Team Texas Makes Huge Jump Into The Lead After Day Two at Lake Dardanelle

2009 Central Division Day 2

Awtry leads the individual division champion’s race.

June 4, 2009

Lake Dardenelle, AR – Donny Awtry of Watauga, Texas took the lead in the overall standings by a mere 2 ounces, moving up from 4th place. He also leads his state in individual standings with a 2-day weight total 27 lbs and 3 oz turning in another five-fish limit. Donny switches places with yesterday’s Texas leader and Big Bass winner, Nathan Bourque.

Local angler Justin Lancaster of Plainview, AR is still standing strong right behind the division leader Awtry, trailing by 2 oz with 27 lbs 1 oz. Justin has managed a limit both days in the same area, we will see if it will hold up one more day. Lancaster did say he was using lures on the top of the water and grass. When asked if living only a few miles down the highway gives him an advantage above the other anglers, Justin says, “It definitely helps!” Justin has been a member of TBF since 2004 and is the top angler in Arkansas Federation.

In team standings, Texas and Oklahoma also switched places, Texas now leads at 147-03. Their 25lb 13oz lead is “comfortable,” but certainly not insurmountable. With 12 anglers on each team 25 pounds is really only one (1)- two pound fish person, so anything can still happen. Team Texas Anglers Donny Awtry, Clint Farris and John Littleton all caught their 5 fish limit in day 2. Team totals were actually 4 lbs less than the first day, but Oklahoma took a largest team nose dive in total weight by about 27 lbs, turning in only 44 lbs 4 oz today and winding up with a two day total of 121-06, which is still enough to hang on to second.

We all thought our Big Bass winner was turned in early in the first flight. Matt King of Olathe, Kansas turned in a nice bass weighing 5 lb 3 oz. Matt had a great day of fishing, turning in 4 live bass with a total weight of 14 lbs 11 oz! Some fisherman thought the cold front that moved through the area negatively affected their fishing from the first day, but Matt made some changes in his fishing and thought it definitely helped him. His four fish weight was only 13 oz short of his state teammate and Kansas leader Scott Hamel of Stockton, Kansas who turned in his five fish limit that finished up as the big bag of the day at 15-08.

The Kansas anglers today were making their move we’re all wondering what they all did different! In the second flight, we had our Big Bass Winner checked in. Kerry Kreup, non-boater from Paola, Kansas paired with Rick Riley, boat 14. His bass weighed a very nice 5 lbs 7 oz. That tops yesterdays Big Bass by 3 oz.

With those three anglers from Kansas having a fantastic fishing day, Team Kansas won day 2 with team totals being 75 lbs 13 oz. That is a 34 lb 1 oz jump, from day 1 to day 2, making their 2 day total 117 lbs 9 oz.

So Texas sits in first place in the team standings and looks on a roll to win the division Champions title and the Central Championship Cup, at this point this is their event to win or lose. Only 4 lbs separates the 2, 3 and 4 place team standings of Oklahoma, Louisiana and Kansas respectively. Individual standings can go either way in some states and is fairly well set in others at this point. The top two anglers from each state will advance to the 2010 TBF Federation National Championship, Presented by the National Guard and compete for their share of the nearly 250,000.00 prize purse, including the TBF “Living The Dream” Package. The top placing anglers form each state will proceed as a boater and the second place anglers form each state as a co-angler. Final weigh-in starts Friday at 2:30pm CST and is free to the public.

2009 Western Divisional – Day 2

Day two finds a new leader, Utah still on top

Twenty, TBF anglers are one, 8 hr day away from qualifying for the 2010 Federation National Championship presented by the National Guard. Ten anglers from the Northwest Division and 10 Southwest Division anglers will move on to fish for their share of nearly a quarter of a million dollars, which includes $100,000 TBF Living the Dream Package. Each state will advance their top angler as the boater and their 2nd place finisher as the non-boater. The race is tight, and the top spots could go to anyone, so, the last day of the 2009 Western Division Championship should be one exciting day of fishing.

