Annual Hawg Hunters Get-Together Held - 11/17/2009 Our annual club get-together was held on Saturday, November 14, at Rick's house in Vineland.  Many club members were able to attend and enjoyed a variety of food & beverages as well as a review of the highlights of the past season and the presentation of awards.  They also played pool & darts while watching college football games on the big screen TV.  Click here to see photos from this event.

Hawg Hunters Take 4th at SJBCA Bass Bowl in Tough Conditions - 10/19/2009 On October 18 our six-man team ventured down to the Nanticoke River to tackle not only some unfamiliar waters, but also some cold temperatures and high winds.  Our guys managed to find eight keepers for 12.25 lbs and finish in 4th place out of seven clubs.  Bill Duckardt & Jimmy Ohono had three keepers for 4.79 lbs; Rod Blomdahl & Dave Reeves brought in two bass for 3.34 lbs, and Pat Childs & Bryan Tochterman weighed in three bass for 4.12 lbs.  Click here for detailed results and photos on the SJBCA website.

Duckardt & Ohono Take Hawg Hunters Classic and Club Championship - 10/4/2009
In a two-day tournament in which not a lot of keepers were brought in, Bill Duckardt and Jimmy Ohono managed to find fish in both lakes and take the 2009 Hawg Hunters Classic with a total of six bass for 11.32 lbs.  Carl Huff, who was fishing solo on Day 2 at Union Lake, made it a contest by weighing in a five-bass limit for 8.27 lbs.  But his two-day total of 9.51 lbs fell a bit short.  Bill Duckardt took the Day 1 lunker prize at Newton Lake with a 2.95 lb bass.  Fred Lentz took the Day 2 lunker at Union with a 2.56 lb bass (his team's only keeper of the two days).  Twelve teams participated in the tournament (out of fourteen that qualified to fish in it).  By winning this tournament, the Duckardt/Ohono team secured the club championship for this season, winning by a comfortable margin over the Childs/Tochterman and Blomdahl/Reeves teams.  Those three teams will be representing our club at the South Jersey Bass Club Association's "Bass Bowl" at the Nanticoke River, in Maryland on October 18.

Was Supposed to be Ten Bass Limit at East Creek - 9/19/2009 Most stringers brought in at our annual Fall ten-bass tournament were a bit short of the limit.  East Creek Pond was not giving up keepers like it sometimes can and the tournament was won with a six bass stringer brought in by Dave Lloyd and Jerrod Lloyd weighing 6.80 lbs.  Gary Robertson, who was a sub partner with Zeke Zellman, took lunker with a 2.20 lb bass.  At least the weather was nice for a change.  Thirteen teams participated.

Not the Same Old Bargaintown - 9/12/2009 While our typical tournaments at Bargaintown Lake usually feature large quantities of keeper bass, this year's edition saw an active population of pickerel but few bass.  Rod Blomdahl and Dave Reeves had the only five-bass limit which weighed 10.77 lbs.  Rod took lunker with a relatively small (for Bargaintown) 2.58 lb fish.  Fourteen teams participated in the tournament.  The tourney was followed by our annual club barbecue, which was hosted by Ken Merlock.  A photo from the barbecue is posted in our Photo Gallery.

Mostly Small Ones at Maurice River - 8/29/2009 For the first time in a long time, we had a lunker winner that was under two pounds.  And the quantity of keepers wasn't all that great either at our post-storm-front tournament at the Maurice River.  Dennis Snyder and Greg Lentz managed to scrape together a small five-fish limit (including a smallmouth bass) weighing 6.04 lbs which easily won the tournament.  Al Franchetta took the lunker prize with his 1.96 lb bass.  Ten teams participated.

Fishing in Thunderstorms at Newton - 8/22/2009 Most of the morning featured thunderstorms and steady rain, but most teams were able to put fish in the livewell at our Newton Lake tourney.  Wade Schoonover, fishing solo, took the win with three bass that weighed a club lake record 7.91 lbs.  He beat out Al Franchetta who was also fishing solo and brought in a five-bass limit for 6.96 lbs (after a dead fish penalty).  Pat Childs took the lunker win with a club lake record 4.08 lb bass.  Ten teams participated.

A Scorcher at Malaga - 8/16/2009 Our tournament at Malaga Lake featured temperatures in the 90's and dead calm air until the end of the day.  The bite was extremely slow, but a few teams managed to put together some decent bags.  Bill Duckardt and Jimmy Ohono took the win with their five-bass limit for 7.04 lbs.  They edged out Pat Childs and Jeff Childs who had four bass for 7.02 lbs.  A five-bass limit (6.35 lbs) was also weighed in by Wade Schoonover and Joe Bartlett.  The lunker prize was taken by Dennis Snyder with a 2.24 lb bass.

Slow Action at Night Tourney - 8/8/2009 Well, we had a full moon, warm temperatures, calm water and mostly cloudy skies, but the fish weren't jumping in the boat at our Union Lake night tournament.   Rod Blomdahl and Dave Reeves, who have a history of doing well at this lake, brought in four bass weighing 6.47 lbs and that was enough to take the win.  Jim Harper (with partner Kyle Mann) fishing his first club tournament of the season won the lunker prize with a nice 4.05 lb largemouth.  Before he weighed in, the lunker leader was a fat 3.22 lb smallmouth brought in by Bryan Tochterman.  Thirteen teams braved the night conditions, with nine of them weighing in fish.

Big Weights at Scramble Tournament - 7/25/2009 Despite a somewhat slow bite and general small quantity of bass weighed in, this year's Scramble tournament featured some nice overall weights and a lunker over five pounds.  The team of Dave Lloyd & Jerrod Lloyd took the overall win with nine bass for 19.51 lbs (a new club record for a ten-bass tournament).  They also took both lunker prizes with Dave weighing in a 5.05 lb bass at Cedarville Pond and Jerrod bringing in a 3.18 lb bass at Clarks Pond.  Eleven teams participated in the tournament.

Slower Than Usual at Salem - 7/18/2009 Salem Canal wasn't its usual self on the day of our tournament there.  Only one five-bass limit was brought to the scales and only 33 total bass were weighed in by the twelve teams.  Many of the bass got courtesy measurements.  Carl Huff, who was fishing solo, brought in three bass that totaled 6.03 lbs, including his 4.11 lb lunker winner.  He took the win after the Blomdahl & Reeves team had a dead fish penalty that dropped their five-bass limit to 2nd place with 5.66 lbs.

Lotta Bass, Lotta Limits at Sunset - 7/11/2009 We tied our club record for most bass weighed in and just missed our record for five-bass limits weighed in at this summer's Sunset Lake tournament.  Fify-two keeper bass were weighed (and one team that left early dumped one) and seven limits were brought in.  The tournament was won by Pat Childs & Bryan Tochterman who had a limit weighing 12.84 lbs.  Their bag included a 4.14 lb kicker.  The lunker prize was taken by Dave Lloyd with a nice 5.49 lb bass.  For the second tournament in a row fifteen teams participated.

Bass Biting at Stewart - 6/27/2009 Most teams didn't have any trouble catching bass at our Stewart Lake tournament.  Getting keepers was a big harder.  Scott Bowen & Bill Ridel brought in a five-bass limit weighing 9.58 lbs to take the win.  Their bag included Bill's 3.46 lb lunker winner.  Fifteen teams participated and eleven of them brought bass to the scales.

Rain and Not Many Keepers at Assunpink - 6/60/2009 The second half of our tournament at Lake Assunpink featured steady rain and there were not many keepers biting all day.  Dennis Snyder & Greg Lentz  found two willing bass and took the win with 5.12 lbs.  Lynn Sprigg won the lunker prize with a 3.59 lb bass.  Thirteen teams participated and only six bass were weighed in at this Lunker Program Lake.

Another Great Kerr Trip - 5/3/2009 Once again, the camaraderie was great, the food was awesome, the weather was cooperative and the fishing was half decent on our annual trip to Kerr Reservoir in Virginia on April 29 thru May 3.  No giants were weighed in, but enough fish were caught to keep everyone satisfied.  Click here for results and some photos from the trip.

