Open Buddy Tournaments
News
Classified AdsScholarship Information
SJBCA History
E-Mail
the SJBCA Webmaster (Fred)
E-Mail
the SJBCA Secretary (Al)
| November 29, 2009 -
SJBCA Project at Maskells Mill Pond Ramp A crew of volunteers from the SJBCA, with the permission of the NJDFW, removed several trees from the launch area at Maskells Mill Pond. The tree parts were used to build wildlife habitat in the nearby woods. It's still not a good place to launch a boat, but it's a start. Hopefully more improvements can be made in the near future as the lake is about to be refilled (after a dam reconstruction project) and may soon be restocked with fish. Photos from the project are posted in the Photo Gallery section. |
 |
| November 19, 2009 -
Ike Appears at November SJBCA Meeting Pro bass fisherman Michael "Ike" Iaconelli made an appearance at the SJBCA's November member meeting to publicize The Bass University he's hosting in Runnemeade on December 5 & 6. Ike spoke at the beginning of the meeting and then hung around until the end for photos and some Q&A with the attendees. Photos will be posted in the Photo Gallery. More information on The Bass University can be found on their website at www.thebassuniversity.com . |
 Bass pro Mike Iaconelli with SJBCA officers |
November 19, 2009 - Tournament Picks Made at November Meeting
Our annual process for picking dates & locations for open buddy tournaments and club tournaments at WMA lakes took place at the November member meeting. Following the pick process, clubs began submitting their 2010 club tournament schedules. All of this data will be compiled into the initial version of the "Conflict List" and clubs will be notified of any issues that need to be resolved.
October 27, 2009 - Member Clubs Announce Winter Tournament Trails
Cumberland County Bassmasters and Five Alive Bassmasters have announced their winter buddy bass tournament dates. Click here to see those schedules (subject to change -- please verify tournament details with the host club).
| October 24, 2009-
SJBCA Runs Scout Pond Fishing Activity For the fourth consecutive year, the SJBCA sent a volunteer crew to run the pond fishing activity at the HarvestFest/Trailblazer scout event at the Pine Hill Scout Reservation. Thanks to the hardworking efforts of Scott Bowen, Rashawn Lewis, Rob Kunze, Justin Sozio, Steve Steinmetz, and Fred Lentz, many kids enjoyed a great day of fishing. Despite some threatening weather, quite a few fish were caught. Click here for photos from the event. |
 |
| October 18, 2009 -
Top Rod Dominates Bass Bowl On a cold windy day at a location that many participants had not fished previously, Top Rod Bassmasters found quantity & quality of fish and won the event by a wide margin. Their twenty-five bass (of a possible 30), which weighed 36.19 lbs, won by almost 20 pounds over second place Delaware River Fishermen's Association. Top Rod's Steve Colella took the lunker prize with a nice 5.44 lb bass. Click here for detailed results and photos. |
 Bass Bowl lunker winner Steve Colella |
Due to concerns about not having enough room to park, launch & load at the originally planned launch site on the Nanticoke River, the launch site has been moved to the Cherry Beach ramp in Sharptown, MD. Sharptown is about ten miles west of Seaford, DE, and launching is free. All participants will need either a Potomac River Fisheries Commission fishing license or a Maryland non-resident Bay-Sport license. Anyone who plans to cross over into Delaware waters (a short distance to the east) will also need a Delaware non-resident fishing license and a free Delaware FIN number. Full details, directions and tournament rules will be provided to all clubs at the pre-tournament meeting on Wednesday, October 14 at 8:00 pm.
| August 31, 2009 -
Lake Audrey Status Update The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife released a proposal to open Lake Audrey to fishing in 2010 as a "catch-and-immediate-release-only" lake. According to the proposed regulations, the lake (which is currently closed to all fishing) would not be available for tournaments. If enacted, these regulations will be in effect until 2012 at which time the status of the lake will again be reviewed to see if any changes are warranted. The proposed 2010 regulations are currently in a public comment period and a public hearing was scheduled for the Assunpink WMA on September 8. Click here for more details posted on the NJDFW site. Click here to go to our Lake Audrey page. |
| August 22, 2009 -
Member Club Hosts Benefit Tournament Riverside Bass Club honored one of their lost comrades by hosting the first annual Hector Sariol Memorial Open Buddy Tournament. Hector, a great friend to his fellow fishermen and a prestigious figure in the local medical community, was tragically killed in an accident in June. He left behind a wife and two children. To honor him and provide some assistance to his family RBC hosted an open buddy tournament at Lake Assunpink on Saturday, August 22. Proceeds from the event went to Hector's family. |
 |
| August 15, 2009 -
SJBCA Co-hosts Annual Youth Outdoor Event The SJBCA co-hosted the tenth annual edition of the South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day on Saturday, August 15 at the Salem County Sportsmen's Club in Carney's Point. 180 kids and their parents/guardians showed up for a day of fishing, shooting sports, canoeing/kayaking and other outdoor activities. The SJBCA ran the pond fishing, bass boat display, kids target casting, rod/reel loaner program and, for the first time, fishing trips on the Salem Canal. All of our volunteers earned a point towards an SJBCA jacket. Click here to go to the event's website. |
 |
August 3, 2009 - Riess & Sentore Take Union Buddy Tournament
[this is a belated news item about our open buddy tournament held on June 21]
The team of Joe Riess and Mike Sentore managed to bring in the only seven fish limit of bass at the SJBCA's annual open buddy tournament at Union Lake. Their total weight of 12.24 lbs easily a group of teams bunched up around the 8 and 9 pound mark. The "New Jersey Angler Magazine Morning Lunker Prize" was won by Bob Garber and Wayne Bowers who weighed in a 3.26 lb smallmouth prior to the 10:00 am cut-off time. Bob Dillahey Jr and Jeff Davis took the overall lunker prize with a 4.96 lb largemouth. Click here for complete results of this tournament. (Plaques won by the top three teams and lunker winners are available by contacting the SJBCA.)
