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Results & News - October 2003
2003 Annual Awards Dinner &
Lake of the Ozarks – October 4/5, 2003

Well, the 2003 Hawg Hawlers Awards Banquet held on October 25th is history. The 100+ people who attended will remember it for great food, great friends, great information, great entertainment, and some really great attendance prizes.

Club Business: The evening began with club president, Gary Eubanks, welcoming club members, guests, and other dinner attendee’s. Gary gave special thanks to Spaunhorst Catering, Washington Knights of Columbus Hall, and our special guest speaker, Chad Brauer. Gary also thanked the officers and members of the club for 2003. Teddy Reim, the club treasurer gave a quick membership recap, and a summation of the treasury activity for 2003. Teddy also noted that we had over $5,000.00 in attendance prizes to give away at the Awards Banquet. Tournament Chairperson, Donnie Eubanks, recapped the Tournament Director responsibilities, and thanked all of the 2003 Tournament Director volunteers.

Year In Review: Secretary Greg Heinz reviewed all the club tournaments for 2003.  Plaques were presented to all of the 1st place teams for each tournament, as well as the Big Bass winners for each tournament.  A few stories were shared also.

Big Bass of the Year: Guest speaker, Chad Brauer, and last year’s Big Bass winner, Brian Robinson, presented the 2003 Big Bass of the Year trophy to Scott Phelps, for his 6.80 lb bass, caught at Table Rock Lake in April of this year. Along with the traveling trophy, which he gets to keep for the upcoming year, Scott also received, a brand new G-Loomis, 6’ 6” Med Hvy casting rod, and a plaque, to commemorate his achievement.

Dinner: Next, it was time for dinner. Spaunhorst Catering (1-800-660-2038), provided a very nice spread, as they have done for the past few years. All of the food was excellent, and everyone had plenty to eat.

Chad Brauer Talk: Chuck Beach, our Junior BASSMASTER representative, and 5 year member of the Hawg Hawlers Bass Club, introduced our guest speaker, Chad Brauer. Chad gave a presentation on how he got started in professional fishing, and shared some of the personal experiences that he has been through. He also spoke on some of the advantages, and disadvantages, of being the son of Denny Brauer, and following in “dad’s” rather impressive footsteps. Chad also spoke on the most common fish patterns on Lake of the Ozarks throughout a typical year. Chad’s talk was very informative and very entertaining. He ended with a short Q & A session.

Special Award: There was a special “Close but NO Cigar” award (actually it was 3 separate certificates) presented to Donnie Eubanks for finishing 2nd in the Big Bass competition at THREE different lakes. Donnie caught her personal best 5.14lb bass at Table Rock, only to finish 2nd to Scott’s 6.80lb Big Bass of the Year. At Wappapello, she had a 3.71lb bass, which was .02 pounds behind CrankerFoot’s (Rob Cook) 3.73lb winner. And lastly, at Truman, she had a 3.40lb bass which finished behind Mike McGraw’s 4.49lb Big Bass. These certificates were presented in fun, and Donnie accepted them in good humor.

Club History: The history of the club was reviewed briefly. The chart displayed statistics from our first tournament in 1988, to the present. We started out with 2 tournaments in 1988 with an average of 4 boats per tournament, and a total of TWO bass caught for the year. After 16 years of tournaments, we had a 30 boat average, and over 1,000 fish weighed in, in 2003. Those are both records for the club. The $12,000.00 prize money for 2003, and the $5,000.00 in attendance prizes, brought our total prizes (since the inception of the club) to over $100,000. Pretty impressive for a non-affiliated club that has no corporate sponsors.

