Tournament Results:

Our January tournament on Lake Bastrop involved 9 teams who braved the cold weather to fish.  Al Lykins and Carlton Yarbrough won the tournament with 10 fish weighing 29.48 pounds.  Darryl Smith and Tom Clark took second place with 10 fish weighing 25.27 pounds.  Third place went to Craig Mooney and Brooks Griffith who caught 10 fish weighing 24.42 pounds.  Gib Hoffman caught the biggest bass of the tournament (22.5″) and he also had the biggest 5 fish stringer weighing 18.45 pounds.

Top Ten Standings:

Gib Hoffman- 18.45 pounds                                 Craig Mooney- 12.90 pounds
Al Lykins- 15.58 pounds                                         Mike Wiles- 12.77 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 13.90 pounds                     Brooks Griffith- 11.52 pounds
Darryl Smith- 13.76 pounds                                  Tom Clark- 11.51 pounds
Stan Evans- 12.90 pounds                                      David McClung- 10.33 pounds
Gib Hoffman currently has the lead for Big Bass of the 1st Qrt.

February Meeting and Tournament:

Our February meeting will be next Thursday, February 18th, at 7:00pm.  Our February tournament will be next Saturday, February 20, 2010.  Tom Clark and Bob Smith have volunteered to bring refreshments to the next meeting.

Club News:

Come on guys; let’s go fishing!  We need more than 9 teams this month.  Don’t let the cold weather keep you off the water.  At the upcoming meeting we will not only draw partners for our February tournament, but we will draw partners for our April travel tournament to O. H. Ivie based upon when you want to/can depart.  There will be a draw for members wanting to depart on Thursday before the tournament and a draw for members wanting to depart on Friday before the tournament.

The annual Round Rock Amputee Fishing Trip has been set for Saturday April 24th.  We need riggers and non-riggers to help make this event a success and everyone loves to fish Lake Bastrop.  There is always a great meal after we fish.  Mark your calendars so you won’t miss out on all the fun.

If you missed the January meeting, annual dues are due ($12.00).  In addition, if you want to be a member of TABC (Texas Assn. of Bass Clubs), the annual dues are also due ($20.00). 

Fishing Reports:

Cold weather is certainly affecting fishing, mostly the fishermen who strive to stay warm while fishing.  Mike Wiles and I fished Fayette County on Saturday, February 13th, and it was cold, very foggy, overcast and we idled from place to place for half the day due to very limited visibility.  Fortunately, it was not windy.  We caught 5 or 6 fish apiece.  The biggest fish were very chunky 17 and 18 inch fish that put up a good fight.  Although most areas had a water temperature of 60 degrees or more, the fish didn’t seem to be up real shallow.  Most of our fish came from 6′ to 10′ of water and most of them were caught on a drop shot rig.  The week before, Mike Wiles and Dale White caught 8 or 9 fish at Decker Lake.  Most of these fish were caught along the dam and Mike reported the grass on the south end of the lake is not in very good shape.  Lake Travis is almost full but the water temperature is around 53 degrees.  Some fishing reports indicate bass can be caught in deeper water, but many of the fishing reports for Lake Travis relate to crappie or white bass fishing.  I hope to see you at the meeting next Thursday.

Tournament Results:

Our December tournament was held on Lake Bastrop and started at 9:00am to avoid a below freezing temperature at daylight.  A sunny sky warmed us during the day, but the bite was slow for many participants.  Mike Wiles and Jim Rumbo finished in first place with 9 fish weighing 31.83 pounds.  Vince Martin and Tim Jolly came in second place with 10 fish weighing 26.46 pounds.  Third place went to Gib Hoffman and Gary Burnham who had 10 fish weighing 23.03 pounds.  Mike Wiles caught the biggest bass (22″) and had the biggest 5 fish stringer (19.26 pounds).

Final Top 10 Standings For 2009:

Mike Wiles- 164.97 pounds                      Al Lykins- 116.75 pounds
Vince Martin- 146.16 pounds                  Gib Hoffman- 113.35 pounds
Jim Pollard- 132.41 pounds                     Harold Barnett- 111.52 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 126.66 pounds      Darryl Smith- 90.68 pounds
Tom Clark- 120.51 pounds                       Gary Burnham- 90.48 pounds
Ken Haulotte caught the Biggest Bass of the 4th Qtr. and of the Year when he landed a 12.56 pound monster at Choke Canyon Reservoir on 10/2/2009.

