Cilladi Pulls In Big Bag At Big O
CLEWISTON, Fla. – Anthony J. Cilladi won the Boater Division in the American Bass Anglers Open Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, Florida South Division 7 season opener, held Jan. 28, 2023, on a very windy Lake Okeechobee.
Launching at Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina Resort in Clewiston, the angler from Oviedo beat the other 60 boaters with a 5-bass tournament limit weighing 28.17 pounds. That gave him a 5.63-pound average. He greatly upped his average by landing a 7.08-pound bruiser.
“I ran down south and threw a ChatterBait all day,” Cilladi detailed. “I only caught seven bass, but when I had a bite, it was a good one. I started in another area trying to get on schooling fish, but probably about 30 other boats were already there. I think the wind helped me today. Whenever the wind picked up a little, I’d get a bite. It was an awesome day.”
In any ABA Open Series event, Presented by Caymas Boats, with 60 or more boaters entered, the Boater Division victor wins a minimum of $5,000. Since 61 boaters participated in this first divisional event of the season, Cilladi went home with a check worth five grand. In any other tournament with fewer than 60 boats, the top 20 percent of the registered anglers each receive cash payouts based on the total number of entries.
Less than three-quarters of a pound off the pace, Nicholas R. Hoinig from Port Saint Lucie took second among the boaters. He also landed his 5-bass limit for a 27.44-pound sack. He capped that catch with a 7.19-pound kicker to collect $1,000.
“I had a couple of big fish come up and look at my popping frog, but they didn’t get it,” Hoinig reported. “I ran north and was around fish all day. I was just one bite away from the lead. I caught about 30 fish total.”
Roland L. Smith from Land o’ Lakes took the third spot for the boaters. He brought in a limit going 20.85 pounds with a 6.85-pound kicker. That put a check worth $700 in his pocket.
“I only lost one fish, but I don’t think it would have made a difference in the standings,” Smith said. “I fished on the south end with a white ChatterBait. Everyone says people need to find clean water to catch fish in this lake. We hit a stretch of dirty water and that’s where the fish were holding.”
Benny J. Townend of Boynton Beach finished fourth with five bass for 18.10 pounds. Rounding out the top five boaters, Jonathan R. LeCrone from Pahokee brought in five keepers to tally 17.76 pounds.
Colton “CJ” Barbosa from Mims only found two keepers, but one of them weighed 7.89 pounds, heavy enough to take the Boater Division big bass title. Barbosa earned $600 for the lunker. His two fish totaled 10.21 pounds.
“I ran down south,” Barbosa revealed. “It was tough to get a bite down there. The wind didn’t help me out at all. That big fish hit a black and blue swim jig.”
In the Co-Angler Division, John L. Trudel of Lighthouse Point landed a 3-bass division limit for 19.09 pounds. With his largest bass tipping the scale at 6.85 pounds, Trudel’s bag averaged an amazing 6.36 pounds. For winning the tournament, he pocketed $1,400.
“We went down south,” Trudel commented. “I used a black and blue stickbait and fished it wacky style with a 1/16th-ounce weight on it. I let it sink and then twitched it around the cattails. I lost two other good fish.”
Also coming in with an impressive 3-bass bag, Ashton Gilbert from Rotonda West landed 17.31 pounds with a 6.74-pound kicker. That boosted his bank account by $650.
“I caught all my fish on a black and blue swim jig,” Gilbert said. “We were fishing in dirty water down by the south end. I culled twice.”
Landing in third place for the co-anglers, Dr. Manuel L. Ledezna, now living in Miami, but formerly from Venezuela, fished his first bass tournament in the United States. He landed a 3-bass limit at 13.85 pounds to collect $500 for the effort.
“This was my first tournament here in the United States,” Ledezna said. “In Venezuela, I’m used to fishing for peacock bass. It’s a different kind of fishing up here. I caught my first bass at 8 a.m. on a black and blue swim jig. I fished with bigger baits to get the bigger fish.”
Scott A. Crawford from Jupiter finished fourth among the co-anglers with three bass going 13.40 pounds. However, one of them weighed 8.11 pounds and took the tournament lunker title. Crawford picked up $400 for fourth place and a $300 bonus for the Largemouth.
“I’m not very familiar with this lake, but we were fishing on the west side,” Crawford said. “I flipped a Texas-rigged Senko up around the dollar pads. The big one hit at about 9 a.m.”
Robert H. Zellers from the hosting town of Clewiston found three good keepers. He finished fifth for the co-anglers with 12.94 pounds, anchored by a 6.92-pounder.
The division returns to Lake Okeechobee on Feb 25, 2023, but will run out of Scott Driver Park, located at 10100 West Highway 78 in the town of Okeechobee, Fla. To register for this event, CLICK HERE .
Each ABA Open Series division offers four one-day qualifying events in a boater/co-angler format. Boaters pay an entry fee of $210 for each event while co-anglers pay $105.
Besides winning cash payouts based upon the total number of entries, qualified anglers could collect bonuses offered by such tournament sponsors as Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, the T-H Marine Atlas Awards program, and Power Pole. Anyone who qualifies for Caymas Cash rewards could receive up to $7,000 for winning any ABA Open Series event. If the winning boat carries a Mercury motor, the angler could receive an extra $1,000 in cash from Mercury Marine.
See each manufacturer’s website for details, rules, and qualifications for more information on their contingency programs.
For more information about this tournament, call Tournament Director Billy Benedetti at (256) 230-5632.
American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, T-H Marine, Power Pole, RT Outdoors, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com, and LurePartsOnline.com.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression.
For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406
This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.