Angler of the Year Award: Chad Brauer, along with 2002 “Angler of the Year”, Terry Stanek, presented the 2003 Angler of the Year Traveling Trophy to Dave Sona. Dave amassed some very impressive numbers in his win this year. He caught a record 44 fish in his quest for this title, eclipsing Bob Rays previous record of 38 fish, in 2001. In 2003 Dave had TWO 1st place finishes, ONE second place finish, THREE third place finishes and ONE fourth place finish, for a total of 7 times in the money, and never lower than FOURTH place. Dave was also Tournament Director twice. His 153-point total was 23 points better than, two-time Angler of the Year, Bob Ray. Along with the Traveling Trophy, Dave was presented with a brand new G-Loomis, 6’ 6” Med Hvy casting rod, a plaque, and the 2003 Angler of the Year Jacket, to commemorate his achievement.
[note: Individual statistics for everyone in the club, for 2003, can be found by Clicking Here]

CrankerFoot Award: It seemed appropriate that we present an award to the one person in the club who took the most teasing during the year. Rob Cook, has taken enough abuse this year to last for the next decade. He has been a gentleman throughout, and bears no ill-will toward anyone (I hope). For his unbelievably positive attitude, Greg Heinz presented him with the CrankerFoot / Robblehead Award. Congratulations, Rob. We can only wait to see what 2004 brings.

2004 Officer Elections: As customary at the Awards Banquet, we held our 2004 officer elections. And as equally customary there were no nominations from the floor. So, by acclamation, our 2004 officers will be Gary Eubanks (pres), Greg Heinz (vp), Pam Wakim (sec), Teddy Reim (tres), Donnie Eubanks (TD), and Charlie Beach (webmaster).

Attendance Prizes: As mentioned earlier, we had over $5,000.00 worth of attendance prizes to give away. These included a G-Loomis Spinnerbait Rod, Garmin 160 Depth Finder, Numerous Falcon, All Star, Quantum, Berkley, and Shakespeare Rods, 3 SKIL cordless drills, 3 Ryobi cordless screwdrivers, a digital scale, casting and spinning combos, an XL NIKE jacket, subscriptions to MWBT internet magazine, Quantum Baitcasting Reels, SOSpenders, Bass Pro Shops gift certificates, Frogg Toggs Rain Suit, a Shimano Curado Baitcasting Reel, Midland two-way radios, two 35mm cameras, over $400.00 worth of lures, and many, many more. We also gave away a FREE YEAR of Hawg Hawlers. that consisted of a 2004 membership, and 9 FREE tournament entries (for one individual) valued at $240.00. Lastly, Chad brought a large box of Strike King lures that we gave away to all club members who received an attendance prize.

Grand Prize Raffle: The Grand Prize Raffle was an individual guide trip on Lake of the Ozarks with our special guest for the evening Chad Brauer. Jennifer Fortel, who won the July Big Bass competition drew the lucky winners name…Scott Hasty.  Scott and Chad exchanged phone numbers and hopefully we will get a report on when this event takes place, and the results.

Chad also brought another prize that was given away after the guide trip. Chad didn’t tell us what it was, so no one knew. Jennifer drew Brian Walker as the second lucky name of the evening. The surprise prize was a collection of Wheaties Boxes (in the flat), that were autographed by Denny Brauer. A very nice addition to the evenings awards from the Brauers - thanks a ton Chad and Denny!

Summary: I don’t think anyone would disagree, that this was the best Hawg Hawler Awards Banquet that we have ever had. A guest speaker who enlightened us with some Lake of the Ozarks information and some great stories, a great meal, some Annual Awards that were well deserved, some “good natured” awards, some recent history and a recap of past years Hawg Hawler achievements, and generally a great time, with a great bunch of club members.

The officers would like to extend a tremendous THANK YOU to all of our club supporters, as well as Spaunhorst Catering, Knights of Columbus Hall, guest speaker - Chad Brauer, and all of the Hawg Hawler Club members.

Without the members, there is no Hawg Hawlers Bass Club. You make this club what it is….
…the BEST Bass Club in the Midwest.

