Club News for 2001

 
"Dave Bryant Angler of the Year" standings

 December 27, 2000   The Club's annual Holiday Party and officer elections were held on this gala night. Club officers are as follows:  President is again John Strada. Vice President / Tournament Coordinator is Mike Hall. Membership Secretary is Linda Kivler. Recording Secretary is Diane Strada and Treasurer is Frank Kivler.    

Also, Phil Bakanowsky was crowned the 2001 "Dave Bryant Angler of the Year". Phil received a large plaque and check for his grand efforts. Phil was very gracious in his acceptance speech and also gave a short talk on how he earned this year's awards. Way to go Phil!! 

A special plaque was then presented to Club President John Strada for his hard work. John has been President for the last 8 years and has always served this Club with true devotion. Thanks for all your efforts John!!  Holiday presents were received by the members in attendance. Treats and refreshments were then served. Everybody was in a festive spirit.  Pictures.

October 30, 2001   On Sunday, October 28th, the Club held its last tournament of the 2001 season. This was the third catfish contest of the year and it would decide who would be our  "Dave Bryant Angler of the Year". John Turgyan went into this tourney with the lead in the "Angler of the Year", but lost the lead to Phil Bakanowsky. . It looks like we have a two time "Angler of the Year" winner in Phil Bakanowsky. He brought a 4.19 lb fish in for the 1st place prizes ! This was the second win in two tournaments for Phil, who also won the 1999 "Angler of the Year". Hollis Laing came to the club scale with a 3.22 lb catfish that captured the 2nd place trophy. The 3rd place winner, Richard Clark, brought a 2.99 lb fish in. Congratulations to all the winners in all our eight Tournaments this year!  A few statistics: 22 club members entered and 20 catfish were weighed in. The average weight was 2.42 lbs.  Tournament Results    Click Here for Picture Page

October 15, 2001  Due to a weeks vacation in North Carolina, the results of the October 7th Smallmouth Tournament were not posted in a timely manner. I would much rather be catching largemouth in N.C. then writing this html code. I only have the results and know nothing about the conditions as I have not received any updates from anybody, as usual. The first place winner was Phil Bakanowsky with a 3.31 lb smallmouth. George Hoffman came in second with a 2.08 lb fish. Third place was taken by Marty Marshall with a 1.92 lb entry. There were a total of 53 club members that registered for the tourney. Seventeen members weighed in a fish. The Angler of the Year race has tightened up considerably. John Turgyan leads Phil Bakanowsky by a scant 2 points! The top 6 or so on the list all have a good shot at the title. Tournament Results    Click Here for Picture Page

September 16, 2001   Although I didn't attend this Largemouth tournament, I could have guessed the outcome. The skies were gin clear, blue and beautiful, which means a high pressure kind of pretty day. Although 34 club members entered this contest, only 9 legal bass were weighed in. It was tough fishing all right, the big fish of the day was caught by Bill Cox. It was a 1.78 lb bass that took the 1st place trophy and award. Second place prizes were earned by Ralph Ferguson with a 1.55 lb fish. Our VP, Rich Bryan, came to the scale with a 1.53 lb bass for third place honors. Way to go guys, that is real tough fishing.  Tournament Results      Click Here for Pictures

September 15, 2001   The first Big Cat Shootout Two was held today and proved to be a success. Thirty five boats fished this contest held out of Lightning Jacks' Marina on the Rancocas Creek in Riverside NJ. Twenty Nine boats brought back fish to be weighed in. The Lunker pool and the 1st place money was won by the Bill Maginnis Team. This team carried off $1610.00. Not too bad of a pay off for our first try at this September tournament. Second place was captured by club member "Mister Catfish" Glenn Brooks' Team. Club members Joe Newton and Laura Neives took home the 3rd place money. Bill Yeager and team took 4th place. He brought in a fish that almost took the Lunker pool. Many thanks to the club members that helped out. John Strada again put together a great tournament.   Tournament Results      Click Here for Pictures

September 9, 2001  As of this morning, Sunday Sept. 9, the DRFA club website is sitting on a new web host. The old web host, Citnet, is folding and won't be in business by the end of this month. We have been on  Citnet since we started the Club website and it has been free all this time. In finding a new home for our website, I've managed to keep cost low and have found a local web host  located in Marlton, NJ  who is very reasonable. The cost will be $14.00 a month and we will pay quarterly. If any problems are found please Email me.

