Select the date of the newsletter below or scroll down to the newsletter desired.
| December 15, 2010 | January 23, 2012 |
| January 13, 2011 | |
| February 9, 2011 | |
| March 6, 2011 | |
| April 7, 2011 | |
| June 26, 2011 | |
| July 11, 2011 | |
| August 15, 2011 | |
| September 14, 2011 | |
| October 10, 2011 | |
| November 3, 2011 | |
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We've had a good start for 2012! We have nine new members: Shea Arnold; Austin Bell; Jim Blume; Tobby Gant; Larry Gatlin; Matt Henderson; Jack Sansone; John Sansone and Chris Sargent. Make sure that you introduce yourself to the new members and get to know these guys. We also started off the new year with forty-three members fishing the January tournament. This is the third largest participation in an opening tournament in the club's recorded history.
David Glenn only brought 4 fish to the scales for our January tournament on the South Winter Haven Chain but had enough weight, 15.48 pounds, to win. The fact that David had big fish for the tournament at 8.39 pounds helped significantly. Colby Cotterill also had 4 fish and 12.79 pounds to finish second. Allen Prince had 4 fish and 10.88 pounds and finished third. New member Shea Arnold finished fourth with 9.69 pounds. Jimmie Davis had one of three limits weighed in and finished fifth with 9.59 pounds. New member Austin Bell finished sixth with 9.30 pounds.
Our next tournament will be February 11-12 on Lake Okeechobee. We will launch on the north end of the lake out of the OkeeTantie ramp. The draw meeting for this tournament will be February 7.
New procedures for the club's fund raising activities were approved this month. The procedures adopted can be found on the club website and copies will be available at the next few meetings. We will have two garage sales (March & November) and two raffles, each for a $500 Wal*Mart gift card. Drawing for the first Wal*Mart gift card will be held at the first meeting in April. Tickets will be available at all meetings up to and including the meeting at which the drawing is to be held. As outlined in the adopted procedures, participation in the garage sales and raffles dramatically increases your chances of drawing prizes at the club banquet.
It is anticipated that the first club garage sale will be held March 17 or March 24. Anything of value can be sold, but fishing equipment always goes quickly. Please begin accumulating items to sell. Details for the sale will be available at a later date.
We have tentatively selected December 8, 2012 for our club banquet. We will select a location and caterer for the banquet at a later date. The date for the banquet would be changed only if necessary to secure the location and caterer that we choose.
John Dial's company, Intercoastal Payroll Solutions, has agreed to again sponsor the club's Mr. Bass award. Be sure to express our appreciation to John for his generous support of the club. Other potential sponsors are to be contacted for the Angler-of-the-Year award.
Bridgemaster (The Fishermen's Candy Store) in Lake Wales is providing products for our raffles at a discounted price. Let Josie know that we appreciate their support the next time you're in the store. We also obtained product at discounted prices from Stone's Outhouse in Lakeland and Ron's Tackle Store in Lake Alfred.
All newsletters for 2011 & 2012 are archived on the club website http://lunkerlovers.com.
Yours truly,
Bob Lane
President+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Although 2010 was a tough year economically for many Americans, including some in our club, participation in tournaments averaged 30 contestants per tournament. While this is down 4.2% from last year's average of 31.3 participants and down 6% from our twenty-three year average of 31.9 participants, one might have expected it to be much worse. Last year's tournament schedule was great, producing a club-record eight members in the 100-pound club. Thanks to our 2010 officers and everyone who worked to make 2010 a good year for the club! We hope that 2011 will be even better and I'm confident that, with help from all our club members, it will be.
Federation clubs that have their 2011 membership turned in by Christmas will be entered in a drawing for items that the winning clubs can use for raffles, prizes, etc. I would like for us to meet this deadline. If you have not already paid your 2011 dues, please do so by our next meeting on December 21. If you cannot attend the meeting, please consider sending your dues by someone who will be attending. The total dues are $90 and include FLW ($35), The Bass Federation ($30) and Lunker Lovers ($25). Those whose FLW membership currently runs through all of 2011 will pay a total of $55. We can add members later but I would like to have as many paid as possible by the 21st. Call me at (863) 537-0732 if you have questions.
