BRP EXPANDS EVINRUDE PROGRAM WITH THE BASS FEDERATION (TBF) ORGANIZATION

Sturtevant, Wis., May 5, 2010 – BRP and Evinrude announce the renewed partnership with The Bass Federation (TBF), the oldest and largest organized grass roots angling organization in the United States. TBF members are eligible for product rebates as well as contingency tournament funds through the expanded program.

The 2010 program offers an expanded voucher program, incentivising potential engine purchasers to buy an Evinrude E-TEC outboard engine. The lucrative voucher program is available to current federation members in each state chapter and is in addition to any current Evinrude retail incentive programs. A cash contingency has also been added to state federation winners running Evinrude E-TEC product at each state championship event.

“The TBF is the perfect match for our grass roots marketing efforts,” stated Yves Leduc, vice president – general manager for BRP’s North America Division. “The 30,000-plus membership and their participation in more than 20,000 fishing, youth and conservations events each year is a direct line to our core consumer target. It’s a win-win relationship for Evinrude and TBF,” Leduc concluded.

The TBF voucher program will be available from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011. State federation members who purchase an Evinrude E-TEC outboard engine or a Ranger/Evinrude package during the promotional period will accrue $1 per horsepower which will be added to each states voucher program total. State groups can redeem the voucher money for an assortment of Evinrude products. For official voucher rules, please visit www.bassfederation.com.

Evinrude engines’ reputation for dependability, quality and reliability coupled with the fact that Evinrude E-TEC is the only outboard with no dealer scheduled maintenance for 3 years or 300 hours makes the decision to power with Evinrude E-TEC an easy one. Having the lowest operating costs of any outboard engine means that powering with an Evinrude E-TEC can save consumers up to $1,600 per year in fuel and maintenance costs.

BRP’s Evinrude E-TEC engine line-up now includes 98 engine models from 15- to 300- horsepower. All engines are available at Evinrude dealerships worldwide. Visit www.evinrude.com for more information. Follow us on www.facebook.com/BRPEvinrude.

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorized recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and sport boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, direct injection technologies such as E-TEC, Can-Am all-terrain vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines and karts.

www.brp.comSki-Doo, Lynx, Sea-Doo, Evinrude, Johnson, Can-Am, Rotax, E-TEC and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. or its affiliates.

TBF Conservation Directors Meet in Knoxville

Twenty two state Conservation Directors from across the country met for three days of meetings during the 2010 TBF National Championship presented by the National Guard.

The group took field trips to a habitat site constructed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency along with the Tennessee Bass Federation and observed new techniques for building nursery habitat structures utilizing donated Christmas Trees from the Knoxville area community.

They also visited a warm water hatchery where facility manager Mike Smith explained the purpose and operation of this great facility.

Day two brought in Dr. Philip Moy from The Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute who explained the Asian Carp dilemma that threatens the great lakes ecosystem if its path of migration continues on its present course.

Dr. Moy is also an expert on other invasive species such as the Zebra Muscle and the Quaggi Mussel. He shared his thoughts and experiences with the group on the efforts to control the spread of all invasive species and where he thinks efforts should be made by our membership to facilitate this goal.

On the Final day the group heard from representatives from both the TVA and the TWRA on their combined efforts to restore habitat and species to the Streams and Reservoirs of East Tennessee.

Add those events to handling the Fish Care duties for the National Championship Tournament and these hard working ladies and gentleman had a full week of activities.

The group ended the sessions with some guidance on constructing and distributing a Conservation Survey and a few topics and projects for next years program.

Thanks again for all of those who attended and provided the much needed and appreciated manpower required to conduct and event of this caliber.

Mark Gintert

National Youth And

Conservation Director

Jay Keith, from Camden, S.C. crowned the 2010 Federation National Champion

The final day of the 2010 Federation National Championship, presented by the National Guard left Jay Keith, from Camden, S.C., the Champion boater and Matthew Hartman, from Fredricksburg, Pa., the Champion co-angler. The first two days of competition were held on Watts Bar Lake, in Kingston, Tenn. Today’s final weigh-in was held in conjunction with the final day of the FLW tour event at the Knoxville Convention Center, in Knoxville, Tenn. The 14 TBF anglers fished hard and reigned successful thus far to get to the final contest, and like predicted the results came down to just ounces.