August 5, 2001   Today, on one of the hottest days of the year so far, the DRFA's second catfish tournament was held at the Frankford Arsenal's ramp. Its easy to see that the catfish events are the most popular with 65 members signing in before the 6 am start time. Again, new members are finding our great club as 3 joined up before this event. Another interesting tidbit is all 3 new members had a web page membership form to turn in. Of the starting 64 anglers, 51 brought a catfish to the club scale. Although the fish were all on the small side, as compared to the spring contest, the fact that 49 were caught was impressive. 1st place money was taken by John Turgyan, with a 4.44 lb fish. Steve Stackhouse brought a 4.30 lber to the scale for 2nd place. 3rd place prizes went to Rick Mawson and his 4.09 lb catfish. Almost a photo finish! Less than 4 tenths of a pound separated these fish! Good thing we have a new, sensitive scale this year! Good job to all anglers as it was brutally hot!  Tournament Results      Click Here for Pictures

July 14, 2001  The DRFA's first largemouth tournament of the season was held today. The sky was blue and white puffy clouds floated high above. This is unusual for a contest held at the Arsenal ramp. Rain, wind and dark skies are always on the menu for a tournament held here. Fifty four club members, four were new members, were signed in by the 6 am start time. Our Vice President, Rich Bryan, brought in a beautiful bass that weighed 3.69 lbs for the 1st place prizes. The second place money and trophy  were taken by Phil Bakanowsky with a 2.02 lb fish. This showing catapults Phil into the Angler of the Year lead. (Phil was our 1999 Angler of the Year). Third place was captured by Rob Cook with a fine 1.90 lb entry. Surprisingly, there were only 8 fish weighed in for this contest.  All cash awards and trophies will be awarded at the July 26th Club meeting.   Tournament Results    Click Here for Pictures

June 26, 2001  Hi members! I was down the ramp in West Deptford this morning ,Tue the 26 and took some pictures of it .The grand opening is this Friday around 11 am .and I plan to be there with my boat. Don't forget the ramp is free but you have to pay 10 dollars to park your trailer .See you on the river. Phil Bakanowsky     Click Here for Picture

June 23, 2001   The Delaware River, at the Yardley ramp,  was the site for the "Dave Bryant Memorial Smallmouth Tournament" today. There were 45 Club members (3 new members) that signed-in for this contest. Considering that the water was very high and swift, 17 fish were brought to the official scale. Our "River News" newsletter editor, Pete Antoniewicz, came in with a 1.63 lb smallie for the 1st place trophy and check. Second place awards went to John Turgyan with a 1.62 lb entry. Ray Kitson Jr. took the 3rd place prizes with a 1.39 lb fish. Congratulations to our tournament winners. With the river conditions today, all participants proved the DRFA has some talented anglers!  All fish were alive and well when returned to the water.  Tournament Results    Click Here for Pictures

June 2, 2001  Dark, gloomy and rainy. That's how the 2nd Big Cat Shootout started and ended. 93 boats entered this year. That was 23 boats more than last years event. Club President John Strada is getting very good at promoting open tournaments. So good, in fact, he had been asked to provide some consulting help in the recent National Park striper tournament. A special thank you to the DRFA crew that helped this year! They were excellent! Plenty of remarks and some email point to very satisfied participants. In fact, there were some comments to me about having a second open catfish contest in the fall. Something to think about!!!! A special Thank You to John Strada, who has helped fatten the Club's check book with the proceeds from this years highly successful  tournament.    Click here for the "Big Cat" final standings and pictures

May 21, 2001  Club member Scott Morgan sends along this tip after a recent trip to the Lancaster area. A Zebco/Quantum outlet store there, Malone Outfitters, is having a going-out-of-business sale with everything at least half off and many deals even better. This includes rods, reels, even the Quantum "Iron" series. The store is located in the Tanger Outlet Center, on Route 30 just east of Lancaster (just about opposite the Dutch Wonderland amusement park). Scott says the sale is only expected to last a few weeks more.

