We Practice Catch and Release

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1 MIDWEEK BASS ANGLERS Of Ariziona Inc B a s s B i t e s FISHING WEDNESDAYS - NOT WEEKENDS! NOVEMBER 2012 ESTABLISHED JANUARY 27, 2005 EDITOR: TERRY TASSIN President s Perspective By Gary Grimes As the 2012 tournament year winds to an end, we find our last tournament at Bartlett Lake on the day before Thanksgiving. It seems only appropriate on Thanksgiving that I share with you a few things in Midweek that I am thankful for. I appreciate the patience you all showed the board as we began the new year with only one experienced member, t was a bit of a learning curve for us all, a few bumps, but we survived. Also I appreciate the willingness to help that many of you show when we express a need. You guys are the best. Club Vice President, Lou Hirlemann has added a bit of excitement to each club meeting by prodding the winning teams for the secrets to their success. In addition to serving as vice president, Lou is also the banquet coordinator, and is responsible for barbeque and tournament clean up as well. He never complains, just helps out wherever he can. Thank you Lou. Tournament Director, Jack Hughes works tirelessly making sure we have permits, acting as club liaison with the various lake authorities, and making sure everyone gets on the water. Jack is also responsible for coordinating the activities during tournament day, including pre-tournament briefing and the weigh-in. He also is the key to the success of the club s April and October steak barbeque. Thanks Jack. John Milkint is responsible for the handling of the club s finances. Much of his work is behind the scenes, making sure that all the money we pay goes to the appropriate account, and that each winner is promptly paid each month. John also helps Jack during the weigh-in at the monthly tournaments. Thanks John. Terry Tassin is the glue that holds the club together. As secretary, Terry is responsible for club records and communication. If there is news that needs to be spread to everyone, Terry makes certain everyone gets the information. IMPORTANT NOTICE! Please note our new meeting location shown below at the Deer Valley Airport Restaurant, beginning with the 5 December meeting. Monthly Breakfast Meeting Deer Valley Airport Restaurant 702 W. Deer Valley Rd Phoenix, AZ 1st Wednesday of each month 8:00A.M. EXTRA - EXTRA! 2012 Tournament Season Winners! Angler of the Year - Paul Cormany 1st Place Boater of the Year Rick Brown 2nd Place Boater of the Year Neil Burns 3rd Place Boater of the Year - -Tony Medina 1st Place Nonboater of the Year Ken Buvala 2nd Place Nonboater of the Year- - - Sean Ballard 3rd Place Nonboater of the Year John Milkint Lunker of the Year - Paul Cormany (11.34 lbs) February - Lake Roosevelt We Practice Catch and Release

2 Page 2 He is probably the most organized and methodical individual I know. Thanks Terry. These guys are great, and I am thankful for the time they spend each month making Midweek a fun and exciting place for us all to enjoy our favorite pastime, fishing. Lake Bartlett November 21, 2012 By Terry Tassin Another great fishing season is over and the last event of the year was one tough nut to crack when it came to putting decent size fish in the livewell. It seems to get harder and more difficult to catch a good size bass at Bartlett. Oh well, on to the fishing report. Next Meeting Next Tournament Our next club general meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 5 December starting at 8:00 AM, at Deer Valley Airport Restaurant (just one mile north of I-101 at the intersection of 7th Ave & Deer Valley Road). We hope you will come early and have breakfast together. Th e nex t club point tournament will be a day event at Lake Roosevelt on 16 January Club launch headquarters and weigh-in location will be announced. Tournament hours are Safe Light to 3 PM. Steve Baker & Brian Jacobson End the Season With a Win and Finish In First Place Taking home 1st Place, Team Steve Baker & Brian Jacobson weighed the winning creel of five bass weighing 7.40 lbs. Steve Baker commented on the fishing day; Brian Jacobson is an awesome friend and I was happy to draw him as a partner. We started out the day as kick boat so we just turned around and fished the ramp and Brian caught our first fish on a drop shot. We fished the ramp and caught one or two more fish then made a move. I found out last Tuesday that the fish were hammering a spinnerbait (unfortunately not made anymore!) that I have on the main lake. We did some upgrading of fish size that way. I knew that we needed a bigger fish so I switched to a jig and caught our big fish that way. During the last minutes of the tournament I went back to a spinner bait and caught another upgrade for us. I hope everyone has a great holiday season. B r i a n a d d e d, W h a t excitement I experienced when I saw the draw results earlier this month. I was finally going to get the opportunity to fish with my buddy Steve Baker! We ve been challenged for quite some time now to find a time to fish together that would fit into our schedules but being paired up for this tournament guaranteed that opportunity! The day started out with us being the kick boat and the passage in Mark 9:35 came to mind. In it, it says If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and a servant of all. Well we were going to be last out and as we called out the numbers I just really didn t think too much that the Lord would bless us with a win. I just thought he d already blessed us with the opportunity to finally fish together. That to me was a win! 1st Place Brian Jacobson & Steve Baker After the boats had launched Steve and I went out past the no-wake buoys and turned right back around to fish near the launch ramp. It was a bit slow going and there was no reaction bite. We trolled up to a spot with a little brush so I threw out a drop shot and caught our first fish. Steve called it our rally fish because right after we got that fish into the boat Steve proceeded to catch 2 in a row very soon after on a spinnerbait. Feeling we wore out the area Steve took us to another spot. We fished the wall leading towards the dam and that is where Steve pulled out our largest bass on a jig. I

