2025 Meeting Minutes

South Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club

"South Jersey's original freshwater kayak bass fishing club"

Meeting Minutes – June 12th , 2025 – 7pm
Atlantic County Library – Hammonton, NJ

Meeting was called to order at 7:13pm with the following member anglers in attendance: John Goss,
Alex Bronsky, Jim Dick, Chris Califano, Bill Bentliff, Juan Cuevas, Josh Mazzeo, Jim Larson, and Chris
Castro.

Alex Bronsky - President/Treasurer/Social Media Director:
Welcome New Members
- A special welcome to new members Juan Cuevas, Mike Behre, and Paul Heger!
Lake Audrey Clean-Up and Team Tournament
- Overview/Timing
o Tournament will be from 9am-3pm tournament, be there by 8:00am sharp (or
earlier if you need time to set up your kayak)

- Clean Up/Supplies
o Thank you to Alex who bought all the clean up supplies we will need. No need to bring
your own.

- Tournament (Fees, Prizing, Team Selection)
o Tournament will be 5 biggest fish total between teammates – winner takes all. We will
also have a Lunker and Pickerel Pot. We will draw teams out of a hat after clean-up
but before tournament.

- Weather
o Looks fine. Always potential for a scattered shower but unlikely.

South Jersey Youth Outdoor Day & Farrington Tournament
- SJ YOD got scheduled (well after we finalized our schedule) for the same day as our
Farrington Tournament. The SJ YOD is an important event for our club and so we discussed
moving the Farrington Tournament to a different day so we can support this youth-oriented
event. A motion was given to move the Farrington Tournament to July 19th and seconded.
Motion was approved. Vote was taken and passes. The Farrington Lake Tournament is
now moved to July 19th . Website will be updated.
Tournament Items
- Members Only Tournaments / OPEN Tournaments
o Club had discussion about adjusting the remaining tournaments to OPENs. No motion
was made to change the remaining tournaments to MEMBERS ONLY, so the schedule
remains as is currently constructed. We still have several OPEN tournaments and look
forward to guests joining these events.

- Lunker Pot
o Discussion was had around creating a lunker “tiebreaker”, aka moving to the next
biggest fish to award a single Lunker winner. After discussion it was decided NOT to
make any changes, no “tiebreaker” rule was motioned.

- Increasing Tournament Fees
o Discussion around increasing tournament fees from $20 to something larger like $30 to
keep up with inflation and create bigger pots. This would be a rule change for NEXT
SEASON. We don’t want to turn away any anglers who don’t typically place by charging
an additional $10 per tournament, but also the costs of upkeeping the club are rising.
This is a grassroots club and not a money-making venture. But increased fees would
allow for some creative ways to get more anglers prizes. Just discussion for now but
an idea that will be raised again after the season.

- Prizes
o Slay Nation gives away prizes for tournaments, discussion was had if we increased
tournament fees next season could we throw in some prizes for tournaments, maybe
just specific tournaments especially towards the end of the year when participation
drops off or tournaments that are far away. E.g. $50 Blackwater Gift Cards, a rod, etc.
We could distribute raffle tickets to every angler at the tournament so even if you
didn’t catch many bass you have a chance to win something.

- Mirror Lake permits
o Permits are in the mail for parking at Mirror Lake. Done.
- New Signs/Sponsorships? Pickerel Sign?
o We talked about new signs and a pickerel sign, we don’t have sponsorships per se.
Matt Z said he would make the signs for us.
o Alex suggested making the pickerel pot a permanent fixture and should be recognized.
Alex to contact Matt about new signs and also a pickerel or miscellaneous sign.

- Blackwater Sponsorship
o Sponsorship only includes the banquet, we individually do not get a 10% discount we
go shop on our own.

Treasury Update
- In a good place, just below last year’s total. Just below $1700. Still haven’t deposited last two
tournaments which should be another $200 or so.
Rainbow Lake Weather
- Discussion was had about the weather we endured for the Rainbow tournament. It was too
cold, sleeting, windy and generally unsafe. We could have moved it to the following weekend
and should have because in that weather if someone falls in they could get hypothermia in
minutes. We also only had 11 anglers. The forecast wasn’t as bad as the weather turned out
to be but moving forward must think safety first especially with an open weekend just 7 days
later.
John Goss, Vice President/Secretary:
Classic Eligibility Update
- John provided the current attendance and conferred with anglers on any discrepancies. Please
reach out if you want a status update on your attendance.
Lake Audrey Clean-Up + South Jersey YOD Reminders
- Reminder that Lake Audrey Clean-Up and SJ Youth Outdoor Day count as “meetings” for
Classic eligibility.
- John is moving to Nebraska next May or June and encouraged those in the club interested in
stepping up to an Officer position to do so. He is happy to help before he leaves with any
transitions, sharing forms, etc. New members this year don’t be afraid to step up as these are
the best way to have a stake in the club’s future and really not overly difficult.
Jim Dick & Vic Carapucci, Tournament Directors
- Big thank you to Jim and Vic for being great tournament directors and stepping up this year.
They are pleased with the system and have made a great team.

