Fairfax Bass

Club History

1977

Club founded in the basement of an office building on Gallows Road in Merrifield, Virginia. Club named Fairfax Bassbusters. Charter members include founder Tom Beck, Harold Pack, and Jack Hawkes.

1978

Club meetings moved to a tackle shop run by member Tom Beck. Beck's store and the building it is housed in burn down. Club meetings moved to Harold Pack's office, then to Fort Belvoir Marina.
Alden Colvocoresses wins Angler of the Year and season Big Fish award.

1979

President: Jack Hawkes. Secretary: Harold Pack.
Mar 19: Club certified as member of the Virginia Bass Federation.
Club joins the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society.
Club finishes last among 11 clubs in Region 1 final standings
Jack Hawkes wins Angler of the Year title in the last tournament of the year. Hawkes clinches title on Lake Anna Ponds when his only challenger, Colvo, breaks a finger during the tournament and has to go to a hospital.

1980

President: Alden Colvocoresses. Secretary: Harold Pack. Tournament Director: Bob Kutsher. Treasurer: Max Hollman/John Broaddus/Don Dewey.
Carl Bowser wins Angler of the Year.
Minutes of club meeting show Jack Hawkes and Alden Colvo. express great disappointment that club had been told Currituck was off limits prior to the 6-man tournament when in fact it was not.
May 8: Club founder Tom Beck dropped from club's membership for missing meetings and not participating in club functions.
Club meetings, effective Jan '80, are held at home of Alden Colvocoressess in Mantua subdivision of Fairfax. Club, on May 8th proposal from John Broaddus, begins meeting on Wednesdays before 2-day tournaments instead of on third Tuesday of every month.
May tournament on Back Bay highlighted by winner John Broaddus catching blue crabs on pork rinds and catching his net in his prop. And Bob Kutsher tangled his prop in a crab net.
July 10: Co-founder Jack Hawkes sponsors new member Carlos Sellers for entry into the club. At the same meeting, Hawkes requests inactive status. Sellers finishes 2nd, 3rd and 1st in his first three tournaments.

1981

President: Alden Colvocoresses. Secretary: Harold Pack. Tournament Director: Bob Kutsher. Treasurer: Don Dewey.
Club wins first Region championship
Don Dewey wins Angler of the Year (then called Mr. Bass)
Feb 11: George Inglewright makes motion, seconded by Don Dewey, that club order one measuring board from Henry County Bass Club to consider for club use. Idea apparently came from seeing the board when Carlos Sellers, George, Harold Pack and Carl Bowser attended a state federation meeting.
Letter from club secretary dated Mar 12 says Rob DuCote caught an 8-06 on a trip to Florida. During these early years some club members were arranging an annual Feb trip to Florida.
Club ordered jackets and hats in colors blue and white. First mention in records of any 'club colors.'
Mar 29: Carlos Sellers wins a Region tournament on the Chickahominy River.
Apr 12: Don Dewey and Carlos Sellers finish 3rd and 4th in a Region tournament on Lake Anna.
Club finishes 6th among 59 clubs at state 6-Man chapter team tournament on Kerr. Carlos Sellers finishes 6th in individual standings and qualifies for state team.
May 6: Reports of low water and a lack of milfoil prompt the club to switch a May tournament from Back Bay to Kerr Lake. First recorded indication of Back Bay's growing problems.
May 6: President Colvo informs club that new rules from B.A.S.S. ban the use of stick-steering boats in tournaments, although the definition of stick-steering is left up to each local region.
Apr-Jun: Don Dewey wins 3 straight tournaments on Lake Anna, Kerr, and the Rappahannock River
June 7: Don Dewey wins Region tournament on Rappahannock River with 16 lbs 12 oz.
August: Club adopts a Measuring Board for use during club tournaments, replacing traditional weigh-ins at a scale.
Carlos Sellers finishes 2nd and Bob Kutsher 6th in Region Classic. Jack Hawkes had big fish on second day of the 2-day tournament. Club finished 3rd overall in the tournament.
Virginia state team, with Sellers, finishes 6th among 11 at Divisional tournament. Pennsylvania wins.
Carlos Sellers finishes 2nd, Don Dewey 5th, Carl Bowser 13th, George Ingleright 14th, and Dennis Weichert 20th in final Region standings.
Oct 7: Club again moves a scheduled tournament from Back Bay to Pamunkey because of low water problems at Back Bay.

1982

President: Ken Arnold. Tournament Director: Bob Kutsher. Secretary: Harold Pack. Treasurer: Rob DuCote.
Club wins second straight Region championship.
Club finishes among top 20% in 6-Man chapter team tournament.
Mar 28: Bob Kutsher finishes 2nd in a Region tournament on Lake Gaston.
Apr 25: Harold Pack wins Region 1 tournament on Lake Anna with 8 lb 7 oz. George Inglewright finished 3rd.
Carlos Sellers catches only 1 fish in each of the season's first two club tournaments, but wins 2 big fish awards (a 4-14 and a 4-01).
July 11: Carlos Sellers finishes 2nd by 2 ounces in a Region tournament on the Potomac.
Out of 164 fishermen in Region One, Fairfax places 2 (Rob DuCote' & Don Dewey) in top 10 of Region final standings, 5 in the top 20, and 9 in the top 30. DuCote' finishes 3rd, Don Dewey 10th, Carlos Sellers 13th, Dennis Weichert 14th, and Don Geer 20th.
Bob Kutsher serves as assistant director for Region One.
Dennis Weichert wins club Angler of the Year. Dennis fished in 8 tournaments, finished in the top three 7 times, and won the big fish award 5 times.

