Hello to the friends and family of Seminole Junior Anglers. We wrapped up our 2022-2023 Florida Bass Nation High School tournament schedule in April on the St. John’s River in Palatka. Once again, we had several teams in the top 10. Our Florida Bass Nation High School State Championship was June 10-12 on the Harris Chain. We have 7 teams that have been awarded qualifying births into this championship. In case you didn’t know, in tournament fishing nothing is given to you – it must be earned. Big congrats to Team Bailey. Dalton and Mackenzie Bailey were our highest finishers in 13th place with over 31 lbs. in two days. Our second-best finishing team was Bryce DiMauro and Bryce Balentine with over 28 lbs. finishing in 23rd place. We have 3 SJA teams that will be heading to nationals on Lake Hartwell out of Green Pond Landing in South Carolina in late July. One of these years, we will produce a National Champion, you mark my words.
Our squad this year also won the Club of the Year Award for the second year in a row! I can’t begin to tell you how hard this is to do. Winning it once is huge but winning this award in consecutive years is a massive achievement. I am so proud of this team. We knew it would be hard to do, but we did it again.
And finally, we won the Big Bass of the Year Award. Team Bradstreet, Kam and Drew landed a 9.99-pound bass. Out of 8 tournaments fished from August to April, 2022-2023 – this was the largest fish caught this season. Way to go Bradstreet’s and Team SJA.
Our lakes in Central Florida are starting to heat up…not the fishing, but the water temps. Look for the fish to begin moving deeper and deeper. I have heard of some nice bags still coming out of Kissimmee and Lake Toho and the Harris Chain of course. I would concentrate on the low light conditions in the morning and later in the evenings. Fish will begin to chase bait early and late, but the middle of the day action will be tough. After a big rain, look for moving water areas and run offs. Shell beds will always produce this time of the year and don’t forget about those man-made fish attractors. These are normally placed in 10ft or more of water and fish love them.
A big thank you to Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando, Airport Jeep Dodge, AFTCO, Huey Magoos, Kysek Coolers, Onyx, Boat Tree, Gumbo Wars, Bitter’s Bait & Tackle, Oakley, Power Pole, Lowrance, our boat captains, parents, volunteers, and sponsors. We all do what we can to keep these student anglers on the water. If you know a high school aged angler who has experience in tournament fishing, please contact me: Dave DiMauro, 407-353-4575.