May 21, 2001   The spring catfish tournament saw 64 club anglers weigh in 52 catfish averaging 3.48 lbs. First place trophy and $100.00 prize was taken by "Mr. Catfish" Glenn Brooks with a 9.99 lb fish that was 28 1/4 inches in length.  The second best fish was 8.37 lbs., 27 3/4 in long,  and was brought to the scale by new member Al Davis who will get the $50.00 prize and trophy. Also a new member, young Matt Valentine took the $25.00 third prize and trophy, with a 7.00 lb, 25 in long catfish. Congratulations to all the winners ! All fish were released in great shape. Tournament Results    There was only one picture taken at this tournament. Club VP / Tournament Coordinator Rich Bryan had no help offered and had to do the entire weigh-in alone. The members who volunteered to help out got lost and Rich did not have time to take pictures of all the winners.

At Left:  Third Place Winner Matt Valentine

 April 28, 2001   The first tournament of the year was held today. Apparently the Shad were not at all co-operative, as there were only 11 Shad that were brought to the scale at the Park 'n Ride lot in Yardley. First place went to Jim Wood and his 4.48 lb. fish, Second was taken by Bob Kuntz with a 4.25 lber. Hollis Laing brought a 3.72 lb. shad back for third place. Some statistics: 11 fish weighed-in, with a 3.12 lb average. Of course, there is no registration for this tournament and no way to tell how many members actually fished.    Click here for picture page        Tournament Results

 April 24, 2001    The new boat ramp in West Deptford's Rivergate Park,  is coming along very nicely. According to an article in the April 24th  Courier-Post, Township Administrator Gerald White says the ramp is expected to be open by July 4th, 2001. Construction of the parking facilities and non-river areas are continuing and work in the river water will resume after May 15, due to the migratory fish spawning rules by the Army Engineering Corps. (I CAN'T WAIT !!!)

April 12, 2001     Club member Tim Bauman is the NJ state leader in the Bassin' Magazine Big Bass World Championship. Tim has certified four fish for a total combined length of 88 inches. The next closest competitor has four fish for a total length of 76 inches. All state winners will compete in the fall at a two day tournament. First place winner will receive $50,000.00 plus a new bass boat. Second through fifth place receive $10,000.00 each. The Finals will be held in October on Big Cedar Lake near Branson, MO.

February 21, 2001   Good News for the start of this fishing season!! Especially for Club members who would like to fish the lower portion of our great Delaware River!  It seems the boat ramp and facilities that was scheduled for construction in West Deptford Twp .that was called off, is now back on! And work is being done as we speak. Club Pres. John Strada and I have visited the site and progress is moving along rapidly, with a scheduled completion date in early July of this year. Some statistics of the project are: a 24 foot wide concrete ramp, with floating docks on both sides. An 80 ft. floating finger dock will be located approx. 150 ft. north of the ramp. A gravel parking lot will hold 50 rigs with an additional area to park 30 cars. The permanent toilet facilities have been shelved for now and will be replaced by Porta-Potties. Entrance gates will be located at 2nd street and Center Ave. There will be a $5.00 parking fee. Gates will be open from dawn till dark. The ramp will operate until at least Thanksgiving. There will be no construction from March 15th thru May 31st due to Army Core of Engineers rules regarding spawning and migration seasons. Pile driving and a containment bulkhead will be built next week to allow for the concrete work to be completed before March 15th. The total cost will approach $700,000 with the Federal Government  kicking in approx. $450,000. The best part is that the ramp is about a half mile from my house!!!!!!!  Local neighbors, of course, do not want this ramp. Please email the Mayor of West Deptford, David P. Shields, at  eagle@westdeptford.com  and tell him how happy you are about this ramp and plan to have you and your family use it often.