Yankton, South Dakota, – June 6, 2008
It was a tough day in Yankton, S. Dakota as the TBF Central Division Championship came to a conclusion. The boats pulled off the ramp one by one, just as the sun was coming over the horizon. The anglers were all eager to find a limit of keepers, and hopeful to be pronounced the winner of their respective states. However, once again the weather proved to be their number one obstacle. The wind blew so hard it was causing anywhere from 5 to 7 ft. waves, making some of the boats hard to maneuver. But, the anglers still managed to catch some great smallmouth bass, as the final day of the tournament rolled on.
Jason Baird from Gypsum, Kansas was the Central Division Champion and the Castrol Maximum Performer. Jason caught four fish today that weighed 5lbs. 15 ounces, which made him able to rise from his 3rd place finish yesterday and become the tournament champion. He caught a total weight of 22 lbs, which was also enough to make him the leader of his state team and a qualifier for the TBF National Championship. “I found lots of fish the practice day, and fished from those same 20 spots the first two days of the tournament. But, today was a lot different. I fished at one spot right outside the cove all day; I literally used no gas. To catch all of my fish I used 3/16 ounce smallie beaver, and I an 8 ounce seaguar flurocarbon. I had four bites and I caught four fish, and I am so glad that it was enough to qualify me for nationals. This will be my fourth time to go, and I can’t wait,” Jason said.
Finishing in 2nd place in the individual standing was Zachary King from Clarksville, Arkansas. He caught three fish today that weighed 5 lbs. 4 ounces, making his total weight 20 lbs.1 ounce and making a qualifier for the TBF National Championship. “I fished in 10 to 15 ft water today using an original shaky head football jig. I actually lost a big one this morning, but I stayed in the cove all day and did bed fishing. It’s a great opportunity to be representing the state of Arkansas at the TBF National Championship, it will be my second time and I’m really looking forward to it,” Zachary said.
Also from Arkansas, state team member Jim Towers finished 3rd and will be representing the state of Arkansas at the 2009 TBF National Championship as their non-boater. He caught three fish today, making his total weight 19 lbs. 4 ounces. “I did get 3 miles up the lake today. But, I ended up fishing mostly in the cove using Carolina rigs. I had three bites, and I caught three keepers,” Jim said.
In 4th place was Bryan Fox from Hot Springs, Arkansas with a total weight of 19 lbs. 1 ounce, and rounding out the top 5 was Marion Halbersma from Ozark, Missouri. For more individual standings, click here.
The fisherman responsible for catching the biggest fish today was Chris Scherbring from Abilene, Kansas. He was awarded the big bass cash, with a fish that weighed 4 lbs. 9 ounces. “I fished really slow today, dragging a 5 inch finesse worm on a spot remover jig, along the bottom of the water,” Chris said.
The 2008 State Division Champion was the state of Arkansas. With three of the top five individual qualifiers, the state of Arkansas came out on top catching 107 total fish that weighed 156 lbs. 12 ounces.
Oklahoma came in 2nd with 104 total fish that weighed 153 lbs. 13 ounces, and rounding out the top three was Texas with 101 total fish that weighed 146 lbs. 2 ounces. For more state team standings, click here.
The TBF National Championship will be held in 2009, and the location will be announced soon. Then, the top two winners from all 46 state federations will compete to decide who will be the TBF National Champion and the winner of the largest pay-out in 30 years of federation fishing.