1983

President: Ken Arnold. Secretary: Harold Pack. Tournament Director: Bob Kutsher. Treasurer: Rob DuCote.
Club wins third straight Region championship.
Carlos Sellers wins the Virginia 6-Man Individual Tournament championship and captains the Virginia state team at the East Divisional tournament. Three of the eight members on that team are from Region 1. Team finishes sixth among 10 states competing. New York won.
Club member Bob Kutsher appointed assisitant director of Region 1.
A February 17 letter to the club from secretary Harold Pack says that, prior to the start of the tournament season, Carl Bowser lands a 9-13 and a 10-08 on consecutive days on Lake Anna, then on the third straight day there nets a 10-07 for Don Dewey.
Mar 27: Ken Arnold wins Region 1 tournament on Lk Gaston.
A September 30 letter to the club from secretary Harold Pack speaks of a certified bass of 11 lbs 6 oz caught from behind the old Lynn's Store in Occoquan creek off the Potomac.
Aug: Burl Triplett expresses interest in possibly joining club but doesn't. He eventually became involved in a Region tournament cheating scandal in 1994.
Sept 14: Club, in unusual gesture, sends letter and tackle shop gift certificate to Carlos Sellers expressing appreciation for his dedicated membership. Sellers moves to Hawaii.
Nov: Glen Miller wins a tournament on Chick Lake with Doug Hawkins as a rider. Doug actually had the day’s biggest stringer, but was ineligible to win because it was his first time fishing with the club. Remembering that tournament in a 2004 email, Doug said Glen’s boat wouldn’t start and they got off an hour late after pulling the battery out of Glen’s truck to use in the boat.
Region 1 finishes third at the state 10-man tournament.
Glen Miller joins club in November and wins the first tournament he fishes. It’s his only finish in the money as he leaves the club the next year.
Vepco begins building fishing reefs in Lake Anna with cinder blocks. About 6,000 blocks needed for each reef placed in 30' of water to reach up to 10'.

1984

President: Ken Arnold. Secretary: Carl Bowser. Tournament Director: Bob Kutsher, Rob DuCote. Treasurer: Don Geer.
Club finishes second in Region.
Rob DuCote wins Angler of the Year.
Club places 4 people among top 10 in final region standings -- Ken Arnold 5th, Don Dewey 6th, Rob DuCote' 7th, Bruce Marlow 10th. Bob Kutsher finishes 18th and Carl Bowser 19th.
In February, one of many times club considered establishing a set fee for non-boaters to pay boaters for expenses.
March issue: Bassmaster Magazine publishes article on Carlos Sellers.
March: Club votes to split point totals for ties rather than award both fishermen the highest point total. Ex: 30 pts=1st place...a tie for first would mean each member gets 29.5 pts
April 8: Bruce Marlow wins a tournament on Lake Anna with 1 fish for 1-11, the smallest winning weight in club history. Only 2 fish were caught by the 16 fishermen in the club tournament. Barry Duehring hooked a beaver off a beaver hut with a crankbait during the tournament. Three of the ten region clubs caught no fish at all. Only 19 people in the Region portion of this tournament caught a fish.
Don Dewey, Bob Kutsher win a Virginia Teams tournament on the Rapp.
Oct 24: Club sends letter to U-S Army Engineer District opposing use of chemical diquat to fight hydrilla appearing in Potomac R. Documentation compiled by Colvo included with letter.
Region One finishes 4th in state 10-Man tournament.
Club establishes a season-ending Classic in place of its end-of-year mystery-site tournament.

1985

President: Hugh Smith. Secretary: Carl Bowser. Tournament director: Rob DuCote. Treasurer: Don Geer
Club finishes second in Region.
Club adopts several by-law amendments. Spotted bass now count in tournaments. Payback changed to 50% for 1st place, 30% for 2nd, 20% for 3rd. Tournament fee for 2-day event: $13 plus $2 big fish. For one-day event: $7 plus $1 for big fish. New members pay $6 per month, pro-rated, for dues. Dues set at $60 per year.
Club votes to take stand to protect grass and avoid use of chemicals on grass appearing in Potomac.
Club decides allowing members under 18 to join could cause legal problems in Region tournaments, but encourages invitations to youngsters for club events.
June: Colvo finishes fourth in a Region tournament on the Potomac.
During a tournament on Gaston, Carl Bowser hangs a lure on a limb or fish, and it comes flying back at him out of the water...and somehow nails him in the 'taint' area of his nose - that part that t'aint right or left, but the lil' flab that hangs between the nostrils. T'weren't pretty.

1986

President: Hugh Smith. Secretary: Bruce Marlow. Tournament Director: Don Dewey. Treasurer: Greg Wallis.
Apr 9: Club votes to begin presenting plaques for members who qualify for the state 6-man tournament and Angler of the Year (Mr Bass)
Apr 13: Rob DuCote wins a region tournament on Lake Anna.
Club considers affiliation with American Bass Association.
Hugh Smith wins a region tournament on the Chickahominy River. (78 people pre-registered for the event)
Rob Ducote' becomes first Fairfax member to win a big fish award at a Region tournament.
Carlos Sellers wins Angler of the Year.
Club finishes 2nd in Region standings for the third year in a row. Club has finished 1st or 2nd in the Region 6 consecutive years.

1987

President: Alden Colvocoresses.
Carlos Sellers wins 7 club tournaments. Wins Angler of the Year title with a perfect score.
June 14: Carlos Sellers finishes 2nd in a Region One tournament on Kerr.
Carlos Sellers and Carl Bowser qualify for the Virginia state team.
Club finishes 3rd in Region One.
Battle over hydrilla in Potomac R continues as government agency considers using an insect to control the SAV.

1988

President: Carlos Sellers.
Carlos Sellers and Sandy Rea tie for Angler of the Year.
Carlos Sellers finishes 2nd in the Eastern Divisional Championship on the Potomac River after a buy-in entry.

1989

April: Carlos Sellers finishes 2nd in a Region One tournament on Kerr.
Apr 30: Paul Treusch wins a region tournament on Lake Anna.
May 20-21: Club's 6-Man Team finishes 2nd in the Virginia 6-Man Chapter team tournament at Kerr Reservoir.
Carlos Sellers finishes 4th in the state Mr. Bass tournament at Smith Mountain Lake. He qualifies for the Virginia state team.
Carlos Sellers wins the Eastern B.A.S.S. Regional Championship and qualifies for the spring, 1990 B.A.S.S. National Federation Tournament.
Carlos Sellers and Jack Hawkes win the ABA National Team Championship.
Bill Roberts finishes 2nd as an amateur in a BASS Top 100 Pro-Am on the Potomac.
Sandy Rea wins Angler of the Year.
Tournament Director: Bill Roberts.

