2011 Toledo Bass Club Season:
Tentative Tournament schedule for the 2011 season is presently listed in Tournament results and below.
A big welcome to all the new viewers, old viewers and those members that have come back to the club.
Cancelled: Saturday April 16-Sandusky Mazurik Launch-Moved to next week
Cancelled: Bad weather day Saturday April 23-Sandusky Mazurik Launch-Make up for April 16/23 to be determined at a later date
Saturday April 30-Sandusky Mazurik Launch
Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
I’m ba-a-a-ck!!!!
Yes, the editorializing web punk is now prepared to give forth the NEWS on the club’s first tournament that took three damn weeks to finally get launched.
We left out of Mazurik’s Launch and weather was O.K. Jorge of the Fairways (It was nice to see him and Mike Fall back in the fold with the club) and his back-seater were a little late because the launch was jammed with other boats that were trying to get out like we were. Pent up fishing frustrations I am sure. As is usually the case this time of year we all seemed to start up fishing around the same area around Kelly’s Island. The weather man blew it again as the wind was out of the east, all damn day and the temperatures were not the 70’s that we were promised. Weather still was better than the past month.
Upon return for weigh in, the long arm of the law was present doing boat inspections and such. Honest Hal apparently was a bit nervous as he hung out with his trolling motor down outside the ramps until being convinced to come in.
The weigh in was again handled efficiently and accurately by Honest Hal. All the fish swam off showing no signs of stress for their adventure. Of course there were not many of them to be weighed. Fishing this date was tough for most of us. However, El Presidente (The Jerk) and his back-seater (for this update referred to as J.A.-not jackass you idiots-Jerk Apprentice) both came in with limits and the weights were good enough for J.A. to take 1st place in his first tournament with the club, congratulations. The Jerk (AKA-Brent Dunmyer) came in a close second with Jorge of the Fairways (George Heltzel) coming in third. Honest Hal (The Man, The Myth, The Legend) had Big Bass to round out the awards for our first day out for 2011.
And off the season goes…….
Saturday May 14-Lake Fenton and Sunday May 15-Lake Ponemah
On behalf of the Toledo Bass Club I would like to thank the Bowling Green Bass Club for allowing our club to use your measuring sticks for the tournament. That was a nice thing you did and we are very appreciative of your generosity.
Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
It was the best of times it was the worst of times….
Well it was an adventure for the club in this two day-two tournament outing. First, it was a measure tournament so we would immediately measure fish that were caught then cut them loose-thus no weigh in. (Also no pictures for those wondering.) Next was the two lakes, Fenton Lake and Lake Ponemah and they have not been fished by the club in years. Many in the club had never been on either lake. Also, our illustrious tournament organizer, Honest Hal, gave out the law of NO PRE FISHING. Oh and did I mention the weather sucked!!! No really, the second day I thought I had frost bite and was near death. And I was not wimping out or being a little b*tch, it was winds over 20 MPH gusting over 30+, highs in the low forties, constant rain and just plain miserable. No one’s’ rain gear kept up so we all came in wet to the core. But the beautiful thing was there were fish being caught both days and some nice ones at that. So for those out there that are not members, if you ever wondered does this club have people that can fish and have some skills and experience, this should prove beyond a doubt, they are here in our little club! Enough now on to the fun and frolic that was tournaments two and three.
First Tournament was held at Lake Fenton on Saturday May 14th. Weather was cloudy, rainy and only a high of 60 with a breeze. Not the best but the day before it was in the high 80’s. Such is life. The gang launched from surprisingly nice ramps and away we went. Yours truly (the web punk) was with the El Presidente Rico Suave. And even though I had my issues catching a keeper, El Presidente caught the Big Bass and won the Lake Fenton aspect of our weekend soirée. Back-seater Bill Crapsey took second place and another back-seater Pat “the Silent Assassin” Lesnewski came in third place. Four members came in with 5 fish limits. All the fish measured were largemouth. A trend will develop concerning no fish web punk so pay attention. Overall it was a very good day and we all hoped the weatherman was off on his dire predictions for the next day. We would soon find out…..
