South Jersey Bass Club Association

South Jersey
Bass Club Association

Promoting cooperation among South Jersey's
fishing clubs

(This page last updated: 2/17/2010)

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Welcome to the home page of the South Jersey Bass Club Association. This association is made up of twenty-six bass fishing clubs and organizations from southern and central New Jersey. The primary purposes of the SJBCA are to help prevent tournament conflicts (two clubs fishing the same body of water on the same day), to promote the sport of bass fishing, and to serve as the South Jersey bass fishermen's voice to government agencies. As a not-for-profit organization, we raise money to support various community activities and fishing events.

TOURNAMENTS
Our member clubs host two types of tournaments: "club tournaments" which are open only to the club's own members (and sometimes guests) and "open buddy tournaments" which are open to the general public. A schedule of the open buddy tournaments hosted by our member clubs is available on this web site. The SJBCA itself hosts a popular open buddy tournament at Union Lake in Millville each year on the first Sunday after the end of the closed season for bass (first Sunday after June 15).

Each October, the SJBCA hosts an event we call the "Bass Bowl". Each member club in good standing is invited to send a six-man team to this "braggin' rights" tournament which is held at a location voted on by the membership (not at the same location within a three-year period).

The SJBCA owns a 6 x 10 foot utility trailer with a complete set of tournament weigh-in equipment (tables, two digital scales, tub, aerator, scoreboard, bullhorn, traffic cones, cooler, etc), any of which can be borrowed by member clubs for their tournaments. Note: Any member club wishing to borrow some or all of the SJBCA's weigh-in equipment should contact Tournament Director Steve Steinmetz at 609-868-4216.

The SJBCA has a process in place to ensure that no two member clubs host open buddy tournaments on the same day, or in the same vicinity on the same weekend (unless both clubs agree to that). As mentioned above, we also have a process to ensure no two clubs hold club tournaments on the same body of water on the same day (unless both clubs agree to that). A benefit that our member clubs enjoy is having the SJBCA complete and submit their permit applications for any tournaments they schedule on New Jersey Wildlife Management Area (WMA) lakes, such as Union Lake and Lake Assunpink.

While we do not publicize the list of club tournaments being held by our member clubs, anyone wishing to know whether a club has a tournament planned at a particular lake on a particular date can contact our tournament schedule coordinator, Fred Lentz, at sjbca99@comcast.net.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
Each March, the SJBCA hosts a fishermen's flea market in Cumberland County. This event serves as our major fundraiser and is very popular among local freshwater and saltwater fishermen. It includes a casting event for the kids.

In 2005 we instituted a college scholarship program. We now award a $500 scholarship annually to a deserving high school senior who is entering a college degree program in a field that may someday benefit fishermen (such as fisheries management, marine biology, environmental science, etc). Applicants must be a relative or friend of one of our club members.

When needed, the SJBCA and our individual member clubs assist the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife with lake improvement projects, such as the placement of fish structures in lakes. Recently, we have been involved in the preparation of Lake Audrey (located between Millville & Mauricetown in Cumberland County) for eventual fish stocking.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES
Our organization is very focused on youth fishing activities. We recognize that our youth are the future of our sport. Each August we co-host the South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day in Carney's Point (Salem County). This free fishing and shooting-sports event attracts 150 kids (and their parents) who are looking to experience outdoor activities without necessarily having the required expertise, equipment or supplies.

We also run the pond fishing activities at the annual HarvestFest/Trailblazer scouting event at the Pine Hill Scout Reservation each Fall. In addition, we support the Cumberland Regional High School fishing club (aka C.A.S.T.) in Cumberland County.

To encourage our member clubs to host their own youth fishing activities, the SJBCA provides small grants in advance to individual clubs that host these events and, afterwards, presents annual awards for the best such events. We also donate funds to other local organizations that host these types of events.

The SJBCA owns a supply of rod & reel combos which can be borrowed by member clubs for their kids fishing events. In addition, we own a complete kids casting event kit, for any member club that wants to hold that type of event.

