St. Pete Pro Bass Newsletter

Lake Reedy

January 28th, 2012

Moons Over Reedy!

The 2012 tournament season is under way. And what a way to start by having two moonings happen in one day. You could tell that a couple of members were fired up to be fishing after the holiday season. I think we all were!

First I would like to welcome back to the club Greg DeRosa and Steve Crosby. It is great to have you back! We have a couple of new team members also I would like to welcome to our club. Brandon Babers will be fishing with Darrell and Justin Cox will be fishing with Keith. Matt had sub Ken Stagner fish with him this tournament since his partner is out for a little while.

What a nice day to be fishing. Wish the fish would have been a little more cooperative this day, but I guess after the cool front came through they just were not ready to bite for us. 27 bass were brought to the scales weighing 50.78 lbs.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 12.94lbs goes to Darrell and Brandon

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 7.92lbs goes to Keith and Justin

Third Place with 5 bass weighing 7.51lbs goes to Malcolm and Josh

Big bass weighing 3.82lbs goes to Darrell and Brandon

Next tournament is February 25th on June in Winter at County Park Ramp off of Lake June Rd.

Classic Reminder:    2011 Classic is April 14th and 15th on Okeechobee out of Clewiston. You may want to make reservations soon! Heard rooms are filling up fast?

Mike

Lake Tarpon Nov. 12th, 2011

2011 tournament season has come to a close!

On this final tournament only 6 teams showed up to fish. Alledgedly another team showed up after we launched and decided not to participate after they had called one of the directors and was informed all they had to do was have their live wells checked and fish. Then rumor has it they had a great catch this day? Oh, then we had Phil who brought in a wringer since Darrell was out of town to try and catch the first place team? Then comes Mike Touchton with his wringer sub to compete on this very slow fishing day. The bite was slow and slower.

Before we had launched we picked the lakes for 2012. This was the first time we tried a new way by drawing names out of a hat. I must say this was the fastest we have ever picked the lakes. And yes if there is any conflict or issue with a particular lake the board will make a decision on a sub, just like we have always done. A total of 16 bass were brought to the scales with a total weight of 30.88 pounds.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 11.39lbs goes to Mike Touchton and wringer sub Tommy Z.

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 8.77lbs goes to Phil and wringer sub Brent.

Third Place with 4 bass weighing 8.33lbs goes to Frank and Keith.

Big Bass weighing 2.77lbs goes to Mike Touchton and Tommy Z.

ANGLERS OF THE YEAR GOES TO FRANK AND KEITH WITH 292 POINTS!  Congrats to Frank and Keith

The first tournament will be January 28th, 2012 on a new lake to us. Tsala Apopka Lake in Floral City.

On behalf oy myself and the board we wish all of you a happy holiday season, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mike

Lake June in Winter

October 22nd, 2011

This was the second to last tournament of the 2011 season. The lake was at least 2 feet below normal even with all the rain they got the week before. Then add the cold front that came through with the windy conditions equals a tough day on the water. 5 teams paid their dues to challenge the tough conditions and believe me it was tough. Only 12 bass were brought to the scales with a total weight of 20.75 pounds. I was just glad Steve did not break anything this tournament.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 7.84 lbs goes to Phil and Darrell

Second Place with 3 bass weighing 6.06 lbs goes to Mike and Steve

Third Place with 3 bass weighing 5.27 lbs goes to Frank and Keith

Big Bass weighing 3.75 lbs goes to Mike and Steve

Angler of the Year race is a little closer now with Frank and Keith leading with 262 points and Phil and Darrell behind by 8 points. If Phil and Darrell would have paid for that one tournament they missed they would be in first? Funny how things work sometimes.

The next and last tournament will be November 12th at Lake Tarpon. We will be launching out of Anderson Park at safe sunlight. I am asking all to show up a little early so we can draw the lakes for next year. We feel this will be an easier way to to have our schedule done at one time instead of spreading the picks out over the year. Another option would be for the board to pick the lakes?