Duckardt/Ohono Battle Miserable Weather to Take Mirror Tourney - 4/11/2009 Thirteen teams battled cold, wind and a steady rain at Mirror Lake.  Bill Duckardt & Jimmy Ohono managed to bring in three keepers for 4.50 lbs to take the win.  Dave Reeves took lunker with a 2.85 lb bass.  Thanks to Rod Blomdahl for his annual gift of coconut creme Easter eggs to all of the club members (from Rauhauser's Candies, 721 Asbury Ave, Ocean City, NJ).

Good Times at Blackwater Sports Center - 4/8/2009 Six club members, some friends of the club and members of Cumberland County Bassmasters enjoyed an evening of closed-door shopping at Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland on April 8.  Attendees enjoyed perusing Blackwater's well-stocked shelves, a hot dog & beverage meal and a 10% discount off of each person's order.  Look for a lot of new rods, reels and lures to be on display at our next tournament.  Check our Photo Gallery for a few photos from the event.

Lots of Wind, Not Many Bass at East Creek - 4/4/2009 Sustained high winds throughout the tournament made for challenging boating and fishing at East Creek Pond.  Only six bass were brought to the scales by the twelve participating teams.  Bill Ridel's 2.17 lb lunker winner gave him and Scott Bowen the overall win.  Bill Duckardt and Jimmy Ohono had the only multiple bass bag with two bass for 2.06 lbs, taking second place.

Scarce But Big at Parvin - 3/28/2009 Only nine keeper bass were weighed in by the fourteen teams that participated on our Parvin Lake tourney.  Al Franchetta & sub-partner John Franchetta won with a two-bass bag weighing 9.07 lbs, including John's 5.31 lb kicker.  But the lunker prize was won by Lynn Sprigg with a club lake record 6.33 lb bass.

Big Smallie-Fest at Union - 3/21/2009 Fat smallies were the order of the day for those who located them at Union Lake.  Our weigh-in featured ten smallmouth bass; almost all of them big & fat.  Bill Duckardt & Jimmy Ohono took first place with four bass weighing 11.75 lbs.  Their bag edged out Pat Childs & Bryan Tochterman who had five bass for 11.19 lbs, including Pat's 4.05 lb smallie.  Rod Blomdahl & Dave Reeves also had a 10+ pound bag with four bass weighing 10.90 lbs.  Jimmy Ohono's 4.99 lb largemouth took lunker.  Fifteen teams participated in this ten bass tournament.

Spriggs Take Opening Tourney - 3/14/2009 Dave Sprigg Sr & Lynn Sprigg took our first tournament of the year, at Sunset Lake, by a wide margin with a five-bass limit weighing 12.40 lbs.  Their bag, which included Lynn's two 3+ pounders, won by a margin of almost five pounds.  Carl Huff took the lunker prize with a nice 4.35 lb bass.  Fifteen teams participated in the tournament.

Club Members Win SJBCA Award - 2/19/2009 At the February meeting of the South Jersey Bass Club Association, members Al and John Franchetta received plaques for catching the heaviest six-bass limit at a NJ Lunker Program lake in 2008.  Their five-bass 15.43 lb bag, weighed in at our March 15 Parvin Lake tournament, was enough to win the award by a wide margin.  Click here for a photo of Al and John accepting their plaques.

Club Winter Trip Another Success - 1/11/2009 Our annual club winter trip took place on Saturday, January 10. This year we went to the Bass Pro Shops in Hanover, Maryland (south of Baltimore). We first met for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pennsville, then headed to BPS. After doing Bass Pro for a while, most of us headed to Max's Tap House near Baltimore Harbor for lunch and beverages.

Club Get-Together Held - 11/17/2008 Our annual fall club get-together was held on Saturday, November 15 at Rick Lentz' house in Vineland.  Fifteen club members and a few spouses were able to make it.  The attendees enjoyed food, beverages, billiards & darts, a retrospective on the past year presented by Fred Lentz, and the presentation of plaques to our Hawg Hunters Classic winners.  Click here for photos from the event.

Club Member Passes Away - 10/24/2008 It is with regret that we report the passing of club member Paul Haley this morning.  Paul had been a member since 2003.  A viewing was held on Monday evening (Oct 27) and Tues morning (Oct 28), and services at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday at Victory Bible Church in Hammonton.  The burial took place at Zion Cemetery in Bargaintown.

Hawg Hunters Take 2nd Place at SJBCA Bass Bowl - 10/19/2008 After some scrambling to put together at six-person team for this event and then a last-minute substitution, we were able to participate and come in 2nd place out of nine clubs.  Our team ended up being:  Fred Lentz & Bill Duckardt, Al Franchetta & MaryAnne Franchetta, and Ken Merlock Sr & Kenny Merlock Jr.  The weather at the Potomac River was cold and very windy.  Bass bites were hard to come by and all of the teams had a difficult time catching keepers (each boat could weigh in up to ten bass - that's 30 bass per club).  The winning club had ten bass for 18.57 lbs.  We had six bass for 11.25 lbs.  Click here for detailed results and photos on the SJBCA website.

Harper & Mann Win Close One at Hawg Hunters Classic - 9/28/2008 Zellman & Barrett Repeat as Champion Team Jim Harper and grandson Kyle Mann came up with a good limit of fish on Day 2 at Salem Canal to vault from a Day 1 fifth place standing to take the win at the 2008 Hawg Hunters Classic.  Jim and Kyle's two-day total of seven bass for 11.65 lbs beat Dennis Snyder & Greg Lentz by .23 lbs.  In a "photo finish", there was just a little over one pound separating the top five finishing teams.  Kyle took the Day 1 lunker prize at Union Lake with a 2.81 lb bass and Jim took the Day 2 lunker with his 2.51 lb bass.   While a total of six five-bass bags were weighed in during the tournament, only Dennis and Greg managed to do it on both days of the tourney. With their 6th place finish at the Classic, Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett won the club championship for the second year in a row.  The teams that have qualified to represent our club at the SJBCA Bass Bowl on October 19 are:  Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett, Fred Lentz & Sam Wisnewski, and Al Franchetta & John Franchetta.

One Good Bag at Lenape - 9/13/2008 Only fourteen bass were weighed in by the seven teams that participated in our Lake Lenape tournament.  But five of them were weighed in by the team of Dennis Snyder and Greg Lentz, for a total weight of 11.60 lbs.  That included Dennis' second consecutive lunker winner -- a 4.48 lb fattie.  Zeke Zellman and Steve Barrett remained atop the point standings with a 3rd place finish, while Snyder/Lentz moved within striking distance of the top three teams (Bass Bowl team qualification).  There are two more tournaments to go on our schedule.

Zellman & Barrett Take 2nd Consecutive Tourney - 9/7/2008 After a one-day delay of this tournament for tropical storm Hanna, the team of Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett picked up where they left off at our last tourney and won again at Bargaintown Lake with a five-bass limit weighing 10.85 lbs.  Dennis Snyder took the lunker prize with a 2.75 lb bass (winning by .05 lb).  The tournament was followed by our annual club barbecue, this year hosted by Greg Lentz.  Thanks to Greg and everyone else who brought food & beverages to the event.

Lake Records Broken at Malaga - 8/23/2008 Some teams found them and some teams struggled in our tournament at Malaga Lake.  The team of Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett were one of three teams to bring a five-bass limit to the scales.  Their bag weighed 10.20 lbs, including Steve's 3.35 lb lunker winner.  Both weights broke lake records for our club that had stood for 9 and 8 years respectively.  Thirteen teams participated in the tourney.

More Bass Than Last Time at Deal - 8/17/2008 Although we only had a small turn-out for this year's tournament at Deal Lake, more fish were weighed in than at last year's ten-bass tournament there.  Rod Blomdahl & Dave Reeves picked up their first win of the year with a five-bass limit for 8.17 lbs.  Fred Lentz won lunker for the second week in a row with a 2.77 lb bass.