Ken is one happy fisherman!

January 2010 Meeting and Tournament:

Our January 2010 meeting will be next Thursday, 1/14/2010, at 7:00pm.  Our first tournament of the year will be on Saturday, January 16th.  Mitch Shelton and Bill Bratton have volunteered to bring refreshments to the January meeting.

Club News:

January always seems to be a busy month.  The Austin Boat Show is scheduled for January 14-17, 2010.  Brian Kitchen will have his catfish tank at the show so youngsters can experience the excitement of catching a fish.  Any club member who would like to help Brian for a few hours and have the opportunity to see the boat show should contact Brian via telephone.  Helping Brian only entails baiting  hooks, netting and releasing catfish, and helping the real young kids catch a fish.  It’s a lot of fun to see youngsters get excited about a fish.

The annual club banquet is scheduled for January 23rd at 6:30pm at the Catfish Parlour South located at 4606 Burleson Road.  The cost is $10 per member and this also includes your spouse or invited guest.  A ventriloquist will provide some entertainment.  Jim Pollard needs an accurate head count by our next meeting.  If you cannot be at the next meeting, please let Jim know of your plans to attend the annual banquet by phone or email.

Annual dues and TABC dues are due for all returning members.  I will attach the membership form to the email that I send out notifying members that I have posted this newsletter to the club website.

Members voted at the December meeting to have a springtime travel tournament in April.  The club will be discussing what lake should be selected for the April travel tournament at the upcoming meeting.  Think about where you would like to go.

Fishing Reports:

Before this last round of extremely cold weather, fishing was pretty good on Lake Bastrop and Fayette County Reservoir.  Hopefully, next weekend will be sunny and warm.  I will see you at the meeting.

Tournament Results:

Our November tournament at Fayette County Reservoir produced some nice stringers.  Thirteen teams participated and 15 members caught a limit of five bass.  Harold Barnett and Brooks Griffith took first place with 10 fish weighing 34.28 pounds.  Second place went to Al Lykins and Tom Clark who caught 10 fish weighing 32.33 pounds.  Third place went to Mitch Shelton and Jim Rumbo who caught 9 fish weighing 31.72 pounds.  Brooks Griffith had the biggest stringer (20.26 pounds) and caught the biggest bass (25.5″ or 6.06 pounds).

Top Ten Standings:

Mike Wiles- 145.71 pounds                     Al Lykins- 108.56 pounds
Vince Martin- 130.64 pounds                Harold Barnett- 103.51 pounds
Tom Clark- 120.51 pounds                      Gib Hoffman- 99.02 pounds
Jim Pollard- 119.09 pounds                    Art Cruser- 88.16 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 117.58 pounds     David McClung- 84.21 pounds
Mike Wiles and Brooks Griffith are currently tied for Big Bass of the 4th Quarter.  They both have caught a 25.5″ bass.

December Meeting and Tournament:

Our last meeting of 2009 will be next Thursday, December 3rd, at 7:00pm.  The December tournament will be Saturday, December 5, 2009.  Harold Barnett and Tom McVan have volunteered to bring refreshments to the next meeting.

Club News:

At the upcoming meeting we will vote in a new slate of officers/directors for 2010.  The 2010 club calendar will be discussed/approved.  By secret ballot we will select the member deserving of the Johnny Mayes Sportsmanship Award.  The winner will be announced at our annual banquet.

Fishing Reports:

Per fishing reports posted on the Austin Bass Fishing website, both Lake Travis and Lake Bastrop have been producing some nice catches of fish.  Hope to see you all at the next meeting.

September/October Tournament Results:

Our September tournament was held at Decker Lake and the bite was tough.  Out of 10 teams, no team caught a limit of ten fish and only 4 members caught their limit of 5 fish.  Craig Mooney and Stan Evans took first place with 17.20 pounds.  Second place went to Mike Wiles and Jim Rumbo with 12.08 pounds.  Carlton Yarbrough and Gib Hoffman finished in third place with 12.02 pounds.  Nobody caught a bass over 5 pounds.

