Forest City Bassmasters

Meeting – Tuesday, April 27 at 7 pm.
Speaker: Steve Chiasson
Steve is a veteran tournament angler with multiple wins, two GM Pro Bass Angler of the Year titles, and a GM Pro Bass Classic victory. Victories on Rice Lake(3), Lake Simcoe(2), Lake St. Clair, Sturgeon Lake, Lake Scugog, Stoney Lake, Georgian Bay, and Trilakes attest to Steve’s versatility in being able to win catching smallmouth or largemouth on a variety of lakes. He is a proud member of Pure Fishing, Humminbird, Minn Kota, and Cannon pro staff. Steve is an accomplished seminar speaker and writer who enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences with aspiring anglers. Steve will be speaking on Humminbird electronics tips and tricks.

Meeting – Tuesday, May 25th at 7 pm
Speaker: David Chong
David is one of Canada’s most well-known and respected tournament anglers and has been a fishing guide for over 25 years. He is a strong advocate of accessible affordable fishing for all and a dedicated ambassador for both the sport of fishing and his sponsors. Dave was also a member of Canada’s silver medal team at the PanAmerican Bass Championships on Lake Okeechobee. Dave will be speaking about Garmin electronics tips and tricks.

Link will be sent out to members. Those interested in joining Forest City Bassmasters please contact us through the website contact form.

We will be hosting a virtual (Zoom) meeting on Tuesday, March 30th starting at 7 pm. Link will be sent out to members. Those interested in joining Forest City Bassmasters please contact us through the website contact form.

Speaker: Bassmaster Elite Pro Jeff Gustafson, recent winner of the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee River Tournament! Kenora, Ontario native Jeff does it all, tournament fishing, guiding and writing for magazines like In-Fisherman, Ontario Out-of-Doors, Outdoor Canada and North American Fisherman. “Gussy” has been fishing the Bassmaster Elite series since 2019 with one classic appearance, has fished the FLW tour and has won major Canadian tournaments such as the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and the Kenora Bass International. This is one speaker you don’t want to miss!

Other Agenda Items:
Pay your club fees… $60 due now.

We will be hosting a virtual (Zoom) meeting on Tuesday, February 23 starting at 7 pm. Link will be sent out to members. Those interested in joining Forest City Bassmasters please contact us through the website contact form.

Speaker: Oliver Ngy is a self-taught angler from Southern California where he learned the values of commitment and dedication at an early age. Oliver has become a familiar face in the bass scene (and more recently the multi-species scene). He is renowned for catching monster fish of many species with a specialty in double digit Largemouth and 5+lb Smallmouth Bass. To learn more about Oliver and his fishing adventures visit www.YouTube.com/OliverNgy or his website www.bigbassdreams.com. Oliver will be competing for the first time on the Bassmaster Opens tournament trail in 2021 in an attempt to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic and an invite to the Elite trail.

Other Agenda Items:
March 1st Virtual Tournament Details – TourneyX Pro App
Motion on club support for switching regional placement of OBN
Pay your #$^@%#^@ club fees…. $60 due now.

We will be hosting a virtual (Zoom) meeting on Tuesday January 26th starting at 7 pm. From 7 to 7:30 we will present our preliminary tournament plans and schedule for the 2021 season. At 7:30 we will be joined by Kawartha Lakes (among other areas) guide and tournament angler Joey Ford. Joey will talk about fishing Rice Lake and his jump to fishing the Bassmaster Opens! A link will be sent out to club members shortly.

Thank you to everyone who came out and participated in our annual general meeting and thanks to our new executive and committee members for stepping up to help (list of executive and committee members can be found here).

Motions and Resolutions Passed:
Motion 1) Dead Fish Rule Changes: That FCBM tournament anglers shall come to tournaments prepared to harvest any dead fish deemed to be dead* (or too close to death for successful release*) by the tournament director. (* i.e. a dead fish penalty has been accessed for that fish). Under no circumstances shall dead fish be put back in the waterbody nor shall it be placed in the garbage or allowed to be wasted (as per Ontario Fishing Regulations).
Note: It should be noted that conservation and health of fish caught during our tournaments is one of our highest priorities (see also Resolution 1 below) and it should be noted that only one dead fish penalty was given during the entire 2020 season.
Motion 2) Creation of Tournament Director as full executive member position.
Motion 3) Elimination of Secretary executive position
Motion 4) Speaker Coordinator(s) position added
Motion 5) Purchase of buffs for club members (motion tabled until spring, other purchases and uses of monies proposed)

Resolution 1) That Forest City Bassmasters (FCBM) evaluate and examine a variety of tournament options that focus on fish care and conservation – led by the executive and tournament committee and based on best practices and scientific evidence. That FCBM members accept flexibility in tournament types that consider such factors and water and air temperature, water quality, live well capacities, common depths of capture (barotrauma issues). That FCBM act as leaders in this area.

Our Annual General Meeting will be held at 7pm on Tuesday, December 1st via Zoom. Meeting invites will be sent by email prior to the date.