2-2-12
I appreciate all the feedback about the banning of the Alabama/Umbrella rig from our tournaments and as a follow up some clarification may be in order.
First, this includes any variation of the A-Rig or umbrella rig. Whether it has one lure attached(with or without hooks)or any number greater than one lure, it is not legal.
Second, this rule change only affects the use of the Alabama/Umbrella rig. It does not include any other lure(ie.-double fluke rig).
If any more questions arise, please just ask me before the tournament on Saturday!
1-31-12
If you are looking to buy a 2002 Triton Tr 21 w 2010 Mercury 250 Pro XS give Tony McAlister a call at 864-992-7000.
1-30-12
When the Alabama Rig burst onto the scene late last season I have had an ethical struggle as to the legality or fairness of this lure/lures. Since that time I have seen how the A rig has dominated about every tournament both locally and nationally. I have also heard the stories of people catching over 100 bass a day in the local lakes on this rig.
Bass tournaments are supposed to be dynamic events with multiple lures and patterns being used to catch the fish.(Not multible lures on the same cast.)The A rig has totally eliminated this dynamic and therefore will NOT be allowed in any Five Lakes regular season tournament this year.
Sorry for the late notice!!
1-11-12
We are looking forward to another great year of fishing in 2012 and with the help of your feedback we have instituted several rule and format changes for 2012.
There will 6 regular season tournaments and a Championship tournament this year.
Each lake will be fished once with the site of the Championship tournament determined by the winning weight during the regular season.(In other words if the April 14 tournament on Clarks Hill has the highest winning weight of all the regular season tournaments, the Championship tournament in November will be held on Clarks Hill Lake.)
Unlike in years past there will be no money paid out for 2012 Points. Membership dues will be divided into six and used to bolster the monthly tournament payout.
We will still award points as in years past but there will be no dropped tournament. All 7 tournaments will count toward the Tour Championship.
To qualify for the Tour Championship each team must fish at least five tournaments, EITHER during the regular season OR a combination of the Regular Season and the Summer Series.
The payout for second place bigfish will be eliminated.
The months of June, July and August will be separated into the Five Lakes Summer Series and not count toward the overall points championship. However, points will be awarded for these three tournaments and the winner of the Summer Series will receive a Free entry into the Championship tournament in November.
One of the tournaments during the Summer Series will be a two day event.
More about the Summer Series will be made available soon.
You may pay dues and entry fee before Feb 4 by calling 864-993-6205 or may pay at the ramp Feb 4.
Here is the schedule for the 2012 season:
Feb 4--Lake Greenwood
Mar 3--Lake Russell
April 14--Clarks Hill
May--12--Lake Secession
(June, July, August--TBD)More information about these three tournaments will be posted soon!
Sept 1--Lake Hartwell
Oct--Lake Murray
*Nov--Tour Championship Tournament*
*The site for the tour championship tournament will be determined by the tournament with the highest winning weight with that Lake being the site.*
11-4-11
The final tournament of the 2011 season will be held Saturday Nov 5 at the State Park on Lake Greenwood! Due to the fact there is another tournament being held there and parking space will be at a premium I will not have the trailer on site for registration or weigh in. Instead both will be held somewhere close to the pier.
As most of you know the number of participants this season has been less than in previous years and I have used the money that was once reserved for the points fund to bolster the monthly payouts meaning we will only have a modest payout to the top four in points this year. That money will also be distributed Saturday!!
That said, we do have several teams still in the running for those top 4 places with the race for the tour championship within 5 points. Hope to see everyone there!!
Updated 8-16-11
The SC E&G Boat Ramp 4(on Lake Murray)is at the end of County Road 400 approximately 19 miles East of Saluda off of Hwy 378. GPS coordinates are Latitude: 34.0786 Longitude: -81.52057
The link below shows the ramp on a map:
https://www.dnr.sc.gov/mlands/boatramp_visit?p_id=620
while on that page if you click on the words "map above" it makes the map full sized.
8-15-11
Congratulations to Mark Swez and Lamar Williamson who won our August tournament on Lake Hartwell. It was a very tough bite for most of us but Lamar and Mark brought 14.79 pounds of fish to the scales anchored by the big fish of the day weighing 5.39 pounds!!
The points race remains very tight with the top spot swapped again this month with Travis Allen and Jeff O'Dell holding on to a two point lead.
Remember the Boat Ramp for September tournament on Lake Murray has been moved to the SCE&G #4 boat ramp. Directions to that ramp will be posted here soon!!
7-13-11
Earlier in the Spring Travis Allen ran an idea by me that he felt would both increase participation and make the trail more fun to fish. After a few months of tweaking the format I am now ready to announce one of the changes to the 2012 season.