~Meeting was adjourned at 8:13pm.

Next Meeting Thursday 8/14/2025 @ 7pm at Hammonton Library

South Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club
"South Jersey's original freshwater kayak bass fishing club"

Meeting Minutes – April 10th, 2025 – 7pm

Atlantic County Library – Hammonton, NJ

Meeting was called to order at 7:00pm with the following member anglers in attendance: John Goss,
Alex Bronsky, Chris Califano, Jim Larson, Bill Bentliff, Harold Eckett, Daniel Rodriguez Sr, Daniel
Rodriguez Jr, Jim Dick, Megan McCafferty, and Chris Castro, as well as Guest Anglers Gary Parsons
and Mike LaChance.

Alex Bronsky - President/Treasurer/Social Media Director:
Welcome New Members
- A special welcome to new members Jim Larson, Chris Califano, Gary Parsons, and Mike
LaChance! Jim and Chris were voted into the club immediately after the Prospertown
tournament, and Mike and Gary were voted into the club at tonight’s meeting.

SJKBFC Forms:
- Membership Application/Renewals/Tournament Waivers
o ALL ANGLERS MUST COMPLETE THE 2025 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM AND THE
2025 TOURNAMENT WAIVER FORM BEFORE THEY CAN COMPETE. These can be
downloaded off the website and sent to the Secretary at John.Goss15@gmail.com . We
will also have physical forms at meetings and tournaments to complete if needed.

- Website Profile Information Forms
o Members who wish to update their Membership Profile information may also complete
the Website Profile Information Form. You can update your photo by sending it along
with the form to President Alex Bronsky at ab08330@gmail.com

-Membership Dues
- $50 Annual Membership Dues MUST BE PAID BEFORE fishing your first tournament. We are
extending a grace period until the first tournament an angler fishes.
-Anglers Eligible for Membership
- For any anglers who have now fished two tournaments with the club (e.g. Kirkwood and
Prospertown) you are now eligible to be voted into the club. If you wish to join the club reach
out to Alex, John, Jim, or Vic and we will get you voted in at the next tournament or meeting
you attend. Also remember to complete the Membership Application form available online at
sjkbfc.com and bring $40 for Membership Dues (assuming you fished two tournaments as a
Guest Angler this season).
Add New Members to GroupMe
- Alex will texts links to join our GroupMe for new members who need to be added.
Banquet Hall RSVP
- Price for the banquet hall went from $300 to $400, banquet date already secured 11/15. Ben
thinks he can get his company to sponsor the event and potentially pay for half the price.
Much appreciated!

Treasury Report
- Club balance $1,380+ after paying Mirror Lake parking permits. We are in a good place.
Tournament Items
- Alloway Lake Permits
o Permits for both tournaments were approved.
- Mirror Lake Permits
o We are just waiting on the required parking permits.
- Prospertown WMA Status
o We need to fill out the post-tournament WMA report for Prospertown. Megan filled it
out for us as she works for NJ F&W. Thank you Megan!

- New Place Board Signs
o Matt Zapp might be able to get us new place holder signs. Likely $30-$40 total for the
signs. The current ones are getting a little beat up. We might still be sponsored by
Blackwater, Alex to talk with Jeff at Blackwater. If we are sponsored, all SJKBFC
anglers receive a 10% discount at Blackwater. Alex will confirm.

