Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce 2012 Fishing Tournament.
TOHO TEAM TOURNAMENT TRAIL FEB. 13, 2011
| TOHO TEAM TOURNAMENT TRAIL FEB. 13, 2011 on Lake Toho | |||||||||
| Place | Team | Boat # | Total Fish | Total Live | Total Weight | Penalty | Big Fish | Total Weight | Total Points |
| 1 | Doug Gilley – Joe Ventrello | 38 | 5 | 5 | 25.45 | 7.08 | 25.45 | 200 | |
| 2 | Brian Wier – Matt Hinman | 32 | 5 | 5 | 21.35 | 9.02 | 21.35 | 199 | |
| 3 | Will Evans – Darrell Cranor | 37 | 5 | 5 | 17.35 | 17.35 | 198 | ||
| 4 | Jeremy Prady – Jeff Worth | 28 | 5 | 5 | 15.97 | 15.97 | 197 | ||
| 5 | John Darr – Glenn Brown | 14 | 5 | 5 | 11.61 | 11.61 | 196 | ||
| 6 | Paul Hanley – Chris Patrick | 5 | 5 | 5 | 11.55 | 0.9 | 11.55 | 195 | |
| 7 | Joe Ventrello – Daniel Lanier | 29 | 5 | 5 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 194 | ||
| 8 | Tim Burton – Tommy Hatfield | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11.18 | 6.87 | 11.18 | 193 | |
| 9 | Mike Biefreund – Bruce Bozman | 30 | 5 | 5 | 10.38 | 10.38 | 192 | ||
| 10 | John Caballero – Suzanne Bibbo | 24 | 3 | 3 | 10.36 | 7.27 | 10.36 | 191 | |
| 11 | Michael Bierfreund – Joseph Bie | 12 | 5 | 5 | 10.24 | 10.24 | 190 | ||
| 12 | Pete Saraf – Len Tyre | 1 | 5 | 5 | 9.99 | 9.99 | 189 | ||
| 13 | Strayer John – Travis Cato | 6 | 5 | 5 | 9.51 | 3.79 | 9.51 | 188 | |
| 14 | Tom Reeves – Bernie Binn | 25 | 5 | 5 | 9.22 | 3.53 | 9.22 | 187 | |
| 15 | Jacque Mitchell – Scott Moore | 21 | 5 | 5 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 186 | ||
| 16 | Steve Brown – John Armor | 36 | 5 | 5 | 8.32 | 8.32 | 185 | ||
| 17 | Lamar White – Steve Chiavini | 27 | 5 | 5 | 7.88 | 7.88 | 184 | ||
| 18 | Wayne Kelly – Scott Chandler | 18 | 5 | 5 | 7.85 | 7.85 | 183 | ||
| 19 | Joseph Conway – Chris Wagner | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7.31 | 0.85 | 7.31 | 182 | |
| 20 | Robert Collins – Chip Dover | 22 | 5 | 5 | 7.19 | 0.69 | 7.19 | 181 | |
| 21 | Edwin Rivera – Fernando Rosa | 31 | 3 | 3 | 7.08 | 7.08 | 180 | ||
| 22 | Jim Miller – John Koser | 11 | 5 | 5 | 6.28 | 0.82 | 6.28 | 179 | |
| 23 | Joe Clements – Jimmie Murphy | 35 | 5 | 5 | 5.47 | 0.77 | 5.47 | 178 | |
| 24 | Gary Tallackson – Matt Tallacks | 33 | 4 | 4 | 5.35 | 5.35 | 177 | ||
| 25 | Daren McDermott – Pete Baltusis | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4.72 | 1.06 | 4.72 | 176 | |
| 26 | David Howell – Bob Wojcuich | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4.55 | 4.55 | 175 | ||
| 27 | Mitch Lass – Joe Moore | 19 | 3 | 2 | 4.33 | 0.5 | 1.23 | 3.83 | 174 |
| 28 | Rick Butler – Allan Patterson | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3.55 | 0.81 | 3.55 | 173 | |
| 29 | Ben Carroll – Hector Tellado | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3.16 | 1.42 | 3.16 | 172 [Read more…] | |
2011 Destined to go down as a Florida Fishing Extravaganza
Thus far in 2011, the stars are aligned for bass anglers and fishing in general. Tournaments showcase record- and near-record-breaking catches, and we’re hearing from around the state about big bass and impressive catch numbers.
On Lake Kissimmee, Tom Rewis and Doug Chance produced a five-bass stringer totaling more than 40 pounds to win the Tony Strickland Memorial Tournament. While on Lake Tohopekaliga, Gerald Swindle’s 80-pound, 13-ounce accumulation of 15 bass over three days came close to setting a B.A.S.S. record.
Okeechobee produced a four-day total of 106-pounds, 10-ounces for FLW Tournament winner Brandon McMillan – a new tour record.
Zack Mack, from Tennessee, caught a 14-pound, 2 ounce Florida largemouth bass on Lake Kissimmee in early February.