| July 15, 2009 - Club
Member Speaks About Marine Products Tidewater Bassers member Mike Volpe spoke at the SJBCA's July member meeting and demonstrated some products that he sells & installs. Mike has been in the marine electronics business for many years and has owned Michaels Marine Electric Inc. for 21 years. He demonstrated the Power-Pole, the Stealth 1 Charging System and a computerized fuel flow monitor. Mike invites SJBCA club members to contact him with any marine electronics questions they may have and for special member pricing on many products. Click here to go to the article that Mike wrote last year about the Power-Pole and |
 Marine electrician Mike Volpe speaks at SJBCA barbecue meeting |
July 21, 2009 - Kickin Bass Fishing Club Sponsors Kids Fishing Derby
Kickin Bass Fishing Club, in conjunction with the Woodbury Heights Lake Association, sponsored the Annual Woodbury Heights Lake Fishing Derby on June 6. On this sunny Saturday, 85 registered participants weighed in & released a total of 135 bass, bluegill, crappies and catfish. Numerous prizes were awarded in various age groups.
| March 9, 2009 -
Fishermen's Flea
Market The SJBCA held its annual Fishermen's Flea Market on Saturday, March 7, at the Millville Elks Lodge. There were about 45 vendor tables. Two tackle box raffles were held and the winners were: Kelly Vasquez and Glenn Braun. Click here for photos fo the event in our Photo Gallery section. The SJBCA would like to express its thanks to all of the vendors, organizers, volunteers and customers who helped make this event successful. |
 |
February 28, 2009 - WMA Tournament Report Reminder
The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife reminds clubs that they are responsible for submitting a report of their tournament results at WMA lake within two weeks after their tournaments. When the SJBCA won the battle to get WMA tournament permit fees waived by the State, it was with the agreement that we would be in full compliance with the reporting requirements. Unfortunately our performance on these reports was embarrassingly bad in 2008. We need to make significant improvement, hopefully 100% compliance, in 2009.
| February 18, 2009 -
Annual Awards for 2008 Presented The SJBCA's annual awards for fishing excellence and youth fishing activities were presented at our February member meeting. For details on those awards click here. For photos of some of the recipients click here. |
 John Franchetta, Al Franchetta
& Carmen Bersani |
Officer elections were held at the January member meeting. Incumbents Al Franchetta (secretary), Gary Corliss (treasurer), Steve Steinmetz (tournament director), Fred Lentz (director) and Mike Graham (director) were re-elected. Previous 2nd vice president Joe Hoban was elected 1st vice president and Rob Kunze was selected to complete the remaining year on Joe's term.
January 21, 2009 - Blackwater Offers Private Sales to Clubs |
 |
| Blackwater
Sports Center on Delsea Drive in Vineland is offering SJBCA member
clubs the opportunity to have closed-door sales exclusively for their
club members. The club will need to schedule a date with
Blackwater (Jeff or Steve) for a Thursday evening from 6:00 pm to 9:00
pm. Blackwater will offer a 10% discount on each person's entire
order. They will also serve light refreshments during each
event. There is a 10 club member minimum for these events and
Blackwater will allow two clubs to schedule their event together to
achieve that minimum. For more information, call Jeff Jr or Steve
at the shop at 856-691-1571. |
|
| January 24, 2009 -
Fed Nation Holds Another "Night with Ike" Five Alive Bassmasters member (and BASS Federation Nation of NJ president) John Radamski announced that another "Night With Ike" event took place on January 24 at the Sportsmen's Center in Bordentown. This event had one session that allowed kids to spend a little bit of time with NJ pro bass angler Mike Iaconelli, followed by another session where adult bass fishermen got to meet him & find out more details about joining the BASS Federation Nation. Click here for photos from this event. John Radamski can be contacted at president@federationnationofnj.org. |
 Mike Iaconelli |
December 10, 2008 - Business Added to Revived 10% Discount Program
Supreme Tackle is the first business to come onboard our revived 10% Discount Program. This business has been a vendor at our Fishermen's Flea Market in the past. Their website is www.supremetackle.com and, for now, a 10% discount can be obtained by using the special temporary code posted on their site. After the holidays, SJBCA members will be able to get the discount by using a different special code. Those members will need to be included on the club member roster provided to the SJBCA secretary, as that info will be provided to the business for verification.
| November 25, 2008 -
Lake Audrey Work Party Held on Nov 23 Another phase of work on Lake Audrey was completed on Sunday, November 23. This phase consisted of constructing approximately twenty more fish habitat structures out of pallets & concrete blocks and placing them into the lake. Click here for photos and more information on Lake Audrey. |
 |
| November 1, 2008 -
SJBCA Runs Scout Fishing Activities For the third consecutive year, the SJBCA sent volunteers to run the pond fishing activities at the HarvestFest/Trailblazer scout event at the Pine Hill Scout Reservation. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Rashawn Lewis, Joe Hoban and Fred Lentz, hundreds of kids enjoyed a great day of fishing, with plenty of fish caught. Click here for photos from the event. |
 |
October 19, 2008 - Tidewater Takes Bass Bowl
In a tournament that saw very windy, raw weather and limited bass bites, Tidewater Bassers managed to locate ten keeper bass and take this year's SJBCA Bass Bowl at the Potomac River. Tidewater's 18.57 lb weight easily beat out the other eight clubs competing for braggin' rights in this annual tournament. Three clubs vied for second place, separated by only 9 hundredths of a pound. Adam Mihara took the lunker prize with a 3.64 lb bass. Click here for detailed results and photos from the event.