Club officers for 2011 are: Jim Stricklin, President; Hoss Houmard, Vice-President for Activities; Mike Childers, Vice-President for Fund-Raising; Jim Sturdevant, Treasurer; Ed Palmer, Secretary; Jim Rose, Tournament Director. This slate of officers is packed with experience in club functions and each individual is dedicated to making the club as good as it can be. Please give these officers your support and cooperation. I will be relying heavily on past officers' experiences and suggestions to make our club better as the year progresses.
The 2011 Tournament Schedule has been finalized by Tournament Director Jim Rose and his committee. Members receiving this newsletter by email can view the schedule on the club's web site - http://lunkerlovers.com. A copy of the schedule is included for those receiving the newsletter through the USPS. Please note that the date of the April tournament was changed from the original date as there was a conflict which made finding lodging virtually impossible. Also note the atypical draw meeting dates for the April and June tournaments.
We made three changes to rules/bylaws this year. The requirement that a current member sponsoring a new member actually fish with the new member was dropped. The requirement that a relative of a member younger than 18-years be present at all events in which the 18-year-old participated was dropped. Boaters will be required to provide a seat for a noboater even when they were not initially paired with a noboater at the draw meeting.
One of my objectives for the coming year is to increase membership. We get some new members through our web site but most new members come to us through direct contact with our current members. Please talk with individuals you know who have the potential to be good members of the Winter Haven Lunker Lovers and solicit them for membership. Current members who bring in a new member get a free entry into a one-day tournament for their contribution.
Jim Stricklin
President
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We had a great opening for the 2011 year with forty-two members fishing in our first tournament. That's the third highest number of participants in a year-opening tournament in the twenty-four years for which we have records. It's also much higher than the twenty-eight we had fishing last January. This is a good beginning in our efforts to increase membership! Thanks to all who participated.
I want to welcome all our new members and the past members who have returned to fish with us this year. We had three new members fishing their first Lunker Lovers tournament this month and five members who did not fish with us last year who have renewed their participation. We welcome new members Ora Cobb, Jared Dial and David Harris to the club. Jared took the lead in the Rookie-of-the-Year competition by finishing eighth in the tournament (four places behind his dad). Joey Cissell, Jamie Knight, Jay Morgan, Jody Pewitt and Kyle Sellars have again become active with the club and we're glad to see them at our tournaments.
While twenty-two of those fishing in January zeroed and while only the top three in the tournament caught limits, the overall weights for those who caught fish were good. Chip Burton took top honors with 13.09 pounds. Colby Cotterill finished second (12.43 pounds) followed by Scott Daley (11.59 pounds), John Dial (11.00 pounds) and Huck Pewitt (10.64 pounds). Complete results can be found on the club website - http://lunkerlovers.com. Copies of the results will also be available at the meetings.
We will fish a one-day tournament February 6 on Lake Okeechobee out of Harney Pond. The draw meeting for the tournament will be February 1. This has the potential to be a tremendous tournament so make plans to participate.
The 2011 couples tournaments schedule that Ed Palmer has drafted is shown below. Please talk with Ed (palmerej@hotmail.com, 410-599-8096) if you have interest in fishing any of these.
1. April 10, 2011
-- Lake Hatchineha / Kissimmee: Port Hatchineha Ramp
2. May 27 ------ Winter Haven Chain: Lake Summit Ramp
3. June 12----- Crooked Lake: Bob's Landing
4. September 18-- Kissimmee Chain : Camp Lester
5. October 16----- Kissimmee Chain : Camp Lester
Don't forget to bring your aluminum cans or other recyclable metals to the meetings. Hoss Houmard has done a tremendous job with this most worthwhile project. We are using the money from this project to donate $1,000 each year to the Guardian ad Litem program. This program benefits at-risk children.
Historically, we have attracted most of our new members through word-of-mouth or, more recently, through the club's website. Please talk the those you know who share the values of our club about joining us. Remember that you receive a free entry into a one-day tournament for each new member you sponsor.
Jim Stricklin
President+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We had a great tournament on Okeechobee this past weekend with everyone bringing at least one fish to the scales and 32 of the 37 anglers having limits. Seventeen members had double-digit weights. Jay Morgan finished first with 20.59 pounds followed closely by Jim Rose in second (19.28 pounds). Lamar Middleton finished third with 17.16 pounds and Forrest Greenfield came in fourth with 15.91 pounds. Hoss Houmard finished fifth with 3 fish (15.53 pounds) and had big bass for the tournament at 7.57 pounds. John Dial's seventh place finish (15.43 pounds) gave him enough weight to move into first place in the year standings. I regret that I had to miss this tournament due to my knee and I apologize to the club and to my partner, Joe Markovitz, for not being there.
