April 28th, 2012

I would like to welcome the new team of Rob Perry and Tony Dayton to SPPB! Rob had to fish by himself today, but his partner Tony will be at the next tournament.  

We had two teams who fished with subs this tournament. Darrell who just had shoulder surgery right after the Classic will be out hopefully for a short time had Scott Ellis fish with Brandon and Malcolm brought his other brother Jason to fish in place of Josh. We had 6 teams sign up with 4 teams fishing. Yes you are correct the two teams who paid are in the hunt for the point standings and did not want to lose too many points. Now on to the tournament and Crooked Lake. When I called to ask about the lake conditions from Bob’s Landing they said plenty of water and yes there are stumps and trees along some of the banks but still plenty of water. I do not remember the lake ever being this low. Then a $7.00 ramp fee? Ouch!

First Place with 5 bass weighing 9.62 lbs goes to Malcolm and Jason

Second Place with 5 bass weighing 8.13 lbs goes to Brandon and Scott

Third Place with 4 bass weighing 8.06 lbs goes to Rob Perry

Big Bass weighing 4.70 lbs goes to Rob Perry.

Next tournament is May 26th on John’s Lake

Hope To see everyone at the ramp!

Mike

3-24-12

I know we were all glad to put the last tournament behind us and were glad to have spring upon us. Malcolm had to fish by himself today and wanted to show off his brand new Ranger boat. What a beauty! Too bad for some reason his motor would not run. He had no powwer to his control panel, but everything else worked. Being the trooper he is he still fished using his trolling motor. He figured the last time he fished with his brother Josh in Okeechobee without a motor they won the tournament. Who needs a motor anyhow? Then there was Keith not showing up and having his partner Justin fish with Mr. (Ringer) Brent Kirkendall. And Matt had to bring in his own sub for the day, Mike Haney.

Now for the fishing on Lake Tarpon. Seems the weed control people have been tearing up all the weeds with these big machines which made it difficult to locate good areas to find fish. The lake really does not look good. Lots of green slime close to the shoreline. Then the winds of March kicked in and blew like crazy. We had three limits weigh in with lots of little bass being caught throughout the day. Was tough getting the kicker bites. 24 bass were brought to the scales weighing 46.25 pounds. That is an average of 1.927 lbs per bass.

First Place with 5 bass weighing 11.60 lbs goes to Justin and Mr. Ringer Brent.

Second Place with 4 bass weighing 9.95 lbs goes to Darrell and Brandon

Third Place with 8.49 lbs goes to Mike and Steve

Big Bass weighing 4.17 lbs goes to Darrell and Brandon

The next tournament is the 2011 Classic April 14th and 15th. No pre-fishing 7 days prior to Friday April 13th. Pre- fish allowed on Friday April 13th.

See You All @ The Big “O”

Mike

February 25th, 2012

Well this is probably going to be the shortest newsletter ever…I hope. What a tough and miserable day we all had!

7 teams fished this windy, cold front passing through, cloudy day and the fishing was as tough as it can get.

Only 9 bass were brought to the scales and you will see below we had the lowest weights ever in a long time. There were no limits caught.

First Place with 2 bass weighing 3.33 lbs goes to Keith and Justin

Secon Place with 2 bass weighing 3.19 lbs goes to Josh and Malcolm

Third Place with 2 bass weighing 2.97 lbs goes to Greg and Steve.

Big Bass weighing 1.81 lbs goes to Joe and Greg.

Our next tournament is March 24th on Lake Tarpon launching out of Anderson Park.

Hope To See All At The Ramp!

Mike

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

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

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

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

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

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

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