Lake of the Ozarks – October 4/5, 2003 By Greg Heinz - Secretary The last “T” of the year was met with some great fall weather. It was also a real battle for 1st and 2nd place in the Angler of the Year race. Dave Sona started the “T” with a 28 point lead over two time Angler of the Year, Bob Ray. Bob (with partner Greg Shands) did their best to close that gap by weighing in a total of 6 fish for 15.73 lbs, winning the tournament, being tournament director, and catching the big bass for the weekend (4.58 lbs), which also won the side pot of $170.00. Bob tallied up 23 points, which is quite a nice total for a tournament, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Dave. Dave wasn’t going to just roll over and wait for Bob to catch him. Dave (along with partner Neil Volkmann) finished 3rd, and weighed in 5 fish of his own to tally 18 points, for a decisive margin of 23 points. Pam Wakim and Frank Stanek finished 2nd with 6 fish for 13.41 lbs. They were throwing crankbaits to the docks. Tom and Donna Creamer, used spinnerbaits and crankbaits, to weigh 7 fish for 11.77 lbs and 4th place. Tom Black and Mike Brennan took 5th place with 3 nice fish that weighed 11.29 lbs. They were fishing Finess Power Worms and Rattletraps. Tom also had the Big Bass for Sunday at 4.53 lbs. Bryan Walker caught the only LIMIT of the weekend, and with his partner Jason Mylar, weighed a total of 6 fish for 10.27 lbs and 6th place. Bryan says his fish were caught on his hand tied “secret bait”, and he only had ONE of them. 7th place went to Scott Hasty and Bill Mincemeyer who weighed 5 fish for 7.40 lbs. 8th place went to Frank and Tina Ritrovato who had 2 nice fish for 5.87 lbs. Scroll down for complete tournament results What is a Hawg Hawler? Over the past few tournaments Dave and Bob, and some others in contention for Angler of the Year, were seen discussing pattern info and sharing secrets prior to the tournaments. These anglers were in competition with each other, for the top spot in our club, and they were sharing information. This is what our club is all about. It’s what we wrote as one of our goals in 1988 when the Hawg Hawlers Bass Club was formed. We call it “Friendly Competition”. Congratulations to Dave and Bob, and all Hawg Hawler members for making 2003 another great year. New Members New members fishing with us at the Ozarks included, Mike Brennan, Brian Heinz, Ken Mitchell and Ed Moran. If I missed any new Hawg Hawler members for this year, please accept my apologies. It is always our intent to personally and publicly welcome new Hawg Hawler members. Please rest assured that you are welcome in our club for as long as you wish to stay. We hope that we have what you are looking for in a “different kind” of bass club.   Club Supporters Please keep all of the following current club supporters in mind.  Be sure to tell them you are a Hawg Hawler member and that you appreciate their support!  Click name below to go to their website in a new window. Welcome and a big thanks to our newest club supporter, Luhr Jensen   Midwest Bass Tournaments   Hart Tackle   Schooner Creek Resort   Charger Boats YHTI Internet   Hover Lure Mustad   Shimano G Loomis   Manns Baits Bass Pro Shops   Pure Fishing Yozuri   Power Pro Dri Port Marine   Pomme State Pk Marina Culprit Lures   Bullseye Bait & Tackle Cedar Haven Resort   Lurenet.com BA's Baits N Bassin Shop   Jones' Tackle Service Luhr Jensen

1st Place Greg Shands & Bob Ray 15.73 lbs, 6 Fish 2nd Place Pam Wakim & Frank Stanek 13.41lbs, 6 Fish 3rd Place Dave Sona & Neil Volkmann 12.06lbs, 11 Fish   2003 Angler of the Year Congratulations to the 2003 Angler of the Year – Dave Sona. 2003 Big Bass of the Year Congratulations to Scott Phelps for weighing in the Big Bass of the Year, 6.80 lbs (Table Rock Lake). Awards Banquet If anyone is planning to attend the 2003 Awards Banquet, please don’t forget to RSVP before the deadline. There will be plenty of food and lots of attendance prizes (….and probably a few fish stories, too). We are very pleased to have Missouri Pro Chad Brauer attending, and helping present some of the awards. In addition to his Bachelors Degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from MU, Chad's accomplishments include being a past competitor in the prestigious Bassmaster's Classic, and being a past qualifier for the BASS Top 100 Tour.  He has had several top 10 finishes, including a win at the 1996 Tennessee Top 100 at Old Hickory Lake.  More info on Chad, as well as lots of informative fishing articles, can be found at Brauerbass.com.  Keep the date open. It’s, Saturday, October 25th, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Washington, MO. Dinner, trophies, club awards, and attendance prizes.