Club Member Featured in Articles - Updated 8/18/2008 Club member Fred Lentz has been featured in several publications recently.  First, he was quoted extensively for an article in the summer issue of Bass Club Digest magazine, entitled "Launch and Load: The Importance of Boat Ramp Etiquette".  Later he was interviewed by the Newark Star Ledger newspaper for a July 27 article on Lake Audrey entitled "South Jersey quarry could be gold mine".  Then on August 15, there was a different Lake Audrey article in the Vineland Daily Journal entitled "Audrey Lake:  Angler's paradise off limits" which included a series of photos).  On August 17, he was quoted in the Today's Sunbeam (Salem) in an article about the 2008 South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day.

2nd in a Row for Duckardt/Ohono - 8/9/2008 Bill Duckardt and Jimmy Ohono managed to cull fish on a day when keepers were hard to come by at Newton Lake.  They came in with a five-bass limit weighing 6.43 lbs to take the win for the second tournament in a row.  Fred Lentz took lunker with a 3.32 lb bass (a new club record for that lake).  Thanks to Greg Lentz for providing hot dogs after the weigh-in.

Ten-Bass Limit Takes Scramble - 7/26/2008 Only one team achieved the goal of bringing in five-bass limits at both lakes of our Cedarvile/Shaws Mill Scramble.  Bill Duckardt & Jimmy Ohono paired their 9.11 lb limit at Cedarville with a solid 6.15 lb limit at Shaws and ran away with the contest with their 15.26 lb total.  Rod Blomdahl and sub partner Bryan Tochterman had eight bass for 12.85 lbs to take 2nd place.  In 3rd place was Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett with six bass for 11.74 lbs.  Steve won lunker at Cedarville with a solid 3.90 lb bass.  John Duncan (sub partner with Jim Harper) took the Shaws lunker prize with a 1.67 lb bass.

Lots of Limits at Salem - 7/19/2008 Our club set a record for number of limits weighed in at a five-bass tournament.  Eight of the thirteen teams that fished Salem Canal, brought in five-bass limits.  The team of Dennis Snyder & Greg Lentz had a limit weighing 9.65 lbs that took first place.  Dennis' 3.34 lb bass won the lunker prize.  In all, 51 bass (one short of our record of 52) were weighed in by the 26 fishermen entered.  All of this was despite very low water levels.  Thanks to former club member Orie Summers for providing beverages during the weigh-in.

Decent Numbers at Stewart - 7/12/2008 Eleven out of the 14 teams entered managed to weigh in at least one keeper at our Stewart Lake tournament.  Fred Lentz & Sam Wisnewski took 1st place with their five-bass limit weighing 5.94 lbs.  They just edged out Al Franchetta & sub-partner Roy Henry, who had 5.86 lbs.  The lunker winner was Steve Barrett with a 2.54 lb bass.

A Lot of Bass at Sunset - 6/28/2008 Unlike the previous tournament at Assunpink, our Sunset Lake tourney saw lots of keepers brought to the scales.  Forty-two keepers were weighed in by the twelve teams present and at least several teams culled during the tournament.  Mike Miller Sr & John Chattley picked up their first win of the season with a nice 11.53 lb limit.  Zeke Zellman took lunker with a 5.07 lb bass.

Not a Lot of Bass at Assunpink - 6/21/2008 The nine teams that showed up to fish our tournament at Lake Assunpink weighed in a total of nine bass.  The team of Dennis Snyder and Greg Lentz brought in three bass for 8 lbs even to take the win.  Jimmy Ohono weighed in a nice 4.72 lb bass to take the lunker prize.

Kerr Trip Had Usual Fish/Fun/Food - 5/4/2008 Our club's annual trip to Kerr Reservoir was another successful one.  The water level was ideal, the weather was cooperative every day, the fishing was pretty good with a bunch of good ones brought in and, as usual, the group meals were great.  Results of the few competitions we held, along with photos, are on that trip's results page.

Weird Weather at Mirror - 4/12/2008 The weather conditions during our tournament at Mirror Lake ranged from very warm, sunny & calm to cool, cloudy, rainy, thunderstorms & windy.  The team of Fred Lentz & Sam Wisnewski put three keepers in the boat early in the tourney and their weight of 6.11 lbs was good enough for the win.  Fred's 3.78 lb bass took the lunker prize.

Some Guys Found 'Em at Sunset - 4/5/2008 Some guys found 'em and some guys didn't at our Sunset Lake ten bass tournament.  The team of Chris Oeser and Ken Merlock weighed in five bass for 12.53 lbs.  That was enough to pull out the win against Rod Blomdahl and sub-partner Brian Tochterman who had three bass for 12.04 lbs.  Rod's 4.91 lb bass was the lunker winner.  That one beat out a 19 inch 4.65 lb bass with an engorged belly weighed in by Dennis Sndyer.  A total of twelve teams participated.

Bitter Weather at Wilson - 3/29/2008 Despite sunshine throughout the day, the wind chills were bitter at our Wilson Lake tournament.  The team of Al Franchetta and John Franchetta picked up their second win of the season with a five bass limit for 6.92 lbs.  Bill Ridel took the lunker prize with a 2.34 lb bass.  A total of fifteen teams participated.

Not Many at Menantico - 3/22/2008 Although the weather was a lot better than predicted for our tournament at Menantico Sand Ponds, the fishing was real tough.  The team of Zeke Zellman and Steve Barrett took 1st place and lunker with one fish weighing 3.09 lbs.  Only seven total bass were weighed in by the twelve teams that participated.  Thanks to Rod "The Candy Man" Blomdahl for providing the club members with coconut cream easter eggs again this year.  A total of twelve teams participated.

Big Bag at Parvin - 3/15/2008 The team of Al Franchetta & John Franchetta broke the club's six-bass limit weight record at our Parvin Lake tournament with a five bass bag weighing 15.43 lbs.  John took lunker with a 3.53 lb bass, but it was a tough decision picking their lunker candidate.  On a cold, windy day, eight of the fifteen participating teams failed to weigh in a keeper.

Winter Club Trip - 1/13/2008 Our annual club trip was to the Fishing Expo & Boat Show at Timonium, Maryland on Saturday, January 12.  We met for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pennsville and then headed south to the show.  After doing the show, half of the group stopped off for lunch at Max's Tap House at Fells Point in the Baltimore Harbor area.  The other half traveled to the Bass Pro Shops store south of Baltimore.  See the Photo Gallery for a photo of the group at Cracker Barrel restaurant.

Franchettas Take Another Classic; Zellman & Barrett Take Championship - 9/30/2007
On Day 1 of this year's Hawg Hunters Classic, fishing action was brutally slow for just about every team at Lake Lenape.  The 11 teams that participated only brought in 13 keeper bass.  The team of Al Franchetta & John Franchetta managed to bring in four keepers weighing 8.07 lbs and took a sizable lead going into Day 2 at Newton Lake.  Scott Bowen took the Day 1 lunker prize with a 3.05 lb bass, edging out Mike Miller Sr's 2.99 lb entry.  On Day 2, the Franchetta's held onto their lead, bringing in three bass for 3.84 lbs and giving them a two-day winning total of 11.91 lbs.  Zeke Zellman and Steve Barrett brought in the big bag at Newton with a five-bass limit for 8.14 lbs, anchored by Steve's 2.40 lb Day 2 lunker winner.  That gave them at two-day total of 9.88 lbs and 2nd place in the Classic.  Scott Bowen had a two day total of 8.50 lbs and finished in 3rd place, edging out the team of Fred Lentz and sub partners Rick & Greg Lentz who had 8.37 lbs.  With their high finish in the Classic, Zeke Zellman and Steve Barrett locked up the club championship for 2007.

Club Stickers Available - 9/27/2007 Scott Bowen has club stickers available.  Large ones are $15 and small ones are $6.  Contact Scott for more details.

