The February 2012 Edition Rick Cortina and Judy Fairfield Swimbait Their Way Past The Field in The Allstate Lake June Challenge The predictions were for rain all morning and then the wind picking up out of the north by noon. They also predicted that the clear waters of June would give up the winning catch to the sight fishermen. They were all wrong. The rains never came, the wind started early and the winning catch came from California style swimbaits thrown around docks. Rick and Judy had found some docks with some deeper water in front of them and started their day with a giant swimbait. We are not talking a skinny dipper size bait, were talking a ten inch long, super size swimbait. Rick would throw this bait around the edges and in front of the docks and the bass would engulf it. His first bass of the day was his kicker. This 7.36 pound Lake June sow hit the bait and took off for deep water. After a hour long battle, or so it seemed, Judy expertly netted this beauty. After a few high fives, Rick went back to work. After a few more casts another fish nailed this huge bait and headed for Istokpoga. Once again Judy was there to save the day and put this monster in the boat with her expert netting skills. Then Judy’s rod got hot. She was throwing a senko style bait and felt a tick. She swung the rod and drove the hook in the jaw of a solid 3 pounder. Rick showed off his skills with a net and swung this fish in the boat. Once again Judy’s rod slammed another then another good fish. By 10:00 they had put almost twenty pounds of Lake June largemouth's in their livewells. And they had 5 hours to upgrade but never could find anymore help. But they ended up not needing it as their 19.54 limit took the Allstate, Lake June Challenge victory. Second place went to the team of Jeff Baker and Clay Garrett. They started their morning in the long canal headed to Lake Carrie. They had located one good fish on a bed in the canals and headed straight for her. She was sitting on about 3 feet of water and they worked her until she finally bit Clay’s craw. She would weigh 5.64 pounds. They had not located anymore good fish so they moved on down to Lake Carrie. There they worked the docks with junebug red worms to finish their 14.24 pound limit. Third place went to State Team Member Bob Grosso and almost as famous Logan Grosso. They also started in the same canal but they had a different strategy. They worked the sticks and cover on the banks in this long canal. Their bass fell to Waldo stickbaits as they pitched to the cover. As the sun came out they started sight fishing and found a nice bass sitting on a bed right behind a pontoon boat. I don’t know why but those pontoons are a bass magnets. Logan worked the bass for a few minutes before she engulfed his bait. Bob got her in the net and then into the livewell. She would weigh 7.84 pounds and be our lunker of the day as well as the year, so far. She anchored their 13.98 pound limit and earned them a third place check as well as big fish check. Overall 22 limits were brought to the scales for a total of 138 fish that weighted 233.46 pounds. Bay Area BassMasters Rick Cortina and Jeff Baker and Bob Grosso and Bob holding Judy Fairfield Clay Garrett Logan Grosso Logan’s Lunker 1st Place 19.54 2nd Place 14.24 3rd Place 13.98 7.84 pounds The First Central Region Federation Nation Qualifier Is This Weekend On Toho The first central region qualifier for the year is this weekend on Lake Toho. The tournament will be held out of Lakefront Park, Sunday, March 4th. The registration and pairings meeting will be at the Bass Pro Shop on International Drive in Orlando on Saturday the 3rd. Registration will be from 4-6 with the meeting starting at 6:30. Entry fee is $100. The team and big fish pots are $10 each. This is your first opportunity to qualify for the state championship this year. Just like Bob, Colby and Rodney did last year. Now they are about to compete for the Florida team in Clewiston at the end of the month. Good luck Florida and good luck gentlemen. may one of you be competing in the Federation Nation Championship this fall. The PVA is holding it’s annual tournament next month on Lake Toho 2012 Paralyzed Veterans of America Citrus Slam Bass Tournament April 14 -15, 2012 Lake Toho, Lakefront Park Come out and support your disabled veterans for this rewarding bass tournament. Two day event with able