Our next tournament will be March 6 on the Kissimmee Chain out of Camp Lester. The draw meeting will be March 1. Some good weights have been coming out of Kissimmee and we should have another good tournament.
Our first couples tournament of the year will be held April 10 on the Kissimmee Chain out of Port Hatchineha. The complete couples schedule and procedures for the tournaments are on the club's website - http://lunkerlovers.com. We fish until 12:00 noon and traditionally get together for lunch after the tournament.
V.P. for Activities Hoss Houmard has announced that the club will hold a garage sale April 23. Please make plans to participate in this important fund-raising activity and begin accumulating items to sell.
We have set a date of September 24 for our youth tournament. These events have been very rewarding in the past as well as being a lot of fun. Our tournament this year will be done in conjunction with the Cub Scouts and coordinated with Ryan Houmard, one of the Cub Scout leaders. We will need volunteers to help with this event so please put it on your calendar and plan to participate.
Joey Cissell has arranged for the club to get a reduced rate ($50/night) at the Flamingo Motel in Okeechobee for our August tournament. You can call the motel at 863-763-6100 and tell them you're with the Winter Haven Lunker Lovers.
The club is conducting a fund-raising raffle for a $500 BassPro Shops gift card. The drawing for the winner will be conducted at the March 1 draw meeting. Most of us got our tickets to sell at the last meeting. If you didn't get any tickets, or if you need more, you can get them at the February 15 meeting or you can contact V.P. for Fund-Raising Mike Childers (863-412-6263) if you can't make the meetings.
We're off to a good start for the year with 42 members fishing the January tournament and 37 fishing in February. The increased participation is due in part to some new members but also results from having a higher percentage of our members fishing in the tournaments. Thanks for your participation and support. Please continue to solicit additional members who share our values.
Copies of these newsletters are archived on the club's website. These will be kept on the website for the remainder of the year in case you need to refer to a previous newsletter.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our next tournament will be a two-day event on the Harris Chain April 2-3, 2011. We will conduct the draw for this tournament at our next meeting, March 15. Make plans to be at the meeting to get in the draw or contact another member to have them put you in.
Colby Cotterill won the March tournament on the Kissimmee Chain today with 20.27 pounds thanks, in part, to his 8.15-pound kicker. Ron Falzarano lost 0.25 pounds due to a dead fish and finished second with 20.14 pounds. Ron also had big bass for the tournament at 9.53 pounds. Roy Tedder finished third with 19.66 pounds and Chip Burton took fourth with 14.86 pounds. We had forty-six members fishing this tournament, continuing a trend toward increased membership and participation.
We have picked up several new or returning members. Jay Morgan, Kyle Sellars and Allen Prince have become active with the club again. Allen's son, Kyle, has joined the club. Jared Dial, son of John Dial, has joined and is currently fourth in the year standings. Colby Cotterill sponsored David Harris for membership and David is currently thirteenth in the standings. Ora Cobb joined last year and is responsible for two new members this year - Pablo Badillo, Jr. and Joe Warlik. Please make the new or returning members welcome and continue to seek out individuals who share our values for membership.
We had a very successful raffle for a $500 Bass Pro gift card. The prize was won by a friend of Scott Daley who had purchased just one ticket. The club made about $700 on this fund-raiser with the proceeds split between the general fund in the treasury and the money which will be used to buy prizes for the banquet. The fund-raiser was so successful, in part, because all but two members sold tickets. Thanks to our V.P. for Fund-Raising Mike Childers and to all those who sold tickets!
There are several dates for upcoming events that you should keep on your calendar in addition to the meeting and regular tournament dates. The first couples tournament will be held April 10 on the Kissimmee Chain out of Port Hatchineha. We have our youth tournament with the cub scouts scheduled for September 24. We have also set December 10 as the tentative date for our annual banquet. There is a complete calendar on the club website - http://lunkerlovers.com.
Our club garage sale will be April 23. Please begin accumulating items to sell. You can bring them to the sale location on the day of the sale, bring them to the club meeting and April 19, or contact Hoss Houmard to make other arrangements. We also need several members to help conduct the sale.