The anglers who are currently holding the top two spots in their states, and who will be fighting to defend those spots tomorrow are as follows: from the Northwest Division, Ariz., Jason Rayls and Jeff Erickson; Calif., Cameron Smith and Mitch Thiele; Colo., Sean Hinton and Scott Johnson; Nev., Mitch Geyer and Mike Ledford; Utah, Mike Bozner and Wayne Crowder; from the Southwest Division, Idaho, Brandon Palaniuk and Bill Golightly; Mont., Sid Ziegler and Tyler Polesky; Ore., James Thompson and Edward Chin; Wash., Aaron Echternkamp and Jeff Boyer; Wyo., Larry Wilkins and Tom Schachten.

In the overall standings, Brandon Palaniuk from Rathdrum, Idaho pulled ahead of the pack today with a limit of bass weighing 12lb 3oz., making his two day total weight 24lb 11oz. Brandon said he will be sticking with the same plan tomorrow. “I plan on covering a lot of water and hopefully pulling in another 12lb bag,” Brandon said. “I’ve been using the same three different baits the whole tournament, and one certain bait has helped me find fish everyday.” He caught his limit before noon and didn’t let the change in weather affect him. “I definitely thought the weather was better yesterday, I liked the cloud cover.” Brandon is currently the top angler in the Northwest Division, but close behind is Aaron Echternkamp from Moses Lake, Wash., with a limit weighing 11lb 6oz, making his total weight 24lb 3oz. Aaron caught his limit very early and also plans on doing the same thing tomorrow. “I caught my limit before 9:30am, site fishing using a sniper snuck and a zoom fluke,” Aaron stated. Yesterday’s leader, Cameron Smith, from Dana Point, Calif., has fallen to the third spot, but only a pound separates him from the top. He brought in a limit of bass weighing 12lb 8oz, making his total weight 23lb 3oz. The leader of the state of Utah, Mike Bozner, came in fourth and he’s looking to inch up there tomorrow. Despite having boat problems early, Mike caught a limit of bass weighing, 11lb 3oz, making his total weight 21lb 15oz. “I caught two fish off the main lake and the rest were bed fish,” Mike said. “I saw lots of smaller males, the big females haven’t quite come in yet, but they will be ready to spawn soon. I definitely know I can go get another 8-9 lbs tomorrow, so I’m just hoping to find that big one.” The top angler from the state of Arizona, Jason Rayls, also said he will be fighting to hold his position. “Today was a little tougher, I was finesse fishing, and I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow,” Jason said. “I’ve never qualified for Nationals, so I’m pretty excited; I’m going to give it my best, and hopefully I will make it to the Championship.”

The Utah Bass Federation held their number one position in the tournament today, weighing in a two day combined weight of 199lb 6oz. A mere eight pounds separates the second place team, The California Bass Federation, weighing in 191lb 1oz. The Idaho Bass Federation is currently in third with 190lb 6oz. In fourth, is the Washington Bass Federation with 189lb 10oz. The home state federation of Wyoming is in fifth with 176lb. Indeed, tomorrow will be an exciting day of fishing, as only 20lb separates the top five state federations. Any angler and any state could pull out on top, as the last day of the Western Division Championship gets underway.

Oklahoma Leads TBF Central Divisional Tournament After Day 1

Plainview, Arkansas Native Justin Lancaster leads the Individual Overall

June 3, 2009 – Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, AR

Three Oklahoma anglers turned in the five fish limit to help push their team to first place in the opening round of the three day central division championship. The total team weight was 77 lbs 2 oz. John Pritchett of Claremore, OK led the team with a total weight of five fish weighing 14 lbs 5 oz, making him second in the overall standings for day one, right behind him on the Oklahoma team is Ada, Oklahoma’s Johnny Babb with 11-12. Only 1 lb 8 oz separated Oklahoma and Texas, who is in a very close second place. Louisiana sits in third with a team total of 65-10.

Nathan Bourque of Humble, Texas wins the Big Bass prize for day one. He turned in a 5 lb 4 oz bass, making his first day total 13 lbs 5 oz which landed him 3rd in the overall individual standings. Nathan and his paired partner, Eugene Morris of Farmerville, LA, both caught their limit today.

On a scale of one to ten, for Dardanelle, it is fishing about a “3 or 4” according to one local angler. The consensus among the contestants is that fishing “was tough.” Twenty of the ninety-six championship anglers did not manage to catch a minimum length 15” fish. Only three boating partners both filled their five-fish limit, one of which was Nathan and Eugene. Johnny Starks of Conway Springs, AR and Curtis Walker of Carl Junction, MO both caught limits in the same boat placing them in the individual standings at 9th and 10th place respectively. The final pair was Justin Lancaster of Plainview, Arkansas and Don Heaslet of Owasso, Oklahoma.