have always prided myself on my netting abilities as I ve heard so many stories of nonboaters knocking fish off of hooks at the boat and can you believe it is always the big one too.

3 have always prided myself on my netting abilities as I ve heard so many stories of nonboaters knocking fish off of hooks at the boat and can you believe it is always the big one too. Well, needless to say when Steve brought this one in I almost became another horror story netter. I somehow missed my first swipe but quickly recovered and got it into the boat. Praise the Lord Whooo! After exhausting the fishing at the wall Steve moved us again to a spot that he had done well on in the past and pulled in a few more spinnerbait fish. We ended up beginning the culling process quickly at this spot - again with spinner bait fish. The wind died and so did the bite. It became a long afternoon of little production and then right at the end of the day Steve got one more. I put it on the culling beam and it was just a hair heavier than our smallest fish. We traded it out and were off to the weigh Membership As of November 23, 2012 the Midweek Bass Anglers of Arizona consists of 100 active members. Sportsman s Warehouse Big Bass Prize in. Going in we got to thinking. what if this new fish throws up a shad or a crawdad? It was too late now. We took our fish to weigh in and we just had enough to stay ahead of Jerry and Bob. What a day. We thank our good Lord for an awesome time on the water and the victory as well. Askam & Brewer Finish 2nd In Second Place the team of Jerry Askam & Bob Brewer weighed five bass for a total weight of 7.39 lbs. 2nd Place Bob Brewer & Jerry Askam Page 3 Jerry said, Bob Brewer and I have both been in the club a long time but this was the first time we have been drawn together. I enjoyed fishing with Bob and he was a great partner. With our late start number we jumped into the first area on the main lake that was unoccupied. We started on a small point that went into a cut. I hooked up fairly quickly with a chatter bait fish in the back of the cut and as I was unhooking the fish Bob hooked up a bass on a crankbait out toward the point. That got us off to a quick start but I believe those were the only reaction bait fish we got in the boat all day, although we did try those same baits in other areas of the lake. The rest of our fish came on drop shots or jigs in the main lake with the biggest coming on a jig. We probably caught 10 or 12 fish but they were all about the same size so we got some good use out of the balance beam. Paul Archer is the winner this month of the Sportsman s Warehouse prize of a $20 gift card for the largest bass weighed by a club member pre-signed-up for this prize. Paul s biggest bass weighed 2.87 lbs. Darn magnetic drag.

Page 4 Congratulations to Steve and Brian for their first place finish. Bob added, Well, another interesting winter type day on Bartlett! Caught fish on cranks, jigs, drop-shot, and chatter baits.

