The Story

The middle of March was here! This meant several things on Rodman. Trees were showing pale green new growth, cattails that were killed back by the cold winter were sprouting new reeds, birds were preparing for their flight north and the annual Save Rodman Open Bass Tournament was not far away.

The dawn of April meant the water in the reservoir level would be raised from below eighteen feet to closer to twenty feet and some serious preparations for the tournament by the Save Rodman staff must get underway.

Equipment was inspected for damage, repaired and packed in trailers for the trip to Kenwood. Tables, chairs, tents, lighting, banners, posters, office supplies, fish scales and all sorts of odds and ends had to be readied. Merchants needed to be approached for items for the raffle. Food for breakfast and dinner had to be lined up. At last everything was ready and packed for the trip. Workers knew their assignments. We were ready, but was Mother Nature? The forecast was for a twenty percent chance of rain for Friday the 15th when we would be pitching tents and a thirty percent chance on the day of the tournament. Nuts!

Equipment and setup helpers started arriving at Kenwood about nine o'clock on Friday morning. Our plan for setting up was pretty much the same as for past tournaments with one big exception. We had always rented our big twenty foot wide by forty foot long dining tent from Florida Canopy. Their crew then set it up and took it down on Saturday after the tournament. Jim Childress donated a big tent to Save Rodman so, since we now owned the tent, this year we would be doing the work ourselves. By dusk Friday, a long hard work day was over and everybody was ready to catch as much sleep as possible before 2:00 AM Saturday when the lights and the coffee pot must be turned on. So far, no rain. Great!

We all had been a little apprehensive about the number of boats that would show up for the tournament because of the weather forecast and the fact that the nation's economy was not too good. However, by the time the lights were on we already had rigs arriving and they just kept coming. By breakfast time at 4:00 AM boats were lined up waiting their turn at the launching ramp.

Gail Carter and Mary Sosa were busy at the registration table and Kae Andry and Patt Patton were selling raffle tickets as fast as they could print names and phone numbers on the tickets.

The parking lot filled and for the first time in a long time some rigs had to park along the access road to Kenwood.

Ed Taylor, Jr., Dan Carter and Danny Sosa were checking live wells - no live bait allowed!

By the time registration was over 144 boats had registered!!

As the boats were launched the inner basin soon filled. Once the fishermen could get their breakfast they had to move their boats to their proper staging position and wait for the tournament director to start the tournament at first safe light.

The inner basin at Kenwood will only hold fifty boats, so all boats with start sequence numbers over fifty had to wait in a designated spot between Kenwood's inner pool and the reservoir.

The tournament director led off the tournament at first safe light in a boat loaned by Millers Boating Center on a beautiful calm morning with a full moon. If only this weather will hold.

Once the tournament was under way it was time to un-rig and stow the lighting and setup for the weigh-in. The crowd of spectators would start arriving around noon to sample some of Jerry Stalvey's bar-b-que pork or chicken.

Meanwhile, out on the lake fishing was good and still no rain, but things were about to change.

The rain didn't come as forecast, but the wind did. It really got choppy and later reports indicated that the fish didn't seen to like it either because they got harder to catch. Those of us at Kenwood were beginning to wonder if we would have to rescue some of the smaller boats because some of the wind gusts were threatening to blow the tents away. Some boats came in early slightly after noon because of the wind. 

Those hearty fishermen who had stayed on the lake and fought the wind started returning a little before the 3:00 PM weigh-in started and they brought fish with them - nice fish!

Emcee Mike Ditto and assistant Laurie Parker got the weigh-in underway while Ed Taylor Jr. inspected the fish for proper length and to determine if any were dead prior to weighing them. Dead fish count against a fisherman's score.

 The fish were weighed and the results recorded by scorekeeper Scot Smith and computer operator Diana Gibson.

All live fish were returned to Florida Fish and Game boats by Chris Patton and Jacob Merritt. 

The Fish and Game boats have really big live wells and are waiting in the basin to transport the fish back to the lake for release to be caught another day.

Out of the 388 fish weighed in only 13 were dead which speaks well of the fishermen's efforts to keep their catch alive for a long time under poor conditions.

Our tournament fishermen come in all shapes, sizes, and both sexes. Our youngest fisherman this year was six year old Cori Walker who fished as her dad, John Walker's, partner (boat # 50). John told me that Cori had been fishing with him on Lake George for strippers and that this had spoiled her, because when the wind came up and catching slowed, Cori kept telling him they should go get some minnows!

Tercel Mullins also began fishing the tournament at age 6 and gave up his 9th birthday party to fish this one.

Thanks to all the parents who fished with their children - what a great activity for them and the start of a life long enjoyment!

Our spectator crowds are diverse, too. We have all ages from babes in arms to grandparents. More than one ethnic group is always represented. It is great to be a part of something that appeals to such a wide variety of folk and is good healthy family entertainment.

The raffle followed the weigh-in while the tournament director retired to his make shift RV office to calculate the winnings and write the winner's checks.

