Sept. 8, 2011, Brainerd, MN – Day two of the 2011 TBF Northern Division Championship, presented by Cabela’s was a mirror-weather of yesterday. Nearly all competing anglers brought in limits today, and the trend will probably continue into the final day. Tomorrow wraps up the Northern Division and 12 anglers will be qualified for the 2012 TBF National Championship.
Scott Bonnema of the Minnesota Federation has maintained his lead and consistency, by bringing in 15 lbs 7 oz, just 4 oz less than yesterday’s bag. His 2-day weight is 31-2, with a good 4 lb lead on a lake with so many fish that weigh nearly the same. The big bites are hard to come by right now. “Normally this time of year we have had a good cold snap and the water temperatures are lower, making the fishing a little better. The daily weights would probably average out to about 17-18 lbs instead of the 10-12 lbs like we are seeing now. There are many 4-5 lbers out here on this lake, but they’ve got a finicky bite,” said Bonnema, who is from Zimmerman, Minn. “I’ve been throwing some topwater baits and caught a lot of mine today on jigs and tubes. I had a couple of better fish today.”
In second place is Wisconsin Angler, Brady Farrell. He has a 2-day total weight of 27-4. He had the 2nd largest bag brought in today with 14 lbs 14 oz, making a jump from 8th to 2nd. Not far behind him is his state team mate, Kevin Fassbind with 26-15. Farrell says he has been fishing deep all week and had a couple of better bites today as well. If he finishes in the top two spots of Wisconsin’s team, this will be his first trip to the TBF National Championship.
Go OHIO!
Aaron Ault, Indiana Federation is still in the top spot of the Indiana State Team standings with 26-11, a 3 lb lead over 2nd place Indiana State Team angler David Lagle. It’s going to be a close race for all state’s tomorrow to see who moves on.
In the state federation standings, Team Wisconsin has made a huge jump from 3rd to take the lead with 259-12. Minnesota made an even bigger jump from 4th yesterday to a now close 2nd with 258-15, Indiana in 3rd with 251-10.
Tomorrow, 12 anglers will qualify for the 2012 Federation National Championship next spring. There they will be competing against the top angler from 46 other state federations for the $100,000 ‘Living the Dream’ Prize package. The TBF Federation National Champion earns the TBF “Living The Dream” prize package to include; cash, fully paid entry fees to the FLW Walmart Tour as a tour pro, PLUS use of a custom Living The Dream wrapped Chevy Truck and wrapped Ranger Boat on tour for the year, PLUS a travel stipend for each event. The 2011 Champion came from the Northern Division, Allen Boyd of Salem, Ind. who is a member of the Indiana Bass Federation.
Daily takeoff and Weigh-ins are always free and open to the public at Cragan’s Resort. Take off is at 6:30am and weigh-ins begin at 3pm.
Follow the results and all news with TBF on www.BassFederation.com, www.facebook.com/TheBassFederation and follow TBF on Twitter @BassFederation.