4 Page 4 Congratulations to Steve and Brian for their first place finish. Bob added, Well, another interesting winter type day on Bartlett! Caught fish on cranks, jigs, drop-shot, and chatter baits. Here, there, and every where. So, you can see we had a definite pattern going! Having your limit by 8 AM helps, but only catching another fish each hour makes keeping the concentration level a bit of a problem for me. It's a joy to fish with someone like Jerry. He catches fish, doesn't blink when I continuously tried to knock his big fish off with multiple swipes of the net, and laughs at most of my jokes. Jerry will tell you that we could have come out on top if he hadn't lost a 2 ½ lb fish in the last 5 minutes of the tournament. But that isn't quite the whole story. Later in the m o r n i n g w e h a d t h e opportunity to cull a fish that would have given us another 4 ounces. The only problem was that the fish had been slightly damaged getting the hook out. I'm sure the fish would have survived through the weigh-in in those big Ranger live wells, but, with the stress put on it bouncing around all day, not the best future prognosis. Jerry decided to put it back in the lake to be caught another day. I liked that. It's a game of ounces, but I still like to remember it is just a game. Congrats to everyone who came off the lake after such a tough day, laughing, joking around, and obviously having a lot of fun just being out there enjoying the sport with friends. Happy Holidays to all. Team Paul Archer & Terry Tassin Buzz Three Spots For 3rd Place Team Archer & Tassin weighed five bass for 7.05 pounds and took home Third Place honors. The team also won the prize for the 1st Place Big Fish for a nice - for Bartlett lb bass caught by Paul. 3rd Place Paul Archer & Terry Tassin (not shown, he is the photographer) Paul s input: Terry showed up at my house at 4:30 Wednesday morning and we loaded up the boat for the tournament. On the way out, we stopped for coffee and then on out to the lake. Terry gave me one of his Hostess Cup cakes and you know how hard it is to find one of those these days! What a guy. I told him about what information I had found in the last two weeks at the lake. I was surprised to see that he was already planning to throw a buzz bait. That was one of the things that I had found with the rising water. Salt Cedars and grass in two feet of water. We got to a spot past the Yellow Cliffs and started throwing buzz baits. I got rolled on but no hook up. Went around the corner started down the bank to another spot. Terry caught a fish on a white buzz bait and I thought things were looking up. We didn't catch any thing else for about an hour. We threw about everything, d r o p s h o t r i g s, j i g s, spinnerbaits and cranks. Left there and went up towards the no wake buoys on the left side of the river. Picked up one fish on a drop shot. Wind was blowing real good making feeling bites difficult. We went back to our buzz bait water and picked up another fish. We would leave and try to find fish in other places but kept coming back to our buzz bait water. Terry snapped off the blade trying to adjust his good buzz bait, but still managed to pick up another fish on the new bait. We would leave but come back after an hour and pick up another fish. We only had four fish with about 2 hours to go so we decided to go looking else where. After three or four places that didn't produce, we decided to go back to where we started. We picked-up our last fish there and ended up with a limit. Four fish came on white buzz baits and one on a red crawler Robo worm. From Terry: This was my first outing as a non-boater and I must admit it was a good experience. It was nice for a change not being on the front of the boat trying to balance on

one foot while running the trolling motor with the other foot and casting into the wind at the same time.

Paul and I found our fish in the Yellow Cliffs area using buzz baits and drop shot rigs.

Our fishing and catching efforts were mainly concentrated on throwing white buzz baits in the back of small coves with the right kind of Salt Cedars and grass in the water.

5 one foot while running the trolling motor with the other foot and casting into the wind at the same time. The one thing that was hard to get used to was not having 15 rods lying around my feet on the casting deck with different lures tied on each rod. I only took five rods and a rather small bag of lures. Paul and I found our fish in the Yellow Cliffs area using buzz baits and drop shot rigs. I really should not include the drop shot in the equation because we (Paul) only had one bite - which he caught - on the drop shot using a red Robo worm in 20 feet of water. Our fishing and catching efforts were mainly concentrated on throwing white buzz baits in the back of small coves with the right kind of Salt Cedars and grass in the water. The bite was not fast but when the bass did hit the lure it was a real blast. We developed a pattern where we would fish three coves, moving from one to another cove. If we caught no fish in a cove we went back and started over in our first cove and just kept moving from cove to cove. Overall it was a great day on the water with nice weather, decent fishing, and great company. Thanks Paul for the fun and conversation. Team Burns & Arvizu Reel In 4th Place The 4th Place Team of Neil Burns & Ernie Arvizu weighed five bass for 6.84 lbs. Neil commented, Ernie and I did our best fishing on Tuesday - naturally. On Wednesday at 11:30 neither of us had even gotten a bite. I put all my rods away except for a 5" O/T H- Grub green pumpkin/black flake. We concentrated on the large boulders just north of the ramp. By 1:00 we had a limit but that was it for the day. 4th Place Neil Burns & Ernie Arvizu I had a great time fishing with Ernie as well as with all my non-boaters this year. It's really great to be a part of this club. Let s do it again next year! 2nd Place Big Bass Honors To Dave Nelson Thanks to a 2.74 lb bass, Dave Nelson - fishing solo - took home 2nd Place Big Fish honors. Dave commented on his solo event. First of all I want to thank Brian Jacobson for launching me and picking me up after the tournament since I was fishing alone. At the launch I headed toward the dam area where I found fish during practice. I was boat 11 to kick and when I got to my spots there were boats on them 2th Place Big Fish Dave Nelson Page 5 so I went to some rocky points. An hour or so later both boats left and I headed for the dam. On my second cast with a football head jig I picked up the big fish. The wind was blowing so hard I didn't think I was going to get it in the boat and stay off the rocks but I succeeded. About a half hour later I picked up the second fish on a drop shot. I had a pretty good day for not having anyone to talk to. Goon Fish Reeled-In by Paul Cormany Ron Malnar said about his partner Paul s money catch: In three casts Paul Cormany utilized his expertise with his crawfish lure and crankbait rod Goon Fish Pot Winners Paul Cormany & Ron Malnar and $160 Friend