| 1. Tidewater Bassers -- 10 bass /
18.57 lbs 2. South Jersey Hawg Hunters -- 6 bass / 11.25 lbs 3. Tri-State Bass Assassins -- 6 bass / 11.22 lbs 4. Riverside Bass Club -- 6 bass / 11.16 lbs 5. Cumberland County Bassmasters -- 5 bass / 7.15 lbs 6. South Jersey Bass Stalkers -- 4 bass / 6.29 lbs 7. Delaware River Fishermen's Assoc. -- 5 bass / 5.64 lbs 8. 4th Ward Bass Anglers -- 3 bass / 4.72 lbs 9. Pine Cone Anglers -- 0 bass Lunker -- Adam Mihara/Andrew Bates -- 3.64 lbs |
 Adam Mihara |
| September 18, 2008 -
Club Member Provides Marine Electronics Service Mike Volpe, long time member of Tidewater Bassers, checked in to let our members know that his business provides a wide variety of marine electronics service to local boaters. One notable product that Mike loves and can provide is the Power Pole. Click here for an article that Mike wrote about this product and his marine electronics business -- Michaels Marine Electric, Inc. |
 |
| September 14, 2008 -
SJBCA Participates in Jamboree Once again, the SJBCA had a booth at the Sportsmen's Jamboree in Millville. In addition to handing out literature about our organization and free fishing publications, we raffled off a fully stocked tackle box. The winner was Jim Harper of North Cape May. The SJBCA thanks everyone who bought tickets to support our worthwhile activities. |
 |
| August 18 - 2008 -
Best SJ Youth Outdoor Day Ever This year's South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day, co-hosted by the SJBCA, was widely regarded as being the best one in its nine year history. On August 16, 160 kids and their parents enjoyed a wide variety of fishing, shooting-sports and boating activities as well as numerous demonstrations of outdoor sports. In addition to fishing tackle and fishing-related door prizes, the SJBCA gave a free t-shirt to each of the attendees. Thanks to "The New Jersey Angler" magazine for their donation. For more information on this event click here. |
 Free t-shirts |
| July 16, 2008 -
Annual SJBCA Scholarship Presented At our July member meeting (featuring a free barbecue), the SJBCA presented its scholarship for 2008 to winner Ryan Risher of Schalick High School. Ryan was accompanied by his father Scott Risher. This $500 award is for a high school senior who is entering a college degree program that may benefit fishermen, such as fisheries management, marine biology, environmental science, etc. The applicant must be a relative or friend of an SJBCA club member. Click here for more details on this program. |
 Scholarship presentation
|
| June 22, 2008 -
Union Lake Buddy Tourney Another Success Our annual open buddy tournament at Union Lake saw 46 teams compete for cash prizes, plaques and a fun day on the water. Howard Brown and Troy Polhamus took the win with six bass for 11.89 lbs. The winners of the "New Jersey Angler" magazine morning lunker award were Stephen Welden and Jason Canup with a 3.16 lb bass. The overall lunker winners were Albert Martha and Jeff Caldarulo with a 3.58 lb bass. Click here for complete results and photos. The SJBCA thanks everyone who participated in or volunteered at this event. The proceeds raised will help us continue our annual college scholarship program and our support of kids fishing events. |
 |
May 22, 2008 - Another Club Joins SJBCA
At the May member meeting, Kickin' Bass Fishing Club was voted in as our newest member club. This new club, based in Woodbury Heights, brings our membership back up to 28 (after the loss of one club which was discontinued).
March 26, 2008 - Website Upgrade Completed
At the March member meeting, the member clubs approved an upgrade of the SJBCA website to one with a personalized domain name, no advertising, more data storage space and, most importantly, a lot more data transfer capability. This means an end to the frequent "data transfer exceeded" error messages when attempting to access the current site. The new website address is www.sjbca.org.
| March 1,
2008 - SJBCA Flea Market The SJBCA's annual Fishermen's Flea Market (our biggest fundraiser of the year) was held on Saturday, March 1. This year we were at a new location -- the Elks Lodge in Millville. Final figures aren't available yet, but it appears we had almost 300 paying adult customers (not counting kids under 14). Click here for a summary and click here for photos from the event. Our thanks to everyone who was able to participate -- we really appreciate your support! Our 2009 event will be on Saturday, March 7. |
 |
February 21, 2008 - Members Vote to Vary Bass Bowl Location
At the January member meeting, member clubs passed a rule that would prevent the Bass Bowl location from being repeated for the following three years. So, for example, last year's Susquehanna Flats location cannot be used again until 2011 at the earliest.
| February 21,
2008 - Annual Award Winners Receive Plaques The winners of the SJBCA's 2007 fishing excellence and youth activity awards received plaques at the February member meeting. Details on this year's and prior years' winners are listed in the Annual Awards section of this website. Photos of the winners receiving their plaques are posted on the Award Photos page. Congratulations to those fishermen and clubs who excelled in 2007! |
 Dennis Tolentino
& Carmen Bersani
|
February 21, 2008 - 2008 Bass Bowl Location Selected
By a vote of the member clubs at the February member meeting, the Potomac River in Maryland (launching out of Smallwood State Park on Mattawoman Creek) was the winning location for the 2008 SJBCA Bass Bowl. The Bass Bowl is the SJBCA's annual braggin' rights tournament where each member club sends a six-man team to compete against the other member clubs. This event is scheduled for Sunday, October 19.
| January 26,
2008 - Menantico Fish Habitat Project a Success The SJBCA, in conjunction with the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife, coordinated a project to create some fish-holding structure at the Menantico Sand Ponds WMA. On Saturday, January 26, a group of approximately 15 volunteers cut down shoreline trees on several ponds and allowed them to fall into the lake. The group also performed litter detail in the boat ramp and parking lot area. Thanks to everyone who helped out with this worthwhile project. Some photos have been posted in the Photo Gallery section. |
 Tree Cutting
|
January 17, 2008 - SJBCA Welcomes Beavertail Club
At the January member meeting, Beavertail Bass Club was admitted to the SJBCA as its 28th member club. Beavertail, based in West Deptford, was formed in the 1960's.
