June 18, 2010; Truman Lake, MO – Matt King of Olathe, Kansas came from being down by nearly 10 lbs from yesterday’s overall leader, Kerry Milner, to win the individual overall division champions title in the 2010 Central Division Championship Tournament Presented by Evinrude E-TEC.

King weighed in a monster sack of 21 lbs 4 oz today and was the largest stringer of the entire tournament, by far. What a comeback! The only one close to that weight was his draw partner today, Don Heiser of MO, who caught 16 lbs 5 oz. in the same boat.

King earned himself another trip to the TBF Federation Championship. “I changed it up a little bit and felt like I burned my fish the first 2 days. Today, I went out and fished the areas on this lake that I generally fish in the late spring and early summer, where fish should be this time of year,” King said. He was fishing the ledges in about 15-25’ of water and caught most of his fish on a Carolina Rig using a Brush Hog and a 6” lizard.

Kerry Milner, the day 1 and 2 leader looked pretty solid going into the final day with his 10 lb lead going into the final day. He had a late draw in the flights today and by the time he got to his favorite spots, they were already covered. That didn’t stop him, he still managed to bring in 3 fish for 8 lbs 4 oz, which was enough to secure his spot as the top angler from Arkansas in the TBF National Championship next spring. Milner, who owns a lawn care business says, “This is my first qualifier and I am definitely looking forward to it. I’m looking to go full-time fishing.” The TBF ‘Living the Dream’ package is looking pretty good to him right now!

Another first-time TBF National Championship qualifier is Missouri’s Bobby Carleton, who finished the tournament in 8th place overall with 25 lbs 1 oz. He started off slow the first day, but came back and secured his spot in the National Championship as the top Missouri contender. He caught his limit today on a Carolina Rig, Super Hog – Watermelon Candy. Carleton says “I went back to the spot where I caught 3 fish yesterday and didn’t realize how good the spot was” He had 4 keepers by 8am, as did his non-boater.

Oklahoma’s Jody Linder will be preparing himself for his second trip to a Federation National Championship next year. He was pretty consistent over the 3 days. “I was flipping willow trees using a baby brush hog”. He caught 5 lbs 3 oz today. Even though he didn’t bring in as much as he had the first 2 days, it was enough to win his state. Jody says, “I move around a lot and fast, which means I cover twice as many trees as other anglers.” His other team members had a little bit tougher tournament this time and weren’t able to hang on to some keepers. “This was a great tournament for me, I never lost a fish. It was just my time, my turn, that’s the way fishing works”.

As for the team results, Arkansas came out on top with a 3 day total weight of 205 lbs 5 oz, an 8 lb 10 oz lead over the 2nd place host team of Missouri. Kansas finished in 3rd.

Other than the 3 mentioned above, thirteen more TBF members will be moving on to the 2011 TBF National Championship, where they will fish for their share of cash and prizes. For the qualifying anglers, the ultimate prize package of any TBF Member is the $100,000 ‘Living the Dream’ package. The top angler from each state qualifies as the boater and the second place angler form each state as the Co-Angler. Those qualifying from the eight central division states:

Arkansas

Angler: Kerry Milner

Co-Angler: Donnie Cobb

Kansas

Angler: Matt King

Co-Angler: Casey Scanlon

Louisiana

Angler: Billy Graves

Co-Angler: Steve Cagle

Missouri

Angler: Bobby Carleton

Co-Angler: Eddie Wolfe

Mississippi

Angler: Sam Husley

Co-Angler: Brandon Bolton

Nebraska

Angler: Robert Hime

Co-Angler: Doug Borer

Oklahoma

Angler: Jody Linder

Co-Angler: MIKE ZACKARY

Texas

Angler: James Biggs

Co-Angler: Dennis Hastings

Full results can be found on our tournament results page HERE

TBF anglers went into day two of the 2010 TBF Central Division Championship, presented by Evinrude E-TEC in Warsaw, Mo., on Truman Lake, hoping for a second chance to hit ‘em hard, better conditions and maybe a little luck to light the way. What they got deemed tougher than yesterday, as the water continues to rise, shifting the bite tremendously. These anglers must adapt as the fish adapt to the changes in the levels and currents, which is no easy feat. Despite tough conditions, tomorrow will decide our state and overall Central Division champions; it looks like it will come down to ounces as the race is tight and those who triumph will definitely have earned their keeps.

Bringing in another 16lb 3ounces today is, Kerry Milner, from Bono, Ark., that limit of bass makes his total weight 32lb 6ounces.

Milner incorporated the same strategies he did yesterday to help him earn his catch, and facing the same conditions as the other anglers he thought the bite was much tougher today. “Today was a lot, lot tougher; I didn’t catch them early like I hoped,” Milner said. He landed a big and small fish early on, but didn’t complete his limit until later. “It was late afternoon before I got things going; I hit a good school and there I finished up my bag for the day.” Milner has four hot spots he’s rotating through, but he isn’t quite confident in tomorrow’s bite. “I’ll be fishing with another angler who is leading his state, so it might be a little tougher hitting my waters, but hopefully we’ll both be good for each other.” Milner’s grasp on the lead will be hard to crack, and though he’s not completely confident for tomorrow, there is one thing he’s totally confident in. “I’ve got the right bait; I think that’s the key.”