6 Page 6 and caught a Bluegill in about 25 feet of water. This guy is a stick on those Gills! Statistics for the tournament: Thirty-Two men fished 8 hours each, bringing 69 keeper bass to the scales for a total weight of pounds with a 2.71 pound average catch per fisherman. All fish were released back into the lake after weigh-in to fight again another day. Treasure Chest By John Milkint. Treasurer The weather was perfect and no 5 pound fish in sight. That means the pot rolls over to our January tournament. The rollover amount is $370. Those of you not in the pot have the one chance of the year to participate by paying for October, November, and of course the January tournament at Roosevelt Lake. Any backpay is due at the January 2nd meeting. Remember, everyone has the opportunity of prepaying for those months they will not be fishing. Several of our members pay for the year in advance. First place honors, by.01 pounds, go to Steve Baker and Brian Jacobson. They split $308. Second place money of $230 gets shared by Jerry Askam and Bob Brewer. Third place and 1st Big Fish goes to Paul Archer and Terry Tassin. The total of the two comes to $346. Neil Burns and Ernie Arvizu came in at 4th place worth $76. Now the good stuff! Paul Cormany and Ron Malnar weighed in a Bluegill at 0.47 pounds. That was good enough to best the only other Goon Fish, a catfish weighing 0.41 pounds. That bluegill was worth $160. Paul Cormany has cashed in on the largest Bass of the year as well as the smallest goon fish to win the goon fish pot this year. How's that for diversification? Dave Nelson weighed in 2 fish and one of them was the second place big fish of the tournament weighing 2.74 lbs worth $128. Dave was fishing solo and has no one to split the pot with. It was a good tournament year, with great cookouts and good fishing. It was my honor to be your treasurer this year and I look forward to writing checks to the club members in the coming year. I wish for a wonderful holiday season for you and your families! Weighing-In By Jack Hughes, Tmx Director For the fourth month in a row I have received a phone call on the rules we fish by just before a tournament. So I thought I would use my space for this month to make all the members aware of why we follow the permits to the letter. The phone call this month was from a member saying an unnamed club fishes the Bartlett Marina so why can t we. Then he added I checked with a ranger and he said we could. My answer was very clear, our permit says we cannot fish anywhere within the marina boundaries and I don t care what the ranger said and until we have it in writing it remains off limits. Sounds a little harsh I have to admit and the member I am sure did not like the answer. However, our permits are the only legal documents we have to protect our club and its individual members during a tournament. We also ensure our insurance for that tournament remains valid and is not voided because we did not follow what our permit said. Some of our permits require the Tournament Director (TD) to check in 24 hours prior to an event for any additional restrictions; not all of them require it. All of our permits requ ire the Tournament Director to have a copy of the permit and Insurance certificate with him during all tournaments. He also is required by some lake authorities to advise how he can be contacted during the tournament. Just think what would happen if a member was stopped for fishing in the marina and they contacted the TD to come to the marina and they reviewed our permit which said the marina is off limits. I am positive the permit is what they would go by not what the other ranger was reported to have said. When the current board was elected I advised the President and Board members that I thought we should check in on all tournaments for last

members from violating a new rule which may cost them a ticket or

The penalties for violations range from a simple fine to loss of

Then there is the most severe penalty a club can get for willfully

year for all lakes within the issuing authorities boundaries.