1990

Year begins with a new name. Club now known as Fairfax Bass.
Apr 21-22: Club's 6-Man team wins Virginia 6-Man Chapter Team Tournament at Kerr Reservoir. Bill Roberts and Sandy Rea qualify for the Virginia state team.
Carlos Sellers follows his 1989 BASS Regional Championship with a 2nd place finish at the BASS National Federation Tournament on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. He qualifies as the Eastern Div representative for the BassMasters Classic.
Future club member Lee Byrd wins the BASS National Federation Tournament championship, edging Sellers by 2 ounces. Sellers is penalized 2 ounces for a dead fish, or the two fishermen would have tied.
July 7: Club fishes a night tournament on Lake Anna Ponds. Water temperatures are in the 90s.
August: Carlos Sellers and Lee Byrd fish in the BassMasters Classic on the James River. Club member Dave Ochs, working as a press observer, is assigned to ride with Byrd on one of the tournament days. Byrd would eventually move to Virginia in 1992 and join the club for the 1993 season. Sellers finishes 33rd. Byrd finishes 17th -- the highest finish among the Federation qualifiers.
Fishing in the amateur division, Steve Kotlarsz places in the top 5 and Harold Pack places 9th in a BASS Top 100 Pro-Am on Kerr Reservoir.
Carlos Sellers wins Angler of the Year.

1991

Mar 2: Season opening tournament marred by an accident. At takeoff rider Greg Wallis thrown from a boat that goes out of control. Boat spins and hits Wallis in the water, crushing a hand. Wallis undergoes surgery and rehabilitation. Club adopts system to assure everyone has access to the gate key at all times while on the Anna Ponds. Members note that boat driver was thrown into the passenger's seat during the accident, and that his kill switch cord was still connected. Some club members shorten their kill switch cords.
Mar 30: Tough tournament on Kerr. Eleven people catch 4 fish. No one catches more than 1 keeper.
Ron Edmonds wins his first Angler of the Year title.
Bill Roberts qualifies for the Virginia state team.
Former Fairfax 2-time Angler of the Year Sandy Rea dies in his sleep. Fort Belvoir Marina establishes a memorial tournament in his name.

1992

Feb 29: Chuck Shakleton wins the only club tournament he ever won, fishing on the Anna Ponds from the back of Carlos Sellers' boat. Shakleton catches only 3 fish, but they turn out to be the 3 largest fish of the tournament. They weighed 3 lb, 4 lb and 7 lb.
Apr 18: Mike Rigby cracks 20 lbs with a 20-lb 2-oz stringer on Kerr. It takes 17-11 to make the money. 7 of the 12 competitors weigh-in over 11 pounds. 12 fishermen weigh-in 125 pounds -- a 10-pound average in one of the club's most successful tournaments. 5 people weigh-in a fish of at least 5 pounds.
June 14: During a tournament on the Chickahominy River a local resident standing on shore tells Jim Larkin there's an 8-lber under his dock. Larkin casts to the dock and catches an 8-lb 2-oz bass.
July 25: Carlos Sellers fishes his last tournament as a club member and wins by over 5 pounds, weighing in 20-lb 6-oz on the Potomac River. It is the largest confirmed weight in club history. Sellers retires to his home in the south and begins fishing B.A.S.S. tournaments.
Jeff Warter wins the last 3 club tournaments of the year to tie Bill Roberts for Angler of the Year.
Oct: Bill Roberts wins Virginia State Ten-Man tournament on the James River.
Club places 4th in Region One. Placing improves to 3rd when Virginia Gentlemen forfeits its 3rd-place finish after one of its members is banned from tournaments following a cheating scandal.
Club adopts a 1-pound penalty for violation of any state law during a tournament after Jeff Warter inadvertently brings 6 fish to the scale during a region weigh-in.

1993

Club wins its 4th Region One championship.
Club places 8 fishermen in the top 31 among 341 fishermen in the final Region One standings (Lee Byrd 3rd, Dave Thomas 1th, Ron Edmonds 14th, Jim Larkin 18th, Bill Roberts 21st, Dave Ochs 23rd, Harold Pack 24th, and Pete Herbst 31st). Byrd goes on to finish 15th in the Regional Classic (10-Man tournament) Oct 30-31 at Smith Mountain.
President: Dan Hill. Secretary: Harold Pack. Tournament Director: Dave Ochs. Treasurer: Rick Jerman.
Former club member Don Jones, now with Virginia Gentlemen, wins Region One individual season championship.
Mar 27: Dave Thomas becomes second club member to win a Region One big fish award. He lands a 7-lb 8-oz (scale weight) bass from Lake Anna. It's the biggest fish caught in a region tournament this year.
Mar 27: 17 club fishermen catch only 13 fish in a Lake Anna Region tournament, but those fish average over 4 pounds apiece. There were two 3-lbers, one 4, two 5's, two 6's, and one 8-lber.
Apr 3-4: One of the toughest tournaments in club history. A record mid-March snowstorm leaves Kerr 16 feet over normal pool. In a 2-day tournament 14 fishermen catch 8 fish. Ten people strike out both days.
Region One begins using a lie-detector at tournaments.
Ron Edmonds goes on a big-fish binge in the first 4 tournaments of the year. He catches a 7-8 on the Anna Ponds, an 8-0 (board weight) on Lake Anna, a 4-14 on Kerr, and a 6-1 on the Potomac. In the first 4 tournaments he catches just 9 keepers, but they weigh 38-lb 10-oz -- an average of over 4 pounds per fish.
June: Dave Ochs finishes 2nd in Region 1 tournament on the James River.
Aug 7: Club fishes evening tournament, 4pm to 12am, on Lake Anna.
Sept 12: Rick Jerman 2nd, Clark Mulligan 3rd, Jim Larkin 8th, Harold Pack 13th in Region tournament on Potomac.
Ron Edmonds wins his 2nd Angler of the Year title.