Our travel tournament in October was held at Choke Canyon Reservoir.  The bite was fair and the northerly wind was moderate so numerous small fish were caught.  Out of 12 teams participating, only 3 teams caught a limit of 10 fish.  Gib Hoffman and Ron Roberts won the tournament with 18.21 pounds.  Vince Martin and his guest, Jerry Price, came in second place with 17.26 pounds.  Al Lykins and Tom Clark took third place with 16.96 pounds.  Mike Wiles caught the biggest bass which was 22.5″ (6.06 pounds).

Top Ten Standings:

Mike Wiles- 130.38 pounds                      Al Lykins- 93.11 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 117.58 pounds       Harold Barnett- 89.49 pounds
Vince Martin- 116.49 pounds                   Gib Hoffman- 85.06 pounds
Jim Pollard- 108.95 pounds                      Art Cruser- 75.45 pounds
Tom Clark- 103.63 pounds                        Gary Burnham- 73.65 pounds
Mike Wiles currently leads for Biggest Bass of the 4th Qtr. with his 22.5″ bass caught during the October tournament at Choke Canyon Reservoir.

November Meeting and Tournament:

Our November meeting will be next Thursday, November 19th, at 7:00pm.  The November tournament will be Saturday, November 21, 2009.  Mike Wiles and Dale White have volunteered to bring refreshments to the next meeting.

Club News:

Don’t forget our last meeting of the year is December 3rd and our December tournament is on Saturday, December 5th.  We will elect a new slate of officers and directors during our last meeting of the year.

Couples Club Tournament Results:

The Couples Club held their last tournament for the year at Lake Bastrop on November 7, 2009.  Four couples participated and Melba and Ken Haulotte won the tournament with 5 fish weighing 11.45 pounds.  Melba caught a 21.5″ bass and tied her record so she caught the two biggest bass of the year.  The final results are shown below:

Fishing Reports:

I wish I had a great fishing report to share but I’ve been busy with other things and haven’t gone fishing since last month.  I know several club members have been to Fayette County and caught some fish.  Their results indicate it is hard to catch the big ones, but most of them are in the 2 to 3 pound range.  I’ll see you at the club meeting and hopefully the wind will not be howling on tournament day.

Tournament Results:

Our August night tournament on Lake LBJ resulted in some good stringers for a second month in a row.  Half of the eighteen members participating caught a limit of 5 fish.  Carlton Yarbrough and Stan Evans won first place with 10 fish weighing 27.28 pounds.  Second place went to Darryl Smith and Gary Burnham who caught a limit of fish weighing 25.78 pounds.  Carlton had the biggest 5 fish stringer weighing 17.39 pounds and he and Tom McVan tied for biggest bass of the tournament with a 21″ (5.0 pound) bass.

Top Ten Standings:

Mike Wiles- 109.12 pounds                               Al Lykins- 82.41 pounds
Vince Martin- 99.85 pounds                             Harold Barnett- 80.05 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 98.56 pounds                 Gib Hoffman- 76.05 pounds
Jim Pollard- 95.06 pounds                                Gary Burnham- 72.15 pounds
Tom Clark- 89.93 pounds                                  Art Cruser- 68.83 pounds
Mike Wiles currently leads the race for Big Bass of the 3rd Quarter with his 7.0 pound bass caught during the July tournament at Lake LBJ.

September Meeting and Tournament:

Our September meeting will be next Thursday, September 17th, at 7:00pm.  The September tournament will be Saturday, September 19, 2009.  Roberto Ruiz and John Hasse have volunteered to bring refreshments to the next meeting.

Club News:

The upcoming meeting is your last chance to participate in the raffle that has been organized by friends of Jim Behnken to pay medical expenses owed as a result of Jim’s wife having cancer.  Raffle tickets are $10 each or 12 for $100.  Every raffle ticket is eligible for over 25 nice prizes and one fishing trip of your choice (20 trips available).  One guided fishing trip to Sugar Lake in Mexico with Speedy Collet or Jim Edwards guarantees a 10 pound bass.  The drawing will be on 10/31/09.

