2009 - 13th Annual Tournament
One To Remember
by Bob Andry
Save Rodman has had tournaments with more boats, more fish caught, bigger fish caught, but this our thirteenth tournament was probably the best yet. The weather was wonderful, the fishing was great, the fellowship with our supporters was the best and everyone had plenty of good food and a good time.
Here are the fishing statistics:
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Boats |
171 |
| Total Catch | 653 fish |
| Total Weight | 1577.76 pounds |
| Dead Fish | 20 |
| Biggest Fish | 9.23 pounds |
| Winning Weight | 30.06 pounds |
| Smallest Fish | 1.34 pounds |
There were 115 boats that weighed in fish and 61 had maximum limits of seven fish. It would have been nice if there had been fewer dead fish, but it is really hard to keep seven big fish alive in a livewell and the fish were big. I think the fishermen did a good job at preserving the fish so they could be returned to the reservoir by the Florida Wildlife Commission who again assisted us in this task.
The only downside to the tournament was that two of our long time strong supporters were missing. March was a tough month for Save Rodman Reservoir, Inc. and the families of Jim Allen and Dan Patton. Both passed away. Jim lost his fight with cancer and Dan suffered a fatal stroke. Both will be missed! This issue of the newsletter is short of space, but we want to tell you more of the interesting and productive lives of these men and will do so in our July / August issue.
As in the past, fishermen's rigs started lining up for a turn at the launching ramp in the wee hours of the morning.
It wasn't long until the parking lot was full.
At the registration table, fishermen were completing their tournament registration and buying raffle tickets for the post weigh-in raffle.
Jerry Stalvey served up his breakfast of eggs, grits and sausage.
Registration and breakfast was over so then there is nothing to do but wait for first light so the tournament could begin.
Boats circled the inner basin, and out in the outer basin, boats grouped according to their registration number.
Finally, it was light enough for safe boat operation and the tournament led the first fifty boats out from the inner basin. Boats waiting in the outer basin could now follow in order.
The race was on to get to their favorite fishing spot as soon as possible.
Out on the water fishing began in earnest and would continue until the weigh-in started at 3:00 PM.
The morning began with a beautiful sunrise and the rest of the day just got better. Finally, after a lot of fish were caught, it was time to head for Kenwood for some delicious bar-b-que and the weigh-in.
Boats filled the channel leading into Kenwood.
As soon as the fish were weighed the boats must be removed from the water to make room for other returning fishermen.
Soon the basin was full to overflowing with boats and on land the crowd of fishermen, families and folks who just wanted to be part of the event and watch the weigh-in was enormous.
At the scales, emcee Mike Ditto and assistant Laurie Parker conducted the weigh-in.
Once the fish were weighed and the results recorded the Jr. Anglers took the bagged fish to the FWC release boat to be returned to Rodman.
The raffle was held following the weigh-in while the tournament director was studying the results in preparation for awarding the prizes to the winning fishermen. Supporting businesses of Save Rodman had donated a pickup truck load of raffle prizes and folks were eager to find out if they had a winning raffle ticket. Scott Smith of S & A Leisure in Welaka donated a 2.5 Mercury four stroke outboard motor as the main prize.
A list of the businesses that contributed to our raffle can be found below. It would be nice if you could patronize these businesses as a way of thanking them. We thank them so very much for their help.
Miss Jr. Teen of Putnam County Amanda Pace helped out during the afternoon raffle ticket sales and later on stage by drawing raffle tickets for emcee Mike Ditto
Scott Smith owner of S & A Leisure of Welaka donated a 2.5hp Mercury four stroke outboard motor for our raffle grand prize. It was won by Bob Crawford of Fort McCoy. Bob has been a long time Save Rodman supporter and has fished almost all of our tournaments. Congratulations Bob !
Wally Grant of Gainesville again sponsored the small boat competition with a prize of $500. Small Boat competition is for those boats with motors of fifty horse power or less. Once again Arkie Mullins and his son Tercel won this competition. Arkie is a good fisherman. Some of you small boat fishermen out there who think you are pretty good at fishing should consider entering the small boat competition next year and giving Arkie a run for his money.
Our special thanks the Brad Merry and his band of merry Greenway and Trails rangers. The Kenwood Park was in great shape making it really nice place to hold a tournament. Perhaps next year there could be a little more toilet paper for the port-a-lets.
All in all the tournament was a great success. Save Rodman raised enough money to help carry on our fight to save the reservoir for another year and everyone had a good time. Our special thank-you to all who helped or competed in the tournament or just came to watch. You are the folks that make it possible to stand at the dam and look out over a beautiful lake rather than a mud hole.
May / June 2009
Tournament Winners
Big Fish: 9.23 Pounds
Caught by Eric Hartman & Rick Herman in Boat #99
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
2009 RAFFLE CONTRIBUTORS
TOURNAMENT CONTRIBUTORS
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2009 TOURNAMENT THANKS TO THE HELPING HANDS |  |
| Our sincere thanks to all the Save Rodman supporters who worked so very hard to make our Thirteenth Annual Bass Tournament a success. Here are the names of some of these dedicated folks. |
Tournament Director
Ed Taylor
Security & Traffic Control
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Tournament Registration
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Boat Inspection
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Breakfast
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Bar-B-Que
Weigh-In Crew
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Afternoon Raffle Ticket Sales &
SRR Information Booth:
Pace, Amanda, JR.Miss Putnam County
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Clean-Up
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