Jay Keith with reigning Champ Robert Harkness

Jay Keith with reigning Champ Robert Harkness

The crowd grew still awaiting the results, while the last two anglers left in contention stood side by side on stage to see the weight brought in by the final angler and yesterday’s tournament leader, Jason Knapp, from Uniontown, Pa. Tension mounted; then, excitement filled the air for Jay Keith as six ounces separated him and Knapp, and pronounced him the 2010 Federation National Champion. “I was nervous and trying to hide it; I thought Knapp had a good bag, I wasn’t sure, but I know he’s a great fishermen,” Keith said. He thought weather might have had a lot to do with the catches today. “I can’t catch them well when it’s cloudy; I caught my four fish by 9am and kept digging, but couldn’t get the fifth. I’m very surprised I won today without bringing in a limit of bass.”

Keith had a lot of people to thank, namely, TBF and FLW Outdoors, all the sponsors and his co-angler from South Carolina, Adam Williamson, who gave his support and great advice. More than anything Keith had his heart on his family. “All this is for my brother. We lost him in September and day one, Thursday, was his birthday, I did this for him; I won this for him.” Our hearts go out to him and his family this week.

His wife echoed his excitement and was possibly more nervous than him. “I’m just so proud of Jay. He’s worked so hard and wanted this for so long. The only thing that could make this better is if our son was here or could hear the news.” The Keith’s son is a soldier in the United States Marines defending our freedom in Afghanistan.

Keith brought in 4 fish weighing 12lb 13 ounces making his total tournament weight 46lb 11ounces. Our winner on the co-angler side also caught four bass weighing 10lb 2 ounces making his total 27lb 7ounces.

All 14 of these TBF anglers have earned the opportunity to fish in the BFL All-American and our top boater and co-angler will get the chance to fish in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup. So, these 14 anglers have definitely made it in the money, and our TBF champion anglers will receive the opportunity to compete in the most prestigious bass fishing tournaments in the world, through TBF and our partners in FLW Outdoors.

Full results can be seen here

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF), is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America. TBF is 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 more than 40 years.

For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com, or call 580.765.9031.

14 TBF Anglers advance to the final day of the 2010 Federation National Championship

Presented by the National Guard on Watts Bar Lake, in Kingston, Tenn. to compete for the Championship titles.

Fishing today was tougher for some, better for others as day two of the 2010 Federation National Championship presented by the National Guard comes to a close. 14 TBF anglers, the top boater and co-angler from each of the 7 TBF divisions will advance to find out who will be leaving here National Champions. Those 14 anglers have already proven their worth and displayed skill and diligence making it through the local, state, & divisional tournaments. Now, they’ve conquered the top of their respective divisions and earned a spot in the BFL All-American, to be held May 25-27in Hot Springs, Ark. For most it will be the first time they’ll get to compete at that level. However, right now the focus is on the championship titles at stake, and the final day of fishing to decide the 2010 Federation National Champions, and the champion boater who will be “Living the Dream” fishing the FLW Outdoors Pro tour next year.

Today’s tournament leader on the boater side is, Jason Knapp, from Uniontown, Pa., representing the state of

Jason Knapp

Jason Knapp

Michigan and the TBF Northern Division. He had a five bass limit today of 19lb 5 ounces making his tournament total 34lb 13 ounces. Knapp caught his fish site fishing and brought in quite the limit. He snatched up a range of bass including, one largemouth, one spotted, and three smallmouths. “I just want to thank Jeff Cox and the Michigan TBF,” Knapp said. Tomorrow is a new day of fishing so we’ll see if he can hold on to the top spot.