Well Deal is Still a Great Looking Lake - 9/15/2007 Everyone agreed that Deal Lake, which the club was fishing for the first time ever, is one of the best looking lakes in New Jersey.  Unfortunately, not many fish were biting and the nine teams that made the trip to Asbury Park only weighed in a total of five keepers in what was supposed to be a ten fish (per team) tournament.  Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett continued their hot season by taking the win with two bass for 5.75 lbs.  Their bag was anchored by Steve's 4.35 lb lunker winner.

Not Bad at East Creek - 9/8/2007 Thirteen of the fourteen participating teams brought fish to the weigh-in at this year's East Creek Pond tournament.  Four teams had five-bass limits.  Paul Haley and Corey Knoedler weighed in a five-bass limit for 8.34 lbs to take the win.  Bill Duckardt won the lunker pool with a 3.58 lb bass.

A Lot of Keepers at Bargaintown - 9/1/2007 Our seventeen teams (including two guest teams) kind of overwhelmed little Bargaintown Lake and the fishing action was not up to its reputation, but we still managed to weigh in a total of fifty bass.  Justin Riley (Chris Oeser's friend), fishing as a guest team, weighed in a five-bass limit for 11.73 lbs after a dead fish penalty.  The highest finishing club team was Jim Miller fishing with sub partner Karen Wall, who brought in four bass for 8.47 lbs.  Chris Oeser took lunker with a 4.53 lb bass.

Not Many Keepers at Malaga - 8/25/2007 Short bass were the order of the day at our Malaga Lake tourney as the fourteen participating teams only weighed in a total of 19 keeper bass.  The team of Al Franchetta and sub partner John Franchetta brought in the only five-bass limit weighing 6.18 lbs to take the win.  Lunker was won by Dave Reeves with a 1.83 lb bass.

Slow Action at Sunset - 8/19/2007 Sunset Lake, which usually gives up good quantities of quality bass, was not its usual self on the day of our tourney here.  On a drizzly day after a cold front, twelve teams only managed to weigh in a total of 22 mostly small bass and no limits were brought in.  An abundance of floating algae mats didn't hel the fishing action.  The team of Mike Miller Sr & John Chattley weighed in four bass for 5.79 lbs to take the win.  Mike Sr's 2.31 lb bass took the lunker pot.

Zellman & Barrett Make it Two in a Row at Union Night Tourney - 8/4/2007 The team of Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett dominated the standings at our Union Lake night tournament to win their second tourney in a row.  This time they brought in a five-bass limit of solid keepers that weighed 12.61 lbs (a club lake record).  Lunker was won by Jerrod Lloyd with a 3.68 lb fish that edged out a 3.62 lb bass brought in by the Harper & Mann team.

Big Crowd at Small Pond "Scramble" - 7/28/2007 Many club members found the idea of fishing two small ponds at our annual "Scramble" event tempting this year.  Sixteen teams(!) showed up to fish Cedarville Pond and Shaws Mill Pond for about three hours each.  The combined weight for up to five bass at each lake would determine the winners.  Zeke Zellman & Steve Barrett brought in decent bags at both ponds to take the win with eight bass for 13.10 lbs.  They edged out Bill Duckardt & Orie Summers who ended up with seven bass for 12.77 lbs and Mike Miller Sr & John Chattley who had six bass for 12.50 lbs.  Chris Oeser took lunker at Cedarville with a nice 3.98 lb bass.  Mike Miller Sr won lunker at Shaws with a 2.54 lb fish.

Slower Than Usual at Salem - 7/21/2007 Only three of thirteen teams managed to bring in five-bass limits at our summer Salem Canal tournament this year.  The team of Al Franchetta and sub-partner John Franchetta picked up their second consecutive win with a limit weighing 8.21 lbs.  Lunker was taken by Ken Young with a 2.51 lb bass.

First Time at Stewart Goes Well - 7/7/2007 Our club's first tournament at Stewart Lake in Woodbury went very well, with the 14 participating teams bringing 40 keepers to the scales.  The team of Al Franchetta and sub-partner John Franchetta took the win with a five bass limit for 10.17 lbs.  John took lunker with a nice 4.12 lb bass.

Pretty Good at Newton - 6/30/2007 Although most teams caught numerous short bass, most were able to bring at least a few keepers at our club's second ever tournament at Newton Lake.  Twenty-eight bass were weighed in by the 30 fishermen who participated.  Scott Bowen, fishing without partner Bill Ridel (who is on the injured list), took the win with four nice keepers for 7.56 lbs.  Paul Haley won lunker with a 3.24 lb bass.

Few Keepers at Menantico - 6/23/2007 Only 18 bass were weighed in by the 11 teams that participated in our tournament at Menantico Sand Ponds.  Zeke Zellman and Steve Barrett took the win with a limit of five bass for 5.29 lbs.  Scott Bowen won lunker for the second tourney in a row with a club lake record 4.82 lb bass.

Assunpink Tourney Pretty Good - 6/16/2007 Results were better than usual at this year's club tournament at Lake Assunpink.  Despite the lake's 15 inch minimum length, eleven of the thirteen participating teams managed to weigh in at least one keeper.  The team of Ken Young and Lynn Sprigg won their second tourney in a row with a bag of four almost identical bass weighing a total of 12.69 lbs.  Scott Bowen took lunker with a 4.59 lb bass (one of his two four pounders).

Club Member Volunteers at Tournament for Wounded Soldiers - 6/12/2007 Club member Mike Miller Sr served as a volunteer boater in a bass tournament for wounded U.S. soldiers.  The event took place on Saturday, June 9, and was held on the Potomac River, launching out of Washington DC.  Mike's partner Frank finished in 5th place.  All participants (soldiers) received gift cards of at least $250, with the top finishers receiving even more.  Mike reports that "It was an awesome day!"

Club Trip to Kerr Best One Ever - 5/7/2007 This year's annual club trip to Kerr Reservoir, Virginia, on May 2 through May 6 was probably our best ever.  Four groups (Fred & Rick Lentz,  Bill Duckardt & Dennis Snyder, Scott Bowen & Bill Ridel, and Mike Miller Sr, Jim Miller & Mike Miller Jr) enjoyed five days of fishing, camping and group meals at the Rudds Creek campground.  Good quantities of bass were caught by all of the groups, including some decent sized fish.

Spring Portion of Season Finally Over - 4/14/2007 Much to the joy of most club members (and to the disappointment of Jim Miller), the spring portion of our club's tournament trail ended with another tough day of fishing in unpleasant weather conditions.  This time the site of the tough tournament was Parvin Lake, a lake we hadn't fished since 2001.  As a "NJ Lunker Bass Program" lake, the minimum size limit is 15" and the maximum number of fish per person is three (we fished for six bass per team).  The team of Ken Young and Lynn Sprigg took their first ever club win with a two bass bag weighing 7.04 lbs.  The team of Jim Miller and Mike Miller Jr took lunker for the second week in a row with Jim's real nice 5.79 lb bass.

Yuck - 4/7/2007 Cold temperatures, high winds and snow showers made for a very uncomfortable day of fishing at Rainbow Lake.  Although it was supposed to be a ten bass tournament, the fourteen teams that participated only weighed in a grand total of four bass.  The team of Jim Miller and Mike Miller Jr brought in the winner and lunker winner with a nice 3.71 lb bass.  That barely beat out the 3.58 lb bass brought in by the Duckardt & Summers team.

Three Slow Ones in a Row - 3/31/2007 For the third tournament in a row, fishing action was extremely slow.  The fifteen participating teams at Mirror Lake only managed to bring thirteen bass to the scales and  all of them were in the one pound range.  Ken Merlock with sub partner Mark Woody picked up the win with three bass for 3.65 lbs.  Sean Sprigg took lunker with his 1.58 lb bass.

Not Many at Wilson - 3/25/2007 With a club record eighteen teams participating, we still only managed to weigh in a total of twelve bass on a sunny but very windy day on Wilson Lake.  Bill Duckardt, fishing solo, took the win and lunker with his 3.23 lb bass.

One Was The Number at Sunset - 3/11/2007 Despite bright sunshine, no team weighed in more than one bass at our first club tournament of the season at Sunset Lake.  Eight teams brought a single bass to the scales.  Dave Sprigg Sr's 4.50 lb fish won the tournament and lunker prize.  We set a club record with 17 teams participating in the tourney.

