The first BLHA fishing tournament of the year was a huge success, even with inclement weather. Adding extra donations of $100 from Bob Caldwell, $50 from Scott Peterman, $25 from Shirley Bruno and $25 from Tom Dyer plus our entry fees, we raised a total of $325 from the April 1st tournament. So far, with funds from last year, the BLHA Fishing Team has raised a total of about $1200. We are working with the BLHA Board of Directors and expect to do additional stocking of shad later this year.

I will say that I'm pleased to report that the fish do seem to be getting somewhat bigger due to our efforts to remove bass and stock shad. Our fisheries biologist Shan O'Gorman removed 1800 pounds of bass 2 years ago and recommended, for us to achieve our goal, we need to remove bass at this rate for 3–5 years. I've pulled about 100 bass this year and with two additional tournaments and continuing efforts to remove bass, we are moving in the right direction.

The fishing team of Bill Hunkapiller and Scott Peterman landed in first place with four fish weighing in at 3.14 pounds. Tom Dyer with grandson Henry came in second with three fish at 2.8 pounds. Again, Henry beat the kids and adults and won the Big Fish award with a 2.5 pound largemouth! Jim and Bryon Alexander came in third with a respectable four fish limit at 2.4 pounds. Newcomers Justin Galliger and Terry Gilford brought in one fish that weighed 13 ounces.

Even with a rainy day on the water we had a good turnout. However I do need to give some grief to Tom Kitchens and Steve Guthrie who arrived at the lake on time with coffee in hand, but I can only assume feared the rain would ruin their hair styles and decided they would wait for a better day. We understand bad hair days and hope they return soon. Also, we lost a few other participants when the rain poured down and hope they will be back for the next tournament.

Several entry fees were paid in memory of our good friend Mr. Bill Laber. While not physically present, he was there in spirit, with the love and respect from his fellow fisherman. He's fishing new waters in a better place and I'm sure has found tight lines.