Bay Area Bassmasters is “the world’s largest B.A.S.S. Nation ‘buddy’ team tournament trail.” Based out of Tampa, FL this “bass fishing club is designed to provide a little something for anglers of all ages, with or without experience,” and holds events on bodies of water across the state. The club competed at Lake Tarpon on June 13th, a lake that doesn’t see a lot of tournament pressure outside of local events. However, with Lake Tarpon being the largest lake in Pinellas County, and with ease of access to the entire Tampa Bay region, the lake gets it’s fair share of boating and fishing pressure.
Rodney Yavorsky holds up his Big Bass
Casey Gonzalez and Gene Terkoski wouldn’t let local traffic deter them from winning the sixth event of the season. They weighed a 14.43-pound, five-bass limit in their victory, solidified by a 5.32-pound kicker. Gonzalez stated they relied on a Gambler Fat Ace to coax their fish into biting. They focused on a combination of offshore cover as well as reed lines to find their bites.
Rodney Yavorsky and Chuck Gomez finished the day in second place by a narrow margin. The runner-up team weighed a 14.11-pound, five-bass limit, anchored by the Big Bass of the event, a 5.67-pound kicker. Keith Ziegler and Larry Tyson weighed 12.93 pounds to finish in third place. Mike and Pam Hardy finished in fourth place with 12.61 pounds, followed by Bill Polanowski and Dan Burns in fifth with 12.29 pounds.
The Bay Area Bassmasters next event will be their annual Mystery Lake event on July 11th. The location of the lake will be reveled on July 7th at the club’s monthly meeting.