1994

President: Dan Hill. Secretary: Clark Mulligan. Tournament Director: Dave Ochs. Treasurer: Rick Jerman.
Bill Roberts wins 5 of the club's 10 tournaments on the way to his 2nd Angler of the Year title. He finishes 10th in the Region standings and qualifies for the 10-man tournament. Rick Jerman finishes 20th in the Region out of 329 anglers.
Aug: Dave Ochs earns trophy and a check by rallying from 48th place on the last day to finish 24th in a BASS Top 100 Pro-Am on Lake St. Clair in Michigan.
Sept: Bill Roberts earns trophy and a check with a 22nd-place finish in a BASS Top 100 Pro-Am on the Connecticut River.
Bill Roberts qualifies for a Red Man regional through the Northeast Division.
Dave Thomas hauls in 20-03 on day 1 on his way to a 32-9 two-day total that won the Classic. His 5 fish on day 1 were that day's 5 biggest fish.
Because the size of the 6-Man state tournament has grown to well over 600 entries, the tournament is split into 2 divisions on two different weekends.

1995

Feb: Club member Fred Wingfield wins Ranger boat in a drawing at Bassarama in Richmond.
Ron Edmonds wins 2 Region tournaments -- March 25 on Kerr Reservoir, and June 17 on the Potomac River.
Mar 25: Dave Ochs becomes 3rd Fairfax member to win a Region 1 big fish award with a 5-lb 12-oz bass (scale weight) at Kerr Reservoir.
Apr 2: Australian Pete Chapman, who has never caught more than 1 bass in a day's fishing in his life, catches 2 in Saturday practice - then catches 15 keepers in a Sunday tournament, weighs in over 16 pounds, and wins both the tournament and the big fish award.
Aug 5: Rick Jerman places in the money for the fourth straight tournament -- the first time that's been done in the 1990s.
Aug 5: 18 fishermen weigh in 182-lb 8-oz -- first time in 3 years club has averaged over 10 lbs per contestant. 15 of the 18 fishermen weigh-in over 9 lbs.
Charter member Harold Pack goes inactive after 18 years.
Club places 3rd in Region One.
Bill Roberts wins his 2nd straight Angler of the Year title and his 3rd in 4 years, edging Ron Edmonds by one point. Roberts qualifies for his 8th consecutive 6-Man team appearance.
Dave Thomas wins his 3rd Club Classic and his 2nd in a row.

1996

Charter member Jack Hawkes goes inactive after 19 years in the club.
After the snowiest winter of the century on the east coast the club's season-opening tournament on the Lake Anna Ponds the first weekend in March is postponed because of cold and threat of snow. 3 weeks later 10 of 16 people strike out in a Region 1 tournament at Kerr. The 6 people who catch fish catch only 7. About 200 of the 250 people in the Region tournament strike out. Catching 2.6 pounds earns a Region check. Fred Wingfield wins club division with 3-09, the 2nd-lowest winning weight in club's records. Bill Roberts' 2-02 for big fish is 3rd smallest big-fish award-winner in club records.
May 4: Fred Wingfield earns trophy with 2nd place finish in Region 1 tournament on the Chickahominy River.
May 18-19: Bill Roberts becomes second Fairfax Club member to win the Six-Man Virginia Chapter Team State Championship. (Carlos Sellers, 1983). Bill's winning weight at Kerr Reservoir is 24.03 lbs. It is Bill's second state championship (1992 Ten-Man).
June 18-20: Bill Roberts, Jeff Benfield, Mark Wright and Dave Ochs fish the amateur division in the inaugural Forrest Wood Open at Kerr. Roberts draws 2 pros who eventually make the cut to the top 10 and finishes 29th, earning $250. Benfield also finishes in the money, earning back his $200 entry fee.
August: Charter member Harold Pack returns to club.
September: Scheduled Region 1 Tournament on James River canceled because of floods from remnants of Hurricane Fran. Club switches its own tournament to Lake Anna that weekend.
September: Bill Roberts leads the Virginia contingent at Raystown Lake in Pennsylvania and becomes the 3rd club member in history to qualify for the B.A.S.S. National Federation Tournament.
Sept 26-28: Fred Wingfield finishes 90th in amateur division of B.A.S.S. Top 100 Pro-Am on the Potomac River.
Bill Roberts wins 3rd consecutive Angler of the Year title. Ron Edmonds finishes 2nd for 3rd straight year. And Bill edges Ron by 1 point for the 2nd consecutive year. It is Bill's 4th Angler of the Year championship.

1997

Mar 22: Fred Wingfield earns a trophy with a 3rd-place finish in a Region 1 tournament at Kerr.
Apr30-May 1: Pete Robbins finishes 14th among 149 fishermen in the amateur division of the FLW tournament at Kerr. Robbins led the amateur division with 12+ pounds following day 1 after catching the only limit weighed in by an amateur. He drew a fisherman not on fish for day two and struck out, missing the top 10 cutoff by just over 1 pound. He cashed a check for $500.
May 1-3: Bill Roberts fishes in B.A.S.S. Federation National on Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana. On day 1 he catches 4 for 4-15, on day 2 he catches 4 for 4-14, and on day 3 he catches 5 for 14-7. His last day limit includes the tournament's biggest fish, a 6-06. Bill rallies from 32nd place to finish 11th overall. He finishes 2nd among the 12 Eastern Region contenders. Pennsylvania's David Hall had 29-7 to beat Bill's 24-5 for a spot in the BassMasters Classic. Bill earns $500 for his finish and another $500 for the third day's big fish.
June 25-26: Bill Roberts finishes 68th and Pete Robbins 13th in amateur division of FLW Forrest Wood Open at Lake Minnetonka, MN. Pete qualifies for FLW national championship.
In controversial decision, tournament director decides to not enforce dead-fish penalty against three club members in a Region tournament. Club does not override the decision.
Aug: Ron Edmonds, Jeff Benfield and Steve Zajkowsky fish the amateur division of a B.A.S.S. Top 100 Pro-Am on the Potomac. Ron finishes 40th, Jeff 44th, Steve 56th.
Sept 7: Dave Ochs wins Region 1 Big Fish trophy with a 5.34 lb largemouth at the James River. It's Dave's second career Region 1 Big Fish award. Winning weight in Region division is 8.8 lbs -- smallest winning region weight in memory.
Sept 17: Colvo has sold his house in Mantua section of Fairfax. Club holds its last meeting in Colvo's basement after 18 years of meeting at his home. Meetings moved to Skinny Fats restaurant. Club presents Colvo a rod and reel for his service and votes to award him a lifetime membership with no annual dues.
Oct 4-5: Jeff Benfield finishes 2nd in the Region One Classic on the Potomac.
Bill Roberts wins his 5th Angler of the Year award and his 4th in a row. He wins the title by 1 point for the 3rd year in a row.
Club finishes 3rd out of 30 clubs in Region 1 final standings. Club has finished in the top 3 in five of the last six years.
A guest wins the big fish award on day 1 of the Classic. Dave Thomas' brother, John Arnado, lands a 4-10.
The Classic goes down to the last minute on the Potomac River. Rick Jerman catches a keeper at 3:59 p.m. off Leesylvania rocks to beat the 4 p.m. check in. He wins the Classic by 9 ounces.
Pete Robbins fishes the FLW Championship at Lake Ferguson, Mississippi. Strikes out behind Paul Elias on day one. Catches 3 for 8 lbs behind Jack Bell of Pa. on day 2 and finishes 21st.