| December 18, 2007 -
Rainbow Lake on Way Back On April 17 the dam at Rainbow Lake in Pittsgrove Township failed, collapsing the Landis Avenue (Rt 56) roadway and allowing all of the lake water to flow down to the Maurice River. (Click here for a report and videos on the situation at the ABC Channel 6 Philadelphia website.) An emergency replacement of the roadway and dam was undertaken and completed in November. After an adjustment was made to the height of the dam, the lake was refilled in December. The project included a new concrete boat ramp. Fish were recently transported to Rainbow from Harrisonville Lake (which will be undergoing its own dam construction project soon). |
 April '07 Damage
|
November 21, 2007 - Clubs Complete Tournament Date Picks
At the November member meeting, most of the SJBCA clubs took part in the annual tournament date pick process. This process, similar to a sports league draft, is undertaken to select dates & locations for open buddy tournaments and club tournaments at NJ Wildlife Management Area lakes for the following year. Following the selection process, clubs are permitted to submit their club tournament schedules. Any tournament date/locations selected by SJBCA member clubs after the November meeting cannot conflict with any date/locations selected during the meeting or any date/locations on the submitted tournament schedules. The schedule of open buddy tournaments will soon be published on this website. The combined tournament schedules of all of the member clubs (aka "the Conflict List") is only available to member clubs.
November 11, 2007 - SJBCA Participates in Harvest Fest Event
Volunteers from the SJBCA ran the pond fishing activities at this year's Harvest Fest event for cub scouts and their friends on November 10. The event, originally scheduled for October 27 at Pine Hill Scout Reservation, was postponed for two weeks due to bad weather and moved to the Camp Roosevelt boy scout camp in Alloway Twp. Although the fishing action was real slow (it was mid-November after all) all of the kids had a real good time. Thanks to Fred Lentz and Joe Hoban for running things.
| October 21,
2007 - Bucketmouth Takes Another Bass Bowl Frequent winners, Bucketmouth Brigade Bassin Team, took another Bass Bowl. This year's Bass Bowl was being held at the North East River in Maryland. Bucketmouth's six-man team bested ten other clubs when they brought in thirteen keepers for a total of 25.33 lbs. That edged out South Jersey Hawg Hunters who brought in eleven keepers for 24.75 lbs. The lunker winner was a nice 6.09 lb bass weighed in by C.J. Blank fishing for Gloucester County Bassmasters. Click here for detailed results and photos. |
 C.J.Blank
|
| October 8, 2007
- More Lake Audrey Preparations Completed Another phase of the Lake Audrey restoration project was undertaken on Saturday, October 13. In this phase several old boats (with additional fish holding structures attached to them) were sunk in the lake. Photos have been posted on our Lake Audrey info page. |
 |
September 19, 2007 - SJBCA Membership Now at 27
With the addition of Philadelphia Bass Busters and Cape May County Bassmasters at our September meeting, there are now twenty-seven member clubs in the SJBCA. Welcome to the group!
September 16, 2007 - SJBCA Booth at Sportsmen's Jamboree
As usual, the SJBCA had a booth at the annual Sportsmen's Jamboree in Millville on the weekend of September 15 & 16. We gave away hundreds of magazines, brochures and pencils. As a fundraiser, we raffled off a fully stocked tackle box. The winner was Loretta McCabe of Port Elizabeth. The SJBCA thanks everyone who supported our fundraiser. And thanks to those clubs who donated towards the tackle box: Cedarwater Bassmasters, Cumberland County Bassmasters, Delaware River Fishermen's Association, 4th Ward Bass Anglers, Happy Hooker Bassers, Pine Cone Anglers, Rising Sun Bassmasters, South Jersey Bass Stalkers, South Jersey Hawg Hunters, and Top Rod Bassmasters.
August 18, 2007 - Successful Youth Outdoor Day
This year's South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day in Salem County was another good one. Over 140 kids (and their parents) showed up for a day of fishing, shooting sports, kayaking, etc. The SJBCA had a booth with a lot of giveaways. We also conducted our rod/reel loaner program, a kids casting event and a bass boat display. The free t-shirts we gave away were a big hit. We had ten volunteers show up to help out with our activities. Their efforts are appreciated. Click here for more details and photos on the event website.
| July 27,
2007 - Annual SJBCA Barbecue/Meeting Held As usual, the July member meeting included a free barbecue prior to the meeting. A meal of grilled cheeseburgers & hot dogs as well as chips and beverages was prepared by food coordinator Mike Graham. Just prior to the business portion of the meeting we officially presented our annual scholarship to Cumberland Regional High School graduate Zack Hitchner. Zack's family attended the presentation. Click here for photos. |
 Scholarship presentation
|
July 6, 2007 - Willow Grove Lake Lowered
Due to serious concerns about the condition of the spillways and adjacent roadway at Willow Grove Lake (which borders Pittsgrove Twp and Vineland) the lake was lowered and a portion of the fish moved to other local ponds by the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife. The road over the spillway was closed to traffic for several months, but was reopened in July. Click here for an article in the Vineland Daily Journal.
June 17, 2007 - Tough Fishing at Union Lake Buddy Tournament
The SJBCA's annual Union Lake open buddy tournament saw an outstanding turnout of 58 teams, but no seven bass limits weighed in. The team of Troy Polhamus and Howard Brown brought three good fish to take first place, the special "The New Jersey Angler magazine morning lunker prize, and the overall lunker prize. Click here for complete results and photos.
June 13, 2007 - 2007 Scholarship Winner Announced
The SJBCA Scholarship Selection Committee announced that the winner of this year's scholarship is Zachary Hitchner of Cumberland Regional High School in Seabrook (Cumberland County), NJ. Zachary is a member of a fishing club and enjoys many outdoor sports. He will receive $500 from the SJBCA to help with his college expenses. He plans to attend Cumberland County College (and ultimately transfer to Frostburg) and pursue a degree in environmental studies & wildlife management.