Our supporting merchants were again very generous in donating items for our raffle. First prize was a $1000 trolling motor donated by S & A Leisure, second prize was a $500 gift certificate toward the purchase of any model Power Pole anchoring system and an unexpected third prize was a beautiful topaz ring valued at almost $400 donated by Jerry's Pawn and Gun Shop.

The tournament awarded checks to the first eighteen fishermen with the most total weight of fish. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winning teams also got plaques. The fishermen who caught the biggest and next biggest fish each won checks. Again this year, L & S Auto Trim of Gainesville sponsored the Small Boat Competition and it awarded checks to the top two fishermen who had fished in boats with motors of 50 horse power or less. (See "Winners' page)

Another great tournament was over. Time to break down the tents, pack up, and head for home. All the staff was dog tired and ready for a whole night's sleep. Our only hope is that we can recuperate our energy enough to do it again next year -

AND IT DIDN'T RAIN!

Winners

2011 TOURNAMENT CONTRIBUTORS

• Putnam Co. Sheriff's Department (Security)
• Putnam Co. Sheriff's Auxiliary (Parking)
• Beck Auto Sales (Palatka) (Soft Drink Wagon)
• Dunkin' Donuts (Palatka) (Coffee and Donuts and condiments)
• Florida Canopy (Eureka) (Tent)
• Florida Food Service (Gainesville) (Bar-b-Que meat)
• Greenways and Trails (Palatka) (Park Maintenance)
• Harvey Insurance (Donation)
• Jerry Stalvey's Bar-B-Que (St. Augustine) Chef
• Lake Ocklawaha R.V. Park (Tables and Chairs)
• L&S Auto Trim (Gainesville) (Small boat sponsor)
• West Side Bait & Tackle (Palatka) (Soft Drinks)
• Miller's Boating Center (Ocala) (Water & Check- in Boat)
• Putnam State Bank (Palatka) (slaw)
• River City Tournaments (Palatka) (director)
• Save Rodman Reservoir, Inc. (Palatka) (sponsor)
• Sonny's Bar-B-Que (Palatka) (baked beans)
• Sunshine Trophies (Palatka) (plaques)
• Quality Ice (Palatka) (Ice)

Millers Boating Center (Ocala)

2nd Grand Prize: $500 gift Certificate toward

any model Power Pole anchoring system.

Jerry's Pawn & Gun (Ocala)

3rd Grand Prize: $395 Topaz Ring

• Advantage Sports Center (Salt Springs) (rod and reel)
• Bald Eagle Bait & Tackle (Keystone Heights) (misc. fishing tackle)
• Barber, Dave (Georgia)(12 boxes of antique plastic worms)
• Bass Assassin (Mayo) (plastic worms).
• Bohannon Batteries (Palatka)($100 entry fee plus gift certificates)
• Bradley's Restaurant )(gift certificates)
• Brian Dolski (Gainesville) (assorted prizes)
• Buck 'n' Bass (Salt Springs) (assorted prizes)
• Commissioner Brad Purcell (Putnam Co) ($80.00)
• Commissioner Kenny Eubanks (Putnam Co) ($50.00)
• Commissioner Nancy Harris (Putnam Co) ($50.00)
• Fish Tails (Ocala) (Assorted Lures)
• Georgia Pacific (Palatka) (paper products)
• Howard's Shiners (Orange Springs) 6 dozen shiners, expires August 31,2011)
• Jerry's Drive In (Palatka) (gift certificates)
• Jerry's Pawn and Gun (Ocala)($395.00 Topaz Ring, fishing pole, misc. prizes)
• John Avalos (assorted prizes)
• Laibl's Tire King (Palatka) (gift certificates)
• J & S Cowart Bait & Tackle (Eureka) ( rod & reel, 12' combo shooting star pole, Assorted tackle)
• Orange Springs Grocery (Orange Springs)(2 -16" pizza certificates)
• Orange Springs Restaurant & Grill (Orange Springs)(2 certificates for appetizer, meal & drinks for two)
• Poppie's Cafe and Bakery (Interlachen)) (four gift certificates)
• Premier Beverage (Jacksonville)
• (assorted prizes)
• Atlantic Wine & Spirits (Jacksonville) (assorted prizes)
• Team Bass Hunters (assorted tackle)
• BillyStix Custom Rods (Gainesville) (elite custom rod)
• Coastal Anglers (St. Augustine) (visors; a hat signed by elite pro fishermen)
• Pepsi Beverages Co. (Gainesville) (assorted prizes)
• Republic National Distributing (Jacksonville) (assorted prizes)
• Opici Wine Co. (Ocala) (assorted prizes)
• Coca-Cola Refreshments (Gainesville) (assorted prizes)
• Cone Distributing, Inc. (Ocala) (infrared bar-b-que grill, assorted prizes)
• Atlantic Wine & Spirits (Jacksonville) (assorted prizes)
• Gatorade
• Campbell's Soup Co.
• Gainesville Wine Events (Gainesville) (assorted prizes)

	2011 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:

• Putnam Co. Sheriff's Department
• Putnam Co. Sheriff's Auxiliary

        Park Maintenance: Merry, Brad; Ranger, Greenways & Trails,

• Set-Up

15 Year Totals

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