Consistency and discipline pay off for Ohio’s Andy Fryer and Nebraska’s Chad Garton

Osage Beach, MO  4/3/2023

Missouri’s Lake Of The Ozarks, hosted The Bass Federation’s 2023 National Championship last week, March 29-31 out of Osage Beach, MO. The event continues to expand and increase payout to Federation members each year. 102 anglers from each state and Canada took to the lake Wednesday morning amid a reminder that spring is not fully arrived in the Ozarks just yet.

As is always the case some anglers will figure it out. Which ones end up on top at the grand finale are always those who adapt their skill set to the body of water the best. However, there’s no doubt that each of the TBF champions at the event who were representing their home state federations pulled out all the stops in a bid for the most coveted crown in grassroots bass fishing.

Competitors qualified through the TBF’s National Semi-Finals format. Comprised of 22 close to home district competitions, grouped into 7 traditional TBF divisions across North America that are designed to make it more cost effective for TBF grassroots anglers to fish premier events by minimizing travel time and expenses while increasing payouts across the board. This year’s TBF Championship event boasts NO entry fee and more than $404,000 in cash, prizes and awards, including a new Ranger Z-520R, powered by a Mercury 250 HP motor, paid hotel room and boat gas stipends. Each of the 7 division champions will earn paid entry fees into the circuit of choice, loads of cash, qualified anglers earn a total of 16 advancement spots (2) into the Toyota series championship and (14) – (7 boaters 7 Co-angler) into the All-American via TBF’s longstanding partnership with MLF and much, much more.

Day 1 take-off saw 29 degrees and frost covered walkways, docks and boats; It did not phase the championship anglers however as the excitement to get started was in the air.  Day 1 results saw the boaters side dominated by the eastern and northern division anglers, the only central division boater in the top ten was Hunter Baird from Kansas.  New Hampshire’s John Levesque dominated the boater’s field with 5 fish that weighed 23 pounds and 14 ounces, New York’s Brad Brodnicki sat in 2^nd and Baird in 3^rd. On the co-angler side Nebraska’s Chad Garton led that field with 13lbs even out of the back of the boat.

Day 1 leader John Leveque, NH and TBF’s Eastern Division.

Warmer weather is coming
With warmer weather in the forecast before the week is over to include high 70’s and rain. The total 3-day weight wins, so whoever wins the event will have adjusted to changing conditions and will have to earn it.

Day 2, cut day.

On day 2, the day 1 leader Leveque (NH) struggled some but held onto the overall lead with 34-05 and the day 1 co-angler leader Chad Garton built on his lead as well and finished atop the Co-Angler pile with 23-03.

After the second day the full field of 102 anglers will be cut down to the top boater and top co-angler from each of the 7 TBF divisions (Eastern, Mid-Atlantic, Northern, Southern, Central, Northwest, and Southwest.) As division champions, only they will compete on the 3^rd and final day.

Division champions take the final day field. Three-day combined weigh means consistency pay

The division champion’s all are offered advancement spots, cash and paid entries into events near them to help the Live THEIR Dream. The final day seen a shake up on the boater’s side as Hunter Baird held the lead right up until the end with his 3-day total of 40-10 ounces.

Kansas angler from the central division Hunter Baird was leading the final day until….. Fryer weighed in. 

Ohio’s Andy Fryer weighed in and proved to be the most consistent angler in the entire field all week, sitting in 4^th after day 1 with 16-02, 13-11 on day 2 pushed him into 2^nd overall and the final day Fryer brought in 19-02 to secure his spot in history with his 3-day total of 48lbs 15oz.

2023 TBF National Champion Boater Andy Fryer from Ohio and the Northern Division of TBF

For his win he earned the coveted Federation National Champion title and the $125,000 TBF “Live YOUR dream” prize package to include a new Ranger Z520R and 250 Hp Mercury his to keep, $20,000 cash, $5,000 paid entry fees, advancement to the BFL All-American and the Toyota series Championship, travel stipends a clothing package and more.

Co-Angler Champ

Consistency proved to be the winner on the Co-angler side too as Nebraska’s Chad Garton, Central Division angler lead the Co-Angler side wire to wire adding another 14-03 bag out of the back on the final day pushing his 3-day total to 37-06.