- Lake Audrey Clean-Up
o Our club sponsors Lake Audrey for cleaning up trash, we have an annual clean-up day
as part of the Club. This also counts as a meeting/club event towards Classic eligibility
and membership standing. Great for those who can’t regularly attend meetings.
Considering June 14 th first, then May 17 th or August 9 th for Audrey Clean-Up. Alex to
check w/ Layne to make sure no SJBCA tournaments at Audrey on any of those days,
then we can decide. 9am – 3pm would be the total time. We typically clean for an hour
or so until it’s spotless, then we fish a fun buddy tournament (doesn’t count towards
any SJKBFC standings).
- Sportsman’s Jamboree
o Held by NJ Sportsmans’ Federation on April 26 th … same location as SJ YOD. Chair of
the council wanted us to come by and put kayaks on display. Event is from 9am-5pm.
We probably wouldn’t be able to get there until 2pm due to our Newton tournament on
the same day so Megan will contact the chair and gauge interest. Could be a good
event for next year and would count as a meeting/club event.

- Social Media Report
o Getting a lot of attention on the club’s facebook page, let’s keep engaging with the
platform. Prospertown results video has 700+ views already. Kirkwood has 600+
views. Tournament results themselves both over 35 likes.

John Goss - Vice President, Secretary:
SJKBFC Forms
- Reminder you can download the required forms and send them to me electronically at
john.goss15@gmail.com .
Classic Eligibility Update
- 4 anglers already have 4 meetings under their belt for Classic eligibility purposes: Alex, John,
Harold, Vic.

SJBCA Meeting Update
- John gave an update on SJBCA… same restrictions as 2024 are likely for Menantico in 2025,
F&W is repairing roads into Winslow and then DOD, they are considering demolishing the
pavilion at Elmer Lake and adding more parking, and the SJBCA Bass Bowl will be held on
Delaware River.
Jim Dick and Vic Carapucci – Tournament Directors:
Tournament Results
- Appreciate everyone’s patience at check-in, feel like we have a great system for TD’s right
now. Payouts and check-in have been quick. Thank you to Jim and Vic for a great start as
TD’s.
Rainbow Lake – Weather
- Tournament Directors will get together and determine if there is any need to reschedule or
delay Rainbow due to weather. TD’s will make a determination on Friday. As of now, plan to
fish and dress warm.
Pickerel Pot – Feedback
- Going to continue the pickerel pot as it gets more anglers involved with a chance to win the
money. Good feedback thus far.

~Meeting was adjourned at 7:55pm.

Next Meeting Thursday 6/12/2025 @ 7pm at Hammonton Library

South Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club
"South Jersey's original freshwater kayak bass fishing club"

Meeting Minutes – March 20th, 2025 – 7pm

Atlantic County Library – Hammonton, NJ

Meeting was called to order at 7:05pm with the following member anglers in attendance: John Goss,
Anthony Coco, Vic Carapucci, Matt Zappile, Jim Dick, Josh Mazzeo, Ben Bullaro, Chris Castro, Alex
Bronsky, and Guest Anglers Mike LaChance and Harold Eckett.

Alex Bronsky - President/Treasurer/Social Media Director:
SJKBFC Forms
- Membership Application/Renewals/Tournament Waivers
o ALL ANGLERS MUST COMPLETE THE 2025 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM AND THE
2025 TOURNAMENT WAIVER FORM BEFORE THEY CAN COMPETE. These can be
downloaded off the website and sent to the Secretary at John.Goss15@gmail.com . We
will also have physical forms at meetings and tournaments to complete if needed.

Membership Dues
- $50 Annual Membership Dues MUST BE PAID BEFORE fishing your first tournament. We are
extending a grace period until the first tournament an angler fishes.
-Members in Good Standing / Not in Good Standing
- The club discussed members not in good standing. These members will be GUEST anglers and
can work their way towards returning to full member status if they choose.
Executive Staff Openings
- Treasurer, Secretary, and Tournament Director openings were discussed. Victor Carapucci
stepped up and expressed interest to be a Tournament Director. Victor was nominated, and
then unanimously elected to be Tournament Director. Congrats to Victor!
Treasury Report
- We are in a good place with the treasury. Ben Bullaro expressed he knows a fellow angler who
creates/manages websites and is going to see if we can get a better deal for a website should
we want to make a switch on domain provider and save money, or come time for renewal.
-Banquet Date
- The club discussed and selected Sat. November 15th for our annual Banquet. We will work to
book Alpha Gun Club in Atco, NJ at 4pm. More details to follow.

-Tournament Items
- First Tournament – Kirkwood
o Alex won’t be making tournament so John will be primary POC. Jim and Vic are
Tournament Directors. Tournament is from 9am – 3pm. We will have additional
Membership Application forms and Tournament Waivers onsite for members and
GUESTS who have not completed them.