Milner has a sound hold on the top spot, but pushing hard to knock him off are four anglers from the state team of Kansas. Currently, second to fifth are all Kansas anglers separated by ounces, fighting neck and neck for the title, and not to mention, the top spots in their state, which will advance them to the national contest. In second place individually and out in front for Kansas by 6 ounces, is Casey Scanlon, from Lenexa, Kansas, with a total of 23lb 10ounces.

“I’m going to try not to worry about all the guys behind me; I’m just looking ahead,” Scanlon said. Truman Lake is his “home lake” and even so he said the bite is tougher than normal. “It’s a real tough bite; with the water rising daily the fish are kind of in limbo, making the bites real scattered.” Pre-fishing Scanlon found some fish deep but with the changes he’s slightly adjusted his approach. “I’ve got a two technique approach working; I’m just flippin bushes up shallow and Carolina riggin deep.” With the pressure of his teammates right on his heels and the unfamiliarity’s of this ever so familiar lake, Scanlon’s plan for tomorrow remains simple. “I’m just going to go out and do what I got to do to get five; as long as I get five, that’s my plan.”

In the state team standings, Arkansas continued its lead with 138lb 4ounces. But, Missouri made quite a jump today climbing from fourth and is not far behind with 129lb 4ounces. Kansas held tight to third with 118lb 3ounces, and making a drop from second is Nebraska with 95lb. In fifth, is Texas with 39lb 5ounces and then Louisiana with 89lb 15ounces. Seventh and eighth are Missouri with 88lb 13ounces and Oklahoma with 87lb 14ounces, respectively.

Overall, fishing was tougher on everybody today as a mere seven limits of bass were brought to the stage and there is only four anglers in the entire field who have weighed in a limit both days. Tomorrow will be the last chance for these anglers to go out there and give Truman all they’ve got to see which anglers and which state will be crowned 2010 Central Division Champions. It should prove to be quite a day of fishing, as we’ll see which anglers will conquer the bite amidst the pressure, excitement and tough conditions.

Full standings are on the TOURNAMENTS RESULTS PAGE HERE

Final day weighin will start at 2:30 pm at Truman Lakes Long Shoal Marina, it is free to the public.

Uncertainties shake bite; high water levels, imminent flooding play huge role

Weather conditions left anglers struggling as day one of the 2010 TBF Central Division Championship, Presented by Evinrude E-TEC kicked off today in Warsaw, Mo., on Truman Lake, as 96 anglers from eight states battle it out for the individual and state team championship titles. The three official practice days were lined with thunderstorms and the bite was fairly good by most reports. Today, high pressure, no wind and sunny, bluebird skies dominated. The lake is high which is rising about a foot per day; nearly everything on the bank is trampled by floods, leaving places and banks typically great for fishing out. With conditions nothing close to what they faced pre-fishing, several anglers found it tough to make the bite, as only 9 limits were caught and 26 anglers came up empty handed.

This week of competition will see 16 TBF anglers advance to the 2011 Federation National Championship where they’ll vie for nearly a quarter of a million in cash and prizes and the chance to “Live the Dream” on the FLW Pro Tour for a year with entries paid, travel expense money and use of a wrapped Chevrolet truck and Ranger boat. With all this in mind, anglers look to tomorrow to pick up the bite and see if the weather will shine them a grin.

As is always the case, someone figures out the puzzle. Pulling out above the pack, Kerry Milner, from Bono, Ark., caught a five bass limit today weighing 16lb 3ounces.

Milner started out fishing shallow, then moved to off-shore structure to catch his limit by 9am. “I hope tomorrow’s weather will be better, maybe help us out more,” Milner said. When asked about tomorrow’s strategy he said, “I really took it easy on them in those spots today; I think they’ll be there again.” Milner’s non-boater today also caught a limit of bass. “I had a great partner; we had a good time and both caught limits.”

Holding down second in individual standings is, Dennis Hastings, from Flower Mounds, Texas. Hastings only managed four fish, but they weighed a solid 12lb 13ounces. “Starting out we just made a milk run pitching all different types of vegetation,” Hastings said. He put together a pattern pre-fishing, but today changed all that. “It was nothing like we saw pre-fishing, it was sunny; that changed the bite a lot.” He commented the game plan tomorrow will reflect that, namely, based on what happens in the morning. “It’s just a grind; we adjusted in the morning and covered a lot of water; I actually caught my last fish 20 minutes before weigh-in.” He gave much credit to his Nebraska partner, Robert Hime. “I couldn’t have done what I did without him.”

On the state team side, Arkansas snatched a sound lead bringing in 76lb 4ounces. A few pounds away is the Nebraska state team with 61lb 15ounces. Next, is Kansas with 53lb 12ounces. In fourth, Missouri with 50lb even. Then, Louisiana-42lb 5ounces, Texas-39lb 5ounces, Mississippi-35lb 10ounces and Oklahoma-31lb 15ounces. But with these weights it is far from over, look for things to shake up tomorrow. Day 2 weigh-in begins at 2:30pm tomorrow at Long Shoal Marina and it is free to the public.

Full Results are HERE