Big Bass - Saturday OVERALL BIG BASS Bob Ray, 4.58lbs

Big Bass - Sunday Tom Black, 4.53 lbs

Hawg Hawlers Bass Club Tournament Results							Ozarks, Oct 4-5, 2003
BOAT	NAMES	BB SAT	BB SUN	# SAT	# SUN	SAT WGT	SUN WGT	PEN	TOTAL	POS	PATTERN
1A	Shands, Greg			1	2	10.60			15.73	1	Spinnerbaits on docks, 6mm
1B	Ray, Bob	4.68		3	0		5.13		15.73
14A	Wakim, Pam		2.58	3	1	10.83			13.41	2	Crankbaits on docks
14B	Stanek, Frank	3.11		2	0		2.58		13.41
18A	Sona, Dave			2	3	5.32			12.06	3
18B	Volkmann, Neil			4	2		6.74		12.06
3A	Creamer, Tom			1	2	4.31			11.77	4	Spinnerbait & Crankbait
3B	Creamer, Donna			2	2		7.46		11.77
24A	Black, Tom		4.53	0	3	0.00			11.29	5	Finess Power Worm & Rattle Trap
24B	Brennan, Mike			0	0		11.29		11.29
23A	Walker, Brian			5	1	9.47			10.27	6	Only limit of the tournament
23B	Myler, Jason			0	0		0.80		10.27
33A	Hasty, Scott			2	1	6.19			7.60	7
33B	Mincemeyer,			2	0		1.41		7.60
12A	Ritrovato, Frank	3.46		1	1	3.46			5.87	8
12B	Ritrovato, Tina			0	0		2.41		5.87
19A	Jankowski, Mike			0	0	4.60			4.60	9
19B	Jankowski, Brian			2	0		0.00		4.60
4A	Bost, Terry			0	0	0.00			4.52	10
4B	Neff, Eric		2.32	0	2		4.52		4.52
31A	Coyner, Jim		2.26	0	2	0.00			3.89	11
31B	Fanter, Jim			0	0		3.89		3.89
9A	Beach, Charlie			0	2	0.00			3.59	12
9B	Beach, Chuck			0	0		3.59		3.59
28A	Stanek, Terry			2	0	3.55			3.55	13
28B	Treadway, Bob			0	0		0.00		3.55
10A	Luzynski, Ken		3.43	0	1	0.00			3.43	14
10B	McGarity, David			0	0		3.43		3.43
21A	McGraw, Tom			1	0	0.91			2.95	15
21B	McGraw, Mike			0	1		2.04		2.95
22A	Mitchell, Ken			0	0	2.73			2.73	16
22B	Cook, Rob			1	0		0.00		2.73
25A	Reim, Teddy			0	0	0.00			2.71	17
25B	Bergmann, Chris		2.71	0	1		2.71		2.71
17A	Stanghoener, Gary			0	1	0.00			2.62	18
17B	(no partner)						2.62		2.62
6A	Berry, Larry			0	0	2.24			2.24	19
6B	Phelps, Scott			1	0		0.00		2.24
32A	Eubanks, Gary			0	1	0.00			2.11	20
32B	Eubanks, Donnie			0	1		2.11		2.11
2A	Jett, Dave			1	0	1.92			1.92	21
2B	Jett, Tim			0	0		0.00		1.92
16A	Ketcherside, John			1	x	1.79			1.79	22
16B	Nolie, Kelly			1	x		0.00		1.79
13A	Grobe, Russ			0	1	0.96			1.69	23
13B	Shands, Andy			1	0		0.73		1.69
7A	Heinz, Greg			0	0	0.00			1.36	24
7B	Heinz, Brian			0	1		1.36		1.36
26A	Jones, Ken			0	0	0.00			1.24	25
26B	Dimercurio, Dominic			0	1		1.24		1.24
11A	Belford, Joe			0	0	0.00			0.00
11B	Knoll, Ed			0	0		0.00		0.00
15B	Lichius, Warren			0	0	0.00			0.00
15B	Armstrong, Rick			0	0