The board is looking ahead to the 2012 season and would greatly appreciate all to return. If you know of anyone who would be a good fit to our great club please have them join as well. We started out this year with 14 teams, and due to numerous unforeseen reasons it has dropped. It is time to look ahead to next year and start planning accordingly. Over the years we have decided to accept our club being small, but I feel we can do better. We have adjusted the payout based on participants to ensure a better pay day. When the board hears that the reason a team did not show up to fish is because of the low attendance and payout, this is contributing to the issue at hand and is a little frustrating to us all in the club who contribute their time and effort. Yes I am discouraged but feel we have a great core group of friends and fishermen and I am looking forward to 2012.

Mike

Lake Toho

9-24-11

First of all I would like to give my condolences to Phil who’s sister had passed just before tournament day.

Seems the fishing was a little tough for the six teams who participated on this September day. Just ask Steve who continues to be paying his dues from the last tournament. His motor decided it did not want to run anymore and had a tough time getting back to the ramp. He is now in the market for a motor. At least he did not break any of my stuff.

From the six teams there were 18 bass weighed in with a grand total of 47.13 pounds.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 14.60lbs goes to Malcolm and Josh

Second Place with 4 bass weighing 13.88lbs goes to Frank and Keith

Third Place with 3 bass weighing 7.40lbs goes to Darrell and Pops ( Frank’s Dad who fished with Darrell )

Big Bass weighing 4.87lbs goes to Frank and Keith

Next tournament is October 22nd at Lake June in Winter

Hope To See You All At The Ramp

Mike

Lake Reedy

August 27th, 2011

On this hot windy summer day only 6 teams braved the elements to come out and fish. We had two subs who fished with us. Scott Ellis fished with Darrell and Jim Nicola fished with Joe DeOliveria. Actually Jim Nicola is an official member of SPPB since this was the third sub needed for Joe and Greg. Greg has been out with a wrist injury and we wish him a speedy recovery and hope he comes back soon. Remember each team is allowed two subs per year. If another sub is needed then the sub must join the club. I will show team subs list at end of newsletter. Matt Sparks has a new partner, Mike Haney. Welcome to the club Mike!

Now on to the tournament! The day started out for Steve and I a little crazy. When Steve was docking his boat when we launched he lost his balance and broke two of my rods. Poop happens and the fishing must go on. Then another one of my reels decided not to work, so of course I blamed Steve, lol. I started with 6 and now I was down to 3. Oh, it gets better for Steve. On the way back to the ramp Steve’s cell phone went flying out of the boat when we went airborn from a wave. Did I mention that he only caught one little dink the whole day. It was one of those days and we laughed about all the bad things. I know we all have had those days. The fishing was tough for all due to the winds, etc., but a couple of teams found the fish. From 6 teams only 15 bass were brought to the scales with a total weight of 42.89 pounds.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 20.27lbs goes to Frank and Keith

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 14.29lbs goes to Mike and Steve

Third Place with 2 bass weighing 3.97lbs goes to Matt and Mike

Big Bass weighing 7.22lbs goes to frank and Keith

Congrats to all!

We also chose the remainder three lakes and they are posted on the schedule page. The 2011 classic which will be fished the second weekend of April 2012 will be Okeechobee out of Clewiston. Seems this year it was a challenge to pick the lakes and I would like to suggest another way to pick the 2012 lakes. On the last tournament in November the lakes will be drawn out of a basket in the order of months. Typically we fish 10 to 11 tournaments a year. This year we will have fished 10 since we did not fish the fourth weekend in April. It would be nice to have our schedule done at one time for the whole year and not drag it out. I will be reviewing with the other board members regarding this idea.

Here is list of sub status year to date:

Boat # 1      2 subs

Boat # 3      2 subs

Boat # 4      2 subs and Jim Nicola joined 8-27-11

Boat # 8      1 sub

Boat # 8      1 sub

Boat # 9      1 sub

Boat # 10   2 subs

Boat # 11    2 subs      (exemption)

Boat # 12    1 sub

Boat # 13    1 sub

Hope To All At The Next Tournament

Mike

Lake Istrokpoga

July 23rd, 2011

Phil and Darrell Again?