Franchettas Take Hawg Hunters Classic & Championship - 10/3/2004
John Franchetta and Al Franchetta caught the only two-day limit and won this year's edition of our annual Hawg Hunters Classic.  This is the third year in a row that John has been on the winning Classic team and it's the second consecutive year for Al (who fished as a substitute partner last year).  The Franchettas weighed in a two-day total of ten bass for 16.07 lbs.  That comfortably topped Fred Lentz & Rick Lentz's total of 13.65 lbs and Bill Duckardt & Orie Summers' total of 11.21 lbs.  John Franchetta took the Day 1 lunker prize at Union Lake with a nice 3.45 lber.  Orie Summers won the Day 2 lunker at Salem canal with a 1.93 lb bass.  By winning the Classic, John & Al Franchetta sealed their first club Championship.  They, along with 2nd place overall finishers Bill Duckardt & Orie Summers and 3rd place overall finishers Fred Lentz & Rick Lentz qualified to represent our club in the SJBCA Bass Bowl at the Potomac River on October 17.

Yearly Summary Page Updated - 10/3/2004
The page on our club website where each year's highlights are summarized has been updated for the 2004 season.  Click here to go directly to that page in the Prior Results section.

Duckardt/Summers Break All-time Weight Record at Lenape - 9/25/2004
The team of Bill Duckardt and Orie Summers broke our club's all-time record for a five-bass limit with their 16.16 lb bag at Lake Lenape.  Their weight topped the 15 lb 14 oz bag weighed in by the Dennis Snyder/Carl Reeves team at East Creek Pond back in 1999.  Ken Merlock won lunker with a nice 4.68 lb bass.  Several other heavyweight bass were also weighed in.  Note:  A list of our results and all of our tournament photos (same as on our results page) are posted on a bulletin board outside the Lake Lenape park office.

No Limits at Sunset Ten-Fish Tourney - 9/18/2004
Nobody even got close to a ten-fish limit at our Sunset Lake tournament; however, there were quite a few good bass weighed in.  The team of John Franchetta and Al Franchetta won with a four bass bag weighing 11.76 lbs.  Their bag was anchored by a nice 4.43 lb bass that Al caught.  Finishing in 2nd place was Bill Duckart and Orie Summers with four bass for 9.62 lbs, including Duck's 4.53 lb lunker winner.

Club Member Makes Bassmaster Magazine - 9/13/2004
It was brought to our attention that, on page 63 of the September 2004 issue of Bassmaster magazine, there's a photo of club member Chris Oeser.  It's in an advertisement for the Bassmaster Open trail, which Chris fishes.  In the photo, Chris is holding a nice smallmouth he caught in one of the Open tournaments.  (We'll know he's really hit the big time if they start identifying him under his photo.)  Congratulations Chris!

More Than Usual at Menantico - 9/11/2004
Because Rainbow Lake was unfishable, we switched our tournament to Menantico Sand Ponds.  As it turned out, we did better than usual at Menantico.  The eight teams that showed up weighed in a total of 26 bass.  Paul Haley and Wade Schoonover brought in the only five bass limit and won with a weight of 6.14 lbs.  Fred Lentz took the lunker prize with a 2.24 lb bass.

Good Numbers at Bargaintown - 8/28/2004
Six teams managed to bring in five bass limits at our Bargaintown Pond tourney.  Bill Duckardt and Orie Summers weighed in the winning bag of 10.94 lbs, including Orie's 3.80 lb lunker winner.  The tournament was followed by our annual club barbecue hosted by Chris Oeser and his wife Jeannie.  Lots of great food and beverages were consumed.

Another First Time Winner at DOD - 8/22/2004
For the third time this season a team picked up their first ever win.  The team of Ray Baron and Sean Sprigg brought in three bass for 6.48 lbs on an extremely tough day of fishing at DOD Lake.  Their fish included Ray's 4.26 lb lunker winner.  Their total weight and lunker weight were lake records.  Only seven total bass were weighed in by the nine participating teams.

Youth Outdoor Day a Big Success - 8/21/2004
The 5th annual South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day was held at the Salem County Sportsmen's Club in Carney's Point.  Over 150 kids and almost 100 parents attended.  A couple of brief showers late in the day didn't seem to spoil the fun for the kids as they participated in a variety of target shooting and fishing activities.  There were also booths hosted by a variety of outdoor-related organizations, many of whom gave away token gifts to the attendees.  The South Jersey Bass Club Association, of which our club is a member, was one of the seven co-host organizations of the event.  The SJBCA booth and rod/reel combo loaner program were capably manned by Al Franchetta, MaryAnn Franchetta and Rick Lentz.  The SJBCA's activities also included a bass boat display for which Fred Lentz, John Franchetta and friend-of-the-club Scott Bowen brought their boats over.   As part of the SJBCA booth, we give away a variety of fishing tackle and trinkets, some paid for by the SJBCA and some donated by a few generous fishermen.  Carl Huff and Al Franchetta made donations for our plastic worm giveaway.  Mike Franchetta and George Orbin of our club also attended the event.  Look for photos from this year's event to be posted sometime over the next few weeks on the SJ Youth Outdoor Day website at www.sjyouthoutdoorday.org .  Next year's event will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2005.  Mark your calendars.

No Bonus Points at East Creek - 8/14/2004
For the second week in a row no bonus points were awarded at East Creek Pond for a bag weighing seven pounds or more.  Mike Wright fishing solo won with two bass for 6.01 lbs, including his nice 4.94 lb lunker winner.  No team brought in a five-bass limit and seven of the twelve teams only weighed in one fish.

Lotta Small Ones Again at Malaga - 8/7/2004
As usual, Malaga Lake produced a lot of small bass as a record-tying fourteen teams participated.  The team of Roy Henry and Mike Franchetta weighed in the winning bag of four bass for 6.38 lbs.  Mike Wright won the lunker prize (by two hundredths of a pound) with his 2.02 lb bass.

Good Turnout for First Ever Night Tourney - 7/31/2004
We held our first ever night tournament at Union Lake and the turnout was the same as for most of our other tournaments.  Twelve teams participated in our experiment with fishing in the dark (although there was a full moon and it was only partly cloudy).  Several good fish were weighed in including Fred Lentz's 5.21 lb lunker winner.  Fred and his partner Rick Lentz won the tournament with a four bass bag weighing 10.35 lbs, which included a 1.91 lb smallmouth.

Couple of Good Ones at Hammonton - 7/24/2004
Among all of the almost-one-pounders weighed in at our Hammonton Lake tournament were a nice 5.11 lb lunker winner brought in by Dave Sprigg Sr and a 4.78 lb bass caught by Paul Haley.  Using their "home lake advantage", the team of Paul Haley and grandson Wade Schoonover won the tournament with a five bass limit weighing 9.64 lbs.

Typical Salem Tourney - 7/17/2004
As usual, small keepers were the order of the day at our Salem Canal tournament.  Catching fish through thick mats of floating grass all up and down the canal was a challenge, but the team of Roy Henry and Mike Franchetta managed to bring in a five bass bag weighing 8.49 lbs.  Their bag included Mike's 3.22 lb lunker winner.

Another Successful Scramble - 7/10/2004
Our annual Cedarville/Shaws Mill Scramble saw good participation, a fair number of fish and a couple of records.  Rod Blomdahl and sub partner Brian Tochterman weighed in a Cedarville record five bass for 14.56 lbs, anchored by a 4.46 record lunker.  They made that weight stand up as they added two small keepers at Shaws Mill and won the event with a total of seven bass for 16.11 lbs.  Rick Lentz won the Shaws Mill lunker with a 1.64 lb bass.  Twelve teams participated in the tournament.

Small Group, Big Results at Champlain Trip - 6/27/2004
For a variety of reasons (see other news items), only two teams were able to attend our club trip to Lake Champlain on June 24-27.  Although the conditions were windy for much of the time, bass were plentiful and almost all solid keepers.  The big fish for the trip was Bill Duckardt's 4 lb 5 oz bass which he caught during the last fishing session on Sunday.

