A week of beautiful weather was the setting for the 2013 Northwest Division Championship presented by Berkley on Pot Holes Lake in Moses Lake, Wash.  TBF anglers continued to bring in heavy bags of mostly smallmouth all three tournament days. 

The top ten anglers advanced on the final day to the 2014 Federation National Championship and division champion titles were awarded both in the individual and state team standings.    

Aaron Echterncamp, from Moses Lake, Wash., trailed in the individual standings the first two days but made a run the final day to take the lead and the esteemed title.  Echerncamp had five bass limits all three days of 20lbs 3ounces, 21lbs 7ounces and 24lbs to make his tournament total 65lbs 10ounces, a mere 3 ounces in front of day one and two leader, Chad Kaiser. 

“First day, I didn’t expect to see someone come in with 26lbs,” Echterncamp said.  “I was pacing the weights at 20lbs, thought that would be pretty adequate.  When Kaiser came in with that, I knew I had a little making up to do.”

Pot Holes Lake is in Echterncamp’s backyard.  He’s spent many days on its waters, but this week he said he was seeing, “just huge fish, a lot bigger than normal on that lake.”  He saw bigger fish in practice but was having trouble getting the good bite.  “By the third day, they were getting more active.  More fish just kept coming up the whole week.”   

The final day Echterncamp fished all new areas, but first set out to hunt down and catch a smallmouth he lost the first day.  “I spent the rest of the day looking for areas that hadn’t been fished,” Echertencamp continued.  “Everybody was kind of concentrating in the same areas further in the back; those areas were getting a lot of pressure, I just moved outside of them. And with the good weather I was able to move further and further out, the fish were a lot less spooked.” 

Echerncamp is no stranger to nationals but this is his first divisional win, and being on his home lake makes it that much sweeter.  “I just want to thank our Washington TBF President, Russell Baker, and Limit Out Marine.  I was having some boat issues on the second day; they worked on my boat and got me back out there to do what I did today.” 

Day two of the championship was canceled due to extreme winds, which left one day standing between 60 TBF anglers and their shots to advance to the 2014 Federation National Championship.  Ten anglers advanced today and two division champions were crowned as the 2013 Southwest Division Champion presented by Lowrance concluded on Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.  Steve Goodman from Castaic, Calif., came from behind in the individual standings to take the win, along with the host state team of Arizona, which led on day one to follow it up for the title on Havasu waters.

Goodman had a solid 12lb 6ounce bag going into the final day to pair with a whopping 19lbs 5ounces for his 31lb 11ounce finish for the win today.  Goodman will also represent the California state team advancing as a boater at the 2014 Federation National Championship.

The host state of Arizona held on to their day one lead to narrowly shut out the second place California state team by 3lbs 2ounces.  Arizona state team anglers caught 124lbs 13ounces of bass on day one and 118lbs 7ounces on day two for a tournament total of 243lbs 4ounces.

Six foot rolls, 40mph winds and with nothing but the flat shores of Lake Havasu, Ariz., to stop it, high winds result in a canceled day two of the championship.  Sixty TBF anglers fished day one of the 2013 TBF Southwest Division Championship presented by Lowrance on Lake Havasu, in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.  Tomorrow, those 60 anglers, their day one standings and all the luck one tournament day can provide, will go straight into the final day to decide this year’s Southwest Division Champions both in the individual and state team standings.  The final day will also advance 10 anglers, the top two from each state in the Southwest Division, to the 2014 TBF Federation National Championship.    

Leading going into the final day is Tom Shimabukuro from Oakland, Calif., with a five bass limit weighing 15lbs 12ounces.  Shimabukuro had a limit by 10am and culled two or three times to get his leading bag.  “It was kind of a grind; it was tough out there,” Shimabukuro said.  “The wind really threw everything off, made it hard to get where I wanted to fish.” 

This year’s Federation National Championship was recently held on Grand Lake in Grove, Okla., and a California state team angler won it.  Shimabukuro was also the co-angler at the 2013 FNC event and now leads the California state team and the tournament, continuing to represent anglers in the West. 

Tomorrow, he’ll try to hold on to the lead for another chance at the National Champion title.  “I think it’s supposed to lay down a little bit; today, I don’t even think I could get to my water.  Tomorrow, I’m gonna run the same thing I did in practice and the first day, not going to adjust much; just got to get three good ones and I will be alright.” 