Yes it is true the team of Phil and Darrell are at it again. Who would have guessed the back to back victories? It definately was a hot slow day of fishing for all with only two limits being weighed in. We had 8 teams fish and one sub Jim Nicola fished with Joe. 26 bass were weighed in with a total weight of 59.15 pounds. Does not sound like Istokpoga at all. At least it did not rain on us like the last tournament. The race for Angler of the Year is getting interesting with only 4 tournaments left. Only 6 points difference at third place and 5 points at second. I know Phil and Darrell wish they had paid for the tournament they did not fish?

First Place with 5 bass weighing 13.88lbs goes to Phil and Darrell

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 12.60lbs goes to Frank and Keith

Third Place with 4 bass weighing 10.5olbs goes to Jeff and Mark

Big Bass weighing 5.21lbs goes to Phil and Darrell

Congrats To All!

The next tournament will be on Lake Reedy on August 27th. Please try and get there a little early since we have to pick the last three lakes for 2011 season.

Mike

Walk-in-Water

6-25-11

First I must apologize for the late newsletter being posted. My computer has been down for quite a while and just now getting caught up.

Now if I can remember way back in June? You know what happens when you turn 50? Just ask Keith he will tell you. You get “CRS” ( can’t remeber shit). We had 10 teams show up to fish on what turned out to be a pleasant day until about 12:30-1:00 when the thunderstorms rolled in. 32 bass were weighed in weighing 84.75 lbs. We had a few subs who fished this tournament. Kelly Shivgolam fished with Glenn Wilson, Lou Hartung fished with Joe Inserra, Buddy Doyle fished with Malcolm Acree and Dell Katzer fished with Mike Bard.

Water level was low and good thing brush piles were installed throughout the lake cause thats where the fish were.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 18.73lbs goes to Phil and Darrell

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 17.45lbs goes to Frank and Keith

Third place with 5 bass weighing 14.29lbs goes to Mike and Steve

Big Dead Ugly Bass weighing 8.21lbs goes to Phil and Darrell.

CONGRATS TO ALL THE WINNERS!

Next tournament is Istokpoga July 23rd, launching from Istokpoga Park off of Hwy. 98.

This is a permit lake so remember if you have fish you must not put your boat on the trailer.

Hope to see all at the ramp

Mike

Lake Toho

May 14th, 2011

8 teams showed up to fish on this fine spring day with memories of our great Classic tournament on the Big O still in our minds. The weather was nice for a while and then the wind picked up and made it a little challenging. The bite was early and few but most teams were able to find limits and the weigh in was just in time before the nasty storms moved in. There were 27 bass brought to the scales weighing 77.27lbs.

We had three subs fish with us. Jeff Crandon fished with Joe DeOliveria, Smiley fished with Jeff Sherrod and Tim Harmon fished with Matt Sparks.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 19.02 lbs goes to Joe and Jeff ( sub )

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 16.67 lbs goes to Frank and Keith

Third Place with 5 bass weighing 13.21 lbs goes to Mike and Bob

Big Bass weighing 4.92 lbs goes to Joe and Jeff ( sub )

Congrats to all the winners!

Our next tournament is on June 25th at Walk in Water. This is a permit lake so we will not be able to put boats on trailer before weigh in.

Hope To See All at Walk in Water!

Mike

April 9th and 10th 2011

Lake Okeechobee

2010 SPPB CLASSIC

Well the 2010 SPPB Classic is in the books, or should I say record books for our great fishing club. Not sure where to begin with the events that took place over the three days but I will do my best. Some things and or details will be left down in Okeechobee to the best of my abilities and memory.