May 18, 2007 - SJBCA Membership Now at 25
With the addition of a new club called Gloucester County Bass Club at our May meeting, the SJBCA membership now stands at twenty-five clubs.
| March 25, 2007
-
SJBCA Member Club Hosts Doug Hannon On March 23, Riverside Bass Club hosted a visit by ESPN's Doug Hannon, aka "The Bass Professor", at the Sportsmen's Center in Bordentown. In addition to Doug's talk about his fishing experiences and techniques, Hannon-designed lures and an innovative new spinning reel were given out as prizes. |
 Doug Hannon
|
March 22, 2007 - Conflict List Reminder
Member clubs are reminded that any planned changes to your tournament schedules should be run by the Conflict List coordinator prior to obtaining a WMA permit, advertising your tournament, etc.
March 13, 2007 - Mirror Lake Ramp Status Clarified>
Per the Pemberton Township Public Works Dept, improvements are being made to the new ramp area on the opposite side of the beach from the old ramp. Currently, soft sand in the area of the new ramp presents a risk of getting 2-wheel drive vehicles stuck. After the new ramp becomes fully functional, the current ramp (which is at an odd angle and has a big drop-off at the end of the concrete portion) will be blocked off with a guard rail. [As of March 31, the old ramp was still open.]
| March 10, 2007
- Annual Flea Market Held Our annual Fishermen's Flea Market was held on Saturday, March 10 at the Moose Lodge in Vineland. Great weather made for a smallish crowd, but a good time was had by all. Our popular "fully stocked tackle box raffle" was won by Steve Raymondo with ticket number 804104. We thank all of the customers and vendors who showed up to support our organization. And thanks to the following clubs and businesses for donating to the raffle: Atlantic County Bass Anglers Big Bass Fishing Club of Maple Shade Cumberland County Bassmasters Delaware River Fishermen’s Assoc. 4th Ward Bass Anglers Happy Hooker Bassers Pine Cone Anglers Rising Sun Bassmasters Riverside Bass Club South Jersey Bassers South Jersey Bass Stalkers South Jersey Hawg Hunters South Point Bassers Tidewater Bassers Top Rod Bassmasters Tri-State Bass Assassins “The New Jersey Angler” Magazine Sufix Fishing Line (from Tom P of the "Rack & Fin" radio show on ESPN Radio, 1450 AM Atlantic City) |
 |
| March 10, 2007 -
SJBCA Volunteers Get Rewards In case you weren't aware of it, those members who volunteer at SJBCA events and serve as SJBCA officers can receive several different awards. Those who accumulate 10 participation points receive a nice fishing jacket with two SJBCA logos and the recipient's name & club embroidered on the front. Those who accumulate 60 points receive a second jacket of even nicer quality. Those who volunteer at two of our major events receive an SJBCA hat. Volunteering at four events earns you an SJBCA staff shirt. Click here for full details on this program. |
 SJBCA Hat
|
February 24, 2007 - SJBCA Hosted Boating Safety Classes
The SJBCA and 4th Ward Bass Anglers hosted two boating safety classes, presented by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, on February 24 and March 17. The classes were held at 4th Ward's clubhouse near Parvin Lake. Seating was limited to about 30 attendees per class. Breakfast and lunch were prepared by members of 4th Ward Bass Anglers.
February 24, 2007 - NJDFW Public Forum Held
The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife's annual freshwater fisheries forum for South Jersey was held on Saturday, February 24 at Batsto Village Visitors Center. Senior biologist Chris Smith talked about fishing population at Lake Lenape, WMA bass tournament results and two new fish ladders constructed during 2006. A presentation on Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) was also given. Attendees also heard about some fish habitat projects completed during 2006 and some planned smallmouth bass stocking.
| February
23, 2007
- SJBCA Officers Appear on Radio Show SJBCA President Carmen Bersani and Director Fred Lentz taped a segment for the radio fishing & hunting show "Rack & Fin". Show host Tom P discussed with Carmen and Fred some background about the Association and our upcoming Fishermen's Flea Market. "Rack & Fin" is broadcast on ESPN Radio 1450AM out of Atlantic City from 9:00 am to 10:00 am on Saturday mornings. The SJBCA segment was broadcast on February 24. |
 Carmen Bersani, Tom P, Fred Lentz |
February 23, 2007 - 10% Discount Program Revived
The SJBCA's 10% Member Discount program has been being revived. Not having a coordinator for a couple of years had left the program in limbo. Recently, Gabrielle Kunze of Cumberland County Bassmasters volunteered to help get the program rolling again. If you have or know of a business that is interested in participating in this program, please contact Gabrielle and she'll answer any questions you have and make all arragements. Details on the program can be found in the Member Discounts section.
| February 22, 2007
- Annual Award Winners' Photos
Posted Photos of most of our annual award winners for 2006 have been posted in the Awards Photo Gallery section of this web site. The awards plaques were presented at the February meeting. |
 Jason
Tuttas, Carmen Bersani
|
February 22, 2007 - North East River Selected as Bass Bowl Location
The North East River in North East, Maryland, was voted by our member clubs as the launch site for the 2007 SJBCA Bass Bowl on Sunday, October 21. This braggin' rights tournament pits each member club's six best anglers against one another. More details to come on this tournament.
February 22, 2007 - SJBCA Membership Now Up to 24 Clubs
With the "re-joining" of Barrington Rod & Reel Club and the acceptance of Fishers of Men - NJ Division at our February meeting, the SJBCA membership now stands at twenty-four clubs & organizations. We thank these two groups for making the Association even stronger.
January 22, 2007 - SJBCA Clubs Help Improve Lake Habitat (Not-so-new News)
In addition to SJBCA club members helping with the project to prepare Lake Audrey for fish stocking, several of our clubs were also involved in improving Lake Assunpink, Mercer Lake and Stone Tavern Lake during 2006. Click here to read the story on the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife web site. A big thank-you goes out to Rising Sun Bassmasters and Bucketmouth Brigade Bassin' Team for getting involved in these worthwhile projects.