Hawg Hunters Do Great at BASS Open Tourney - 6/26/2004
Dan Martin, Chris Oeser and Ken Merlock all did great at the BASS Northern Open tournament at Lake Erie on June 24-26.  Click here for some details on this tournament on our site and a link to the BASS site.

J.Franchetta Wins NJ BASS Federation Tourney - 6/25/2004
John Franchetta, fishing as a member of the Bucketmouth Brigade club, won the NJ BASS Federation team tournament at Lake George, NY, on June 24-25.  John reported that his finish qualifies him for the NJ state Federation team.

Lotsa Small Ones at East Creek - 6/19/2004
Small bass were the order of the day at our East Creek Pond tournament.  The winning team of Bill Duckardt & Orie Summers had a five bass limit for 6.99 lbs.  Duck's 2.60 bass was the lunker winner.  All twelve of the teams entered weighed in fish and 44 total fish were weighed in.

Good Food, Fun Camping, Lousy Fishing on Kerr Trip - 4/25/2004
This year's club trip to Kerr Reservoir in Virginia included the usual fun socializing around the campfire and great group meals hosted by the Millers and Duck/Dennis.  Unfortunately the fishing wasn't up to par, with the exception of a couple of four pounders weighed in by Mike Miller Sr.

Not Too Many At Mirror - 4/10/2004
Our club's first attempt to fish Mirror Lake in the spring was not entirely successful, as only one team brought a limit to the scales and only three teams got more than two keepers.  For the third time this year, the team of John Franchetta and Al Franchetta won a tournament by weighing in five bass for 5.70 lbs.  Chris Oeser won lunker with a bass that was only 1.73 lbs (barely beating out Mike Santambrogio's 1.71 pounder).  Thanks to Rod Blomdahl who gave out Rauhauser's coconut creme easter eggs to each of our club members.

Wasn't It Supposed to Be a Ten Bass Tourney at Rainbow? - 4/3/2004
Although it was supposed to have been a ten-bass tournament at Rainbow Lake, the most bass brought in by any of the thirteen teams was four.  But what we didn't have in numbers, many teams made up for in weight.  The team of Roy Henry and Mike Franchetta brought in three quality bass for a total of 11.45 lbs.  Their bag was anchored by Roy's 5.76 lb lunker winner.  A fair number of other bass over three pounds (including a couple in the four pound class) were also weighed in.

Not Too Many At Union - 3/27/2004
Only eleven bass were weighed in by the twelve teams that fished our Union Lake event.  Although fishing conditions seemed ideal for the time of year, bites were hard to come by.  The team of Rod Blomdahl and Pat Childs (subbing for Dan Martin) brought in four bass for 8.12 lbs.  Jim Harper won the lunker prize with a nice 4.39 pounder

A Little Breezy At Wilson Too - 3/21/2004
Twelve hardy teams battled more wind at our first tournament ever at Wilson Lake.  Half of the teams managed to weigh in fish.  The top three finishing teams were the same ones that finished 1-2-3 the previous weekend at Sunset.  They were again led by the team of John Franchetta & Al Franchetta who brought in a five bass limit for 9.49 lbs.  John's 4.41 lb bass was the lunker winner.

A Little Breezy At Sunset - 3/13/2004
Someone operating a marine battery concession at the boat ramp would have done good business on this day at Sunset Lake which featured extremely high winds.  Sufficient battery power and bites were in short supply for most of the thirteen teams, but that didn't stop John Franchetta & Al Franchetta from bringing in four bass for 12.89 lbs.  Al had the lunker winner with a 4.55 lb bass and their bag featured another big one as well.   Six teams zeroed and about that same number loaded up early with battery problems.

Pre-Season Meeting Held - 2/1/2004
Our pre-season meeting was held on Saturday, January 31, at the Bridgewater Pub in Bridgeton.  A record 19 club members attended!  Among the decisions made were:  We will cast our SJBCA Bass Bowl location vote for Greenwood Lake.  We will modify our short fish penalty to only penalize fishermen who don't bring their questionable fish to the attention of the weighmaster.  We will modify our tournament payouts to reduce the 1st place payout or increase the 3rd place payout, when too little or too much is collected to cover our WMA permit cost.  We will plan to have a "weigh-in witness" (Mike Miller Sr), who will double-check weights and assist the weigh-in recorder (Rick Lentz).  We will plan to hand out weigh-in numbers as teams pay their entry fees.  Fred Lentz will continue as President/Secretary and Bill Duckardt will continue as Tournament Director/Weighmaster.  Chris Oeser & Ken Merlock will continue as back-up weighmasters.  Team members were declared for the 2004 season.  Our proposed tournament schedule was approved after the addition of a night tournament at Union Lake on July 30.

Fishing Expo Trip - 1/12/2004
Eight members of club made the trek to Timonium, Maryland on January 10 for the annual Fishing Expo.  On the way down, they stopped off for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pennsville.  After spending a few hours at the show, several of them headed into the Baltimore Harbor area for lunch and beverages at Max's on Broadway.  Nobody bought a boat this year, but a few of them were giving it serious consideration.
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Member Profiles Section Added to Website - 10/21/2003
In our first website enhancement of the off-season, a Member Profiles section has been added to the site at the bottom of the Club Profile page.  This new section provides a brief summary of each member's history with our club.  Future plans call for the inclusion of member photos and possibly boat photos.

Middle of the Pack Again at SJBCA Bass Bowl - 10/19/2003
Our club continued its tradition of struggling at the South Jersey Bass Club Association's annual top-six tournament, known as the "Bass Bowl".  On a very windy day at the Susquehanna Flats, our team of Bill Duckardt, Orie Summers, Chris Oeser, Ken Merlock, Fred Lentz and Rick Lentz weighed in eleven bass for a respectable 16.50 lbs.  But on a day when a number of clubs found large quantities of bass, that put our club in 8th place overall.  The winning club had twenty-one bass for a Bass Bowl record 48.95 lbs.  The lunker winner was also a record at 6.60 lbs.  Chris and Ken had our club's lunker at 2.90 lbs.  For detailed results of the tournament on the SJBCA website, click here.

Duckardt/Summers Team Clinches Club Championship at Classic - 10/5/2003
With their 4th place finish in the Hawg Hunters Classic tournament, the team of Bill Duckardt and Orie Summers wrapped up the 2003 club points championship.  John Franchetta and substitute partner Al Franchetta won the tournament at Salem Canal/Lake Lenape with a total of nine bass for 9.28 lbs.  Mike Miller Sr took the Day 1 lunker prize with a 2.59 lb bass and Bill Duckardt took the Day 2 lunker with a 3.05 lb bass.  The top three finishing teams for the year -- Bill Duckardt/Orie Summers, Chris Oeser/Ken Merlock Sr, Fred Lentz/Rick Lentz -- will represent our club at the SJBCA's Bass Bowl on October 19 at the Northeast River in Maryland.

Better Than Usual at the Maurice - 9/27/2003
Although quantity and quality of fish weren't very good, they were better than our club's usual poor showing at the Maurice River.  The team of Fred Lentz and Rick Lentz culled five keepers and weighed in a bag that totaled 8.09 lbs, smashing our club record for that body of water by almost five pounds.  Fred picked up the lunker win with a 2.07 lb bass.  The Lentz/Lentz team moved up into the 3rd place spot in the club point standings with one two-day tournament to go.

Slow Day for Most at Union - 9/20/2003
Dead calm water and bluebird skies resulted in a slow day for most anglers in our ten fish tournament at Union Lake.  Despite the conditions (which followed the remnants of hurricane Isabel by just one day), the team of Dave Sprigg Sr and Harry Sprigg managed to bring in six bass for 11.99 lbs to take the win.  Dennis Snyder weighed in a nice 4.22 lb bass to take the lunker win.