The first thing I would like to say is THANK YOU to all of our sponsors especially Phil Mansfield! Without his efforts in collecting over the year and coordinating from the other sponsors for our raffle which in turn generated a substantial increase in the three payouts for the tournament we would not have had the payout we did.  And thanks to everyone else who also contributed in donating items and buying raffle tickets. We always have a great time getting together to support our club. Here is the list of sponsors who helped and I sure hope I did not miss anyone.

B&M Sports Supply  ( Phil Mansfield )

Interstate Batteries

Dogfish Tackle

Bett’s Tackle

Gambler

Save Phace

K100 Fuel Treatment

Jeff’s Detail

Joto’s Pizza

Greg Gonzalez, Godwin Abele, Mike Taylor, Darrell Paquin

 Now on to the CLASSIC

 Day one started at 0630 with all teams meeting just outside the lock. After the official time check we were off and running to get to our spots which apparently we all had from pre-fishing the day before. There was no doubt that the bite was on! Day one weigh in was at 4:00pm. Seemed like all was going great for all teams from pre-fishing on Friday and day one of the tournament and then things went wrong for a few teams. When Steve and I returned at the designated weigh in location at the county ramp there was Josh andMalcolm withtheir cowl removed. There were a few other teams who had also arrived for the weigh in with about 10 minutes before 4:00.  There were a couple of teams still out and Matt informed us that Jim and Mike were stuck somewhere in Moorehaven and had run aground and would not make it back in time. Then Phil gets a call from Frank and Keith and they were broke down about 5 minutes outside the lock and asked Phil to go get them. Phil and Darrell transfered their fish to another live well and off Phil went to rescue them. Then here comes John Jr and John Sr. slowly up to the dock. I grabbed the bow line to help dock the boat and was making sure the trolling motor would not hit and before I knew what happened John Sr. was face first on the dock. We got John Sr. up and into the shade andwas helping him with his facial cuts andhis wrist had started to swell. John Jr took his Dad to the emergency room to get check out. OK now I think we can get on with day one weigh ins, but don’t worry more drama, madness, excitement  to come.

Day One :

1 st Place: Josh and Malcolm      5 bass      26.87lbs            Big Bass     7.34lbs         BIG BASS DAY 1

2nd Place: Mike and Steve            5 bass      23.03lbs           Big Bass      7.19lbs

3rd Place:  Frank and Keith           5 bass      21.99lbs **      Big Bass     3.78lbs**     ** reflects 3 min. penalty

4th Place:   Mike and Mike              5 bass      21.65lbs            Big Bass     6.24lbs

5th Place:   Phil and Darrell            5 bass      19.12lbs             Big Bass     7.04lbs

6th Place:   Joe and Greg                  5 bass      17.30lbs      

7th Place:   Godwin and Glenn        5 bass      12.53lbs

8th Place:   John and John                2 bass      2.69lbs

9th Place:   Matt and Joe     tied with   Jim and Mike with 0 bass.

Day one we weighed in 32 bass weighing a total of 145.18lbs. WOW!!!   Now for the rest of the days events. Jim and Mike finally called and they had made it back. Mike had decided to call it a weekend and head home since they each had brought their boats and Mike took a hard fall when the airboat they flagged down to pull them out of the skinny water they tried to run through. Mike slipped on the airboat and he dislocated his shoulder, separated two ribs and bruised his hip really bad.  Josh and Malcolm had blown their motor and were trying to figure out the next day. John Jr. informed us his Dad had broken his wrist and had a cut on his nose and forhead andthey would not be able to fish the second day. And Matt andJoe realized they are not compatible with each other while fishing out of the same boat and decided not to fish the second day. The day was not over yet, but it does get a little better. We had our annual get together to feast on some great food and have the raffle. We did have a quick meeting to discuss past, current and future business and pick the next few lakes. Voting on the Lakes was like pulling teeth but we got through the next few months. The raffle was a great time with lots of winners and don’t forget we raised quite a bit of money which went to the Classic payout 100%.       

 And then there were seven!