Less than a pound away in second place, Jay Keith, from Camden, S.C., representing the TBF Southern Division had a limit weighing 17lb 12 ounces making his total tournament weight 33lb 14 ounces. Keith came all the way from 9th place and rattled the competition to take over the number two spot. Keith was using an All-Star 7 2 Frog Rod with a Pflueger Tron Reel and Berkley 20lb big game, flipping a gambler, “flappy daddy” on the back of an Ernest Langley Jig. “I think I burned them up today and now they’re moving. But, I think I know where they’re going, so, tomorrow I will be moving with the fish,” Keith said. “I just want to thank the TBF, the South Carolina TBF and FLW Outdoors; this tournament, the Z520 Comanche Ranger Boats, and all the equipment have run great.”

Eric Guimond

Eric Guimond

Eric Guimond, from Standish, Maine, brought in a limit of bass weighing 16lb 9 ounces making his total tournament weight 30lb 2 ounces. Guimond is in the third place slot, representing the TBF Eastern Division.

Holding the tournament’s fourth spot is Clint Farris, from Crowley, Texas, with a limit weighing 12lb 7 ounces making his total weight 28lb 11 ounces. He qualified for the tournament as a co-angler and a last minute family emergency hindered the boater from his state, pushing Farris up to the boater competition. So far, so good for Farris as his boat, Farris and his co-angler, have brought in about 30lb of bass each day. “I’m just going to keep on keeping on,” Farris said. “I think the fish will replenish again tomorrow.” We’ll see tomorrow if it will be enough to knock out the current tournament leaders.

Fishing for the second slot in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup, presented by BP and Castrol is our leader on the co-angler side, Adam Williamson, from Ridgeway, SC, representing the TBF Southern Division. He caught four keepers weighing 10lb 11 ounces making his tournament total 24lb 2 ounces. Williamson has already earned a spot in the BFL All-American being the top co-angler in his division. “My goal was to make it to the BFL All-American and I made the cut by 2 ounces; I’ve never made it this far before and I’m excited,” Williamson said. He plans to fish the same way he has all week, which has clearly worked so far. “Well, I had a great boater today in John Pritchett and I owe the whole catch to him. He let me go to my waters to fish and we both ended up with good bags.”

The competition is heating up and the anglers are focused on the prize; the final day of the 2010 Federation National Championship will highlight the TBF anglers who’ve rose above the pack and earned the right to be crowned TBF National Champions, and for one the opportunity to be “Living the Dream” fishing on the FLW tour.

The “Living the Dream” $100,000 cash and prize package will include, fully paid entry fees into the FLW tour, travel funds and use of a wrapped Ranger Boat and Chevrolet truck for the year. Also, the 2010 National Champions, on the boater and non-boater side, will be receiving entrance into the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol, Aug 5-8th, in Atlanta, Ga.

The third stop on the 2010 FLW tour is being held in Knoxville, Tenn., on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes, where our 2009 Federation National Champion, Robert Harkness, will be “Living the Dream”, competing for his share in cash and prizes, proving just how much is on the line this week at the 2010 Federation National Championship.

The final day of the Federation National Championship will be held in conjunction with the final weigh-in day of the FLW tour event at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tenn. The TBF competitors will launch each day at 7am at Ladd Park, on Watts Bar Lake, in Kingston, Tenn. Weigh-in begins each day at 3pm.

Take-offs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The standings for the top 7 boaters advancing to the final day of the 2010 Federation National Championship are as follows; Jason Knapp, Uniontown, Pa.; Jay Keith, Camden, S.C.; Eric Guimond, Standish, Maine; Clint Farris, Crowley, Texas; Edward Loughran, Mechanicsville, Va.; Jason Rayls, Haskell, Texas; Brandon Palaniuk, Rathdrum, Idaho.

The standings for the top 7 co-anglers are as follows; Adam R Williamson, Ridgeway, S.C.; Randy Pierson, Oakdale, Calif.; Matthew Hartman, Fredricksburg, Pa.; Kevin Wells, South Shore, Ky.; Matt King, Olathe, Kan.; Gilbert Gagner, Highgate Springs, Vt.; Boyd Golightly, Preston, Idaho.

Full results can be seen here

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF), is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America. TBF is 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 more than 40 years.

For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com, or call 580.765.9031.