Morgantown hosts the 2009 TBF Mid-Atlantic Division Championship

The bite is TOUGH right now on the Monongahela!

Jeff Miller Day 1 Leader

Jeff Miller Day 1 Leader

While the city of Morgantown, WV. has been a very gracious host for days while the TBF division championship anglers have been in town, The “Mon” as the locals call it, is rearing its head this week and is refusing to give up its bounty. Normally it will take 15 or 16 pounds a day here to win an event, but most of the typically stained “Mon” is ultra clear right now, (not all of it but most of it), with no current and no place for the baitfish to hide. So, they are balled up in the middle of the river channel and the wily bass are suspended up underneath them and can feed at will. Suspended bass are notorious difficult to catch, they will just sit there and watch you throw everything in the boat at them and then go on by…….its brutally tough.

As is always the case someone will figure out a way to catch some fish, this event is no exception and the team from Pennsylvania “caught them good” today, ….all things being relative on the term “good” of course! The 12 man squad from PA leads with a team total of 28 pounds and 9 ounces. West Virginia jumped from last to finish in second with 25-15 and Virginia sits in third at 20-09.

Anchoring the Pennsylvania Team as the tournament overall leader is Jeff Miller, this Johnstown, Pa angler weighed in a one of only two five bass limits that weighed out at 6.03. Understandably all the anglers were very tight lipped

Eric Hail

Eric Hail

about what they were doing and where. The other limit of the day was weighed in by West Virginia’s own Robby Fleshman his five weighed 5.01.

Proving that there are big bass in the Monongahela river, Oil City, Pa angler Eric Heil had the big bass honors today with one fish that weighed exactly 5 pounds! That one fish landed him in 4th overall.

Day 2 of 3 days of weigh-in begins at 3pm EST in downtown Morgantown, West Virginia at the Hazel Ruby McQuin Park amphitheater, right on the riverwalk, it is free to the public.

Anglers Taking Terminally Ill Children Fishing – A.T.T.I.C Fishing

This year marked the first annual A.T.T.I.C Fishing event. Wonderland Marine West worked hand in hand with the Make A Wish Foundation to make this a day to remember. A.T.T.I.C. Fishing stands for anglers taking terminally ill children fishing. We feel this is an important event as too many times we tend to get caught up in the competitive nature of this wonderful sport. It is nice to get back to the grass roots and give our time and effort to a truly rewarding experience. The smiles on these children’s faces was the most fulfilling part of the day.

Wonderland Marine West and it’s Pro Staff and friends did a phenomenal job of getting this event kicked off. We worked lots of hours and burned the candle at both ends to make sure the kids got everything they hoped for. We would like to thank the sponsors that made this event the success it was and will continue to be. Home Depot, Brandi Rawks Productions, ButterKrust Bakery, Kroger, Frito Lays, Bass Pro Shops, and Inflatable Planets – THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS!!! Also, for all of the anglers that showed up – WE THANK YOU!

For 2010 we plan to make this event bigger and better. This year provided a day of fishing, workshops from Home Depot, FREE FOOD, and bouncy toys for the kids. Next year we plan to offer more for the families thru increased sponsor participation. This means taking more children fishing and providing more entertainment off the water.

Please take a look at the link I have posted below, it includes some great photos of this year’s event.

http://attic.brandirawks.com/atticfishing.zip

The Bass Federation Conservation Directors form four advisory teams

As was previously reported in the July edition of FLW Outdoors, The Bass Federation Conservation Directors formed four advisory teams to help meet the needs our resources and to support our membership. The teams formed during the TBF National Championship presented by the National Guard in Branson, Mo. are focused on media, legislative, education and conservation project development. Each team consists of at least one state conservation director from each region. Although there is activity in most of the areas, the legislative team would like to update TBF members and others on the steps we are taking to monitor important issues, the actions that are needed to prepare us to be better informed and be ready to respond as rapidly and efficiently as we can when necessary.

The major issue for all fishermen and fisheries biologist is the need for clean water and access to the same. There are two major activities that we need to monitor; the increased demand for water and possible legislation that could affect our waters.

