Presented by the National Guard on Watts Bar Lake, in Kingston, Tenn. to compete for the Championship titles.
Fishing today was tougher for some, better for others as day two of the 2010 Federation National Championship presented by the National Guard comes to a close. 14 TBF anglers, the top boater and co-angler from each of the 7 TBF divisions will advance to find out who will be leaving here National Champions. Those 14 anglers have already proven their worth and displayed skill and diligence making it through the local, state, & divisional tournaments. Now, they’ve conquered the top of their respective divisions and earned a spot in the BFL All-American, to be held May 25-27in Hot Springs, Ark. For most it will be the first time they’ll get to compete at that level. However, right now the focus is on the championship titles at stake, and the final day of fishing to decide the 2010 Federation National Champions, and the champion boater who will be “Living the Dream” fishing the FLW Outdoors Pro tour next year.
Today’s tournament leader on the boater side is, Jason Knapp, from Uniontown, Pa., representing the state of
Jason Knapp
Less than a pound away in second place, Jay Keith, from Camden, S.C., representing the TBF Southern Division had a limit weighing 17lb 12 ounces making his total tournament weight 33lb 14 ounces. Keith came all the way from 9th place and rattled the competition to take over the number two spot. Keith was using an All-Star 7 2 Frog Rod with a Pflueger Tron Reel and Berkley 20lb big game, flipping a gambler, “flappy daddy” on the back of an Ernest Langley Jig. “I think I burned them up today and now they’re moving. But, I think I know where they’re going, so, tomorrow I will be moving with the fish,” Keith said. “I just want to thank the TBF, the South Carolina TBF and FLW Outdoors; this tournament, the Z520 Comanche Ranger Boats, and all the equipment have run great.”
Eric Guimond
Holding the tournament’s fourth spot is Clint Farris, from Crowley, Texas, with a limit weighing 12lb 7 ounces making his total weight 28lb 11 ounces. He qualified for the tournament as a co-angler and a last minute family emergency hindered the boater from his state, pushing Farris up to the boater competition. So far, so good for Farris as his boat, Farris and his co-angler, have brought in about 30lb of bass each day. “I’m just going to keep on keeping on,” Farris said. “I think the fish will replenish again tomorrow.” We’ll see tomorrow if it will be enough to knock out the current tournament leaders.
Fishing for the second slot in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup, presented by BP and Castrol is our leader on the co-angler side, Adam Williamson, from Ridgeway, SC, representing the TBF Southern Division. He caught four keepers weighing 10lb 11 ounces making his tournament total 24lb 2 ounces. Williamson has already earned a spot in the BFL All-American being the top co-angler in his division. “My goal was to make it to the BFL All-American and I made the cut by 2 ounces; I’ve never made it this far before and I’m excited,” Williamson said. He plans to fish the same way he has all week, which has clearly worked so far. “Well, I had a great boater today in John Pritchett and I owe the whole catch to him. He let me go to my waters to fish and we both ended up with good bags.”
The competition is heating up and the anglers are focused on the prize; the final day of the 2010 Federation National Championship will highlight the TBF anglers who’ve rose above the pack and earned the right to be crowned TBF National Champions, and for one the opportunity to be “Living the Dream” fishing on the FLW tour.
The “Living the Dream” $100,000 cash and prize package will include, fully paid entry fees into the FLW tour, travel funds and use of a wrapped Ranger Boat and Chevrolet truck for the year. Also, the 2010 National Champions, on the boater and non-boater side, will be receiving entrance into the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol, Aug 5-8th, in Atlanta, Ga.
The third stop on the 2010 FLW tour is being held in Knoxville, Tenn., on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, where our 2009 Federation National Champion, Robert Harkness, will be “Living the Dream”, competing for his share in cash and prizes, proving just how much is on the line this week at the 2010 Federation National Championship.
The final day of the Federation National Championship will be held in conjunction with the final weigh-in day of the FLW tour event at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tenn. The TBF competitors will launch each day at 7am at Ladd Park, on Watts Bar Lake, in Kingston, Tenn. Weigh-in begins each day at 3pm.
Take-offs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The standings for the top 7 boaters advancing to the final day of the 2010 Federation National Championship are as follows; Jason Knapp, Uniontown, Pa.; Jay Keith, Camden, S.C.; Eric Guimond, Standish, Maine; Clint Farris, Crowley, Texas; Edward Loughran, Mechanicsville, Va.; Jason Rayls, Haskell, Texas; Brandon Palaniuk, Rathdrum, Idaho.
The standings for the top 7 co-anglers are as follows; Adam R Williamson, Ridgeway, S.C.; Randy Pierson, Oakdale, Calif.; Matthew Hartman, Fredricksburg, Pa.; Kevin Wells, South Shore, Ky.; Matt King, Olathe, Kan.; Gilbert Gagner, Highgate Springs, Vt.; Boyd Golightly, Preston, Idaho.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.
The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF), is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America. TBF is owned by those it serves and is dedicated to the sport of fishing. TBF affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth and conservation events at the local level each year, and have provided the foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 40 years.
For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com, or call 580.765.9031.