Don’t miss this month’s meeting if you want to fish in the October travel tournament at Choke Canyon Reservoir on 10/17/09.  We will be drawing partners for this tournament based upon members who can depart on Thursday before the tournament and members who can depart on Friday before the tournament.   If you can’t attend the meeting, please let Tom Clark, Tournament Director, or Darryl Smith know of your plans to participate and which day you can depart.

Since the club will not have a regular meeting in October, we will probably pick a date for the October garage sale at the upcoming meeting.

Fishing Reports:

I wish I had a good fishing report to share.  Hopefully, we will hear of someone’s success at the upcoming meeting on Thursday.  See you there!

Tournament Results:

Only 8 teams fished Lake LBJ in July but the night time tournament produced some big stringers of fish.  Underwater lights in deeper water seemed to produce the most fish.  Mike Wiles and Stan Evans won the tournament with 10 fish weighing 38.04 pounds.  Mike also caught the biggest bass of the tournament; a 7.0 pound fish he caught at a underwater light.  Stan had the biggest 5 fish stringer weighing 20.02 pounds.  Carlton Yarbrough and Tom Clark came in second place with 30.54 pounds.  Only two places will be recognized since there were less than 10 teams participating in the tournament.

Top Ten Standings:

Vince Martin- 96.60 pounds                                    Tom Clark- 77.72 pounds
Mike Wiles- 95.04 pounds                                        Al Lykins- 73.27 pounds
Jim Pollard- 87.86 pounds                                        David McClung- 66.02 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 81.17 pounds                         Gib Hoffman- 65.97 pounds
Harold Barnett- 80.05 pounds                                Mitch Shelton- 63.81 pounds
Mike Wiles currently leads the race for Big Bass of the 3rd Quarter with his 7.0 pound bass caught during the July tournament at Lake LBJ.

August Meeting and Tournament:

Our August meeting will be next Thursday, August 13th, at 7:00pm.  Our August tournament will be Saturday, August 15, 2009.  Jim Pollard and George Reswik have volunteered to bring refreshments to the next meeting.

Club News:

Raffle for Jim Behnken- Jim’s friends have organized a raffle designed to pay the medical expenses Jim owes as a result of his wife’s battle with cancer.  Raffle tickets are $10 each or 12 for $100.  Prizes include a trophy deer hunting trip, guided fishing trips on Lake Fork, Falcon Reservoir, Choke Canyon, and Lake Amistad.  There are over 20 fantastic prizes that have been donated by fellow fishermen/friends of Jim Behnken.  The drawing will occur on October 31st.  The club will consolidate the raffle ticket purchases by club members desiring to support this project.  The consolidated funds will be sent to the organizers after the September club meeting.

Travel Tournament- It’s time to start planning for the travel tournament that we have each fall.  Where would you like to go fishing for a catch of a lifetime?  When is the best time?  Think about this during the next few days because we will be trying to pick a place and time for our fall travel tournament at our upcoming meeting.  If you can not attend this month’s meeting, send me an email of your preferences and I will share them with other club members at the meeting.

Fishing Report:

It’s hard to even find a fishing report at this time of the year, much less a good one!  Mike Wiles and I fished Lady Bird Lake one evening last week.  We each caught 2 slot fish that were between 1.5 and 2 pounds.  Mike had a fish break his drop shot line at the boat.  It was probably the biggest fish of the night, but we didn’t really get a good look at the fish.  We fished for about 4 hours and the shallower shoreline seemed to hold fish due to the shallow grass that was present.  Don’t forget to purchase your new fishing license because the new license year begins September 1st.  See you at the meeting this Thursday.

Tournament Results:

We may have beat the heat when we fished Lake Austin in June, but we didn’t outsmart the fish.  Ten teams caught 31 fish.  Vince Martin and Dan Yurkovich won the tournament with 5 fish weighing 9.20 pounds.  Second place went to Gib Hoffman and Tom Clark who caught 4 fish weighing 7.89 pounds.  Third place went to Harold Barnett and Bob Smith who caught 6 fish weighing 6.93 pounds.  Mike Wiles had the heaviest stringer of fish.  His two fish weighed 6.69 pounds.

