Ben Florentino and Eric Neiman, fishing for Shimano and Kicker Jigs, came back with a vengeance from their 4 th in points in the 2004 season and won the 2005 points chase with only 2 points to spare over team Jeronimo who secured the runner up spot!!!
With a 2nd place finish and two 5 th place finishes for this season, John Gilles and Richard Ragland (Bass Jackers) solidified 3 rd in points for the 2005 season despite their 17 th place finish in round 1 (The Cabin Fever Reliever). John and Richard weighed the heaviest bass for the '05 season, a Sand Bass that pulled 8.68lbs on the official scale, caught off of the Long Beach Breakwall during Rd. 3, “The Shelf Bass Special”!
Team Tin Cup ( Keith Michael, Jim Behrens) ended up 5 th in points last year and 6 th in points this year. Unbeatable in Newport two years running. Keith and Jim followed their win in Newport with a 4 th at Dana, which must have more than concerned the rest of the field. But then…“The Shelf Bass Special”… where they barely managed 3 fish for 4.43lbs, placing them 26 th on the leader board. But Keith and Jim came back with a more than respectable 9 th in Rd. 4, vaulting the two back up to 6 th overall in the final standings.
Team Rockhopper (Jack Sowell, Roger Eckhardt) missed the Finale' last year as a result of not fishing round 1 therefore missing valuable points; however, they still managed to get a 3 rd in Dana and a 5 th at PV! Not only have they returned this year, but they have fished every event, which includes a win at round 2 in Dana Point and a 2 nd at the PV Shootout, earning them a 7 th in season points and securing their place in the Finale'.
Along with all of the talent retained from last year's roster, several new teams signed up for the 2005 series and increased the level of competition 10 fold.
2005 SWBA Anglers of the Year Ben Florentino and Eric Neiman accept their 1st in points trophies during the Finale' award ceremony.
Dunkem' and Deckem' (Jim Decker, Jim Duncan) was one new team that came aboard and practically dominated the season! The two Jims, carrying under their belts many years of experience fishing Southern California 's near shore waters almost dominated the rest of the field with a 3 rd and two 6 th place finishes, but they somehow dropped the ball in Rd. 4 at PV with a 17 th . They were locked in a tie for 1 st place going into that round with team Jeronimo.
Team Killa (Phil Brown, Gerry Meheiu) applied their knowledge of freshwater tournament bass fishing techniques and crossed over to this year's program with overall success, securing their spot in the season finale'. Gerry and Phil earned a 9 th place finish in Newport where their style of fishing really contributed to their success. Combining that with an 8 th in rd 3 (The Shelf Bass Special) and an 11 th in round 4 (The PV Shootout) should have made them a team to be reckoned with if not for the 20 th place they took at Dana Point .
Team Rice Rocket (Ivan Lau, Johnny Hwee), who were featured in February's article “Spotties, Spotties, Spotties, showed up with their game faces and took a 4 th in the season opener fishing Ivan's “like new” 12' glastron custom. Despite their apparent handicap, being one of the smallest boats in the field-
they managed to secure 5 th place in points going into the final round, and then to everyones amazement, took a DNW (did not weigh) at the end of the day, which pushed them out of the Finale'.
Fisherman's Connection (John Berner, Eric Grennan) from day-one seemed to be all about business. My first impression of this team was that Eric and John appear to have the tools and the knowledge, almost certainly derived from their years of fishing experience, for success. They ended the season by placing 6 th in round 4, which put them in 11 th place overall, just out of the Finale' but then nailed the “Wild Card” spot by catching the “Big Bass” for that event and earning them one more chance to carve their names into “The Golden Livewell” for 2005.
In looking back we now have two successful years in the books, and in keeping with our current format, we hope to grow in modest amounts over the course of many years to come. I personally feel that everyone fishing this series has become a part of a growing family of anglers who will remain closely related regardless of the success of the series, and in that respect we can already label the SWBA a huge success! See you all in 2006!!! 
James Shamblin
SWBA
Past articles:
Spotties,Spotties...