1998

Club officers: Harold Pack, president...Bill Roberts, tournament director....Jeff Teague, Mike Phillips, treasurer...Pete Robbins, secretary.
Club meetings alternate between Harold Pack’s house and Randy Reehm’s house.
Mar 11: Club adopts rule changes. Region scale weights will replace board weights in Region one tournaments. Big fish will still be measured on the board. A tiebreaker system based on weights in head-to-head competition is adopted for breaking ties in the season's final standings. The Angler of the Year award is an exception to that. If there’s a tie for the title, all anglers tying continue to get trophies. Weights are recorded in the record book by hundredths of a pound instead of pounds and ounces.
Apr 4-5: Bill Roberts qualifies as the alternate for the Virginia team headed to September's Eastern Divisional at Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire. He finishes third in the Mr. Bass state tournament on the Chickahominy River.
May 15-16: Bill Roberts qualifies for Virginia state team by finishing 3rd among 374 at state 6-man tourney. Tom Mutton Sr (Reg 1) wins with 25.95 lbs. Bill third with 25.13. Dave Ochs 139th (10.12 lbs), Mike Phillips 189th (7.45 lbs), Ron Edmonds 243rd (5.28 lbs), Pete Robbins 301st (2.51 lbs), Harold Pack 0 lbs. Our partners from Triangle Bassmasters in Roanoke finished 4th in team standings by 2/100ths of a pound. Fairfax finished 31st among 57 clubs. Lake Chesdin 1st with 93 lbs, Lake Country 2nd and Virginia Rangers 3rd with weights in mid 80s.
Aug 26-28: Jeff Benfield wins $500 and trophy, ties for 28th place in amateur division of B.A.S.S. Top 150 tournament on the Potomac.
Sept 23-25: Bill Roberts fishes Eastern Divisional at Lake Winnepesaukee, NH. Finishes 8th among Virginia’s 12 entries with 9 fish for 16 lb 10 oz. Jerry Skinner of Lynchburg 1st among Virginians with 34-01. Bill finishes 94th among 178 entries overall.
Oct 4: On second day of Region 1 Classic, no one uses the club board to measure a fish for the big fish award, so no award is given for that day.
Jeff Benfield and Pete Robbins tie for Angler of the Year.
Dave Thomas’ boat spins a prop in final hour of final regular-season tournament and he misses weigh-in, voiding his catch. Had he weighed-in, he may have had enough weight to change two things in the final standings. Dave possibly would have moved past Bill Roberts for the third boater’s spot on the 6-Man team. And Dave’s result may have taken a vital point away from Jeff Benfield, giving Pete Robbins sole possession of Angler of the Year.
Club finishes 8th among 32 clubs in Region One.
Pete Herbst creates club website.

1999

Club officers: Harold Pack, president. Mike Phillips, secretary. Jeff Teague, treasurer. Bill Roberts, tournament director.
Jan: Harold Pack finishes 30th in amateur division of B.A.S.S. Top 150 Pro-Am on Florida’s Lake Toho.
Feb: Region 1 votes to split into 2 regions. Fairfax Bass assigned to new Region 9, along with Big Bite Bassmasters, Bull Run, East Coast, Ebbtide Hawks, Five Alive, Mid Atlantic, OBC, Occoquan, Outlaw, Plank Road 6, Renegade, Riverbend, Sterling and Woodbridge Bass Anglers.
Apr 10-11: Pete Robbins finishes 8th (20.60 lbs) and Jeff Benfield 170th (1.49 lbs) in field of about 230 anglers in the Mr. Bass state tournament on the Potomac. John Maney of Region One’s Lucky Seven club wins with 27.76 lbs. Pete won the tournament’s big fish award with a 6.26 pounder. Pete won $950 (100 for Day 1 big fish, 300 for overall big fish, 550 for 8th place). Jeff won $50 for weighing in the smallest 1-fish catch.
Apr 17: Bill Roberts finishes 4th in field of 284 at Region 1 tournament on Kerr.
May 1-2: 6-Man team fares poorly under windy, post-cold front conditions at Kerr. In field of just over 300 fisherman, Pete Robbins is 168th (2 for 3.66 lbs), Harold Pack 176th (3/3.49), Jeff Benfield 180th (2/3.26), Bill Roberts 219th (3/2.08), Dave Ochs 223rd (1/2.00), Mike Phillips unranked (0/0.00).
Aug 7: Former club member Carl Bowser, a 2-time club Angler of the Year (1980, 1985) died of lung cancer. He was a former D.C. policeman. He was opininated, ornery, hilarious, and one of those wonderful people who would do anything, and often did, for a fellow club member.
Sept 22: Club votes to reinstate a big fish award. Mike Phillips and Bill Hutton were disqualified from a Region tournament because they had to leave the water during a Chickahominy tournament to fetch Mike’s truck from a repair garage. Region rules govern their club tournament catch. However since Region rules do not govern the club’s big fish award, and since no club rules were broken, club voted to count their big fish catches. So, despite having their total catch disqualified, Mike won the club big fish award.
Oct 2-3: Club fishes its final tournament as a member of Region One. Jeff Benfield (5th place in season standings) and Dave Thomas (20th) qualify for the Region’s 20-Man team out of 382 fishermen in the region.
Jeff Benfield finished 16th and Dave Thomas tied for 126th out of the 156 fishermen at the state’s 20-man Fall Classic on the Chickahominy River.
Jeff Benfield wins 2nd straight Angler of the Year title.
Club finishes 4th out of 31 clubs in final year in Region One.