- Rainbow Tournament
o Discussion was had surrounding pushing Rainbow Lake tournament later in the
morning due to concerns over sunlight. First light is 5:58am so it was decided we are
ok with 6am-12pm and keeping tournament at the same time.

- Making tournaments OPENs
o The club again reviewed how many tournaments should be made OPEN’s in light of
smaller membership numbers this year. The goal of making more tournaments OPEN’s
is to increase membership more quickly than in typical years. A motion made to make
roughly the first half of season (through Carnegie) OPEN’s… Motion was seconded, and
then unanimously APPROVED. ALL TOURNAMENTS KIRKWOOD THROUGH
CARNEGIE WILL BE OPENS PENDING APPROVAL FROM SJBCA. We will
evaluate membership once we get closer to Carnegie and decide if we need/want
additional OPENs or not. The website will be updated.

- Wristbands
o Alex dispersed extra wristbands to the Tournament Directors, VP, and Zapp so multiple
members have some on hand for tournaments.

- Alloway permit meeting
o Alloway permit is being reviewed today, March 20th . We anticipate quick approval from
Alloway and will keep club updated.

- Mirror Lake Permits
o Alex working on securing parking permits for Mirror. More to come.
- Place Boards
o Considering getting new 1 st /2 nd /3 rd place and Lunker boards for the Club as the current
boards are starting to look a little worn. Zapp has a connection and will report back
with estimated cost, so the Club can then evaluate at future meeting.

John Goss - Vice President, Secretary:
SJKBFC Forms
- Reminder you can download the required forms and send them to me electronically at
john.goss15@gmail.com .
Recruiting new members
- Club held general discussion around recruiting new members. We should each challenge
ourselves to recruit one angler to an OPEN. We’re confident we can recruit members but being
open to chatting up anglers you see on the water while fun fishing will go a long way.
Encourage anglers to visit our website and Facebook page.
Update on Oct. 2024 Meeting Counting towards 2025 Classic Eligibility
- After reviewing the bylaws it was determined previous administrations were not fully crediting
the annual October meeting towards the following year’s attendance/Classic eligibility. This
has been rectified, and any anglers who attended the October meeting in 2024 now have an
additional meeting towards 2025 Classic eligibility under their belt.

-Meeting was adjourned at 8:04pm

Next Meeting Thursday 4/10/2025 @ 7pm at Hammonton Library

South Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club
"South Jersey's original freshwater kayak bass fishing club"

Meeting Minutes – February 13th, 2025 – 7pm

Atlantic County Library – Hammonton, NJ

Meeting was called to order at 7:10pm with the following member anglers in attendance: Alex
Bronsky, Bill Bentliff, Megan McCafferty, Jim Dick, Ryan Hannah, Bob Gheysens, John Goss, and Vic
Carapucci, plus guest angler Harold Eckett Jr.

Alex Bronsky, Vice President:
2025 Season Preview/Off-Season Review
- Alex discussed the offseason including a group of members leaving the club. The club now
has open spots, and we are excited to bring in some new members.

SJKBFC Forms
- Membership Application/Renewals/Tournament Waivers
o ALL ANGLERS MUST COMPLETE THE 2025 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM AND THE
2025 TOURNAMENT WAIVER FORM BEFORE THEY CAN COMPETE. These can be
downloaded off the website and sent to the Secretary at John.Goss15@gmail.com . We
will also have physical forms at meetings and tournaments to complete if needed.

- Membership Dues
o $50 Annual Membership Dues MUST BE PAID BEFORE fishing your first tournament.
We are extending a grace period until the first tournament and angler will fish.

- Members in Good Standing / Not in Good Standing
o The club discussed any anglers not in good standing who we thought might wish to
return in 2025. The executive board will be in contact with this angler.

- Angler Probation
o Club held open discussion if there was any need to place any members on probation,
or if there were otherwise any problems between club members. Club agreed there
were no problems between any members and the discussion ended there. In light of
recent events the club encourages open dialogue between members.

- SJKBFC Bank Account
o We’re in a good place financially, all of our fees are paid outside the Alloway permit
which is going in the mail next week. Club balance is north of $800.

- Tournament Items

Making tournaments OPENs

 In order to secure additional funds and anglers for tournaments considering our
lower overall membership numbers heading into the season, we are considering
making more tournaments OPENs. We need to confirm with SJBCA that no
other clubs have OPENs on the same day as that’s an SJBCA rule. President or
Vice President will review with SJBCA. We are then likely to make multiple
additional tournaments OPENs this season.

