Big Sky Country Bite Tougher Today – Idaho Takes Commanding Lead

 June 3, 2010 – Yellowtail Reservoir, Montana – The limits caught today was considerably down from yesterday, 32 vs 21, but Idaho apparently has the puzzle figured out. The Idaho State Team brought their A-Game today, weighing in 74 lbs 11 oz, over 3 lbs more than yesterday, making their 2 day total 146 lbs 2 oz. Yesterday’s State Team Leader, Washington, had a tough day, only bringing in 45 lbs 3 oz maxing out their 2-day total at 123 lbs 13 oz. They are not out of it yet but they need a top performance tomorrow and a little help in the form of a stumble by Idaho. If Idaho catches them again tomorrow it is likely an all out race for second place. Oregon holds down the third spot with 105.13, they are fishing two men down with only 10 anglers in attendance from the Oregon squad. Could they have won this event if they had a full roster? We will never know but they do have a real shot at second place, if they catch them good again tomorrow and Washington has another tough day.

Leading the Idaho State Team is Josh Polfer, Melba, ID, who has been consistent over both days, has caught a limit both days, his total of 10 fish weigh 17 lbs 6 oz.  Just as the leader Elvaas did yesterday, Polfer also had his limit early this morning and used the rest of the day to prepare for tomorrow, so the morning bite seems to be key for the leaders. “It was a good day.” Polfer said. Josh has never qualified for the TBF National Championship and is doing everything he can to secure his spot in next spring’s event with one final day to go. The rest of the Idaho team will have something to say about that as well however, as the standings are very close. Polfer is leading his state, but only by 7 oz over a very successful 22-year-old Brandon Palaniuk. Brandon has had tremendous success in the last few months fishing the Federation National Championship, the BFL All-American and FLW Tour.  Tomorrow will tell the story.

Drop shot fishing off the cliffs seems to be a successful way to catch the smallmouth here on the Yellowtail Reservoir. This has been successful for the overall tournament leader, Eric Lippincott of Daniel, Wyoming. He has 2-day, 10-bass total of 19 lbs 5 oz. He’s also staying consistent, and should have a good chance at qualifying for the National Championship. His dad, Gene Lippincott is in 2^nd place in the Wyoming state standings with 13 lbs 2 oz. Mike Bozner is not far behind him with 12 lbs 8 oz.

Today’s big bass contest is a tie between Montana’s Michael Sloan and Eric Lippincott. They both weighed in a smallmouth that weighed 2 lbs 11 oz, 1 oz more than yesterday’s big bass. Whoever has the tournament big bass will be awarded a cash prize.

Full tournament standings can be found on the TBF Website, BassFederation.com on the Results page under the Tournaments link.

Tomorrow is the final day of the Northwest Divisional Tournament. There’s a lot on the line for 10 men. The top 2 anglers in each state will qualify for the 2011 TBF National Championship next spring, where they will fish for the ultimate goal of all TBF Anglers, the $100,000 TBF ‘Living the Dream’ package. The overall winner of the National Championship will be awarded a brand new wrapped Chevy truck and Ranger boat to use for a year, as they fish with expenses paid as a pro into the FLW Tour. They will make their pro debut in the richest bass tournament in the world, the Forrest Wood Cup. The 2011 Forrest Wood Cup will be held on Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, AR.

The Bass Federation is the oldest grass roots, 100% member-owned bass fishing organization in the nation, consisting of nearly 30,000 members in US & Canada. For more information about TBF, you can visit BassFederation.com.