For a period of nearly ten (10) years, Robert E. Hougham and Russell Lamb teamed up to purchase nearly One Thousand (1,000.00) acres of bottom land in Trafalgar, Indiana. A dam was constructed in the mid 1960's and approximately Five Hundred (500) acres of bottom land officially became Lamb Lake in February of 1967. Lamb Lake boasts the second highest waterfall in the state and is the home to approximately Two Hundred (200) full time residents.
On November 4, 2006, the Lamb Lake Bass Masters celebrated 25 years of tremendous bass fishing, camaraderie and charity. The Club was founded on November 4, 1981 by Dick Wallace, John Wilson and Pete Reed. The "Founding Fathers" were a group of friends who lived on Lamb Lake in Trafalgar, Indiana.
Since its inception, the Lamb Lake Bass Masters have grown into a strong club under the leadership of many talented individuals over the years. Membership averages about thirty (30) members.
In addition to actively competing in approximately eleven (11) club tournaments each year and the Indiana Bass Federation Top 8 program, the Lamb Lake Bass Masters have sponsored annual kids fishing tournaments and with the help of the Lamb Lake Estates Lot Owners Association, they have raised approximately Seventy Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) for the benefit of needy local families in the past fifteen (15) years. The primary means of giving has been through the Clothe-A-Child program where members of the club select needy families with children and take the parents shopping to assist in buying clothing and food for them. The funding is accomplished by the participation of the entire Lamb Lake community in an annual Hog Roast/Monte Carlo night. The Lamb Lake association members donate action items and a live auction is conducted after dinner.
The Lamb Lake Bass Masters also sponsor the annual Kid's Fishing Tournament. The kids focus on panfish and live bait, but special prizes are always available for the kids that bring in bass to the scales. The weigh-in is conducted just like a normal bass tournament and the kids love it. Every participant gets prizes that are donated each year by the members and The Outdoorsman Sport Shop. Outdoorsman owners, Gary, Winnie and Doug McPherson have lived on Lamb Lake or owned property on Lamb Lake for many years and have been generous sponsors of Lamb Lake Bass Master events.
This year's top 8 was:
- Mike Vertesch
- David Campbell
- Brian Addis
- Jeff Cole
- Scott Mitchell
- Keith Antell
- Dave McPeak
- Gary Dickey
The 2006 season turned out to be an exciting one. A new club single day total tournament weight record of 258 pounds was set in April with the top three (3) places all weighing in over twenty (20) pounds each. The first Lamb Lake Bass Master to make the Indiana State Team, Mike Vertesch, competed with the Indiana State Team at the Northern Divisional in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin. In club competition, Mike Vertesch rallied from a ten (10) pound deficit to win the last tournament of the year and secure his third Mr. Bass title in a row. The other top eight (8) spots were all hotly contested all year long.
Other significant historical club records include:
Most Mr. Bass titles: Rob Campbell (8)
Most Consecutive Mr. Bass titles: Mike Vertesch (3; 2004, 2005, 2006)
Heaviest single day stringer: Gary Dickey (6 fish, 32-10, 1995)
Biggest fish: Rob Campbell (10-0, 1995)
Heaviest single season individual total weight: Rob Campbell (112-0, 1999)
Most regular tournament wins in a single season (Rob Campbell (6; 1999)
Mr. Bass titles with no Tournament Wins: Gary Dickey, 1997, L. B. Craghead, 1998
At the annual awards banquet, the club recognized Dick Wallace as a Founding Father of the club and promoter of fishing, friendship and charity and presented him with a special award of recognition.
Mike Vertesch, 2006 Mr. Bass (left)
and Founding Father, Dick Wallace (right)
Dick is a talented competitor and has been a participating member since founding the club. Dick and the entire members of the Lamb Lake Bass Masters are looking forward to the 2007 season which normally kicks off the second or third week in March at home on Lamb Lake.
|