The Winter Haven Lunker Lovers were well represented at the Federation Tournament on Okeechobee last month. Colby Cotterill and Van Soles finished in the money with Colby placing second and Van placing fifth. David Glenn finished 36th. Lucky Wells suffered a four-pound penalty as his partner was late. This penalty put Lucky out of the money but he still finished 45th. Colby, Van, David, and Lucky qualified for the Federation State Tournament. Cecil Hock and myself fished the tournament but failed to qualify. There's always Lake Toho May 21st and 22nd. Contact me if you are interested in fishing this tournament.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Winter Haven Nautical Club has begun the process of selling its club house. As we can't know when a sale will take place, we will be moving to a new, more permanent meeting place as soon as possible. Van Soles has talked with the people at Cypress Lanes at 2010 Dundee Road in Winter Haven. This bowling alley is at the intersection of Dundee Road and Buckeye Loop Road. They have a room available that should be suitable for our meetings. We will meet there for our April 19 meeting and make a decision at that time if we wish to make that our permanent meeting place. The cost will be a little less than what we are currently paying. Thanks to Van for making these arrangements.
The sale of the Nautical Club also means that we need to be looking for an alternate location for our annual banquet. Aaron Flint has contacted someone he knows with the city of Auburndale and has secured prices for renting the Ariana Beach Yacht Club or Ariana Beach Clubhouse. We will be discussing this at the next meeting also. If you know of any other place we might use please get information to include the price, number of people that can be accommodated, if there are any restrictions on the use of caterers or the serving of alcohol , and the availability for December 3 and December 10.
Aaron Flint, mentioned above, was one of two former member who rejoined the club at the last meeting. Gary Bristow has also decided to fish with us again. Both of these guys were very competitive in the club in the past and are expected to be so again. We have also added a new member, Doug Wilkerson, since the last newsletter. Please make our new and returning members welcome.
Our garage sale will be held April 23 at Webber's Auto Center, 801 Cypress Gardens Boulevard, Winter Haven. This is across from the McDonald's on Cypress Gardens Boulevard and the same place we had the sale last year. You can bring the items to the sale at safe daylight on the 23rd or bring them to the next meeting on April 19. Hoss Houmard will have his trailer at the meeting to collect your sale items. Call Hoss (439-9296) if you have items to contribute but can't bring them to the sale or to the meeting. This is an important fund-raiser for the club and its success depends entirely on club members contributing items to sell.
The next Federation tournament will be on Lake Toho out of the city ramp in Kissimmee on May 21-22. You can check your Federation brochure for an entry form or contact me if you need any information.
Huck Pewitt brought in over 18 pounds the first day of our Harris Chain tournament then followed up with almost 12 pounds the second day for a winning weight of 31.42 pounds (including the participation weight). This gave Huck better than a 5-pound lead over second place Scott Daley. Scott's weight of 26.04 pounds included big bass for the tournament at 9.28 pounds. Colby Cotterill couldn't get a real big bite but had consistently good weight both days to take third with 25.97 pounds. Allen Prince finished fourth with 25.61 pounds and Van Soles had 25.10 pounds for fifth.
Our next tournament will be May 15 on the Kissimmee Chain. The tournament date was moved so as not to conflict with Mothers Day. The draw meeting will be May 3. The May 17 meeting will also be a draw meeting as we will select partners for our June 5 tournament on Istokpoga at that time. We then have a Federation tournament on Istokpoga on June 11-12.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We have fished two tournaments since the last newsletter. Colby Cotterill won our
May tournament on the Kissimmee Chain with 16.56 pounds. Jay Morgan finished a close second with 16.25 pounds. Mike Childers finished third with 15.51 pounds and David Harris was fourth with 15.40 pounds. Allen Prince brought the largest fish to the scales at 9.28 pounds. Allen's fish is just shy of the 9.53-pound lunker Ron Falzarano caught in the March Tournament.
We headed to Lake Istokpoga for the June tournament. Low water conditions changed the lake somewhat and we didn't have the percentage of members catching a limit we usually experience on Istokpoga but, fortunately, no one damaged a boat. Mike Childers found the best pattern and finished first with 11.12 pounds. Chip Burton was a close second with 10.55 pounds. Jared Dial's motor overheated on the way back to the ramp for weigh-in and the one-pound penalty he received for being late cost him first place. Jared finished third with10.34 pounds. Jared also took big bass honors with a hawg weighing 7.25 pounds. Jimmie Davis was fourth with 8.66 pounds.