2000

Jan/Feb: A series of unusual issues open the year. Club is now a member of the new Region 9 in Virginia. In January, Region 9 votes to fish a team format. Club is against the format. In order to preserve the club’s option of fishing individual events, several club members, led by Bill Roberts, revive an old Region 1 club called Top Six that several club members had tried, but failed, to establish in the mid 1990s. About a dozen club members join Top Six and keep their Fairfax BASS membership, allowing them to fish in both regions. As part of this move, and thinking that Region 9 would fish team events, the club decides to establish its 2000 club schedule separate from the Region 9 events. So Region tournaments do not count as club events this year. Club also suspends the Club Classic for one year and fishes it as a regular-season event. After Top Six is established and the club schedule is set, Region 9 changes its mind and votes to fish this year in an individual-weight format.
April 8: Bill Roberts wins a Region 1 tournament at Kerr fishing as a member of Top Six.
Club has its best 6-man showing in several years, finishing sixth out of 63 clubs.
Club has its worst season in region competition since the club finished last out of 11 clubs in its inaugural year, 1979. Fishing in both region 1 and 9, the club was 12th out of 13 clubs in Region 9, and placed 13th out of 17 clubs in Region 1. This was the first time since 1979 the club finished outside the top 25% of teams in region competition. Club participation in region events plummets under new format, sometimes to as few as 3 to 6 entries.
At end of season, club votes to move back to Region 1. Technically the club, in a series of steps, dissolves Fairfax Bass in Region 9, moves everyone’s membership into Top Six in Region 1, then renames Top Six as Fairfax Bass.

2001

Club begins year planning to fish only in Region 1. However, several members decide to continue membership in Region 9. As a result, the original Fairfax Bass Club, renamed last year as Top Six, returns in Region 1 to its original name of Fairfax Bass Club. Fairfax 2 is established as the club’s Region 9 affiliate. Membership in Fairfax 2 is optional for club members. All club tournaments are fished as part of Fairfax Bass Club in Region 1. Those members choosing to fish as Fairfax 2 in Region 9 are fishing only region events. The Fairfax 2 Six-Man team will be based on Region 9 results.
Pete Robbins rallies with an 11-09 limit on the last day of a B.A.S.S Pro-Am at Toledo Bend in Lousiana to finish 18th with 14 lbs 1 oz, winning a trophy and $550.
April 21, Bill Roberts wins Region 1 tournament at Kerr Reservoir with weight of 14.29 pounds. It’s his second career region victory.
May 10, Pete Robbins wins Region 1 tournament on the Chickahominy River with a weight of 10.02 pounds. He’s the tenth club member to win a Region tourney.
September 9, Pete Robbins becomes fourth member in club history to win a Region big fish award, landing a 4.78 LM on the James River.
Pete Robbins wins his second Angler of the Year title. He comes within 2 points of a perfect score, winning 5 tournaments, including 4 in a row at one point.
Pete Herbst closes the season by winning the last 4 tournaments, including the Classic. The two strings of 4 straight wins are the longest such strings in the club’s records. (Complete records for Carlos Sellers’ 7-win season of 1987 are missing. Previous record of 3 straight wins was shared by Jeff Warter in 1992 and Bill Roberts in 1994).
Pete Herbst finishes in the money in 7 straight tournaments (including the Classic), breaking a club record of 6 straight money finishes set earlier in the season by Pete Robbins. Robbins had a personal string of 7 straight money finishes, but he missed one tournament in that stretch. (Dave Thomas had 5 straight money finishes in 1996).

2002

Pete Herbst wins his first Angler of the Year award. Four different anglers have won the award the past four years. Pete wins AOL after borrowing boats from Dan Hill and Rick Jerman following loss of his boat in a mid-season accident.
Bill Roberts wins his second club Classic championship with the fourth heaviest weight in classic history, 25 lbs 14 oz. At this point, he has three of nine heaviest 2-day weights in club history.
John Hutchins’ big fish of the year, a 6-1 from a June 30 Potomac tournament, is the first time in 10 years the BF award is won in a summer tournament. Only the second time the BF award has come from the Potomac (Jeff Warter, 5-7. 1991).
John Hutchins becomes first club member since Lee Byrd in 1993 to win at least 2 tournaments in his rookie season.
Club had planned 2-day tournament on Pamunkey/Mattaponi rivers in mid-October. Long discussion ensued in early October about whether to fish both days on 1 river, or reduce tournament to 1 day. After long discussion, club ultimately decided to stick with original play of 2 days, 1 on each water, to avoid setting precedent of mid-season schedule changes.
Club finishes second in Region, first top 3 finish since 1997 and the 14th time in 24 years club has finished among top three.
Ben Richardson becomes 5th club member to win a Region big fish award (4.44 lbs, Potomac, October 5.). Club members have won a region BF award 6 times.
National Bass Guide Service carries picture and story on its Web site of a 10 pound, 1 ounce largemouth caught from the Spoils in the Potomac on April 12 by Gary Kincheloe of Fairfax. Reportedly biggest bass from the river in decades, topping a 9-01 caught in 1975.

