“For nearly 100 years, the Lions Club has worked on projects designed to prevent blindness, restore eyesight, and improve eye health and eyesore for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.” On March 7th, the North Lakeland Lions Club held the Fishing for Sight Open Bass Tournament at Lake Parker in Lakeland, Fla. The event to aid in raising funds for the program saw 46 teams of anglers at the morning launch.
At the afternoon weigh-in, only one team would be able to claim victory, and in this instance, one angler. Bryan Jones entered the event by himself, but brought 5 friends back to the weigh-in. His 5 bass limit weighed 18.37 pounds, more than enough to earn the victory. Jones, who won an event on Parker two weekends prior, caught his fish by way of flipping and cranking. He culled throughout the day, but his largest fish, a 7.35-pounder, was the second fish he placed in his livewell.
“I was throwing a crankbait in some grass, and when I ripped it through, she nailed it,” Jones recalled about the fish that also earned overall Big Bass honors. “We had a cold front come through, and I knew it would push some of those bigger fish out.”
Along with the crankbait, Jones paired a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver with a 3/4-ounce weight to cull up through the rest of his limit by pitching it around cattails and pencil reeds.
Steve Coleman and Erik Tilson hold up their 2nd place limit.
Steve Coleman and Erik Tilson can usually be found competing together at various tournaments across the state. The duo teamed up for the Fishing for Sight Open and brought a 17.18-pound limit to the scales to finish in second place. Coleman and Tilson started the morning on a shallow spawning flat, but due to the passing cold front, they quickly adjusted.
“There was a line of Kissimmee Grass just adjacent to the spawning flat, we moved to the outside (of the Kissimmee Grass) and started flipping very small baits,” stated Tilson.
To flip up their 5 bass, including the 5.53-pounder that earned second Big Bass for the tournament, they relied on a Strike King Rage Tail Twin Tail Menace.
“We made passes up and down that same grass line all morning. We would pick up a fish each pass,” Tilson explained.
Doug Yutzy and Sean Phelps caught a 16.75-pound bag to finish in third place, while Bill Bledsoe and Jerry Stack came in fourth with 15.52 pounds.
For more information on Lions Club International and all their programs, visit www.lionsclubs.org, or www.northlakelandfl.lionwap.org for more information on the North Lakeland chapter.
Photos: The Fishing Misfits
