For the past twelve years, the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) has held a charity bass tournament and family fun day to benefit Haven Hospice in Northeast Florida. The event held at the Palatka City Docks has grown over the years, and has become one that anglers look forward to each and every year. This year’s event grew to 151 competing teams, all gunning for the $3,000.00 guaranteed first place prize, as well as the $1,000.00 prize for the event’s largest bass.
Wayne and Karen Martin show off their 8.84-pound Big Bass
Typically in events that are open to anyone who wants to register, angler’s are not competing for points, so many teams will opt out of weighing their catch if they feel it won’t be in contention for one of the paying spots in the standings. That wasn’t the case for the 12th annual event, as 126 of the 151 teams weighed their day’s catch. That’s more than 83% of the field! Competing anglers had a little extra to strive for in this years event. The tournament was aligned and registered with the Florida State Team Championship (FSTC), which qualified the Top 4 finishing teams to compete in the inaugural event being held in 2016. The FSTC will feature the Top 4 teams from various organizations around the state to battle it out for a new Blazer 595 Pro Elite powered by a 200 HP Mercury Pro XS.
Larry Cahan teamed up with his father David to top the 151-boat field. The father-son team weighed a 21.57-pound, five-bass limit to win the 12th Annual NEFAR Bass Tournament to benefit Haven Hospice, and the $3,000.00 first place prize. Along with their winnings, they have qualified to compete in the 2016 FSTC. In an interview with AnglersChannel.com’s Vance McCullough, Larry gave some insight into how they pieced together their winning bag.
“We started right here in Palatka and had our two biggest fish,” Cahan stated. “From there, we burnt all the gas out of the boat, stopping and going all the way down to the north end of Lake George.”
Their two biggest bass were caught in the early hours of the derby, falling for topwater presentations. To upgrade their limit, they used a variety of techniques, including Carolina Rigs and weightless trick worms.
Allen Hopper and Kerry Davis finished less than a pound behind in second place. Hopper and Davis inked their ticket to the FSTC by weighing a 20.83-pound, five-bass limit. Kris Kadlec and Matt Rittman secured their spot in the FSTC with a third place finish, weighing a 20.58-pound, five-bass limit. The duo anchored their catch with the second largest bass weighed for the day, an 8.33-pound Trophy Catch. The final team to qualify for the 2016 FSTC was Scott Bullard and Tracey Hurst. Bullard and Hurst weighed a 19.37-pound, five-bass limit to finish in fourth place. Tony Hayman and Jeffrey Smith secured a Top 5 finish by weighing an 18.23-pound, five-bass limit.
Here’s how the rest of the Top 10 finished:
6th: Frank Streeter and Donnie Hewitt-5 bass, 18.07 pounds
7th: Robert Swagel and Sean Buben-5 bass, 17.85 pounds
8th: Preston Clark and Le Clark-5 bass, 17.83 pounds
9th: John Chaney and Kevin Dufur-5 bass, 17.52 pounds
10th: Eric Lewis and Phil Cury-5 bass, 17.12 pounds
Wayne Martin boated the event’s Big Bass while fishing with his wife Karen. The Trophy Catch quality bass weighed in at 8.84 pounds, and earned the couple $1,000.00.
As fun of an event this tournament has become for the anglers, the derby is only part of the festivities to raise funds to benefit Haven Hospice. Families were invited out while the anglers spent the day on the water to partake in activities such as a “Reel Casting Kids Contest”, and a classic car show. In the first eleven years, the event has raised over $215,000.00 to benefit Haven Hospice. For the 12th annual event, as the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors had a goal to reach the $250,000.00 mark since the inaugural event. That goal was achieved as they presented a check to Haven Hospice for $35,256.00!
For more information on this event, visit www.NEFARbass.com. If you’d like to learn more about Haven Hospice, visit www.havenhospice.org.
Photos: Becky Williams