We all awoke the next morning to the sound of rain outside. Looking out we saw all the trees were swaying in the wind. IT WAS NOT A BREEZE BUT A DAMN WIND. All of us (except one) geared up for the fishing test of endurance. The rain started coming in sideways as the wind picked up even more. We got with our partners and set up the boats for a day to remember for many reasons. Lake Ponemah had OK launches, not as nice as the previous day but plenty good for our needs. We went out into the elements and I do mean elements. I was with John “Chief Ponemah” Black and the Silent Assassin as we tripled up due to losing a boater that morning. The conditions, simply put, sucked. However there were fish being caught. In fact the Assassin caught at least a 6+ lb. walleye that was admired then sent back out. It was not long after that Chief Ponemah started catching keepers, and then the Assassin started banging them. This did not hold true for the web punk BUT as I said, pay attention, my involvement will become clear soon.
The weather caused many of us to have difficulty tying our lures on. Even changing when there was a clip or swivel proved a problem because you simply could not feel or move your fingers the way you wanted. I also was educated to the fact the rain gear is only so good in these conditions and even they fail when it is constantly raining with a cold wind pushing the water into you. We survived and made it back to the launch ALIVE. All the measurements were totaled up and guess what, Chief Ponemah won and The Silent Assassin had Big Bass. Once again I was on the boat with the winner and Big Bass. Sure I did not catch one stinking keeper but the guys in my boat had good days. Maybe I am really the “Netting Punk”. But good things do happen when I am in the boat!
So ends our inland lakes adventure. Contrary to what you would think, lots of quality fish were caught in spite of the conditions and lack of familiarity with the lakes.
(We wore them sticks out heh...heh...heh! Well I didn’t but some did! Hey, don’t be mean! Hal be quiet.)
(P.S. I can be bought/rented etc. for good luck and better MO JO for any tournament for the right price...SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!)
Saturday June 11-Brest Bay
Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
Well news fans the next tournament has come and gone. Brest Bay was the place and the gods were a watching.
The launch was OK as there was a bit of wave action but not enough to deter the intrepid sailors of our club. We had nine boats go out including yours truly out for the first time in his own boat-alone. We will talk about that later.
The Silent Assassin was paired up with El Presidente which we knew was going to be a tough pairing. It was good to see Jeremy Miller back on the water however his partner, the BearCat, was feeling a bit under the weather. Apparently he was out a wee bit late and did the usual young dude thing and tried to drink the bar dry. You all have memories as a kid of the children’s book The Pokey Little Puppy. Well the BearCat was The Pukey Little Bearcat as he was chumming Brest Bay. However, it must have been semi effective as he had a full bag and I, being sober and awake, had ONE stinking fish. I mean I saw him lying down in the boat and he still caught more fish than me. How is that???? OHHHH I hate myself. Damn fish, the little jerks, they all suck, the rotten finny bastards, oh, excuse me; I have issues as you have probably noticed.
Anyways the Bearcat came through. Mr. Bill (Crapsey) finally cooled off a bit but still had some fish. Jorge of the Fairways, Jeremy Miller, Chief Ponemah, Mr. Herzog, El Presidente and the Silent Assassin all had full bags, not all were smallmouth bass as some green bass got mixed in.
At the end, we had another decent weigh in, with Honest Hall orchestrating the whole thing. Only one fish did not make it. The Silent Assassin, a back seater no less, came in first and had big bass, with El Presidente Rico Suave in second and The Chief in third.
In case you wondered or cared, your ever loving web punk made it back to the docks and did not wreck, or cause one. The legend begins…..
Next stop, Kelly’s Island and Pelee Island.
Sunday July 10-Sandusky Mazurik Launch
Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
The invasion of Canada commenced from the launch at 0 dark thirty in the morning of July 10 in the year of our lord 2011 from Mazuriks. Honest Hal had no pissing around from the launch as it appeared another bass club was lining up to go out amongst them and he wanted our club to have the prime spots. Like that would have made any damn difference!