Leading the Southwest Division in the state standings is the host state team of Arizona.  “The fact of the matter is Arizona’s Stephen Price is a co-angler leading the state – something to be said for the back of the boat,” Arizona President, Greg Krueger, said.  Stephen Price from Phoenix, Ariz., is also holding second place in the individual standings with a limit of bass weighing 15lbs 6ounces right behind Shimabukuro. 

“We talked about patterns that the fish are responding too and the game plan tomorrow is to get everybody on a limit,” Krueger continued.  “Overall, being a host team and leading after the first day is pretty exciting.”       

The cancellation of day two will either hurt or help the day one leaders as they sail into the final day.  Tomorrow, only one tournament day matters as the 2013 Southwest Division Championship presented by Lowrance wraps up on the windy Lake Havasu waters in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Weather was unpredictable, practice was hectic, but this week Grand Lake dealt three solid tournament days as 94 anglers from across the US and Canada met for the 2013 Federation National Championship.  Each day anglers came across the stage smashing their tournament bests and big fish records, winning or losing by ounces and consistently bagging 20lbs of Grand Lake bass.   

Mark Daniels Jr. from Fairfield, Calif., saw his life’s work, his life’s passion validated as he became this year’s Federation National Champion boater and TBF’s “Living the Dream” angler.  “I’m just so excited right now; I can’t even really think,” Daniels’s said.  “After catching that huge bag on day two I knew I had a shot to win this thing.”  Daniels caught 18lbs 6ounces on day one and a 24lb 10ounce bag on day two to sail him into first and the final round.  Today, he caught 19lbs 4ounces to make his tournament total 62lbs 4ounces. 

“My travel partner, Tom Shimabukuro and I found fish A-Riggin’ in practice that I thought could potentially be winning fish,” Daniels said.  “Then, the final day of practice me and Ben went out and we kind of solidified that.”  Daniels was paired with Ben Wright from Peru, New York who would go on to be the national champion co-angler.  “We found a bunch of areas that looked similar and I went in and pulled a fish off of each one of those spots.  I patterned the entire week off that.” 

Daniels fished Drowning Creek down on the south end of the lake near the dam the whole week.  “I pulled off on practice because I knew I would just come and hit all of those spots during the tournament days.  I did that & just capitalized on all those bites; I didn’t lose many fish this week.

Once I mentally understood what I thought the bigger fish were holding on, I just created my own milk run during the day,” Daniels continued.  “I probably hit 25 different spots on that creek hitting them 10-25 minutes at the most and then picking up and moving on to another spot.” 

This is Daniels’s first time to make it to the national championship.  “I’ve been fishing all my life, bass fishing since I was 11 & it’s literally a dream come true,” Daniels said.  “To come here and win it, win the living the dream package, a new ranger boat; it’s going to take a week for it to hit me.”

His journey this week seemed to fit like pieces of a puzzle.  “I truly believe I have a gift from God to fish, not just me those that compete on the tour and other circuits too.  My gift is fishing, this is what I do.  It was just my time.” 

The Federation National Champion co-angler, Ben Wright from Peru, N.Y., weighed in 15lbs 9ounces making his tournament total 50lbs 13ounces to solidify his win today.  Wright was speechless on stage not only because of his win but also with the announcement of TBF’s new “Living the Dream” Co-Angler package.  Wright will be the first TBF “Living the Dream” co-angler.

“In fishing there’s a lot of luck, there’s a lot of skill and there’s a lot of luck; this week I had it,” Wright said.  “I knew I was only 11ounces behind; I knew I was in a position to win it.”  Wright struggled, catching two keepers in his first two days of practice until day three when he got paired with eventual champion boater, Daniels.  “We just started to work some things out, put some things together.” 

Wright caught all his fish Alabama Riggin’ a 5inch, white, curly-tailed grub. “I seemed to get bit better than my other two boaters just following them in for the second pass on things.  They were great fishermen, but I think maybe the fish were keying in on the white.  I don’t know, but I got the fish to prove it.”

Both the national champion boater and co-angler fished the third practice day and day one together, it would seem they were on to something big.  “I give a lot of credit to Mark, a lot of credit,” Wright said.  “If nothing else, what it did is get my head right.  I was struggling in practice and it’s tough to go into a big tournament like this struggling. It put my head in a position where I said Okay, things can work. I’m going to catch fish.  I just had to go out and execute.”

Both national champion anglers earn coveted spots in the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup and the 2013 BFL All-American, in addition to, cash and prizes.  Daniels, the national champion boater, will also receive the $100,000 Living the Dream package.  He will literally “live his dream” fishing as an FLW Tour Pro for a year with use of a wrapped Ranger Boat and Chevrolet truck, as well as, travel expenses, sponsor merchandise and prizes.