January 18, 2007 - Annual Awards Announced
Each year, the SJBCA presents awards to those clubs and club members who excel in the areas of bass fishing and hosting youth fishing-related activities. For some reason, many clubs choose not to participate in these awards and do not submit entries for their clubs. The ones that do are rewarded with nice plaques at our Feburary meeting and cash (in the case of our youth activity awards). The award winners for 2006 were:
Heaviest Lunker -- Jason Tuttas, Rising Sun Bassmasters, Merrill Creek Reservoir, 7 lbs 14 oz.
Heaviest 3-Bass Stringer (Lunker Lake) -- Dave Butenewicz Sr, Top Rod Bassmasters, Lake Asunpink, 8 lbs 1 oz.
Heaviest 5-Bass Stringer -- Mitch Smith, Bucketmouth Brigade, Susquehanna Flats MD, 17 lbs 13 oz.
Heaviest 6-Bass Stringer (Lunker Lake) -- Scott Bowen & Bill Ridel, Lake Assunpink, 7.77 lbs.
Heaviest 10-Bass Stringer -- Jerrod Lloyd & Dave Lloyd, South Jersey Hawg Hunters, Rainbow Lake, 10.82 lbs.
Major Youth Activity -- Rising Sun Bassmasters, "Mt. Holly Youth Day".
Minor Youth Activity -- Bucketmouth Brigade, "Millennium Youth Bass Club".
January 18, 2007 - New Officers Installed
Our election of new officers was held at the January member meeting. All but one of the candidates were incumbents. The officers elected were: 1st VP -- Mike Poli (Rising Sun Bassmasters) - 2 years; Secretary -- Al Franchetta (Cumberland County Bassmasters) - 2 years; Treasurer -- Gary Corliss (4th Ward Bass Anglers) - 1 year; Tournament Director -- Steve Steinmetz (Pine Cone Anglers) - 1 year; Director 1 -- Fred Lentz (South Jersey Hawg Hunters) - 1 year; Director 2 -- Mike Graham (4th Ward Bass Anglers) - 1 year.
January 18, 2007 - Bobzin Speaks at January Meeting
The featured speaker at our January member meeting was Curt Bobzin, managing editor of The New Jersey Angler magazine. Curt provided tips on fishing the lower Delaware River in the colder months. He also gave out free magazines and lure samples.
January 5, 2007 - Dupont Abandons VX Nerve Agent Project
Dupont has decided not to proceed in its attempt to participate in the US Army's project to process deactivated VX nerve agent at its Chamberworks plant in Carney's Point. Click here to view an article published in the Vineland Daily Journal.
Back to top of page
December 27, 2006 - December Meeting Highlights
Some highlights of the December member meeting were: NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife conservation officer Scott Risher provided some clarification on boating safety course requirements and other regulations; a gift subscription to "The New Jersey Angler" magazine was won by Steve Steinmetz as a door prize; clubs began submitting nominations for our annual fishing excellence & youth activity awards; and an update was provided on the status of the Lake Audrey project. Also, nominations were accepted for new officers to be voted on at the January meeting.
| December 12, 2006
- Assunpink Ramp Completed We received information that construction on the new ramp and parking lot at Lake Assunpink WMA has been completed. Click here to see the news release on the NJ Department of Environmental Protection web site. |
 |
| December 5, 2006
- Lake Audrey Progress Continues Lee Widjeskog (NJDFW) has been hosting work sessions to prepare Lake Audrey for eventual fish stocking. At several sessions held in 2006, volunteers placed dozens of fish habitat structures in the lake and dispersed many tons of lime in the water (to correct the ph balance). Future work sessions will be held to place additional fish structures. If all goes according to plan, fish stocking could begin as early as late spring 2007. SJBCA club members who participate in Lake Audrey work sessions earn a participation point towards a fishing jacket. |
 |
| October 29, 2006
-
SJBCA Runs Fishing Activities at Youth Event SJBCA volunteers ran the fishing activities at the Harvest Fest/Trailblazer youth event held at Pine Hill Scout Reservation on October 28. Our volunteers loaned rod/reel combos to the kids, gave the kids instruction on how to bait a hook & cast, and monitored their fishing off the dock & shoreline. While the weather was bad at times and the fishing action slow, many kids participated and all had a great time. Thanks to The New Jersey Angler magazine for donating magazines and gift subscriptions that were given away. Photos from this event are posted in the Photo Gallery section. |
 |
October 19, 2006 - WMA Permit Fee Waived Again
Per our recent contact with Chris Smith of the NJDFW, the $17.00 fee for permits for tournaments at NJ Wildlife Management Area lakes has been waived again for the 2007 season. You must still apply for a permit from Chris for each tournament you plan to hold at a WMA lake, but there is no fee associated with it. Following each tournament at a WMA lake you must file a report with your tournament results and submit it to Chris (permit application and report forms are available from him). The results data is compiled into a database and used to assist the NJDFW in their fisheries management efforts.