Garton took home the $35,000 co-angler prize package, including $20,000 cash, advancement opportunities, $2,500 paid entry fees, travel stipends, clothing package, a MinnKota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics, a power pole and more.

Chad Garton – 2023 Co-Angler National Champion

How they did it.

Many anglers reported Lake Of The Ozarks changed daily with fish being caught as shallow as 2 feet and as deep as 40 feet. While some reported jerk baits and Alabama rigs caught a few fish, most fish were listed as being caught on drop shots, jigs, spinner baits with a few crankbaits and swim baits mixed in.

The eventual TBF National Champion, Andy Fryer reported one bait accounted for the bulk of his catch while following a disciplined plan to win. 90 % of Fryer’s winning weight was caught on a local Ohio made Spinner bait from Blue Rock Custom Tackle. The Spinner bait flaunted double colorado blades with a skirt color called “Kicker” tipped with a white swim bait trailer. Fryer fished a little more than the first half of each day about halfway back in coves of the Glaze River arm, slow rolling the spinnerbait while the boat was in 10-15 of water. Then moved to the back of the coves where the majority of his fish came in only the last two hours of each day and in less than 3 feet of water.

Congratulations to your 2023 TBF Federation National Champion boater and Co-angler! 

For more info on how you can qualify through your home state federation for next year’s 2024 TBF National Championship visit bassfederation.com or call us at 580-765-9031

Coverage of the TBF National Championship will be broadcast nationally in high-definition on the Pursuit Channel and was streamed live daily on bassfederation.com.

About TBF The Bass Federation Inc. is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America and a member of the freshwater fishing hall of fame. TBF is 100 percent 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 50 years. The Bass Federation is proud “Partners in Fishing” with industry-leading companies including MLF, Ranger Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, T-H Marine, Power Pole, Lew’s, Strike King and FacultyOfFishing.com. For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com, or call 580-765-9031. Look for TBF on facebook at Facebook.com/thebassfederation and on twitter at Twitter.com/bassfederation

Full Results are on the National Championship Home page Here 

Daily Photo Albums are HERE

The dream of every Federation grassroots member is to fish the TBF Federation National Championship. This year is no exception. 102 of the very best Grassroots TBF anglers from across the US and Canada converged on Osage Beach Missouri and the banquet hall at the Inn at Grand Glaze for event registration today. At stake is yet another record payout of $404,000.00 dollars in cash, prizes, awards, and stipends for TBF angler lodging boat fuel and more.

The payout is nice, real nice, one of the largest in grassroot fishing, it includes a brand-new Ranger 520R powered by a 250 Mercury outboard, electronics trolling motor, power poles, CASH and more.  However, the most coveted items in the room were the Championship Trophy’s.

The only question now is WHO will take them home! Follow the daily action right here on Bassfederation.com, live leaderboard and live video as long as we can get an internet signal out.

The full field fishes Wednesday and Thursday and the 7 division Championship boaters and Non boaters fight it out on Friday for the National Championship titles and awards. Heaviest 3-day weight wins!

For full registration pictures of the bling and all the anglers in this event.  check out the photo album HERE.

Nations Top Grassroots Anglers Can Pack Their Bags And Head To Lake OF The Ozarks Missouri For The  2023 TBF National Championship March 29-31

BIGGER PRIZES FOR GRASSROOTS ANGLERS TO HELP MAKE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE!

Ponca City, OK. (November 7, 2022) – The Bass Federation (TBF) announced today that 102 of the nation’s top grassroots anglers will get their chance to “Live Their Dream” at the 2023 TBF Federation National Championship to be held on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, March 29-31, 2023.

“The Federation Championship has been held on many storied bodies of water over the decades and 2023 will be no exception.  Lake of the Ozarks has always been an angler favorite; in fact, I love to fish it myself.  It has come up on our surveys many times, so we are excited to partner with the Tri-County Lodging Association to make it happen.”  Stated Robert Cartlidge, TBF Federation National President. “Lake of the Ozarks is a destination lake that consistently produces, and has lots of things for everyone and their families to do while in the area.”