2003

Mike Phillips, president and secretary. Pete Robbins, tournament director. Chad Hallett, treasurer.
Two Region/Club tournaments lost to bad weather:
Mar 30: Region One tournament at Gaston canceled on day of tournament because of strong wind and light snow. Region votes not to reschedule tournament, but to give show points to those who entered. Club tourney is not rescheduled.
Sept 21: James River tournament canceled on Tuesday prior to scheduled Sunday date following Hurricane Isabel. Tourney is not rescheduled. Club chooses to count 5 of 8 tournaments to decide season awards instead of 6 out of 10.
Apr 12, Ben Richardson wins a club big fish award on Kerr when he gets a backlash, picks out his line, makes a long blind cast into the middle of a cove to clear and straighten his line. When he starts reeling in, there’s a 4-03 on the spinnerbait. As a true chaplain, Ben called it a gift from the Lord on a tough day.
May/June: Pete Herbst and Rick Jerman win back to back Region One tournaments, two weeks apart. Rick also becomes sixth club member ever to win a Region big fish award. (seventh overall time a club member has won the award). Rick’s win is his 6th in the last 11 club tournaments. His 18.51 pounds is the 7th largest weight in club history and, according to available club records, is the heaviest weight ever brought to the scales by a club member in a region tournament. Also, Rick’s 6.25 lb bass for Region Big Fish on the Potomac on June 15 proves to be the region’s big fish of the year.
19 of the club’s 40 single-day blanks during the regular season come in the 2-day Region classic on Anna.
Club finishes 4th out of 16 clubs in region.
Rick Jerman becomes 5th different person in past 5 years to win Angler of the Year.

2004

Pete Robbins is club president, Ben Richardson is tournament director, Chad Hallett is club treasurer. Secretary duties shared by Robbins, Mike Phillips and Mike Semenec.
Club wins its 5th Region Championship, placing first out of 16 clubs in Region 1. It’s the second top-three finish for the club in two years and the 15th time in 26 years the club has finished in the top three in the region. Pete Robbins was 10th in the region season standings.
May 23: Jeff Warter earns a trophy with a 3rd place finish in a region tournament on Lake Anna.
Snakehead invasion in Potomac captures headlines through the summer.
Sept 12: Three club members finish in top 10 in region tournament on James/Chick: Pete Herbst 2nd, Jeff Warter 4th, John Robinson 7th. (Mike Longerbeam 11th).
Oct: Pete Robbins becomes first club member to win the Region Classic. Bill Roberts catches a 7.88 in that tournament to win Region and club big fish awards for the year. A club member has won Region big fish award two straight years.
Nov: Bill Roberts wins Club Classic on Anna Ponds with 31-08, second heaviest 2-day stringer in club history. Pete Robbins second with 28 lbs, 7th heaviest 2-day weight.
Minor conflict develops over use of Leesylvania for tournaments. A letter from Va. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation District Manager William Foster to region director Bill Haire said in part, “the park will issue the same number of dated entrance passes to the tournament director to issue to his participants prior to the tournament date. Participants will be required to present this entrance pass in order to enter the park before 6:00 a.m. on the day of the tournament. Anyone not presenting this pass will be turned around and required to wait until the normal 6:00 a.m. opening time before being allowed in the park.”

2005

Pete Robbins, president. Bill Roberts, tournament director. Chad Hallett, treasurer. Secretarial duties shared by Robbins, Mike Phillips and Mike Semenec.
Club finished 2nd in Region One out of 15 clubs. It’s the third straight top-three finish for the club. It’s also the 16th time in 27 years the club has finished in the top three in the region. Mike Longerbeam finished 7th, Pete Robbins 17th, John Robinson 20th and Bill Roberts 22nd in the individual region season standings.
First half dues set at $50.
Founding member Harold Pack, club member since 1977 except for a brief hiatus from mid 1995 to mid 1996, resigns from club, retires and moves to Florida.
Jan: Club Classic renamed the Colvo Classic in honor of longtime founding member Alden Colvocoresses.
April: Kelby Waldrip becomes second person in club history to win his first tournament with the club (Glen Miller, 1983).
May: Bill Roberts finishes 5th at the state Chapter Team tournament, missing earning a spot on the state team by one place. He wins the Ranger Award at the tournament as the highest-placing Ranger boat owner. Later in the year one of the qualifiers withdraws, allowing Bill to join the state team as an alternate. At the Mid-Atlantic Divisional on Cobbosseecontee Lake in Maine in September, he finished 8th among the 12 Virginia anglers and 48th overall among the 85 contestants. Virginia won the team championship.
June: Pete Robbins and Rick Jerman finish fifth and sixth in a Region tournament on the Potomac.
Sept: Chad Hallett finishes 2nd in a Region tournament on Lake Gaston.
Oct 2: Two years to the day that he caught the big fish in a Region tournament on the Potomac, Bill Roberts again catches the big fish in a region tournament on the Potomac.
Pete Robbins, Mike Longerbeam, Bill Roberts and Aaron Hobbs qualify for the region 20-man team. Longerbeam finishes 21st out of 178 fishermen. Roberts finishes 120th. Robinson strikes out and ties for 122nd. Hobbs chooses not to fish.
Club has 4 people in top 19 at Region One classic – Pete Robbins 6th, Aaron Hobbs 10th, Pete Herbst 11th, and Bill Roberts 19th.
Ron Edmonds win season club’s big fish award for the second time. His big fish, 6-2, comes from the Potomac – the third time in four years the river has produced the season’s biggest fish.
In November, a long-running dispute over dues between ESPN/BASS and The Bass Federation that represents federation fishermen comes to a head. On November 18, BASS revokes the membership of TBF officers, which includes Virginia Bass Federation president Roger Fitchett. At a subsequent meeting, Region One decides to stand with TBF as federation officials decide the future of the organization. Some Fairfax club members, while staying with the club and standing by TBF, retain their BASS membership by sending in dues individually.

2006

President, Mike Longerbeam. Secretary, Mike Semenec, Treasurer, Aaron Hobbs. Tournament director John Robinson. Robinson steps down because of other commitments halfway through the season and Jason McAnally steps into the post.
On January 13, The Bass Federation and FLW Outdoors form a new alliance. Federation chapters are now are part of FLW instead of B.A.S.S.
Jan: Club establishes an emeritus status for select former members. Details to be adopted later. Club adopts a vision statement: "Consistently achieve a top three finish in Region 1, while maintaining a fishing club that improves each member's fishing skills, promotes fun, benefits the community, and promotes fellowship and camaraderie."
Club wins its sixth Region championship and second in three years.
Rick Jerman, Duncan Maccubbin and Pete Robbins finish first, second and fourth in the final Region season individual standings.
Rick Jerman wins his second Fairfax Angler of the Year title. He also wins the Region One individual championship with finishes of first, third, third, fourth and 12th places.
Club places four fishermen in top 12, including Rick Jerman first and Brian Thompson second, in season-opening Region tournament on Anna. Thompson wins big fish award with a 7.58.
Club places four fishermen in top 8 at second Region tournament on Kerr - Duncan Maccubbin 3rd, Rick Jerman 4th, Jason McAnally 7th and Pete Herbst 8th.
Club places four among the top 12 in third Region tourney on the Chickahominy River, including winner Peter Robbins.
Steve Demko places 63rd (6 lb 5 oz) as an amateur in the B.A.S.S. Capitol Clash on the Potomac River in mid-August.
Club places five people in top ten of Region tournament on Gaston in September.
Duncan Maccubbin's 0.92 lb bass wins $50 and the Small fish award at the Virginia Bass Federation's Fall Classic on the James and Chick rivers.

