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If
you have information that would help fill in this
history of our organization, please contact Fred Lentz
or Al Franchetta. Thank you. In the beginning Although the original intent of the Association was to
prevent tournament conflicts, there soon developed other
purposes and activities. Some very early efforts
were: the hosting of an annual open buddy bass tournament
at Union Lake (established at the December 1994 meeting),
the creation of a club-against-club braggin' rights
fishing tournament known as the "Bass Bowl" (established
at the February 1995 meeting), and an appeal to the NJ
Division of Fish, Game & Wildlife (as it was known
then) to not stock tiger muskies in Union Lake (voted on
at the December 1994 meeting). 1995 -- created a monthly newsletter (later named "The Mouth from the South"). The newsletter featured a statement from the president, minutes of the last meeting, club tournament results and advertisements from local businesses. 1995 -- created an executive board comprised of the officers of the Association. 1995 -- first participated in the South Jersey Sportsmen's Jamboree in the Millville area. Manned a booth, held a raffle of a tackle box & lures donated by Association members, and hosted a small bass boat display. 1995 -- established a rule stating that no two clubs could host an open buddy bass tournament on the same day. 1995 -- as of November, the membership stood at thirteen clubs. 1995 -- drafted a set of by-laws by which the Association would operate. 1996 -- approved a formal constitution and by-laws. 1996 -- hosted its first fishermen's flea market. (Early editions of this event were held in the warehouse of Lilliston Marine on Delsea Drive in Vineland. Later editions were held at the Moose Lodge in Vineland and the Elks Lodge in Millville.) 1997 -- instituted an annual awards program for members who demonstrate fishing excellence during each calendar year (i.e., heaviest lunker, heaviest five-bass limit, best youth fishing activity, etc). 1998 -- established a "participation points" program, under which event volunteers and officers would be given points for their involvement and earn awards such as personalized fishing jackets. 1998 -- instituted annual awards (plaque & cash prize) for the clubs that host the best major and minor youth activities during each calendar year. 2000 -- began its involvement in the South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day, as a founding co-host organization. 2001 -- established the honorary position of President Emeritus for past presidents with distinguished service to the Association. 2001 -- created a website at free webhost Yahoo Geocities. 2001 -- began its official opposition to permit fees for tournaments at NJ Wildlife Management Area lakes (these fees have been waived annually since 2005). 2002 -- purchased a camper trailer in order to transport its weigh-in equipment to bass tournaments. 2003 -- instituted a $100 bonus award to the Bass Bowl winning club if they had perfect attendance since the last Bass Bowl. 2004 -- instituted a program where hats and staff shirts are awarded to volunteers who work at two and four major SJBCA events respectively. 2004 -- instituted a program where small grants can be made to clubs that plan to host youth fishing activities. 2004 -- began holding its July member meeting lakeside at Parvin State Park, featuring a free barbecue. 2005 -- instituted a college scholarship program to encourage local high school seniors to enter degree programs which might someday benefit fishermen. 2005 -- began its involvement with habitat improvement at Lake Audrey in Cumberland County. 2006 -- began its involvement with the youth HarvestFest/TrailBlazer event at the Pine Hill Scout Reservation, running the pond fishing activity. 2008 -- obtained the unique internet domain name "www.sjbca.org" and moved its website to an ad-free webhost. 2008 -- moved annual Fishermen's Flea Market to larger venue - Millville Elks Lodge. 2008 -- purchased a newer, smaller weigh-in trailer. 2010 -- created an adopt-a-lake program whereby clubs can "adopt" a WMA lake in the Southern Region. 2011 -- adopted special rules to allow kayaks to participate in the annual Bass Bowl. 2012 -- organized a parking lot and ramp clean-up effort at Union Lake. 2012 -- began sending meeting agendas and minutes out to members via email. 