeting , please lets only vote on lakes with the capability to properly accommodate our club. As far as changing dates, get ready for some heated discussions...... we already changed our Classic for the Federation February tournament, now their 2005 schedule will conflict with our March, April and May events, as well as BFL conflicts in April and February. We have averaged 32 boats per tournament in 2004.....Rob and Mario are due to win AOY, they won it in 1999 but followed up with 2 poor years. 11th in 2000 and 15th in 2001, however they have been 3rd the last 2 seasons . I have been so busy at work I have neglected my editorial duties. I failed to report on our Toho and Istokpoga events. Rob and Mario won the Toho tournament with a 20+ bag . They milked the running water below the locks for their winning string. At Istokpoga Reid Watkins recorded his 1st win on our trail with a 2-day tally of over 27 pounds. He and his guest partner caught limits inside Bumblebee Island on huge Senkos. 8-9 inches in length, the baits were deadsticked in pockets in the grass. Congratulations to our WINNERS!!! Oct 2004 INTERVIEW WITH A BASS PRO It's been quite a while since we had a tournament to write a story about...83 days to be exact. Hopefully ,we'll get to fish in October. In this interim, I tried to come up with something interesting to report. Well, I found something very interesting, An interview with the hottest young pro on the FLW tour, 28 year old Glenn Browne of Ocala. Glenn has been fishing all over Florida for years and has had a great deal of success on every level in which he has competed. From local club events to area open tournaments Glenn has taken home titles. He began tournament fishing 15 years ago at the age of 13. Since then he has competed in an estimated 500 tournaments, winning dozens of titles along the way. In 1999 alone, he won 3 boats and over $30,000 in prize money. He was a regular on the Redman/BFL circuit from 1998 to 2002 claiming Angler of the Year on that tour in 2001 and taking 2nd in 2002 . All the while earning a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida. He actually paid his way through college with his bass fishing winnings. He even teamed up with me for one of our tournaments at East Lake in 2002. He showed me how to flip some big ones and if you recall , we won that tournament. After graduating in 2003 , Glenn began fishing for a living. He fished the Everstart Tour Eastern Division and qualified for the Everstart Championship event in 2003 and 2004. In January 2004 , he began his FLW career. Half way through the season he was in 2nd place in the standings and was headed for Rookie of the Year. A slip at Beaver Lake lowered him a bit but he ended his rookie campaign 27th in points and he finished the season with an impressive 8th place finish in the FLW Championship tournament! I had a chance to talk to Glenn recently to get his thoughts on his profession, the upcoming year and get a few needed tips..... Glenn, what technique do you consider your strong point? I have always favored flipping. I really like the close in action and there is nothing like