Little Guy Gets Big Fish at Assunpink - 9/13/2003
Substitute partner Kenny Merlock Jr gave his dad a fishing lesson at Lake Assunpink by pulling in a 4.85 lb bass, which took lunker honors and set a club record for that lake.  Kenny and his dad Ken Sr brought in a four bass bag that weighed 11.94 lbs (also a club lake record).  The points they earned allowed the Oeser/Merlock team to leap-frog two other teams and move up to 2nd place in our point standings.

Only One Good One Again at East Creek - 9/6/2003
Just like our last tournament at this lake, there was one good fish caught at East Creek Pond and a whole bunch of one pounders.  The team of Orie Summers and substitute partner Brian Smith brought in a five bass limit that included Orie's 4.59 lb lunker winner.  Their total weight of 9.27 lbs easily beat the second place team of Fred Lentz & Rick Lentz who had five bass for 5.96 lbs.  The win extended the Duckardt/Summers team's lead in our points standings to a comfortable 40 points with four tournaments remaining.  Only ten points separate the next three teams in the standings, and several other teams are still within striking distance of the coveted top three spots which will advance to the SJBCA's "Bass Bowl".

Good Tourney and Great BBQ - 8/23/2003
Bargaintown Lake produced some good bass again this year, including lake five-bass and lunker records.  The tournament was won by Bill Duckardt & Orie Summers whose fish weighed 11.77 lbs (breaking the previous lake record of 10.48 lbs).  Rod Blomdahl broke the lake lunker record with a nice 4.10 lb bass.  The tournament was followed by our annual club barbecue at Chris Oeser's house.  Most of the tournament attendees showed up and great food was enjoyed by the group and many of their family members.

Lotsa Small Ones at Hammonton Tourney - 8/17/2003
Although the nine participating teams managed to bring 25 bass to the scales on a relatively slow day at Hammonton Lake, none of them were good ones.  The team of Rod Blomdahl and Dan Martin edged the Chris Oeser/Ken Merlock Sr team by one 1/100 of a pound (5.42 lbs to 5.41 lbs) in our club's closest finish ever.  Ken Merlock Sr had the lunker winner with a 1.53 lb bass.  Most of the bass weighed in looked emaciated.

Youth Outdoor Day a Booming Success - 8/16/2003
The annual South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day, held at Salem County Sportsmen's Club, saw its highest attendance ever.  One hundred thirteen kids attended, along with 72 parents and about 30 volunteer workers.  Thanks to Fred Lentz, Rick Lentz, Bill Duckardt, Mike Miller Sr and Mike Miller Jr for helping out at the event. This group manned the South Jersey Bass Club Association's booth (at which fishing tackle & magazines were given away), coordinated the rod/reel loaner program, kept an eye on the bass boat display and monitored the pond fishing.  The event also included a variety of target shooting activities.  Photos of this year's event are posted on the event website.

Duckardt/Snyder Team Wins Big Water Trail - 8/10/2003
After the final tournament on our experimental "big water" tournament trail, the team of Bill Duckardt and Dennis Snyder stood in first place with 58 points.  The Lentz/Lentz and Miller/Miller teams trailed far behind with 27 and 21 points respectively.  Duckardt and Snyder clinched the championship at the Delaware River with a three bass bag weighing 4.39 lbs.

Good Quantity at Mirror Lake Tourney - 8/9/2003
We only had eight teams participate in our tournament at Mirror Lake, but six of them brought in five-bass limits.  The team of Chris Oeser and Ken Merlock won with 8.56 lbs.  Their bag was anchored by Chris' nice 4.55 lb lunker winner.

Lunker Record Set at Salem Canal Tourney - 7/26/2003
Although the weights of almost all of the bass brought in were the usual Salem Canal size (one pound range), Bill Duckardt managed to locate a nice 3.43 lb bass.  That topped our club's previous record at Salem Canal of 3.25 lbs.  Roy Henry and guest partner Jack Taylor brought in five bass for 8.43 lbs to win the tournament.

Chris Oeser Finishes 14th in B.A.S.S. Tourney - 7/19/2003
At the BASS Northern Open tournament on the Potomac River, Chris Oeser weighed in fifteen bass for 31 lbs 10 oz to finish in 14th place among the amateurs.  He picked up a $1,000 paycheck.  Click here to go to the details of that tournament on our website.

Quantity But Not Quality At Malaga Tournament - 7/19/2003
Malaga Lake (as a substitute for the unavailable Sunset Lake) gave up a lot of bass, but none of good quality.  Five limits were weighed in and many fish got culled, but the winning weight by the Duckardt/Summers team was only 7.82 lbs and Bill Duckardt's winning lunker was 1.89 lbs.

Snyder Dominates Annual Scramble Tournament - 7/12/2003
Dennis Snyder, fishing without his partner, destroyed several of our club records at our Cedarville/Shaws Mill "scramble" tournament.  Dennis' big day was anchored by a 5.91 lb beauty he weighed in at Shaws Mill Pond.  His total two-pond weight of 18.77 lbs beat the second place Oeser/Merlock team by almost eight pounds.

Club Records Smashed at Rainbow Tournament - 6/28/2003
Our Rainbow Lake tournament was one of our best ever.  We set club records for most teams entered in a tournament (14), most bass weighed in a five-bass tournament (52) and most total weight in a five-bass tournament (100.22 lbs).  We also tied our club record for most five-bass limits brought in.  We would have broken that record had it not been for a one-man "team" who inadvertently started culling when he only had four bass in his livewell.  One of the two-man teams reported that they caught 21 keepers and 9 shorts during this 6 1/2 hour tournament.  Oddly enough, the winning lunker was a relatively small three pounder.

East Creek Tourney A Little Slow - 6/21/2003
Our fifth tournament of the season, held at East Creek Pond, saw some very slow fishing action.  It may have been due to the frequently-changing (and very rainy) weather we experienced in May and June.  Another possible reason for the few fish caught was the very heavy growth of grass in the lake, the heaviest we have ever seen it.  The team of Rick Lentz and Fred Lentz won the tournament with only two bass for 5.25 lbs.  One of the bass was Fred's 4.33 lb lunker winner.  The Blomdahl team weighed in four bass for 4.68 lbs to take second.  Dave Sprigg Jr had a nice 2.70 lb lunker contender.  Almost all of the other fish were one pound or less.

Big Water Tournament Trail Continues  - 6/14/2003
Our experimental "big water" tournament trail had its third stop of the year at the Gunpowder River (Dundee Creek) in Maryland.  The water in the Upper Chesapeake was a bit rough for traveling, so the competitors didn't venture far from Dundee Creek.  The team of Fred Lentz and Rick Lentz weighed in four bass for 7.60 lbs (after a dead fish penalty).  Bill Duckardt won a close competition for the lunker with a 2.70 lb bass.  At the two earlier stops on this tournament trail, the team of Bill Duckardt and Dennis Snyder won at the Northeast and Nanticoke Rivers in Maryland.  The team of Mike Miller Sr and Mike Miller Jr also participated in the latter two tournaments.

Good Times on Mattawoman Trip - 6/6/2003
Five teams traveled to Mattawoman Creek in Maryland for our annual club trip there.  It was mostly rainy for the first two days, but the weather improved greatly for the rest of the trip.  The team of Fred Lentz and Rick Lentz weighed in the heaviest 3-bass limit of the trip at an even 10 lbs.  That was anchored by Rick's 3.8 lb bass which was the lunker of the trip.  The three-man Miller team were somewhat distracted by the fact that they were running a brand new 21 foot Stratos bass boat they had picked up the day before the trip.  Hearty group meals were prepared by Rick Lentz, Dave Sprigg & Ken Merlock (with credit to Ken's wife), and Mike Miller Sr.  Bill Duckardt (boater) and Mike Miller Sr (co-angler) stayed over to participate in the BFL tournament on Saturday.

Another Great Kerr Trip - 5/4/2003
Three teams traveled to Kerr Reservoir in Virginia for our annual club trip there.  The trip featured high water, but good fishing conditions and generally good weather.  The team of Bill Duckardt and Dennis Snyder set a new club record for a five-bass limit at that lake (14.0 lbs).  Fred Lentz brought in the heaviest lunker of the trip at 4.4 lbs.  The trip also featured the usual fun camping and great group meals prepared by Rick Lentz and Bill Duckardt.