Our next tournament will be on the Kissimmee Chain out of Camp Lester on July 10. The draw meeting for this tournament will be July 5.
Lake Okeechobee is experiencing record low water levels and the Tournament Committee is considering changing the location for the August 6-7 tournament due to concerns over safety. Lake conditions will be monitored and a decision will be made in early July on any change so stay tuned.
The complete club calendar for 2011 can be found on the club's website - http://lunkerlovers.com. Upcoming events, other than our regular tournament schedule and meetings, are listed below.
Couples Tournament - September 18, Kissimmee Chain - Camp Lester
Youth Tournament w/Cub Scouts - September 24 - Simmers-Young Park
Club Banquet - December 3 - Ariana Beach Yacht Club
Newsletters are archived on the club's website. Select the link for "Newsletters" if you wish to read any of the previous newsletters for this year.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Due to low water conditions on Lake Okeechobee, the location of our August two-day tournament has been changed to the Kissimmee Chain out of Camp Lester. The dates remain the same, August 6-7.
Leo and Joanne Cosce had originally thought there was another club having a two-day tournament out of Camp Lester the same weekend we scheduled our August tournament and that all their cabins were booked. A check of their calendar revealed that this was not the case so that all of Camp Lester's cabins are available. Leo and Joanne are offering a discounted rate on the rentals for club members staying two nights. The cost for two people in a cabin will be $50 per night. Three people will pay $60 per night and four people will be $80 per night. There will be a cookout for those staying on Saturday night. Call the Cosces at 696-1123 to make reservations.
Stacy Thomas' dead fish almost cost him first place in our tournament on the Kissimmee Chain this past weekend. Stacy's weight of 17.00 pounds was reduced to 16.75 pounds due to the dead-fish penalty. This gave Stacy 17.75 pounds after the participation weight was added. This was only 0.02 pounds ahead of Colby Cotterill's second place weight of 17.73 pounds. David Harris had 15.25 pounds for third place after losing a quarter pound for a dead fish. David Glenn also lost weight due to 3 dead fish but still took fourth place with 14.14 pounds.
The top ten members in the year-end standings through July each have a total weight over 70 pounds. Colby Cotterill has already recorded over 100 pounds and, with five days of fishing left, it looks like we'll have quite a few members of the 100-pound club this year. The top ten members in the standings are Colby Cotterill, 111.45 pounds; Jay Morgan, 89.08 pounds; Huck Pewitt, 81.78 pounds; Mike Childers, 78.11 pounds; Jared Dial, 77.74 pounds; Van Soles,77.21 pounds; Stacy Thomas, 76.02 pounds; John Dial, 75.40 pounds; Lamar Middleton, 74.13 pounds and David Harris, 72.76 pounds.
Voting for our sportsmanship award will begin at our next meeting. Our procedure for this award reads
"The recipient of the annual 'Jimmy Lynn, Sr. Sportsmanship Award' shall be selected by a secret ballot vote of the members of the Club. The recipient should be a member who has exhibited exceptional sportsmanship and support for the Club during the current Club year. Multiple votes for this award should be conducted at Club meetings with the total ballots from all votes tallied to determine the recipient."
The club now has 60 active members. We had 45 active members last year. Fifty-eight members have fished at least one tournament this year. Last year, 43 members fished at least one tournament. Thanks for all you've done to help this club grow.
Newsletters are archived on the club's website. Select the link for "Newsletters" if you wish to read any of the previous newsletters for this year.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our youth tournament, done this year in conjunction with the cub scouts, will be held September 24 at Simmers-Young Park (next to the Auburndale Speedway). Hoss Houmard is organizing the event and needs volunteers to work that day. Let Hoss know if you are willing to help with this most worthwhile project.
As you may have read in various newspapers, Bartow High School has organized a competitive bass fishing team. The team is part of the Student Angler Federation under the umbrella of The Bass Federation. This is the only team in Polk County and allows students from other high schools to join. The team relies on volunteers to serve as boat captains. They have upcoming events on Eagle Lake August 20 and Lake Reedy September 3. Call Jim Stricklin at 863-537-0732 or email Mike Bedenbaugh (mikeb@barttowford.com) if you are able to help these young anglers by providing your boat and services as a boat captain. These kids are potential future members for our club.