2012 -- for the first time, kayaks participated in the Bass Bowl (finishing in 5th place out of 13 clubs). 2015 -- renamed annual scholarship as "Carmen Bersani Memorial Scholarship". 2015 -- renamed annual Union Lake open buddy tournament as "Steve Steinmetz Memorial". 2018 -- created a new angling excellence award category for "lunker by length" for clubs that fish "paper" tournaments. 2019 -- got professionally-made graphics applied to the weigh-in trailer. 2020 -- held our first "tele-conference" meetings using the Zoom application (due to the COVID-19 pandemic that was taking place at the time). 2020 -- presented the first live broadcast of the weigh-in at our June Union Lake open buddy tournament. 2021 -- first utilized our new portable public-address system, at the June Union Lake open buddy tournament. 2024 -- presented a record FOUR college scholarships to graduating high school students. Current & Past SJBCA Officers President Brian Camp (1994-1999) Carmen Bersani (2000-2009) Fred Lentz (2010-2023) Rashawn Lewis (2024-present) 1st Vice President Carmen Bersani (1995-1999) Butch Backus (2000-2001) Bob Russell (2002-2004) Charles DeGaetano (2005-2005) Mike Poli (2005-2008) Joe Hoban (2009-2016) Rashawn Lewis (2017-2023) Fred Lentz (2024-present) 2nd Vice President Bob Russell (1996-1997) Tom Simons (1998-1999) Steve Steinmetz (2000-2003) Tim Bucher (2004-2008) Joe Hoban (2008-2008) Rob Kunze (2009-2017) Coty Camp (2018-2023) Layne Ell (2024-present) Secretary Carmen Bersani (1994-1995) Bruce Allen (1995-1998) Fred Lentz (1999-2004) Al Franchetta (2005-present) Treasurer Joe DiDomenico (1995-1999) Bruce Allen (2000-2000) Al Zara (2001-2001) Greg Carter (2002-2006) Gary Corliss (2007-2014) Stuart Cohen (2015-2020) John Sullivan (2020-present) Directors (two positions) Rich Plotkin (1997-1998) Tex Gosline (1997-2001) Chuck Woodward (1999-1999) Bob Russell (2000-2001) Charles DeGaetano (2002-2004) Fred Lentz (2005-2009) Carmen Bersani (2010-2014) Mike Graham (2002-present) Rashawn Lewis (2015-2016) Coty Camp (2017-2017) Bob Jack (2018-present) Tournament Director Russell DeCamp (1995-2003) Steve Steinmetz (2004-2014) Joe Franzwa (2015-2016) Brian Camp (2017-present) President Emeritus Brian Camp (2000- ) Fred Lentz (2024- ) Current & Past SJBCA Member Clubs Atlantic County Bass Anglers (changed name to Limits & Lunkers) Backlash Bassers Backwoods Bassers Barrington Rod & Reel Club Bass Blasters Bass Squad Beavertail Bass Club Big Bass Fishing Club of Maple Shade Black Bass Unlimited Bucketmouth Brigade Bassin Team Cape May County Bassmasters Cedarwater Bassmasters Cumberland County Bassmasters Delaware River Fishermen's Association Delaware River Tournament Trail Extreme Winter League (changed name to Out of Line) Fishers of Men, NJ Division Five Alive Bassmasters 4th Ward Bass Anglers Garden State Bassmasters Gloucester County Bass Club Good Sports Gun Club Happy Hooker Bassers Jons N' Ponds Bass Club Kayak Bass Anglers Club of South Jersey Kickin' Bass Fishing Club Limits & Lunkers Bass Club (formerly Atlantic County Bass Anglers) Line Stretchers Bass Club Lunker Hunters Penn-Jersey Bass Club Mercer County Bass Mid-Atlantic Youth Anglers Program Midwest Sportsmen, Northeast Division NJ-2 Millennium Bassers (first Bucketmouth's, then GCBC's junior chapter) New Breed Sportsman Club Newfield Bass Club One More Cast Out of Line (formerly Extreme Winter League) Philadelphia Bass Busters Pine Cone Anglers Prime Time Anglers Rippin Lipz Bassmasters Rippin Lipz Youth Club Rising Sun Bassmasters Riverside Bass Club Salem County Bassmasters South Jersey Bass Busters South Jersey Bassers South Jersey Bass Stalkers South Jersey Christian Anglers South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers South Jersey Gra-Bassers South Jersey Hawg Hunters South Jersey Hook One South Jersey Hook This! South Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club South Jersey Pond Hoppers South Jersey Reel Burners South Jersey Rod Benders South Point Bassers South State Bassers Stick Five Bassmasters Swimming River Bassmasters Swimming River Junior Bassmasters Tidewater Bassers Tidewater Bassmasters of South Jersey Top Rod Bassmasters Tri-State Bass Assassins USA Bassin Trail - NJ01 Division Young Guns Bassmasters Clubs highlighted in green are current members. Back to top of page |