Roosevelt or Cave Creek but the District Headquarters in California.

UP? Now for a new subject, we have been notified that permits for the

I think this is normal since Bartlett Cave Creek District, is no

7 minute changes and they concurred. Some of you may ask why and the answer is simple - to protect our members from violating a new rule which may cost them a ticket or worse for the club. The penalties for violations range from a simple fine to loss of fishing license. Then there is the most severe penalty a club can get for willfully violating our permit, suspension from all fishing activities for a year for all lakes within the issuing authorities boundaries. The issuing authority for Tonto National Forest (TNF) is not Roosevelt or Cave Creek but the District Headquarters in California. You can just imagine the effect on the club if we lost the right to fish all the lakes in TNF for a year. Page 7 Photo Scrapbook - Lake Bartlett November 21, 2012 WHO S FIRST UP? Now for a new subject, we have been notified that permits for the following lakes have been approved for 2013: Roosevelt (2), Apache, Martinez, Alamo (2) and Havasu. The permits for Bartlett and Saguaro we have not heard about. I think this is normal since Bartlett Cave Creek District, is no longer allowed to approve permits for those lakes and the responsibility has been transferred to their district headquarters in Mesa which is now playing catch up. On paper it appears we are going to have a great 2013 and I am truly looking forward to many great times with all of you both on and off the water. WHERE S MY TRUCK

Page 8 Midweek Bass Anglers of Arizona - 2013 Board of Directors and Committee Chairmen Board of Directors PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT Gary Grimes 623-203-7436 Lou Hirlemann 480-272-0050 SECRETARY

COMMITTEE Jack Hughes-Chairman ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE Gary Grimes, Terry Tassin, Lou Hirlemann, John Milkint Lou Hirlemann RAFFLE COMMITTEE - - Lionel Frailey CONSERVATION/LEGISLATIVE - Vacant Access

8 Page 8 Midweek Bass Anglers of Arizona Board of Directors and Committee Chairmen Board of Directors PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT Gary Grimes Lou Hirlemann SECRETARY TREASURER Terry Tassin John Milkint TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR Jack Hughes Committee / Chairmen PROGRAMS NEWSLETTER EDITOR Lou Hirlemann Terry Tassin TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE Jack Hughes-Chairman ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE Gary Grimes, Terry Tassin, Lou Hirlemann, John Milkint Lou Hirlemann RAFFLE COMMITTEE - - Lionel Frailey CONSERVATION/LEGISLATIVE - Vacant Access Midweek Bass Anglers Internet Web Site at: Welcome to New Midweek Bass Anglers Since the Last Newsletter Dick Alves (NB) Lou DeGrado (NB) Ron Gaudreau (NB) Official Supplier of Midweek Bass Anglers Club Apparel Tackle Box Sales! Here is a spot in our newsletter for those members who have "fishing related items" that they would like to sell, trade, or give away. Seller Item Price Something to sell? Contact the Editor Best Wishes and Happy Birthday Born in the Month of December Bob Brewer Allen Clark Gordon Drake Daniel Elias Lionel Frailey Don Hegenderfer Mike Holloway Jim Murphy Richie Rojas Don Terpenning Club Apparel Individuals wishing to purchase a club shirt or cap can order directly from our provider - M & J Trophies & Apparel, N. 43rd Ave, Glendale, Arizona. See their ad above. Individuals wishing to purchase a club shirt or cap can order directly from our provider - M & J Trophies & Apparel, N. 43rd Ave, Glendale, Arizona. See their ad above. Midweek Bass Anglers 2013 Tournament Schedule 16 January Roosevelt 20 February Bartlett 20 March Havasu 17 April Alamo 15 May Apache 19 June Saguaro 17 July Bartlett 21 August Saguaro 18 September Roosevelt 16 October Martinez 20 November Alamo

We Practice Catch and Release

We Practice Catch and Release MIDWEEK BASS ANGLERS Of Ariziona Inc Bass Bites FISHING WEDNESDAYS - NOT WEEKENDS! FEBRUARY 2013 ESTABLISHED JANUARY 27, 2005 President s Perspective By Gary Grimes I am eagerly awaiting our tournament