AWARDS
The SJBCA presents annual awards to those clubs and club members who distinguish themselves during the year in the areas of fishing excellence and hosting youth fishing activities. In addition, we award fishing jackets to club members who earn enough points by volunteering at our events and/or by serving as an association officer or committee member. Under a new program instituted in 2005 we also now award SJBCA hats and staff shirts to event volunteers who work at two and four events respectively.

MEETINGS
The SJBCA holds eight regular member meetings each year (every month except April, June, August & October) and a special Bass Bowl pre-tournament meeting in October. The meetings are usually held at a clubhouse near Parvin State Park in the Cumberland/Salem County area. Many times our meetings feature special presentations on fishing-related subjects. All meetings feature free snacks and beverages. Our July meeting features a free lakeside barbecue at Parvin State Park. The dates and times of all of our meetings are listed in the Upcoming Events section.

JOINING THE SJBCA
All clubs who fish in the southern or central New Jersey area who believe they could benefit from membership in the SJBCA are invited to join. Member clubs pay dues of only $20.00 per year -- a significant bargain considering the benefits. "Associate" memberships, which require attendance at only one meeting per year, are available for clubs who may have difficulty attending the meetings. To join (or just to see what our organization is about), contact us for an invitation to a meeting. Contact us by e-mail at sjbca99@comcast.net (Fred) or sjbca05@comcast.net (Al), or by telephone (Fred) at 856-358-6073.

JOINING A MEMBER CLUB
If you're interested in obtaining more information on any of the SJBCA's member clubs, check out the Member Club Profiles section of this web site. Many of our clubs are actively seeking new members and that fact is indicated in their profile.

The member clubs of the SJBCA are:

Barrington Rod & Reel Club	Philadelphia Bass Busters *
Beavertail Bass Club	Pine Cone Anglers
Big Bass Fishing Club of Maple Shade	Rising Sun Bassmasters
Bucketmouth Brigade Bassin Team	Riverside Bass Club
Cape May County Bassmasters	South Jersey Bassers
Cedarwater Bassmasters *	South Jersey Bass Stalkers
Cumberland County Bassmasters	South Jersey Hawg Hunters
Delaware River Fishermen's Association	South Jersey Hook This!
Five Alive Bassmasters *	South Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club
4th Ward Bass Anglers	Tidewater Bassers
Garden State Bassmasters	Top Rod Bassmasters
Happy Hooker Bassers	Tri-State Bass Assassins
Kickin' Bass Fishing Club
Limits & Lunkers Bass Club (formerly Atlantic County Bass Anglers)	* associate/non-voting member

The current SJBCA officers are:

President	Fred Lentz (South Jersey Hawg Hunters)
1st Vice President	Joe Hoban (South Jersey Bass Stalkers)
2nd Vice President	Rob Kunze (South Jersey Bass Stalkers)
Secretary	Albert Franchetta (Cumberland County Bassmasters)
Treasurer	Gary Corliss (4th Ward Bass Anglers)
Tournament Director	Steve Steinmetz (Pine Cone Anglers)
Director 1	Carmen Bersani (Happy Hooker Bassers)
Director 2	Mike Graham (4th Ward Bass Anglers)

Miscellaneous responsibilities:

Member Discount Program	Joe Hoban (South Jersey Bass Stalkers)
Food/Beverages	Mike Graham (4th Ward Bass Anglers)
Meeting Programs & Speakers	Fred Lentz (South Jersey Hawg Hunters)
Publicity	(vacant) ()
Scholarship Committee	Carmen Bersani (Happy Hooker Bassers) Greg Lentz (South Jersey Hawg Hunters) MaryAnne Franchetta (South Jersey Hawg Hunters)
SJBCA Apparel	Joe Hoban (South Jersey Bass Stalkers)
Tournament Schedule/Conflict List	Fred Lentz (South Jersey Hawg Hunters)
Web site	Fred Lentz (South Jersey Hawg Hunters)
Weigh-in Trailer	Joe Hoban (South Jersey Bass Stalkers)
Youth Fishing Events & Equipment	Rob Kunze (South Jersey Bass Stalkers) Fred Lentz (South Jersey Hawg Hunters) Joe Hoban (South Jersey Bass Stalkers)