Day two started out the same way as day one with everyone meeting outside the lock, except there were seven teams left. I know what you are thinking……..there should be six teams left? Well Josh and Malcolm decided to fish using only their trolling motor and getting a little help from Joe and Greg to get them to their location to fish. Weigh in was at 2:00pm and seemed like day two was going fine until the weigh in started. Again “WOW ” there were some great limits brought to the scales. Did not think it would be better than day one though! We had 35 bass brought to the scales with a total weigh of 156.92 lbs. Funny thing happened during the weigh in……….seems our scales top out at 30 lbs. So when a couple of teams weighed in, the scales could not handle the weight and we had to weigh them seperately. Trust me Steve and I had a flashback from a lond time ago when the scales truely went out during a weigh in. By the time you add the platform, basket and lid the scales errored due to the  30 lb. limit. I never would have thought we would have seen the weights like we had. Heck we may never see again, but my guess for the next Classic we fish will be on the Big O. Here is the day two and final results.

DAY 2:

1st Place:           Josh and Malcolm          5 bass          28.49 lbs         big bass        8.21 lbs    Big Bass Day 2

2nd Place:          Mike and Mike                  5 bass          27.66 lbs        big bass        7.55 lbs

3rd Place:           Mike and Steve                 5 bass          23.10 lbs        big bass        6.58 lbs

4th Place:           Frank and Keith                5 bass          20.87 lbs        big bass       5.43 lbs

5th Place:           Joe and Greg                       5 bass          20.30 lbs     

6th Place:           Godwin and Glenn            5 bass           18.84 lbs        big bass       7.70 lbs

7th Place:           Phil and Darrell                  5 bass           17.66 lbs 

Tournament Results:

1st Place:          Josh and Malcolm           10 bass            55.36 lbs             big bass both days

2nd Place:        Mike and Mike                   10 bass            49.31 lbs

3rd Place:        Mike and Steve                 10 bass            46.13 lbs

4th Place:         Frank and Keith                10 bass             42.86 lbs

5th Place:         Joe and Greg                      10 bass              37.60 lbs

6th Place:         Phil and Darrell                 10 bass              36.78 lbs

7th Place:         Godwin and Glenn            10 bass              31.37 lbs

This will be a tournament I think we will all remember, or a few may wish to forget. I would like to also thank Frank’s Dad ” Pops ” for all his help and generosity in his ability to get up early and make coffee and some doughy breakfast item he is well known for, plus his efforts to help clean up after us slobs, have dinner ready on Saturday night, etc. I am sure I left some details out …………..you know ” what happens in Okeechobee stays in Okeechobee”

Mike

Lake Tarpon

March 26th, 2011

Another nice Florida spring day with early morning fog just like the last tournament except we had lots of green slim all over the lake and the bite was not as good as the last tournament, but it sure beats work.

We had 9 teams and two subs fish the tournament. Sub Steve Swauger fished with Joe Inserra and sub Mike Ross fished with Mike Taylor.

There were a lot of small bass caught that did not measure and it seemed like all the ones that did measure were all the same size except for a few larger ones. We had 34 bass brought to the scales with 3 dead ones with a total of 61.50 lbs.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 14.88 lbs. goes to Mike Bard and Bob Bennett

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 10.04 lbs. goes to Frank Mackin and Keith Burden

Third Place with 5 bass weighing 8.31 lbs. goes to Joe Inserra and sub Steve Swauger

Big Bass weighing 5.54 lbs. goes to Mike Bard and Bob Bennett

Congrats To All The Winners!

OK lets talk CLASSIC!

There has been lots of concern and discussion on the water levels at the Big “O”.

We have been monitoring as best as possible and we will not change the Classic location. All members who are going to fish the Classic need to be careful when out on the water! The water level is down about 2.5 ‘ from last year. AND REMEMBER NO PRE-FISHING ONE WEEK PRIOR TO FRIDAY APRIL 8th! If anybody needs a room contact Phil because he has an extra room set aside.

Classic fees are $70.00 per boat. We have a two day big bass payout.

See You At Okeechobee

Mike