Top Ten Standings:

Vince Martin- 82.27 pounds                                 Al Lykins- 68.89 pounds
Harold Barnett- 80.05 pounds                            David McClung- 66.02 pounds
Mike Wiles- 77.02 pounds                                     Gib Hoffman- 64.66 pounds
Jim Pollard- 72.59 pounds                                     Tom Clark- 59.33 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 69.02 pounds                      John Kirkland- 57.69
Mitch Shelton caught the Big Bass of the 2nd Quarter when he landed a 23.5″ (7.00 pound) bass during the May tournament on Lake Bastrop.

July Meeting and Tournament:

Our July meeting will be next Thursday, July 16th, at 7:00pm.  Our July tournament will be Saturday, July 18th, 2009.  John Bobo and Vince Martin have volunteered to bring refreshments to the next meeting.

Fishing Reports:

I really don’t have much to report.  Al Lykins and T.V. Minner fished Lake Bastrop for about 4 hours on July 7th and only caught 2 fish.  Gary Burnham and I fished Lake Bastrop the morning of July 4th and Gary caught one fish.  Several members have recently fished Lake LBJ during the late afternoon and into the night with some success but the bite was slow.  I hope to see you at the meeting this Thursday. 

Tournament Results:

We had great early morning fishing during our May tournament on Lake Bastrop.  Lots of quality fish were caught before the wind changed to the north and brought a thunderstorm and rain towards the end of the tournament.  Twenty-one of twenty-six fishermen caught a limit of 5 fish.  Mitch Shelton and Stan Evans won the tournament with 10 fish weighing 42.02 pounds.  Harold Barnett and Gary Schriber came in second place with 37.78 pounds and Carlton Yarbrough and Tom McVan finished in third place with 33.28 pounds.  Mitch Shelton caught the biggest bass of the tournament (23.5″) and he also had the biggest 5 fish stringer (21.70 pounds).

Top Ten Standings:

Vince Martin- 76.39 pounds                                 David McClung- 66.02 pounds
Harold Barnett- 76.06 pounds                             Al Lykins- 65.51 pounds
Mike Wiles- 70.33 pounds                                     Gib Hoffman- 58.46 pounds
Jim Pollard- 69.15 pounds                                     Tom Clark- 57.64 pounds
Carlton Yarbrough- 66.90 pounds                      John Kirkland- 55.56 pounds
Currently, Mitch Shelton leads the race for Big Bass of the 2nd Quarter with his 23.5″ bass caught during the May tournament at Lake Bastrop.

June Meeting and Tournament:

Our June meeting will be next Thursday, June 18th, at 7:00pm.  Our June tournament will be Saturday, June 20, 2009.  Refreshments will be provided by Tim Jolly and another volunteer.

ABC Tournament on Lake Travis:

The Associated Builders & Contractors 2009 Open Bass Tournament is Saturday, June 20, 2009 on Lake Travis.  The fishing time is from 6:00am until 3:00pm and weigh-in is at Tournament Point-Pace Bend Park.  The entry fee for a 2 person team is $100 and historically ACBC members have gotten a discount because Bob Duda is a member of this organization.  This is a great tournament if you like competition and want to test your bass fishing skills against some of the local fishermen.  The first place prize is $2000 based upon 100 teams entering the tournament.  Saturday, June 20th, is the same day as our next ACBC tournament.

Couples Club Results:

The Couples Club went back to Lake Bastrop for their May tournament and the fishing was great.  Nita and Jim Pollard won this tournament with 5 fish weighing 14.95 pounds.  The table shows the current standings after 3 tournaments:

* Katy is Bob’s granddaughter

Fishing Report:

Per the Austin Bass Fishing website, the fishing on area lakes has been hit or miss for black bass.  Lake Travis has been slow for black bass during the day, but I know that night fishing can be productive since Mike Wiles and I had a good evening on Travis on June 2nd.  Our evening was cut short by a thunderstorm, but we still managed to catch 9 or 10 fish.  My biggest was 19.5″ and Mike’s biggest was 19″ long (see below).  Time to start thinking about night fishing with temperatures in the nineties and boat traffic a real concern on some area lakes.  See you at the meeting on Thursday.
 