According to our information, the complete list of lakes that require a WMA tournament permit is:
Lake Assunpink Delaware Lake Penbryn (Stella's Farm) Pond
Lake Audrey DOD Lake Rainbow Lake
Menantico Ponds Elmer Lake Rising Sun Lake
Clarks Pond Green Turtle Pond Round Vally Reservoir
Colliers Mill (Turn Mill) Pond Maple Lake Shaws Mill Pond
Prospertown Lake Maskells Mill Pond Stone Tavern Lake
Columbia Lake Pemberton Lake Union Lake
| October 15, 2006
-
Clubs Survive Toughest Bass Bowl Ever With cold, windy weather and an almost non-existent bite, this year's edition of the SJBCA's annual "Bass Bowl" at Union Lake proved to be the biggest challenge in the history of the event. The South Jersey Hawg Hunters club managed to find four decent bass for a total of 8.02 lbs and win the event by a wide margin. The Hawg Hunters' Chris Oeser took lunker with a 2.87 lb bass. In addition to their (small) tournament winnings, the Hawg Hunters club gets their dues paid for 2007 and, because they've had perfect meeting attendance since the last Bass Bowl, receive a $100 bonus for their club. Eleven clubs participated in the event this year. Click here for detailed tournament results and photos. |
 |
September 21, 2006 - Delaware Riverkeeper Rep Speaks on VX Proposal
After hearing from representatives of Dupont and the US Army at our May meeting on the issue of the proposed project to have Dupont process deactivated VX nerve agent at their plant in Carney's Point (Salem County), at our September meeting we heard from Tracy Carluccio of the Delaware Riverkeeper organization. She presented the opposing point of view on the project, emphasizing that many aspects of the project present unknown risks at this point because a project such as this has never been undertaken previously. She also explained that current testing methods can only detect the presence of some potentially harmful chemicals down to a certain number of parts per billion in a liquid and it has not been proven that amounts below the detectable levels are harmless when released into the environment. (The resulting liquid from Dupont's processing will be released into the Delaware River). More information on the Delaware Riverkeeper position on this proposal can be found on their website. See our May 18 news item below for additional information. Club members are invited to form their own opinions on this proposal.
September 21, 2006 - SJBCA By-Laws Revisions Enacted
At the SJBCA's September meeting, revisions to our By-Laws were approved as recommended by the By-laws Committee. The revisions included changes to correct grammar and improve readability. They also included changes which would reduce the rights & benefits of associate members (who are only required to attend one meeting per year). Other significant revisions included: a minimum number of six members in a club, not counting associate members at meetings for the purposes of determining a quorum, removal of the immediate past president as a member of the executive board, and a change of all references of a 2/3 vote to a majority vote for approval of all matters. Copies of the updated by-laws will be distributed at the January member meeting upon the member club paying their annual dues. Any questions on these by-laws should be directed to secretary Al Franchetta at sjbca05@comcast.net.
| September 19, 2006 -
Penbryn Pond Officially Acquired by State NJDFW staff member Lee Widjeskog notified the SJBCA today that, as of September 13, the State had officially acquired Penbryn Pond (aka Stella's Farm Pond, near Berlin, NJ) and that the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife has assumed responsibility for managing it. As a NJ Wildlife Management Area, a (free) permit is now required in order to hold a tournament there. |
 |
September 17, 2006 - SJBCA Booth at Sportsmen's Jamboree
The SJBCA had a booth at this year's Sportsmen's Jamboree in Millville. On Sunday, the weather was great and the attendance was moderate (Saturday saw worse weather and more sparse crowds). We gave away fishing magazines and provided information on our organization. As usual, we held a raffle of a fully stocked tackle box. The winners were Adriana and Alex Bolotov. (We did not have a booth at the event on Saturday.)
| August 27, 2006 -
Youth Event Was Best Ever The 7th annual "South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day" held on Saturday, August 19, at the Salem County Sportsmen's Club was the biggest and best ever. This free event for kids 7 to 17 included a wide variety of fishing, shooting sports and other outdoor activities. The SJBCA coordinated the pond fishing, manned a booth with lots of giveaways, ran our rod/reel loaner program and hosted a bass boat display. We also donated door prizes such as rod/reel combos, tackle boxes, lure kits and fishing books. Over 150 kids participated this year, along with their parents/guardians. If you are interested in helping out with this annual event, please contact Fred Lentz at sjbca99@comcast.net or at 856-358-6073. For more information and photos from this year's event, visit the event web site at www.outdoorday.110mb.com. |
 |
July 21, 2006 - Annual Barbecue Meeting Held
According to a tradition we began several years ago, our July member meeting was held outdoors at Parvin State Park and included a free barbecue (thanks to chef Mike Graham). In attendance was our 2006 SJBCA Scholarship winner Neal Armstrong, accompanied by his parents. Meeting attendees were treated to a short presentation by Riverside Bass Club member Randy Whatley on a cool new soft plastic bass lure called "the Snake". This lure was developed by Doug "The Bass Professor" Hannon. Randy handed out free samples of the lure to everyone present. (More info on this lure, including video clips, can be found at www.naturalmotionlures.com.)
June 18, 2006 - Slow Day at Union Lake Buddy Tournament
The SJBCA's annual Union Lake open buddy bass tournament featured hot, humid weather and a scarcity of keeper sized bass. Forty-nine teams participated and no seven bass limits were brought to the scales. Adam Stevanus and Lenny Weaver took the win with a five bass bag weighing 9.80 lbs. Brian Keister and Kevin Foley took the special "The New Jersey Angler" magazine morning lunker prize winner (for the heaviest bass weighed in before 10:00 am) with a 1.86 lb bass. (Some anglers were probably kicking themselves for not making the run back to the weigh-in trailer to weigh their potential winners. Congratulations to the guys who did.) Keister and Foley also took the overall lunker with a 4.04 lb bass. Cash prizes were awarded to the top five finishing teams and plaques were awarded to the top three finishing teams. Cash and plaques were also awarded to the lunker winners. The SJBCA would like to thank all of the entrants for their participation. Funds raised from this tournament are used for the worthwhile activities of the association such as youth fishing events. Click here for complete tournament results.
June 6, 2006 - Scholarship Winner Announced
The SJBCA Scholarship Selection Committee announced that the winner of this year's scholarship is Neal Armstrong of Vineland High School in Vineland, NJ. Neal, who is involved in the Vineland Police Explorers scouting group, as well as youth fishing events, will receive $500 from the SJBCA to help with his college expenses. He plans to attend Cumberland County College and pursue a criminal justice degree that will allow him to eventually join the marine police.