Meanwhile, Sean Rush of Trophy Bass Expeditions said, “Rodman Lake may be the hottest trophy bass lake anywhere right now.” He recently documented bass over 12 pounds, with two clients catching and releasing 50 fish in a single day.
Even though evidence points to a stellar year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) encourages bass-fishing aficionados to consider catch-and-release for the long-term good of the stock. [Read more…]
FWC Unveils New Tool for Hauling, Stocking Largemouth
FWC Unveils New Tool for Hauling, Stocking Largemouth
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently unveiled a new state-of-the-art aluminum haul box that will deliver largemouth bass and other freshwater fishes from the Florida Bass Conservation Center to public waters around the state. BASS/ESPN Outdoors funded the new tank and its beautiful Glen Lau-inspired wrap.
The Florida Bass Conservation Center, which reopened its doors in Sumter County in 2007, has the capacity to produce up to a million advanced fingerling bass. Advanced fingerlings, also known as Phase II bass, are reared to a larger size (3 to 4 inches) with innovative technology developed by FWC biologists. Part of the new science applied at the center incorporates a special bass diet developed in conjunction with the University of Florida. The bass center’s innovations led to its receiving the 2009 Wallop-Breaux Outstanding Project of the Year award from the American Fisheries Society in the Sport Fishery Development and Management Facilities category.
The new haul box has two 400-gallon compartments and is set up to use both an oxygen-injection system and aerators to help keep the fish healthy. Hatchery manager Rick Stout said they can now safely transport up to 20,000 advanced fingerlings at a time, or more than 200,000 traditional fingerling bass (1 to 1.5 inches).
“The key, however, is that we should be able to stock advanced fingerlings into healthy habitats when they are big enough to grow and survive much better than smaller fingerlings would – not to mention avoiding getting eaten by some of the predators that enjoy the smaller, 1-inch bass,” Stout said.
Ann Marie Tavares, a graphic artist with the FWC, designed the wrapping on the haul boxes, using award-winning images by master cinematographer and bass expert Glen Lau. Lau has also allowed his images to adorn the Florida Bass Conservation Center facility and the interpretive area that is open to the public during normal work hours. In fact, Lau allows art-quality prints of his photographs and DVDs of his world-renowned videos, including “Bigmouth” and “Bigmouth Forever,” to be sold at shop.wildlifeflorida.org, with the profits going to support the Florida Bass Conservation Center.
“We can all be proud of the state-of-the-art research and tremendous cooperation between all the partners that made this happen,” said Tom Champeau, director of the FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management.
As the FWC’s new haul box travels the roads of Florida, bringing fingerling bass and other sport fishes to state waters, it will help confirm Florida’s role as the Fishing Capital of the World.
For more information about the Florida Bass Conservation Center and the long-term Black Bass Management Plan, go toMyFWC.com/Fishing.
Media Contact
Bob Wattendorf, 850-488-0331
Florida Stripers
Captive Stripers Spawn 900,000 Offspring
A small group of striped bass captured one year ago from Lake Talquin, has produced 900,000 fingerling striped bass and hybrid striped bass.
Dave Yeager, a fisheries biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), said all of the fry and fingerlings are slated for release within the next two months in several Panhandle rivers.
Yeager, who works out of the FWC’s Blackwater Fisheries Research and Development Center in Holt, said they captured four female and five male striped bass one year ago in Lake Talquin. The nine fish, which they call brood fish, were held all year in large, circular tanks with the lighting and water temperature adjusted to mimic natural conditions.
“This is something we’ve learned and refined over the years,” Yeager said. “By controlling the water temperature and amount of light they receive, we can condition the fish to spawn.”
He said the benefits of maintaining captive brood fish include reducing manpower and time needed to collect wild striped bass, thereby increasing the length of the striper spawning season. In addition, by conditioning captive fish to spawn before wild fish, the duration of the production season can be increased.
Media Contact
Dave Yeager (850) 957-6177
Hydrilla Treatment
Hydrilla treatment scheduled Orange County at Lake Lawne
The hydrilla treatment by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Orange County for Lake Lawne, which was postponed due to cold weather in February, has been rescheduled for March 10-11.
Hydrilla is an invasive, exotic aquatic plant spread easily by boats throughout the state’s lakes and rivers. It clogs waterways, making recreational activities difficult or impossible and chokes out beneficial native plants. Managing and treating it is necessary for the health of Florida’s waters and to enable continued recreational boating and other aquatic activities.
The FWC will treat the hydrilla with Aquathol™, which has no restrictions for fishing or swimming; however, there is a 14-day irrigation restriction. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approves Aquathol™ for use in lakes.
The FWC’s Invasive Plant Management Section will post notification at the lake’s public boat ramp on the day of treatment and will remove the notification once the 14-day irrigation restriction expires. The FWC and Orange County will close the public boat ramp the morning of the 10th and possibly the 11th, should weather conditions postpone the treatment on the 10th.
For questions about this treatment, contact Alicia Knecht, FWC invasive plant management regional biologist, at 407-275-4004.
Media Contact
Alicia Knecht, 407-275-4004