Spring Lenape Tournament Not So Hot - 4/12/2003
Our fourth tournament of the season, held at Lake Lenape, saw the slowest fishing action of the season.  Only five of the ten participating teams weighed in any fish and only seven bass were weighed in by the 18 fishermen.  The Miller/Miller team, with two bass, took first place (5.07 lbs) and lunker (3.25 lbs - Mike Sr).

Rainbow Ten-Fish Tournament Goes Off Well - 4/5/2003
In our third tournament of the season at Rainbow Lake, all ten teams that entered managed to weigh in fish.  Although no limits were brought in at this ten-fish tournament, some good weights were registered.  The winning Lentz/Lentz team, with seven bass for 14.05 lbs, barely edged out the Duckardt/Summers team which had eight bass for 13.72 lbs.  The lunker winner was a 3.34 lb bass brought in by Roy Henry.

Smallies Dominate Spring Union Tourney - 3/22/2003
Our second tournament of the season at Union Lake saw twelve teams participate.  Two limits were brought in -- by the 1st place Duckardt/Summers team and the 2nd place Lentz/Lentz team.  John Franchetta weighed in a nice 4.95 lb lunker winner.  Of the 22 bass weighed in, 7 were smallmouths!  For this tournament, the field included one new team -- Carl Huff and George Orbin.

Launch of 2003 Club Tournament Season! - 3/15/2003
Our 2003 club tournament season was kicked off with a tournament at Sunset Lake.  Due to the horrible condition of the ramp, it took a very long time to get all of the boats launched and we were late getting started.  After that, things went pretty well, except for the usual start-of-the-season equipment problems experienced by several boats.  A record-tying thirteen teams braved the cold weather and fished the 6+ hours of the tournament.  The field included two new teams -- Gary Stewart & Marion Mitchell and Paul Haley & Wade Schoonover.  We also now have Rod Blomdahl partnered with Dan Martin, Rob Martin partnered with Tim Bucher, and Dennis Snyder partnered with Dave Sprigg Jr.  The results were pretty impressive for this time of year, with the Snyder/Sprigg Jr team bringing in a five-bass limit for over 11 pounds.  The Duckardt/Summers team also brought in a five-bass limit.  Mike Miller Jr got the lunker at 3.44 pounds.

Chris Oeser Finishes 24th in B.A.S.S. Tourney - 2/22/2003
Chris Oeser weighed in six bass for 15 lbs 2 oz, in two days at Toledo Bend, Louisiana.  That allowed him to finish in 24th place in the amateur standings and earn a $1,000 paycheck.  Click here to go to details of that tournament on our website.

Chris Oeser Finishes 6th in B.A.S.S. Tourney - 2/8/2003
Chris Oeser weighed in four bass for 15 lbs 0 oz, including a 6 lb 3 oz beauty, in three days at Lake Seminole, Georgia.  That was good enough to finish in 6th place in the amateur standings and earn a $2,500 paycheck.  Click here to go to details of that tournament on our website.

2003 Pre-Season Meeting Held - 2/1/2003
Our pre-season meeting was held at Bridgewater Pub on Laurel Street in Bridgeton.  Fifteen club members were able to attend.  The club voted to cast its 2003 SJBCA Bass Bowl location vote for the Potomac River (Mattawoman Creek at Smallwood State Park).  Fred Lentz was re-elected president/secretary/webmaster and Bill Duckardt was re-elected tournament director (Chris Oeser will serve as back-up tournament director).  Other items discussed at the meeting included some rules changes/additions and the finalization of our tournament schedules.  The biggest rules changes were to prevent short fish from being brought to the weigh-in and to prevent teams from having more than the limit of fish in their livewell.  All of the rules changes were incorporated into our rules document, copies of which are available from Fred Lentz.  The tournament schedule on the website was updated with the changes voted on.

Bass Expo Trip - 1/11/2003
After taking a year off (and going to Bass Pro Shops instead) we returned to our annual trip to the Bass Expo fishing show in Timonium, Maryland.  Nine club members attended.  As usual, we began the trip with a club breakfast at Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pennsville.  Several hours of shopping at the Expo were followed by lunch and beverages at Max's On Broadway at the Baltimore Harbor.
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1.  Bucketmouth Brigade -- 13 bass / 28 lbs 11.5 oz
2.  Tri-State Bass Assassins -- 7 bass / 14 lbs 14  oz
3.  Bass Squad -- 6 bass / 10 lbs 14.5 oz
4.  Tidewater Bassers -- 4 bass / 9 lbs 0.5 oz
5.  4th Ward Bass Anglers -- 3 bass / 8 lbs 12 oz
6.  Delaware River Fishermen's Assoc -- 3 bass / 5 lbs 7 oz
7.  Atlantic County Bass Anglers -- 2 bass / 4 lbs 12 oz
8.  Garden State Bassmasters -- 1 bass / 4 lbs 5 oz
9. SJ Hawg Hunters -- 2 bass / 3 lbs 12.5 oz
10. Rising Sun Bassmasters -- 2 bass / 2 lbs 6 oz
11. Pine Cone Anglers -- 1 bass / 1 lb 15.5 oz
12. South Point Bassers -- 1 bass / 1 lb 5 oz
Lunker -- Albertson & Chambers, 4th Ward Bass Anglers -- 4 lbs 15 oz

Oeser & Merlock Repeat as Club Champions - 9/22/2002
Chris Oeser and Ken Merlock held off the team of Bill Duckardt and Orie Summers to win our club championship for the second year in a row and the third time in the past four years.  A close battle for third was fought by the teams of Fred Lentz & Rick Lentz and Dennis Snyder & his many "partners of the week".  A second place finish in the Hawg Hunters "Classic" helped the Lentz team capture the third spot.  The top three teams earned spots on our six-man team for the SJBCA "Bass Bowl" at Union Lake on October 20.

Club Barbecue Held - 8/24/2002
Chris Oeser hosted a barbecue at his house following our Bargaintown Lake tournament on Saturday, August 24.  Many of our club members attended and enjoyed large quantities of great food.

Club Records Set at Sunset Lake - 7/27/2002
We set new club records for number of bass weighed in and total weight at our July 27 tournament at Sunset Lake.  Our 43 total bass broke our previous record of 40 set last year at Willow Grove Lake.  Our total weight of 74.94 lbs smashed our previous record of 62.88 lbs which we set at Sunset last year.  In addition, the Lentz/Lentz team's total weight of 15.33 lbs broke our lake record.  And Fred Lentz's 5.84 lb lunker broke that lake record as well.

Another Successful Mattawoman Trip - 6/4-6/7/2002
Four groups managed to make the trip to Mattawoman Creek on the Potomac River in Maryland this year.  For the second time, we scheduled the trip during the week instead of during the weekend, which sees too much boat traffic and fishing pressure.  (Bill Duckardt & Dennis Snyder hung around through Sunday.)   The quantity of bass seemed better than in other recent years, but few fish over 3 lbs were caught.  The big fish of the trip was Duck's 4/0 on Thursday morning.  The weather was extremely hot and dead calm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning.  And then severe thunderstorms came through on Thursday afternoon.  On Friday it was cool and windy.  Excellent group meals were provided by Mike Miller (steak), Rick Lentz (southwest chicken) and the Muhlbaiers (pasta).

Club Member Wins SJBCA 2001 Lunker of the Year - 1/16/2002
The South Jersey Bass Club Association, of which we're a member club, presents annual awards for fishing excellence.  These awards are presented to the club members who catch the heaviest bags of fish and heaviest lunker.  For 2001, Ken Merlock of our club won the Lunker of the Year award.  This was for Ken's 6.70 lb bass he caught in Rainbow Lake early in the year.  For his accomplishment, Ken was presented with a plaque at the SJBCA meeting on February 20.  His club partner, Chris Oeser, also attended the presentation.  Congratulations Ken!