Lowering Requirements for Membership

 Motion was given to lower the OPEN tournament requirement for membership
from 3 to 2 tournaments. Motion was unanimously approved. Guest anglers
now only need to fish TWO OPENS to be considered for membership.

Alloway permits

 Alloway permit and fee is going in the mail this week for approval.

Catching Same Fish Twice

 A vote was taken to restrict the “can’t catch the same fish twice rule” to be only
applicable March – June to better align with the spirit of the rule of preventing
abusing bed fishing. The idea is to not catch the same fish multiple times on a
bed, as opposed to preventing the random occurrence of catching the same
fish twice who wasn’t on a bed.

Ketch boards

 Alex placed link on website for ketch boards. Because we’re on limited
membership this year and we want most of the money to go back to members
for the banquet, it was suggested we don’t buy a bunch of ketch boards to
have on hand for tournaments. We will have 1-2 extra from spare 2024
inventory, but we don’t want to spend needed funds on Ketch Boards vs other
initiatives. We will leave to the responsibility of the angler. Should membership
increase we will reconsider.

Switching Union Lake tournament date

 As President and Vice President cannot make the June 7 th tournament at Union,
we explored switching this tournament date. However we ran into conflict with
SJBCA and other tournament schedules. We will continue to review but
otherwise we will need member anglers to step up and support this OPEN
tournament.

September 6 th Scramble conflict

 The Lake Lenape permit for our Sept. 6 th scramble tournament was denied due
to another tournament on Lenape that day.
 A vote was taken and Willow Grove Lake was decided as the third lake for the
scramble, replacing Lenape. Willow Grove Lake now replaces Lenape for
the Sept. 6 th scramble.

Wristbands

 Alex to check w/ past Tournament Directors for a bulk pile of wristbands,
otherwise we need to order more for tournaments.

Fishing Flea Market
- Due to other priorities with the club’s busy offseason we will not be participating in the Fishing
Flea Market this year.
Banquet
- Last year the SJKBFC Banquet awarded 17 medals… in order to save cost it was motioned to
change medal requirement from 200 inches to Top 10 AOY Standings. Motion was made to
change to Top 10. Motion passed unanimously. Medals at the banquet will now be
awarded to Top 10 AOY Standings.

-Executive Staff Elections
- Elections were held for the board. This year we will need a strong group effort considering the
lower membership. This may include some anglers acting as tournament directors even
though they do not hold that title.
- After votes were taken, the below anglers were voted into Executive Board positions:
o President: Alex Bronsky
o Vice President: John Goss
o Secretary: (OPEN)
o Treasurer: (OPEN)
o Tournament Director #1: Jim Dick
o Tournament Director #2: (OPEN)
o Social Media Director: Alex Bronsky
- Congrats to all who were elected to the Exec Board! We still have an opening for Secretary,
Treasurer, and one more Tournament Director. Alex and John are prepared to take on
Treasurer and Secretary responsibilities if needed, but also welcome any member who wants
to participate as an Exec Board member – including Tournament Director. This is a great way
to get involved with the Club.
John Goss, Secretary:
- SJKBFC Forms

Reminder you can download the required forms and send them to me electronically at

john.goss15@gmail.com

- Reminder on 2025 Classic Qualifying (Tournaments + Meetings)

All anglers must fish over half the scheduled tournaments and attend at least four (4)

SJKBFC meetings. SJKBFC events such as Youth Outdoor Day also count toward
meeting attendance.
- 2024 Banquet Attendance

Secretary will be confirming attendance of all who went to the 2024 SJKBFC Banquet.

Banquet attendance counts towards 2025 Classic Eligibility.

-Meeting was adjourned at 8:15pm.

Upcoming Events:

Kirkwood Lake (Preseason – OPEN) – Saturday, March 29, 2025 – 9:00am – 3:00pm
Prospertown Lake (OPEN) – Saturday, April 5, 2025 – 6:00am – 12pm
Rainbow Lake (Members Only) – Saturday, April 12, 2025 – 6:00am – 12pm
Newton Lake (Members Only) – Saturday, April 26, 2025 – 6:00am – 12pm
Lake Lenape (OPEN) – Saturday, May 3, 2025 – 7:30am – 2:30pm
Assunpink Lake (Members Only) – Saturday, May 31, 2025 – 6:00am – 12pm

Next Meeting Thursday 3/20/2025 @ 7pm at Hammonton Library