Mike Bedenbaugh, fishing in only his second tournament as a Lunker Lover, won our two-day tournament on the Kissimmee Chain this month with 25.60 pounds. Michael Teate finished a close second with 25.12 pounds. Jay Morgan took third with 22.09 pounds and Van Soles finished fourth with 21.32 pounds. David Harris had big fish for the tournament at 9.87 pounds. David's fish is now big fish for the year with two tournaments left in our schedule.
Our next tournament will be September 11 on the Kissimmee Chain. The draw meeting for this tournament will be September 6. Our last regular tournament will be October 8-9 on Lake Istokpoga. The draw meeting for the Istokpoga tournament will be October 4. Our Classic Tournament will be held October 29-30 on the Kissimmee Chain for those who qualify. To qualify for the Classic Tournament one must fish at least 8 of the 10 tournaments. Members in the top twenty in the year-end standings who also fish in at least 70% of this year's tournaments conducted subsequent to his/her date of membership also qualify for the Classic.
We also have couples tournaments scheduled for September 18 on the Kissimmee Chain and October 16 on the Kissimmee Chain. Contact Ed Palmer if you are interested in fishing the couples tournamen
Remember that our annual awards banquet will be December 3 at the Ariana Beach Yacht Club.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We have our kids' tournament in conjunction with the Cub Scouts September 24 at Simmers-Young Park. Hoss Houmard is organizing this and needs volunteers to help at the park that day. Call Hoss or let him know at the next meeting if you can help.
Also being held on the 24th is a Veterans Appreciation Tournament on the St. Johns River. They need boats to take disabled vets fishing in a tournament. Call Bill Reus at 863-370-7875 if you wish to participate.
We have our last regular tournament on Lake Istokpoga October 8-9 with the Classic Tournament on the Kissimmee Chain October 29-30. You are qualified for the Classic Tournament if you have fished eight tournaments. You can also qualify if you finish in the top twenty in the year-end standings and have fished at least 70% of this year's tournaments. For a member who joins during the year, this 70% applies to the tournaments subsequent to the date of membership.
We're nearing the end of the club year. Voting on the Jimmy Lynn, Sr. Sportsmanship Award will be conducted at the next few meetings. Nominations for next year's officers will be taken at the meetings in October and at the first meeting in November. Officers will be elected at the first November meeting. Please consider serving your club as one of its officers.
Other items on the club's calendar include couples' tournaments on September 18 and October 16. Call Ed Palmer if you are interested in the couples' tournaments. We also have the annual awards banquet scheduled for December 3.
Mike Childers' difficulty in coming in with the correct number of fish continues. Mike mistakenly released his fifth fish on the Kissimmee Chain this past weekend. Mike weighed in the four remaining fish and won with 19.42 pounds. David Harris finished second, also weighing in four fish, with 18.56 pounds. Stacy Thomas had five fish and 17.04 pounds for third place. David Glenn finished fourth with a limit weighing 15.79 pounds. David Harris also had big bass (for the second consecutive month) at 8.20 pounds. David's 9.87-pound bass, caught last month, is leading for big bass of the year.
Jay Morgan had 14.28 pounds in the September tournament and this was good enough to move him into first place in the year-end standings. Jay has 125.45 pounds. Colby Cotterill is in second place with 120.59 pounds and Van Soles is in third place with 112.35 pounds. It's worthy of note that we have at least twelve members with a very good chance of making the 100-pound club. We already have six members over one hundred pounds and 12th place currently has 93.70 pounds. With two days on Istokpoga coming up, it's likely that the top twelve members (perhaps more) will make the century mark. This would be a record number of members of the 100-pound club.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President
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Our Youth Tournament, held in conjunction with the Cub Scouts, was a huge success with over 40 kids participating. The weather cooperated this year and the kids caught a lot of fish. Thanks to our sponsors, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, West Marine, Merita Bread, Coca Cola and Wise Potato Chips for their support. Hoss Houmard deserves a lot of credit for organizing this event! Thanks also to the club members who helped Hoss organize the tournament and/or worked on the day of the tournament.