The weather was OK to start with, a little windy but tolerable. As you might expect the past glories of boat loads of 4+ pounders from the Pelee Island area drew the club to her shores. However…the fishing for the most part was a real struggle. (A bigger struggle for some, like ME, than others!) Six boats total went out with 11 hopeful anglers. Only three had full bags this tournament. They were El Presidente (YOU SUCK), Chief Ponemah, and Mr. Herzog. The Chief strategically waited till the end of the tournament to catch his final two fish about fifty feet from the weigh in. Can you say green bass to the rescue?
It should be noted that on as tough a day of fishing it was, El Presidente came in with the full bag of over 20 lbs. of fish AND the Big Bass of weighing over 5.5 lbs. Say what you want about him, but he can do it-the jerk.
On a lighter note, out little club had issues trying to get the hell out of the water to do a weigh in. Apparently moments prior to our TRYING to get in, two boats waiting to get their boats out decided to have an issue about who was getting a certain slip. One decided he was done waiting for the other boater to do something, anything (we can appreciate that). He began to pull up to a slip when the other boater thought he had domain over that slip until he was darn good and ready to use it, sooo he apparently gunned his boat and struck the one that had cut him off. At least that is the story we got from those watching. More cops were at this thing than a small riot in the Weiler Homes in east Toledo. Of course my compadres from the state tied up the whole damn launch area investigating this heinous offense. Thus we did have couple fish die on us and we are regretful for that. They will be cleaned, consumed and not wasted.
And there you have it, another event filled day with the TBC on Lake Erie. Tune in next month as we once again head to Brest Bay and see what we can scrounge up there. Yeah…right!
Saturday August 6-Brest Bay
Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
Sterling State Park….got there very early to “beat the crowds” per our El Presidente. The anticipation mounts, the tension can be cut with a knife. The launch is about to commence but wait, where is our intrepid leader? Where is Chief Ponemah? There is a low rumble amongst the members, concerns are being expressed; where are they? Was there an accident on the expressway? Nope, those that just pulled in state it is clear sailing. Was it possibly an unexpected alien invasion? Nope, news said nothing about aliens. Then the initial reports came in from The Reuters News Agency. It appears our leader got barricaded inside his bedroom and there was a door “malfunction” and he could not get out. Not to be held up by this little issue, he made his way from his prison cell to be with his club to fish like no one has fished before but wait another obstacle has befallen Rico Suave. His chariot malfunctioned and he was in dire need of assistance from none other than The Chief. The Chief arrived in his diesel guzzling beast and between the two of them; they got El Presidente back on the road. They made it in plenty of time for the club to have another flawless launch.
There was a scramble as members went all over the place. The weather was fine and the lake was in fact, placid. No real winds or major wave action. El Presidente was good enough to give yours truly the web punk a quick escort to Bolles Harbor then left me to it. Thanks for giving up the spot, I do appreciate the gesture. Low and behold the web punk actually caught a couple and was not skunked for a change. Things are looking up from my point of view.
Upon us all returning for weigh in it was clear that things were clouding up a wee bit. But hey we’ll be in and weighed out in an hour SURELY it will hold off until then. No reason to put on the rain gear as hot and stuffy it was. Once again I WAS WRONG. The sky let loose with a drenching straight down rain that caught all of us as we came in. Suddenly, after coming in clothing became optional and the swim suits were in vogue. And from the looks of things, maybe keeping the clothes on would have been a better idea but hey whatever….
The weigh in was handled again by Honest Hal and his magic thumb errr I mean his trusty assistants. Honest Hal and Sir William went out and had a helluva day as it turns out with the backseater Sir William nosing out Honest Hal by a bit more than a pound. And look out as Give ‘Em Hell Heltzel came in with a strong third place finish. Sir William took first AND big bass as he clipped his boat’s captain, Honest Hal, who came in second. Back seaters unite! El Presidente took care of ferrying the fish back to deep water and only a couple fish did not make it.
Another tournament done and this will be good bye to Brest Bay until next year. I am sure Jeremy is wiping away a tear as he LOVES Brest Bay. Next up is a two day affair at the Detroit River. Ohhh and good luck to any and all members that are fishing the ALL STAR and WUNDERLAND later on. Make the club proud guys!