Next year we will fish the February, March, April and May Tournaments just as we always have. Then the months of June, July and August will start what will be called the Five Lakes Summer Season. These three tournaments will be optional but open to anyone wanting to fish and will NOT count toward the points championship. However, points WILL be kept for these three tournaments with the team accumulating the most points during the Summer Season receiving automatic and paid entry into the Tour Championship Tournament to be held in November.
I will not be the tournament director for the Summer Season and anyone interested in acting as director please let me know ASAP as the director will also be responsible for scheduling the dates and lakes for these three tournaments!
7-11-11
Much like I anticipated the response was about half for and half against. So what do you do? Other than the older fishermen, who the heat affects much more than the younger fisherman, there are fish care concerns as well so with all this in mind we will have the weigh in at 1:30!! Thanks to all who cared enough to respond!!
7-6-11
It has been a crazy busy couple of months for me and I apoligize that the newsletter has not been updated in some time now. July is normally a pretty slow month at work so I'll do my best to catch everyone up. Its hard to believe that half the season is behide us and the second half will get started next Saturday!!!
With that said here is a question I need some feedback on, and that is whether or not the majority of you like or dislike ending the Summer tournaments before 3 o'clock?
Photos from the April Tournament on Lake Russell are now posted, Click Here to check them out!!
4-21-2011
The Abbeville Chamber of Commerce is hosting an open tournament out of the Elbert Ramp(Hwy 72)on Lake Russell the 28th of May. Click Here for an entry form! You can pay the morning of the tournament with a credit card if you so choose.
It appears the turn out for this season will remain in the 20-30 boat range which normally would make it pretty hard to pay four places and two places for big fish without the pie being sliced terribly thin. To compensate for this, what I have done for the past two tournaments and will continue to do for the remainder of the season, is to use the membership dues from 1.5 teams per tournament to add to the monthly payout. That has made the first place team receive $450, second 300, third $140 and fourth $60. First Big Fish $140 and second BF $60. I am also having to pay for the plaques for first place and first BF. All this means that the points payout at the end of the season will be weighted heavily towards first place with second, third and fourth in the mix.
One thing that can help with this is new members. If you know of someone who might be interested let them know they are welcome to join!
4-20-11
If anyone is interested in fishing an improptu tournament this Saturday the entry fee is $20 per person and you can leave from any boat ramp of your choice and the weigh in will be at 12:30 in Cokers Cove. Send me a text message if interested.
Here are the GPS coordinates of where the weigh in will be held: 34 16' 13"/82 03' 58".
4-19-11
Congratulations to Kerry Smith and Dustin Ross who won our April tournament on Lake Russell with a weight of 16.42 pounds on a day there the weather forecast was for rain, severe thunderstorms and high winds. While we had a few breif rain showers fortunately, we missed out on the thunderstorms and most of the high winds which made for a great day to fish! So great every team but 3 brought a limit to the scales and all weighed fish!! Finishing second was Keith and Kevin Ashley with 15.85 pounds followed by Beamer and Robbie McHone in third with 13.69 pounds who also had the big fish of the day weighing 5.18 pounds.
Our next monthly tournament will be held at the State Park on Lake Greenwood on May 7.
Click here for the final results!
Click here for pictures!
4-12-11
Once again this month the Club trailer will not be set up Saturday morning at the Hwy 72 boat ramp on Lake Russell. I will be conducting the blast off for another tournament that morning so Tony, Travis and the rest of the guys will be set up near the boat dock where you can get registered for our tournament. The trailer will be set up for the weigh in Saturday afternoon at 3!!
3-28-11
I am in the process of completely revampimg all the Fisherman Profiles. I should have this completed by the end of the week!
Our next tournament will be held on Lake Russell on April 16. we will be using the Hwy 72(Elbert)boat ramp!
3-24-11
This year I have decided to do the newsletter more like an active blog! The latest information will be listed at the top with older info on down the page! I also intend to have it run from now until the end of the season in multiple pages so you can look back at what happens throughout the year! If you have any pertinent info to add to this page, send it to me, hope you will like this format better!
The prettiest day of Spring greeted us to Lake Hartwell for our March Tournament, held on the 19th. With temperatures in the 80's you had a feeling the fish were ready to eat! Up until then, the bite for most of us had been inconsistent at best. One day you might catch a nice limit while the next day not get a bite! This proved to be another very competitive tournament with the top four separated by less than a pound and a half. This month it was
David and Glenn Miller who weighed in a limit that hit the scales at 15.83 pounds including the second biggest fish of the day weighing 4.78 pounds who picked up their second career win!
Keith Ashley(fishing by himself)had the big fish of the day weighing 5.19 pounds.
Click Here for the official results!
Congratulations to Travis Allen and Jeff O'Dell who won the opening tournament of the 2011 season with a weight of 19.29 pounds. It was Jeff's first win with FLTT in 9 years and Travis' in ten years! They held off the team of Keith Ashley and Trad Whaley who had 18.88 pounds.
Bobby Stanfill had the big fish weighing 6.33 pounds.