Tournament Results:

Our April tournament on Decker Lake started out with some early morning rain and lightning, but conditions improved as the day progressed.  Fifteen of 28 members caught a limit of 5 fish.  Vince Martin and Mitch Shelton came in first place with 23.48 pounds.  Jim Pollard and Tom Clark finished second with 23.04 pounds.  Darryl Smith and Travis Rehberg took third place with 20.96 pounds.  Jim Pollard had the biggest 5 fish stringer at 13.33 pounds.

Top Ten Standings:

Vince Martin- 60.37 pounds              Al Lykins- 52.86 pounds
Harold Barnett- 57.67 pounds           Carlton Yarbrough- 49.07 pounds
Mike Wiles- 54.93 pounds                   Gib Hoffman- 44.69 pounds
Jim Pollard- 54.50 pounds                  Tom Clark- 42.68 pounds
David McClung- 52.94 pounds           John Kirkland- 40.23 pounds

May Meeting and Tournament:

Our May meeting will be Thursday, May 14th, at 7:00pm.  Our May tournament will be Saturday, May 16, 2009.  Carlton Yarbrough and Harold Barnett have volunteered to bring refreshments to this meeting.

Couples Club Results:

The Couples Club held their April tournament at Lake Bastrop.  Four couples participated and Patsy and Art Cruser won first place with 5 fish weighing 16.70 pounds.  The table below shows cumulative results after 2 tournaments:

Amputee Fishing Tournament at Lake Bastrop:

This fishing trip is planned for the benefit of the participating amputees and is great fun.  Many of them have no experience fishing, some are young and some are old, but we all have a great time on the water.  We need riggers and non-riggers to help make this event a success on Saturday, May 23rd.  We usually get started around 7:30am and come back to enjoy a great lunch together at noon.  Mark your calendar so you don’t miss out on this worthwhile event.

Fishing Report:

I wish I had some great reports to share, but I haven’t been on the water in two weeks.  I know Mike Wiles and Dale White had a fair day on Stillhouse Hollow last Wednesday although they didn’t find any of the big bass in that lake.  We’ll find out who has been catching fish at the upcoming meeting.   

Tournament Results:

Our March tournament was held on Lake Bastrop and 19 out of 33 fishermen caught a limit of 5 fish.  Harold Barnett and Paul Barger came in first place with 10 fish weighing 28.20 pounds.  Vince Martin and James Snow finished second with 25.98 pounds and John Kirkland and Travis Rehberg took third place with 21.77 pounds.  Mike Wiles caught the biggest bass of the tournament (6.50 pounds) and Harold Barnett had the biggest 5 fish stringer at 17.07 pounds.

Top Ten Standings:

Harold Barnett- 49.72 pounds           Jim Pollard- 41.17 pounds
Vince Martin- 49.35 pounds               Carlton Yarbrough- 37.17 pounds
Mike Wiles- 45.98 pounds                   Gib Hoffman- 33.30 pounds
Al Lykins- 43.73 pounds                       John Kirkland- 33.28 pounds
David McClung- 41.80 pounds           Tom Clark- 32.97 pounds
Gary Burnham won Big Bass of the 1st Quarter with a 25.5″ bass (9.06#) he caught at Choke Canyon on 3/17/09.

April Meeting and Tournament:

Our April meeting will be Thursday, April 16th, at 7:00pm.  Our April tournament will be Saturday, April 18, 2009.  Mitch Shelton and Stan Evans have volunteered to bring refreshments to this meeting.

Reminders:

Need to select a date for the Spring Garage Sale.

The Amputee Fishing Trip to Lake Bastrop is May 23, 2009.

Couples Club Results:

The Couples Club held their first tournament at Fayette County Lake on March 7th.  Four couples participated and the results are shown below:

Fishing Reports:

Haven’t heard many good reports due to the inconsistent weather we are having this spring.  My success has been limited.  Plan on sharing your fishing reports at the meeting this Thursday evening.   See you there.