Rodriguez and the Delaware state team have led it from start to finish at the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Division Championship presented by Lowrance on the Potomac River.  Two days ago, 84 TBF anglers launched out of Small Wood State Park in Marbury, Md., with hopes of becoming this year’s Mid-Atlantic Division Champions.  But, for most, the goal was earning a piece of the pie, a slot at the 2013 Federation National Championship.  14 TBF anglers advanced today.  They will meet next spring at the national event to compete for their share of over $200,000 in cash and prizes and the “Living the Dream” prize package.

Dan Rodriguez from Monkton, Md., had a five bass limit weighing 12lbs 5ounces making his tournament total 40lbs 10ounces.  “I started off in low water working my homemade jig with a red havoc pitboss as a trailer,” Rodriguez said.    “The crawfish had a lot of red in their claws, and so I put on that red trailer and worked with it.”  Rodriguez has fished with the homemade jig for 10 years, and this year it’s won him back to back tournaments out of the Chesapeake Bay and now the division championship.  “It has a lifelike fall; when it lifts up off the bottom it just glides like a crawfish.  I’m telling you it’s a deadly jig.” Continue reading

Mid-Atlantic state team anglers inched one day closer to the titles and all the glory as day two of the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Division Championship wrapped up on the Potomac River.  The competition’s wide open as the standings are tight both in the individual and overall state team standings.  But, yesterday’s leaders Rodriguez of Maryland and the Delaware state team are fighting hard to shut them down.  Tomorrow, we’ll see who will claim the division champion titles and earn a ticket the national contest.

The 14 anglers advancing from TBF’s Mid-Atlantic division will meet next spring on Grand Lake in Grove, Okla.  There they’ll compete against each other and the top two division champions in each state from six other TBF divisions. 94 total anglers, including the top two Canadian Bass Federation anglers and the ACA Collegiate National Champions, will go head to head for over $200,000 in cash and prizes and the esteemed “Living the Dream” prize package.  The package includes paid entry in the FLW Tour as a tour pro for the year with travel expenses and use of a wrapped Ranger Boat and Chevrolet truck. Continue reading

Rumors of canceling day one of the championship were silenced early this morning as the sun rose on the Potomac River and 84 TBF state team anglers launching out of Small Wood State Park in Marbury, Md.  Yesterday, the forecast called for a severe tornado warning to sweep the area leaving tournament officials to make a last minute call dependent on weather.  But, today skies were clear and day one of the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Division Championship presented by Lowrance rolled on without a hitch. Continue reading