Saturday and Sunday-September 17 and 18 Erie Metro-Detroit River
Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
Well so it is our club’s two day tournament. Where one good day gets you…NOTHING…unless you can back it up with another good day. One is just not enough. The weather for both days was pretty good except for the rather nipply mornings. Per El Presidente Rico Suave, Chief Ponemah will from here on out be referred to as Thor, seeing as how whenever he shows up the cold north wind blows. The launches went off OK. In an effort to speed things up a bit we launched soon after getting in the water as opposed to meeting out a ways from the channel. Some were caught off guard as Honest Hal and with your truly, your ever loving Web Punk, riding along blasted off soon as we left the channel.
As you have seen in the standings etc., poor little Web Punk has had a tough season in 2011 and was due for some good fishing. Well, Honest Hal took care of his little buddy and a full bag was caught by ME. Go figure. Honest Hal got stuck on four bass in his bag. So anyways there I am feeling pretty good about myself and the first day’s results. Visions of victory, Big Bass awards, fat checks, huge trophies, endorsement deals, TV shows, Kevin Van Dam wanting to meet me and groupies flew around my mind. Ahhh yes, this could be just the ticket, maybe I can get past “The Jerk” just this once. Alas, at the end of the day in an effort to make once last move to finish off the day, Honest Hal jumps into the driver’s seat to start his mighty Triton. Nothing! He turns the key once more. Nothing but a weak sounding starter saying, screw off, you is out of juice. Well, just my luck, finally caught something to weigh and we won’t make the weigh in. At this point I am in a mild panic. Where’s the cell phones. Call your fellow club members surely someone will answer and help out long time member Hal and the loveable loser. Hell no, no one is answering their stinking cell phones. Honest Hal jumps on the trolling motor and starts heading in as Web Punk calls everyone over and over. Finally just before 3:00 PM The Fall Guy returns the call for help and comes to the rescue. He tows us in with 2 minutes to spare. The launch is littered with concerned members to help out. (Yeah, where in the hell were you all when I was calling in mid panic. Thanks a helluva lot for putting us through a life changing event.) Anyways had the first weigh in and low and behold, Web Punk is in the lead and has big bass going into day 2. Of course El Presidente is hot on his heels with Gorgeous George and The Fall Guy making great showings going into the next day.
Day 2 is another nice day, launch had some “disagreements” but like adults we all worked through them, at least the Tournament Director and President did. I stayed the hell out of it; I am too young to die. The fishing this day started off great then bang, mid morning the little bronze bastards stopped cooperating with Honest Hal and myself. We are flying around the lake and river and seeing members doing the same thing. Could it be everyone is having a tough day?
An interesting thing happened while Honest Hal was driving around the Detroit River looking for that next spot to fish. You know that big river that has lots of boats and huge shipping channels for giant ships etc. Yeah, that one. The one with rock hazards and islands sprinkled about. Well apparently I worked him too hard, because as we are traveling on the river when I notice we are gradually slowing down. I look over at the captain and he appears to be looking intently at the GPS. He is looking for that special spot to catch some good fish to win this puppy. Be patient Web Punk, watch and learn. We slow some more and he is really intent on looking in the direction of the GPS. Ohhh yes, we will be sitting on top of our finny foes. Now we are slowing down to a crawl. I watch the master at the helm in breathless anticipation. Wait, what is this. His hand just dropped off the steering wheel and we are drifting to a complete stop. “Hey, wake the f*ck up!” I exclaim. Startled, he claims he was awake and testing to see if I was paying attention. Yeah, right. Anyways off we go again. Honest Hal makes it a point to work hard to get Web Punk a full bag and to his credit we both succeed. Everyone gets to the weigh in without the excitement of the previous day. I am a hoping my slim lead with a full bag will be enough. Well guess who came in a beat my ass raw. That’s right “The Jerk” and if that is not enough, The Fall Guy blew past me too. And that ain’t all. El Jerko also had a beautiful 5+ pounder to zap my big bass. Even The Fall Guy had a five pounder but not as big as El Jerko’s.
So there you have it, the two day tournament is over and I had a great two days thanks to Honest Hal to whom I will be indebted for his help and patience with me. Thanks Hal, I don’t care what Brent says, you are OK in my book.