The March time frame on Lake of the Ozarks will be pre-spawn, and it should take a solid limit every day to do well there. The impoundment has a plethora of things to fish and will fit any fishing style.  TBF anglers competing in the “no entry fee” event will also enjoy stellar payouts where the prize purse will push $400,000.00 in cash and prizes due to the growth and success of the Federation’s close-to-home low cost TBF National Semi-Finals program that qualified all the anglers to get here.

“The Lake of the Ozarks is excited to welcome the 2023 TBF Federation National Championship and SAF Missouri High School State Championship in 2023.” Stated Lagina Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, Central Missouri’s Tri-County Lodging Association. “This is a new partnership, and we look forward to a successful event and many more collaborations in the future. We know the anglers will enjoy fishing in our little piece of paradise and anxiously await their arrival in spring of 2023!”

Competitors have qualified at 21 close-to-home district competitions in the TBF’s National Semi-Final system that span the traditional seven TBF geographical divisions.  The framework is designed to make it easier for TBF anglers to fish premier events by minimizing travel time and expenses. As noted because of the success of the new TBF National Semi-finals program, payout to the membership continues to climb annually.

All fifty-one boaters and fifty-one co-anglers competing in the National Championship will fish the first two days of the event and only the 7 Division Champion boaters and 7 Division Champion co-anglers will compete on the third and final day for the Living Your Dream Prize packages and the National Champion boater and co-angler titles.  In addition to the cash prizes, all anglers will receive a hotel room stipend from TBF for the actual event days as a part of their qualifying prize. Additionally, all Boaters will receive a cash fuel stipend to help offset their boat costs. All 14 finalists can earn a Living YOUR Dream prize package of various sizes, and can advance to the 2023 BFL All-American if they are qualified.

The National champions and overall winners will leave with the coveted TBF National Champion Boater and National Champion Co-angler Titles and a Living Your Dream (LYD) package. The boater National Champion’s LYD package is valued in excess of a whopping $125,000 in cash and prizes including a brand-new Ranger Z520 powered by Mercury 250HP outboard engine, Lowrance Electronics and MinnKota Trolling Motor rigged out and all their own to KEEP!  PLUS, a significant CASH prize, paid entry fee stipend into whatever they want to fish and much more!

The Federation strongly believes in the value of co-anglers, so the 2023 National Champion Co-Angler LYD package will be worth over $30,000, including 20K cash PLUS set paid entry stipends into the circuit of choice, and more!

Coverage of the TBF National Championship will be broadcasted in high-definition in the Federation Angler TV block on the Pursuit Channel, on Outdoor Action TV and streamed live from the Lake of the Ozarks event daily on bassfederation.com.

For more information about Lake of the Ozarks, please contact:

Central Missouri’s Tri-County Lodging Association, 573-348-0111, www.funlake.com

About TBF

The Bass Federation Inc. is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America and a member of the fresh water fishing hall of fame. TBF is 100 percent 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 50 years. The Bass Federation is proud “Partners in Fishing” with industry-leading companies including Ranger Boats, Lowrance, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Humminbird, MinnKota, Berkley, T-H Marine, MLF, Power Pole, Lew’s, Strike King and FacultyOfFishing.com. For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com, or call 580-765-9031. Look for TBF on facebook at Facebook.com/thebassfederation and on twitter at Twitter.com/bassfederation.

###

The 2022 District 1 National Semi-finals was held October 8th and 9th on the Harris Chain of Lakes. It was a tough weekend due to the loss of two very important people in the fishing community. We lost Mr. Ed Fry and then one week later we lost Mr. Jeff Zesiger. Our hearts were heavy, but I know they were watching over us all.

Congratulations to Raymond Trudeau and Jon Christian from Florida and Jon Gagnon and Jeffrey Hickman from Georgia.  They will advance to the 2023 TBF National Championship.

We also want to recognize The Inn on the Green. They placed pictures of Ed and Jeff in their lobby, along with welcome notes in each anglers’ rooms. Their act of kindness goes a very long way. For full results and photos CLICK HERE