body boaters and non-boaters assisting the disabled vet as guide, coach and mentor on Saturday then fishing as a team on Sunday. Pairing meeting will be Friday April 13th at the Clarion Resort and Waterpark, Kissimmee FL with Awards Banquet Dinner on Saturday April 14th. Registration is now open through Mar 15th at www.pva.org/sports Cost for able body boat partner is only $50 and you could win valuable prizes and cash awards both days plus the satisfaction of helping our Vets! To make this a great event we need a lot of volunteer support. For more information contact: Steve Jarrett, 813-391-4105 or Joan Winkler 813-264-1111 This is a Florida B.A.S.S. Federation Nation sponsored event. If you choose to participate in this great tournament, you wi any TAOY points. Steve will be talking to us at this months meeting about this tremendous event. New Club Shirts Available The new club jerseys are available now. We redesigned them and I think we have come up with a great jersey. You can add your boat and motor or two of your own sponsors. I will order mine with Skeeter and Power Pole. So pick your sponsors and get ready to order them at the our March meeting. We should have them for April. The cost is $66 for the long sleeve and $59 for the short sleeve version. This is for the stand up collar with a zipper. We will have all the choices as well as hoodie and jacket pricing at the meeting. We need to order at least 15 shirts to get this deal so bring your check book and show your club pride. Thanks for being a part of the best bass club in Florida, Bay Area Bassmasters. I am sorry for the poor copy but this is the only way I could get it in the newsletter. It would not scan well. I will send a copy of the original with this newsletter. So open both attachments. You do not have to list your boat and motor. You can list any two of your sponsors you would like. Just be careful, if they are local companies that don’t have a digitized logo, an art work charge will be applied. If you can get a file that they can work with no additional charges will apply. I will probably have two made. One with Skeeter and Yamaha and the other with Power Pole and Mahoney’s. Sponsor News & Notes Each month we will be bringing you information on a few of our sponsors as well as keeping you updated on member feedback of sponsor items whether won through the monthly raffles or purchased directly through our sponsors. To help with this section we’d like to ask that you provide feedback regarding our sponsor’s products. Please let us know your stories and thoughts so that we may include it in the newsletter and also let our sponsors know as they really appreciate the feedback and are always pleased to hear from us. Sponsorship News & Notes: We'd like to thank the following sponsors for supporting our 2012 season o PLATINUM SPONSORS: Allstate Insurance (Paul Phaneuf), Armor Guard, Bill’s Prescription Center, RBC Wealth Management (Dean Franklin), Richard’s Quality Automotive, & T.A. Mahoney Co., Inc o GOLD SPONSORS: Bass Boat Saver, Deep South Rods, Dobyn’s Rods, Family Boating and Marine Center, Kicker Fish Bait Co., Sonny’s Marine Center, & ZENO Office Solutions o SILVER SPONSORS: Accucull, Bass King Outdoor Clothing, Bruiser Baits, Buddy’s Home Furnishings, Crumps Lures, Culprit, Gambler Lures, Hag’s Tornado Baits, KeelGuard, Koppers LIVETARGET, Rat-L-Trap, & Simmons Sporting Goods o BRONZE SPONSORS: Brandon Brace, Okuma, Racetrac, Valley Fashions (Jerseys) Sponsor Feedback -Rat-L-Trap– We had a number of our members catch fish on the Bill Lewis Original Rat-L-Traps during our February tournament on Lake June in Winter. From what was shared it sounded like the Chrome finishes worked the best during the day with Blue or Black backs. -Kicker Fish Bait Co. – There were a number of fish caught on the Kicker Fish Original Wacky Worm during the day. The use of light line and light wire hooks was the key on Lake June in that clear water. Color of choice seemed to be Watermelon Red. -Culprit – During a recent tournament on Lake Harris we had a couple of members submitting that they used the Fat Max worms through the Hydrilla and caught some really nice fish. -Paul Phaneuf and Allstate Insurance – There have been a few members speaking the praises of the assistance Paul has given them with Insurance coverage for not only their boats but also their cars and houses as well.