As the urban population continues to explode across the Nation, many cities and states will not have sufficient water resources for the increased demand. Presently, the Oklahoma Attorney General is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the North Texas water district that claims it has the right to buy billions of gallons of water in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a moratorium on out-of-state water sales. San Antonio, Texas is proposing a pipeline from the Gulf of Mexico to supply water to that urban area with the continued pressure placed on the Edwards Aquifer, the major supply for that area. You can be sure these same types of issues are going on in most of your regions as well. Although we do not have a clear solution to the problem, we need to make sure our lakes, rivers and streams are not compromised by restrictions on the fishing, boating or other recreational uses. We also need to continue to closely monitor Federal legislation on water and water rights.

The challenges we face is how do we organize, keep everyone informed and at the same time respond to our elected officials in a fast and efficient manner. There are several things we can do and some are already in progress.

Presently we have developed several partnerships with other like-minded organizations, similar to the one we have with FLW Outdoors. Our plan is to continue adding more organizations that share the same focus on conservation issues and have established over site on federal legislative issues. These partnerships will help keep us better informed on important issues; they also add a greater voice to the concerns of TBF members during any legislative process. To increase the focus of individual state issues, we are identifying contacts in the various state fisheries/DNR divisions. The fisheries department in our states should be our first line of communication concerning issues that affect local/state waters. As always anyone having questions, needing help with an issue or finding a local contact in your area can contact the National TBF office.

The key to responding on conservation issues is the development of state/club response networks. TBF state federations are developing email contacts in every club. The clubs will be asked to develop an email process directly to their local members. On a much broader scale, TBF headquarters already has the ability to issue a call to action, via our national email blast system helping us activate our more than 30,000 TBF members in a matter of hours. For those who are not current TBF members, we invite you to join TBF for there is power in numbers and one more person can make a difference. Member or not please fill free to interface with a local club or our National Conservation office to stay informed and available to help in support of issues as they come up. All of these are important elements in keeping our lakes, rivers and streams available for access and continuing to improve the quality of our fisheries.

The goal of the TBF Conservation Directors is to “Save Our Fisheries Together”. These are four simple words; however we must work together with our partners, TBF members, fisheries professionals, and individuals to meet the challenges in the future so there will be clean fishable water available, not only for us, but for those generations to come.

Don Linder

Oklahoma Bass

Jim Gildea Is The Eastern Division Champion, Vermont Wins Third Eastern Division Championship Team Title In Four Years

16 Eastern Division anglers advance to the 2010 TBF Federation National Championship, Presented by The National Guard.

Weston Massachusetts angler Jim Gildea showed why he is a “big stick” in the eastern division as he propelled himself to the top of the Eastern Division standings at just the right time….on the final day.

Gildea’s three day total of 46 pounds and 5 ounces was nearly five pounds ahead of Canadian angler Dr. Alvin Tung’s final weight of 41-08 who finished second, both of these anglers made their jump to the top on the final day. Gildea’s fish came while “junk” fishing, Gildea was scrambling from fish to fish and throwing “just about everything”, he said. Most of his fish came off or near the river channel buoys on the south end of Lake Champlain. The affable Gildea is no stranger to the leaderboard in the new England circuits, but a TBF Eastern Division Champion title is something he was thrilled to have and something no one can ever take away from him, this year in 2009, he is the very best there is in the Eastern Division. Not only does Gildea win the division champions title and plaque, he is on his way to the 2010 TBF Federation, National Championship, presented by the National Guard the week of April 19th in Knoxville, TN. He also would up with the Castrol Maximum Performer Bonus Cash Award and the Ranger Cup bonus money in this event.

The first two days, Tung fished smallmouth and did ok but was not getting the weight he needed, the final day he switched to targeting largemouth with one Nories NF60 Frog , it paid off in a big way as his final day bag of 19-15 was the biggest of the event and pushed his total to 41-08. Only two ounces back at 41-06 is New York’s Tim Post, Post led his team from wire to wire during the event he also weighted in his biggest bag on the final day that weighed 14-15. Rounding out the top five was Vermont’s Todd Burnelle 40-11 and Maine’s Eric Guimond with 39-11.

In the team standings it was Vermont! Massachusetts led the first day and New Hampshire the second but the Vermont team also took the lead on the final day. Vermont has won three of the last four years of division champions titles. New Hampshire was the defending champions however, the Vermont team wanted the Division Cup back in Vermont, they worked together as a team and they went and got it by a margin of nearly 40 pounds.