TBF’s sponsors at Ranger Boats once again went above and beyond this week with their Ranger Cup program. The program awarded the top Ranger Cup qualified boater, Mark Daniels Jr., a new Ranger Z518 boat and trailer, as well as, the top Ranger Cup qualified co-angler, Robert Rikard from Lexington, S.C., $5,000 cash. 

The Cabela’s Angler Cash program also proved its value awarding the highest qualified boater, Ben Otto from Pulaski, Wisc., $1,000 in Cabela’s Angler Cash and the highest qualified co-angler, Greg Gizzi from Widefield, Colo., $1,000 in Cabela’s Angler Cash.   

Bluebird skies settled over Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees on day two of the 2013 Federation National Championship in Grove, Okla.  Fourteen TBF anglers advance to battle it out for those national titles and all the glory.  It was down to ounces as each division walked their anglers across stage and 14 elite did just what they came here to do.

Overall tournament leader and Southwest Division Champion boater, Mark Daniels Jr., from Fairfield, Calif., caught a limit of bass weighing 24lbs 10ounces making his two day total 43lbs.  “Grand Lake today proved to me the quality of fish you normally read about,” Daniels’s said.  This is his first appearance at the national contest.  “I’m extremely excited, this is the opportunity of a lifetime; I’ve been working for this all my life.”

Daniels’s blew a starter on day giving him only three hours of practice and on day two he tore his lower unit on a rock pile in Horsecreek leaving him all but familiar in his first meeting with Grand Lake.  “Thank goodness Ranger Boats provides these boats or I literally would be “up a creek without water”.”  On the final practice day Daniels’s settled into a pattern that’s taken him into today.  “My co-angler caught a 7-pounder on the third practice day.  It opened my eyes.  I was doing what I needed to be doing, in the spots I needed to be doing it.” 

In second overall and Southern Division Champion boater, Robbie Robinson from Mobile, Ala., weighed 18lbs 11ounces to combine with his 27lb 7ounce leader bag from day for a total 42lbs 2ounces.  “I gambled out there to today,” Robinson said.  “I left some there, glad it didn’t cost me.”  Robinson’s throwing a spinner bait but plans to switch it up tomorrow, bait and water.  “I’ll cover all new water.  It’s something I do best; it’s a confidence thing.”  He does have two sweet pockets he’ll revisit.  “I lost two 5lb bass, my only two lost so far.  I’m going back for revenge.” 

In third overall and Central Division Champion boater, Dylan Hayes from Fort Smith, Ark., caught 18lbs 13ounces making his two day total 38lbs 9ounces.  “It was a lot slower today, I just couldn’t get it going,” Hayes said.  “Some time after 1pm, I pulled into a spot I’d never seen before and pulled three big ones; it’s the luck of the draw.” 

In fourth overall and Mid-Atlantic Division Champion boater, Ed Loughran from Mechanicsville, Va., caught 21lbs 10ounces making his tournament total 38lbs 2ounces.  Last year, the BFL All-American was held on Loughran’s home lake, this year he’ll face Nickajack Lake and try to settle up some history.  “Two years ago, I lost out for the BFL All-American there at our TBF championship; hopefully, I can go back and get a little revenge.”

Fifth overall and Northwest Division Champion boater, Jason Hickey from Weiser, Id., caught a limit weighing 18lbs 5ounces making his two day total 38lbs.  “I know everyone’s working hard, but I’m really working hard,” Hickey said.  “I’m catching fish on new water every day.  I’m going to catch them out there, if not, I’ve lost before, many times.” 

The top 14 anglers, seven on the boater and co-angler sides, automatically earn spots in the 2013 BFL-All American to be held this summer on Nickajack Lake in Tennessee. Tomorrow, the top boater and co-angler will walk away champions and also win berths in the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup, plus some heavy jewelry.  The national boater will also receive the $100,000 “Living the Dream” prize package, including cash and prizes, fully paid entry fees into the FLW tour, travel funds and use of a wrapped Ranger Boat and Chevrolet truck for the year. 

The final day will be held in conjunction with an FLW Tour event being held across the state line on Beaver Lake.  The weigh-in will be held at the FLW Outdoor’s Expo downtown at the John Q Hammons Convention Center in Rogers, Ark., and streamed live on www.flwlive.com.  For updates, follow TBF on www.BassFederation.com, and www.Facebook.com/TheBassFederation or follow us on Twitter @bassfederation.