We had a rather soggy tournament at Lake Istokpoga this past weekend with almost constant rain and strong wind both days. The fish didn't seem to mind too much as about 80% of those participating brought limits to the scales. Colby Cotterill had a very strong first day and won with 24.76 pounds. Bob Lane had 22.41 pounds for second place. Jared Dial finished third with 20.34 pounds. David Harris brought in the biggest bass for the third consecutive tournament. David's 8.29-pound lunker was a big part of his fourth place weight of 19.51 pounds.
The tournament on Lake Istokpoga was the last regular tournament of the year. We have a new record of twelve members making the One Hundred Pound Club. This tops the old record of eight members set only last year. Either we're getting better or the fish are getting bigger. Congratulations to Colby Cotterill, Jay Morgan, David Harris, Jared Dial, David Glenn, Van Soles, Stacy Thomas, John Dial, Mike Childers, Lamar Middleton, Huck Pewitt and Michael Teate for eclipsing the century mark.
The listing in the previous paragraph also gives the top twelve in the order of finish in the year-end Standings. Congratulations to Colby Cotterill who won Angler-of-the-Year by having the highest total weight in the year-end standings. Colby had a total of 145.35 pounds. Congratulations also to Jared Dial who won the Mr. Bass award given to the member who catches the highest number of fish. Jared had 54 fish for the year.
Our Classic Tournament will be held October 29-30 on the Kissimmee Chain out of Camp Lester. There are two ways to qualify for the classic tournament but this year all the qualifiers did so by fishing at least eight tournaments. You can check the year-end standings if you have any question as to whether you qualify. Congratulations to the classic participants and good luck to all!
We will continue the nomination of the officers for 2012 at the next meeting 10/18/2011. The election of officers will occur at the 11/1/2011 meeting. Nominations can also be made at the election meeting. Please consider serving your club as an officer for 2012.
We will be conducting a survey of the membership to provide information to next year's tournament committee. A form is included with this newsletter. The form is attached in a .pdf format if you receive the newsletter by email. You can open and print the attachment. Please bring your completed form to the next meeting, 10/18/2011, or mail it to Lamar Middleton at 144 Chaucer Lane, Winter Haven, FL 33884. He will compile the survey results and make the information available to the incoming Tournament Director. Forms will also be available at the 10/18/2011 meeting.
All newsletters for 2011 are archived on the club website http://lunkerlovers.com.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President
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Our Lunker Lovers Banquet will be held December 3, 2011 at the Ariana Beach Yacht Club, 104 Dixie Highway, Auburndale, FL. The club website, http://lunkerlovers.com, contains a link to a map. The festivities will begin at 6:00 with the meal and program beginning at 7:30. We will need to give the caterer a final count immediately after the next club meeting, 11/15/2011, so make your reservations by that time. You can call Lamar Middleton (863-224-4050) to make reservations if you can't make the meeting. The cost is $20 per person which can be paid at the next meeting or the night of the banquet.
We would like to send in our Federation dues early in December. Please pay your dues by the first meeting in December if possible. That meeting date is December 6. The club dues are $25, the Federation dues are $30 ($15 to state, $15 to national) and FLW dues are $35 for a total of $90.
Elections for the 2012 officers was held at this week's club meeting. Bob Lane is our incoming president. The vice president for fund-raising position is vacant. An election for this position will be held at a later date. The current holders of the other offices will continue in their positions for another year. Hoss Houmard will continue as vice president for activities, Ed Palmer will continue as secretary, Jim Sturdevant will be our treasurer and Jim Rose will work another year as tournament director. Please support these officers in the coming year.
Stacy Thomas won this year's classic tournament on the Kissimmee Chain this past weekend. Stacy had a two-day total of 25.36 pounds. Colby Cotterill finished second with 23.94 pounds. Lamar Middleton had big bass in the tournament at 5.78 pounds and finished third with a total of 22.84 pounds. Val Valachovic was fourth with 21.72 pounds. Check the club website for complete classic results.
Jim Rose is working with his tournament committee to determine next year's tournament schedule. This schedule will be presented for comment at the 11/15 club meeting and finalized prior to the banquet.
This year has been a good one for the club. We had the second-highest tournament participation on record. We had twelve members making the One-Hundred-Pound Club, shattering the record of eight members who made this club last year. I hope we will have a great turnout for the banquet and set the stage for another good year in 2012.
All newsletters for 2011 are archived on the club website http://lunkerlovers.com.
Yours truly,
Jim Stricklin
President