Saturday October 8 Erie Metro-Detroit River
Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
So here we are at the last tournament of the season. A make up for an April date that was a wash out. As luck would have it the weather was OUTSTANDING for the time of year. In fact, dare I say it was hot. We all hit the water with high hopes. Seven intrepid captains, some with backseaters headed off into the Detroit River for fishing glory. Thor once again headed up river for the long run to Lake St. Clair while the rest went around the river for current fishing and to Holiday Beach for Canadian fish. For a change there was no mishaps, however due to the heat fish were having a struggle with the heat and one was lost. The bags were quite respectable with Gorgeous George weighing in with nearly 20 lbs. of fish. Excellent result George, must have scooped them up in his drift sock like a big net. (Just kidding-or am I?) The Fall Guy came in second with over 18 lbs. and Thor bringing in St. Clair fish around .1 once less than the Fall Guy, now that is close. Of course EL Presidente (Jerk) could not be left out and had Big Bass with a pretty 4.95 lb. smallie. Yours truly netted this denizen of the deep expertly for El Jerko. It was the first fish of the morning and we were stoked. Unfortunately, we caught lots of fish but none bigger than the first. Everyone had limits, unfortunately Mr. Herzog had some pump/aerator issues and instead of taking the chance on having sick fish, cut his loose and had nothing to weigh in. That was a tough break for the master. The case is set now for the club’s Classic scheduled for the very next day. This should prove to be an interesting Classic, to say the least.
Sunday October 9 Erie Metro-Detroit River Dateline: Berkey, Ohio
The end of the season, finish line, finito, that’s all folks, wrapping it up, put a fork in it and “he’s dead Jim” (Star Trek reference for all you trekkies out there). The Toledo Bass Club yearly wraps up the season with our Classic and with the fine weather and a good day we had just 24 hours prior, all our hopes were high.
This is for the Green Jacket coveted by all in the club. This jacket is given to the winner to show to all that on that day his skills and knowledge, at least for one day, were the best on our club. Some members have several jackets and many have none, OK so I am one of the do not have one mopes, so shoot me. The payouts are higher in the cash area but that pales in comparison the bragging rights for one full year.
The blast off was eventless and away we all went with Thor putting all his eggs in the basket and shooting back to Lake St. Clair via the Detroit River. The rest of us scrambled around the river and up north near Holiday beach looking for the bag that could make a difference. Once again El Presidente took the web punk out with him; he obviously appreciates someone that can net all his fish in a quick, clean efficient manner. (I have skills!)
Lots of fish were caught for the second day in a row. Word of Thor and his backseater Sir William being swamped by some waves from not one but two large ships in the channel were bandied about. It is a good thing the pumps worked eh Thor. Everyone made it back to the ramp and the weigh in ensued.
Several nice bags were weighed in but all the travel to St. Clair, fuel and work paid off for Thor. Thor is also known as John Black and I am proud to announce that he was the winner of the 2011 Toledo Bass Club Classic with a winning bag of 19.02 lbs.
Second place went to a backseater, no surprise really. The Silent Assassin also known as Pat Lesnewski came in with a bag of 18.78 lbs.
Of course El Presidente, our fearless leader Brent Dunmyer, was breathing down the two leader’s backs, coming in with a bag of 18.61 lbs.
The big bass for the day was another backseater, Sir William AKA Bill Crapsey, whose little piggy weighed 4.58 lbs. A very chubby bass I might add.
So our season comes to an end. For those that are not members of our little club and reading this for information and entertainment, I wish to point out a few things.
Note that everyone catches fish, boat owners and backseaters. There are no egos on the club where the boater purposely blocks his backseater from catching fish. The boaters share their knowledge on how to catch fish which is clear when you see even I, your ever loving web punk, catches fish. Spots to fish may be held close to the vest but how and what to use is freely exchanged before, during and after the competition. Hell, Honest Hal gave me two bags of a particular color tubes to use, and they caught fish. So if you are looking to join a club of great fishermen, super sportsman and good guys….look no further. Just remember to bring your checkbook! Later…