2007

Tuesday, March 27, 2007: Fairfax Bass lost a part of its heart, soul and history. Alden Colvocoresses died this morning, two weeks after suffering a stroke. The Colvo Classic is named after him. Colvo was club founding member and led an amazing life. He received a military burial with full honors on May 31 and is buried in section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery.

President, Mike Longerbeam. Treasurer, Scott Judd. Tournament Director, Jason McAnally.
April: Fairfax places six fishermen in the top 10 of a Region tournament on Kerr. Bill Roberts wins the Region big fish award with a 4.30 largemouth.
May: Club enjoyed one of its most successful tournaments. Only 7 people went to Lake Gaston, and they averaged over 14 pounds per person on tournament day. Dave Ochs broke the 15-year-old record for largest stringer with a haul of 20 lbs, 13 oz, and Bill Roberts logged the 6th-largest stringer in club history with 19 lbs, 8 oz. Pete Robbins had 16-11 and Chad Hallett caught 15-5. Hallett and Ochs, fishing together, set a club record of 36 lbs, 2 oz from one boat.
May: Scott Judd finishes second (21.86 lbs) and Bill Roberts third behind winner Mike Cumberledge (22.24) of Back Bay Bassmasters at state 6-man tournament. Judd and Roberts both qualify for state team. Pete Robbins finishes 16th and Jason McAnally 40th out of 222 fisherman to lead Fairfax to a 2nd place team finish. Bill won Ranger Cup title in the event.
Bill Roberts qualifies for the FLW Championship as a co-angler through the Ranger owners tournament.
June: Bill Roberts wins Region 1 tournament on the Chickahominy River. Duncan Maccubbin places third.
June 24: Brian Thompson, Bill Roberts, Pete Robbins and Jeff Warter finish two through five in a Region tournament on the Potomac.
June: There was discussion at a club meeting over what to do regarding a late entry fee payment. The tournament committee was formed to consider. Here is the committee's report as filed by Pete Robbins:

"Pursuant to Article III, Section 1(e) of the Club Bylaws, Mike Longerbeam appointed a Rules Committee consisting of himself (President), Jason McAnally (TD), and myself (member-at-large) to consider whether any penalty should be levied against Jeff Teague and/or Larry Trapp for failure to pay tournament entry fees in a timely fashion for the Chickahominy tournament. The rule at issue was Article II, Section 5, which reads in pertinent part: Members must pay tournament entry fees prior to fishing a club tournament. The club Treasurer must receive tournament entry fees a minimum of 24 hours prior to the tournament day. Under no circumstances will entry fees be collected the day of the tournament. Jeff and Larry did not pay at all prior to the tournament. That was not disputed. The question at issue is whether a penalty should apply and, if so, what it should be. It was also pointed out that Ron Edmonds handed a check to someone (unclear who) at this past weekend's Potomac tournament. Although I was not at the last meeting, it is my understanding that Jeff's argument was that he should not be dq'ed or otherwise penalized because the rule refers specifically to "a club tournament" while the event in question was a region tournament, the rules of which would supercede any conflicting club rules. While the committee disagreed with his interpretation, we do believe that there is enough ambiguity in the existing rule, and enough inconsistency in its past application, that Jeff, Larry and Ron's catches should count in these past 2 events. The committee recommended and the club agreed, that the rule does not need to be changed or amended, but that going forward a literal interpretation shall apply. Funds must be in the hands of the treasurer 24 hours in advance. In cases where the treasurer is unavailable or away from home prior to the tournament, then a good faith effort (e.g., in the mail in a timely fashion with a contemporaneous email describing such effort) shall suffice. Payment at the ramp will no longer be accepted. The club officers may have reason to allow exceptions under exigent circumstances, but those will only come under the most extraordinary of circumstances. It was recommended that the treasurer and/or tournament director send out an email several days prior to each event announcing who is not paid in full. This would give members a reminder and time to comply. However, failure of officers to provide additional notice shall not excuse any member's failure to pay in a timely fashion. You know when the tournaments are -- it's a simple task to get payment in on time. If you think you're likely to forget to pay, then go ahead and send a check for the remaining entry fees ($50/day for all region events; $15/day for club-only events; $2 for each tournament missed to fish the club classic). Any excess will be refunded at the end of the year. We will also investigate setting up a Paypal link to the club's bank account so that members may transfer money online. This may require a minor surcharge to account for Paypal's fees."
August: Bill Roberts placed 51st in the non-boater division of the FLW Forrest Wood Cup.
September: Bill Roberts places 11th overall and 2nd by 8 ounces on the Virginia team (87 competitors) at the three-day, FLW Mid-Atlantic Divisional on the Nanticoke River. Scott Judd was 73rd overall, and 11th on the Virginia team.
October: Rick Jerman finished 2nd, Pete Robbins 7th, Brian Thompson 9th and Chad Hallett 10th in the Region Classic on the Potomac.
Fairfax Bass finished 2nd in the Region team standings, the 4th straight year with a top two finish. Brian Thompson was 7th, Rick Jerman 12th and Jason McAnally 16th in the Region individual standings.
October: Brian Thompson placed 15th, Jason McAnally 16th and Mike Longerbeam 56th out of 144 fishermen in the Virginia Fall Classic.

2008

Jan 26: Maryland fisherman Justin Riley caught a Maryland state and Chesapeake tidal record 11.18 lb largemouth from the Potomac on a blade bait at the spoils during a tournament (his best five were over 26 lbs).