May 18, 2006 - SJBCA Votes to Support F&W Enforcement Bills
At the SJBCA's May meeting, members voted to support proposed NJ legislative bills S1680 & A3249 which would remove fish & wildlife enforcement authority from members of incorporated fish and game protective associations. It was felt that these untrained, non-professional private "game wardens" should not have enforcement powers and that any such authority should be held by the State's NJDFW conservation officers and other professional law enforcement officers. Check the Issues section of this web site to track any developments on this important issue.
May 18, 2006 - Speakers Present VX Nerve Agent Issue Info
The SJBCA's May member meeting featured speakers on the subject of the proposed project to have Dupont Chamberworks in Carney's Point process deactivated VX nerve agent and release it into the Delaware River. John Strait of Dupont Chamberworks and Col. Jesse Barber of the U.S. Army's Chemical Materials Agency presented their side of this controversial issue. They discussed the reasons for the project, the chemical processes involved, the transportation methods to be used, the safety factors & testing methods to be employed, and the government oversight. They assured the audience that no harmful products would be released into the Delaware River as part of this project. Upon being asked about the rumor that the discharge into the river would be "no worse than drain cleaner", they clarified that the deactivated VX nerve agent prior to transport to Dupont would be a corrosive substance, but that what gets discharged will be harmless. More information on this issue is available at the Dupont web site (www.set.dupont.com/dod.html). Hopefully, in the future, we can get another speaker who will present the opposing point of view. The SJBCA will then be able to decide on a formal opinion on this issue.
| May
9, 2006 - First Lake Audrey "Liming" a Success NJDFW staff member Lee Widjeskog reports that the third work party held at Lake Audrey on Sunday, April 30 was a success. Volunteers dumped bags of lime into water tanks and the resulting "slurry" was sprayed into the lake in an effort to correct the ph balance to prepare it for eventual fish stocking. Lee reports that 43 tons of lime were spread in about three hours. He'll let us know when the next work party is scheduled. For more information on this project, Lee Widjeskog can be contacted during the day at 856-785-0455. |
 |
March 29, 2006 - Malaga Lake Access Re-affirmed
After a Franklin Township police officer told one of our member clubs that they were not permitted to launch boats or park vehicles at the unofficial ramp area on the west side of the lake, a clarification was sought. We found that the situation was brought on by some recent "mischief" on that side of the lake. The township police clarified on March 28 that fishermen would be permitted to launch and park there until further notice. The police requested that fishermen who notice any suspicious activity in that area please report it to them at 856-694-1414 (or 911, if an emergency).
March 25, 2006 - Fishermen's Flea Market Held
Our annual fishermen's flea market was held on March 25 at the Vineland Moose Lodge. Over 250 paying (adult) customers attended on a cold, drizzly day. The raffle of a fully-stocked tackle box was won by MaryAnne Franchetta. Photos from the event are posted in the Photo Gallery section.
March 15, 2006 - SJBCA Scholarship Program Reminder
The SJBCA reminds all members that the deadline for high school seniors to apply for our annual scholarship is May 1. This $500 award is for a high school senior who is entering a college degree program that may benefit fishermen. The applicant must be a relative or friend of an SJBCA club member. Click here for details and application form.
March 15, 2006 - Another Club Joins SJBCA
At the March meeting, the SJBCA welcomed Big Bass Fishing Club of Maple Shade to their ranks.
February 25, 2006 - NJDFW Fisheries Forum Held
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Fish and Wildlife hosted a public forum at the Salem County Sportsmen's Club on Saturday, February 25, to discuss freshwater fisheries research, management and recreational angling in New Jersey. Presentations were made on a recent Union Lake fish inventory, the creation of an anadromous fisheries management plan and trout stocking program changes for 2006. Some announcements of interest to bass fishermen were:
* The new Salem Canal launch ramp proposed for Rt 540 could be completed as soon as late summer or early fall this year. The current ramp will stay open during construction on the new ramp.
* The new launch ramp proposed for Lake Assunpink goes out for bid on March 13, with responses due on April 1. Completion is expected within 90 days (July 1) of the awarding of the bid. The current ramp will stay open during the construction on the new ramp.
* The initial placement of lime in Lake Audrey (Cumberland County) is expected to take place sometime in March. Many volunteers will be needed for this phase of this project.
January 22, 2006 - 2nd Lake Audrey Work Party Successful
Another "work party" at Lake Audrey was held on Sunday, January 22. Volunteers helped build and place fish structures in the lake. The eight guys who attended (four boats) managed to place 20 pallet-based structures in the lake and some Christmas trees. More work parties will be scheduled in the future to place more structures and to disperse lime into the lake. For more information on this ongoing project, contact NJDFW employee Lee Widjeskog during the day at 856-785-0455.
January 19, 2006 - Annual Awards Announced
Each year, the SJBCA presents awards to those clubs and club members who excel in the areas of bass fishing and hosting youth fishing-related activities. For some reason, many clubs choose not to participate in these awards and do not submit entries for their clubs. The ones that do are rewarded with nice plaques at our Feburary meeting and cash (in the case of our youth activity awards). The award winners for 2005 are:
Heaviest Lunker -- Dino Edmonson, 4th Ward Bass Anglers, Sunset Lake, 6.94 lbs.
Heaviest 3-Bass Stringer (Lunker Lake) -- Dave Butenewicz Sr, Top Rod Bassmasters, Parvin Lake, 7 lbs 15 oz.
Heaviest 5-Bass Stringer -- Bryon Powell, Top Rod Bassmasters, Davis Mill Pond, 13 lbs 4 oz.
Heaviest 6-Bass Stringer (Lunker Lake) -- no entry.
Heaviest 10-Bass Stringer -- Bill Duckardt & Orie Summers, South Jersey Hawg Hunters, Salem Canal, 14.56 lbs.
Major Youth Activity -- no entry.
Minor Youth Activity -- Bucketmouth Brigade, "Millennium Youth Bass Club".
Back to top of page
Click Here for News Articles from 2005 and Earlier