Heaslet’s limit landed him in 11th spot overall and third on the Oklahoma Team with 10 lbs 12 oz.

Lancaster’s bag landed him squarely in the overall tournament leader position after day one. His five fish limit weight turned in was 15 lbs 3 oz. Any day of holding the lead at a championship event is something special. For most a TBF Division Champion title is a once in a lifetime event. But Lancaster knows his work is not done just yet as there are two more days to go and he is taking nothing for granted as he has an Okie and two Texans on his tail. With the kinds of weights coming in right now. It would appear there is no middle ground, you are either “on them” or your struggling so tomorrow’s day two will likely tell the story in the individual standings as far as who the two or three anglers are that holds this tournament in their hands “to lose.”

Hopefully the cold front forecast for tomorrow won’t have a negative effect on tomorrow’s fishing day. Highs are supposed to be in the low 80s with possible record breaking lows overnight Thursday night.

“No cull” = “No limit”?

UTAH Leads Team Standings

Strategy was key, as the 2009 Western Division Championship kicked off at Flaming Gorge, Wyoming’s Buck Board Marina.

The lakes “no cull rule” played a large part in the anglers’ decision making process. The dilemma to keep some fish and not keep others hoping for one bigger, was about the only thing that kept most anglers from a limit of bass today. The majority of anglers weighed in limits today so it is going to be a close race to the finish line on Friday, however those few without limits told stories of throwing back keeper fish before reaching their no cull limit in hope of finishing their limit with a “big” fish. It is a gamble. In the end, the decisions cost some anglers, while others found enough keepers to pull ahead. Ultimately, 118 anglers weighed-in over 830lb. of small-mouth bass.

The Utah Bass Federation is leading in the team standings with a total weight of 103lb. 4oz. and the always strong California Team is breathing down their neck at 95lb. Less than a pound back in third is the Idaho Bass Federation weighed in a total of 94lb. 2oz. The Washington Bass Federation is in fourth with a total weight of 91lb. 5oz. Each state can bring 12 anglers to the division championship to compete for the cash payout. Next year, TBF will split the West into two divisions, the Northwest Division and the Southwest Division. This year we are holding a “two in one” event, so we have two anglers to talk about that are leading their divisions.

Cameron Smith from Dana Point, Cali., and Brandon Palaniuk from Rathdrum, Idaho, came out on top, both with a limit weighing 12lb. 8oz. Brandon is the leader for the Northwest Division, while Cameron is leading the Southwest Division. Brandon caught his limit before 11:30 am and then spent the rest of the day searching for good areas to fish tomorrow. “I will do the same thing tomorrow, just cover a lot of water and go for pounds,” Brandon said. Like several other anglers, Brandon faced a challenge with the no cull rule. “I was nervous a few times, but I decided to throw back anything under 2lb. and it seemed to work for me. Tomorrow, I just have to stick to my guns and go out there and do it again,” Brandon commented.

Right on their heels, is Wayne Crowder from Salt Lake City, Utah with a limit weighing 11lb. 13oz. Tyler Swaney from Fort Collins, Colo., is close behind him with five fish weighing 11lb. 8oz. Aaron Echternkamp from Moses Lake, Wash., weighed in a limit of 11lb. 6oz., and Jeff Erickson from Phoenix, Ariz., caught a limit of bass weighing 11lb. 1oz. Jeff caught his limit early as well. “Today was a lot tougher than it was pre-fishing. But, we ran around the lake a lot bed fishing, and I managed to catch my limit before 11:40am.” Jeff said.

TBF’s newest federation is the Nevada Bass Federation and we’re extremely excited to have them join the ranks of America’s largest organized grassroots fishing organization. The Nevada’s federation squad is only competing with 10 anglers, due to the last minute emergency that kept two of their members home, yet they are showing they came to play and they’re holding their own, even short-handed. The Nevada Bass Federation President, Mitch Geyer, had a great day of fishing. “This has been the best day of fishing all week. I caught my limit before 10am, and my partner caught his limit right in the nick of time,” Mitch said.

Tomorrows weigh-in will be at 2:30pm at BuckBoard Marina. And it’s free to the public.