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2008 - Monthly Tournament - 2009 LAKE HARRIS April 19, 2008 |
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Clearwater Bass Club Anglers, Did you miss me in May ? Probably not ! Looks like you had a great day at Lake Panasofkee ! I am glad Chuck told me to write about the April tournament when I got the chance. This is the first time I’ve had to stop and smell the worms. I have a lot on my mind and I want to start by giving out the good stuff for the tournament on the Harris Chain. 
Bob Gwinn was First with 2 fish that weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces. The two fish are important because they were the tiebreaker between first and second place. 
Second Place went to Tom “tailhook” Pridham with one fish that weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces. We’ll talk more on "Mr. Tailhook" shortly. Great fish anyway.
Third Place was taken by Bill Poirier with two fish that weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces. He told me they were hard fought for. I kinda knew that was going to be the case when I met some of our anglers Friday night at the local motel. Special thanks go to Jim Sellers who helped me correct a major snafu I created as I was leaving Cricket Hollow in Riverview. I hooked up my boat almost as I usually did as I went through my routine when getting the boat attached to the truck. I left out one important detail, unfortunately, and it cost me time and embarrassment. It could have been much much worse. You see, I left out the pin that locks my fold away tongue and, to make a long story short and to the point, It separated as I went over the second speed hump in my neighborhood. My tongue was hooked to my truck ball, and the trailer was on the ground. I had to unhook, go home and get a 2x6 and several 2x4s to lift the trailer high enough to get my jack and wheel to support the trailer so I could afford repairs. I found my pin there also. Page 2 I finally got everything back together, but I had blown out a fuse under the hood that gave me trailer lights. I had to go slow and in the right lane all the way to Leesburg. When I got to the motel and relayed my tale of woe, everybody there pitched in and Jim rewired my lights and found the blown fuse, and I was back in business. What a club. Tom, there is only one member of the “Tail hook” club in our club. You haven’t yet landed your aircraft on a carrier, and probably never will. Hugh Palmer has and is one of my heroes. I have landed on a carrier, and been shot off of one. I was a passenger in a “cod” aircraft. I have seen how small a carrier can look when you are coming in for a landing. My hat is off to Mr. Palmer. You, on the other hand, have a tail hook story because of where you hooked the fish. I can’t for the life of me remember who ratted on you. Congrats anyway. Just funnin’ ya ! 12 fish at this chain (37 pounds 1 ounce - Ed.). I keep thinking that we should be able to pull more into our boats with as much water as there is at this chain, but there just wasn’t the bite that there should have been. Don’t give up on this area as one day we will have a monster tournament here. As most of you know I got married to my sweetheart on April 26, 2008. Want to thank the three couples who did attend, and wish the rest of you could have been there. It went off without a hitch, so to speak, even though I was a part of it. Jeff and Sarah Hutchins, Jerry and Sharon Bischoff, and Steve and Pat Gordy attended, and I really want to thank all of you for being there. I was playing golf in California when you were fishing the May tournament. We had a great time in Martinez with my brother and his wife. You guys had fun as well. 
The picture here is one I want to show you and because I am very saddened by the passing of Chris Bath (r.). I was in South Carolina at the Santee-Cooper stop on the Southern Tour, and I got to shake hands with Chris and let him know that he and all of the BASS staff were greatly appreciated. I try and do that everywhere I go, and it meant a lot to me that I knew him, and considered him a friend. He always had a kind word, and even made a comment about Phyllis helping at a couple of the tournaments. “Chris, I will miss you my friend.” BASS lost a great advocate in your passing. If you are reading this with me, then be proud of your accomplishments in life. Please take time to take a deep breath once in a while, and thank the Good Lord for all of your blessings. I have a deeper appreciation for the people around me as this hit me pretty hard. You are all my friends, and I want to thank you for being in our club and fishing with me. All for now ! Take care and see you at the next meeting. |
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