A strong field of 25 boaters and co-anglers converged on Truman Lake September 19^th for the start of the 2-day TBF National Semi-Final.  The first cold front of the Fall brought fantastic weather to the Ozarks but also challenged the anglers with the first wave of the fall transition. Truman Lake has had a great rebound over the last couple years with lots of 14-18 inch fish and top tournament bags in the high teens to over twenty pounds.  Highs for each day of practice were in the low 80’s with morning lows around 60 degrees.  Winds were variable but coming from the North-Northeast, putting some fish in a funk. Summer water temps in the high 80’s also began to cool down with temps in the mid 70’s by tournament time.

Due to an abnormally dry August, the lake level was low (about 2 feet below normal pool) for the event but water quality was good with about 2 feet of visibility on the main lake.   One of the advantages of Truman Lake is the amount of water available to the anglers but the spring pandemic caused the rescheduling of several tournaments, creating pressure on the fish prior to and during the event.  To avoid this pressure some boaters made practice runs of 25-30 miles up the Pomme or Osage arms to explore dirtier water in search of bigger fish.  Lots of smaller 2-3 pound fish were caught but consistent 5 fish limits were difficult to find.  Two distinct patterns were emerged during practice, shallow fish on trees on the main lake and secondary points and suspended fish in deep main lake trees.  Fish were transitioning back out to the main lake following shad which puzzled many anglers and was an unusual pattern for Truman.

The tournament started with Saturday’s low in the upper 50’s and 8-10 mph winds from the NNE.  A hazy sunrise caused by the fires on the west coast delayed take-off slightly but by 6:50 all the boaters were on their way to their first spot.  Day 1 boater results showed Robert Hime of Missouri in first place with 5 fish for 14.53 pounds followed by Don Heiser at 13.35 and Jeremy Montgomery of Kansas with 12.79.  Attesting to the tough, changing conditions only 7 limits were weighed but Robert Hime was able to land a 5.38 pound kicker to take home the big bass pot for the boaters.  The co-angler side was led by Greg Lampton with 9.11 pounds, Devin Pino at 9.04 and Jeff Trip with 7.42.  Devin also landed the big bass on the co-angler side on Saturday on a plum worm.

The second day dawned with a slight change in wind direction coming from the east and moving to the SE later in the day.  Robert Hime cemented his win by following up his first day sack with another nice bag of 13.33 ending the two days with a total of 27.86.  He was able to stay close to take off area and get an hour and half of topwater fishing in with buzzbaits. After the topwater flurry died he would make a 25 to 30 mile run up the Osage arm, working his way back down flipping trees and throwing spinnerbaits on windblown points. The winning baits were a ½ ounce homemade compact black and silver buzzbait along with ½ ounce white and silver spinnerbaits Robert also makes himself.  As the first place angler from the Missouri TBF, the win gives Robert the chance to move on to the 2021 TBF National Championship next spring and shot at the Living the Dream Package!

Finishing in second on the boater side was past BFL All-American Champion Brian Maloney with a total of 25.56 pounds. Like many anglers Brian began the day fishing shallow with topwater baits and soft plastics.  Later in the day he would try to upgrade his bag by flipping deep trees in 18-24′ using a dark colored 10 inch worm. Finishing 3^rd overall and first on the Kansas side was Jeremy Montgomery with 24.4 pounds of Truman Lake bass.  Jeremy started day one up the Pomme and Osage arms flipping cedar trees on main lake points with a plum worm.  His fish were suspended in trees in 10-20 feet of water.  In the afternoon he moved to the Tebo and finished his limit and upgraded his sack twice. Day 2 started slow, with no keepers in the boat at 11:30 but undeterred he moved to the Grand and Tebo and caught 5 keepers quickly to cement his placement.  As the top Kansas boater, he will join Robert Hime at the TBF National Championship and try to bring a championship back to District 7.

Rounding out the top anglers on the boater side in 4^th place was Larry Stoafer (23.15 pounds) and in 5^th place was Charles Gardner (18.44 pounds).  Larry focused his early day on the shallow main lake flats up the Osage arm casting a KVD 1.5 square bill on standing timber and stumps.  As the day wore on, he transitioned to flipping plastics (green pumpkin brush hog) but stayed shallow, finding fish in 2-3 feet of water.  Charles also focused on shallow fish but used a moving bait (bladed jig) on a main lake flat on Saturday and staying put on the same area on day two but transitioning to a flipping bait to secure his spot in the top 5.

Fishing from the back of the boat is always a challenge and the “random draw” format of this event presents each angler with the challenge of adapting each day to a wide range of boater strategies. The top co-angler for the event was Kansan Jeff Tripe with a final bag of 12.5 pounds.  Finishing second, and first out of Missouri was Greg Lampton with 12.11 pounds. Each of these anglers had to adjust to the locations selected by their boaters and used a variety of moving baits (spinnerbaits and topwater) along with soft plastics to catch fish behind some of the Midwest’s finest boaters.  As a result of their efforts they have both won the opportunity to move on as co-anglers to the 2021 TBF National Championship!  Finishing 3^rd was day one leader Devin Pino with 10.92 pounds followed by Ray Cates with 8.93 and Troy Richter with 8.62 pounds.

The Missouri TBF would like to thank all the participants for their cooperation and support at this event.  While the weather was great, the lingering COVID pandemic required changes in our tournament procedures that resulted in some delays.  Your patience was greatly appreciated.  We have also received lots of initial feedback from our new members complimenting their boater/co-angler on their attitude and fellowship in the boat.  Some of these participants are new to the TBF and this experience at this event goes a long way to helping both the Missouri and Kansas TBF continue to grow.

On September 12, 2020, 150 anglers from Ohio and Michigan fished the TBF District 11 National Semi-Final at Mosquito Lake. Four anglers from Ohio and two from Michigan qualified to advance to the TBF National Championship in early 2021. Even though Mosquito lake had a reputation for being a big bass lake, fishing was very stingy for the past several weeks and this held true for this tournament.

After the scales were closed on Sunday the boater division was won by local favorite, Nick Provonozac of Ohio, with 10 fish that weighed 21.90.

Second place boater was Ken Pond of Ohio with 9 fish weighing 21.35. Third place was Chase Fennell of Michigan with 10 fish weighing 19.34. These three will represent their states in the TBF Championship.

On the co-angler side winning the tournament was Don Ary of Ohio with 9 fish weighing 15.21. Second place was Randy Burr of Michigan with six fish weighing 14.26 and third place was Chris Langenfeld of Ohio with 8 fish weighing 13.91. These three anglers will represent their states at the TBF National Championship.

It is 2020 and yes, the year has been a crazy one. From wearing mask, social distancing, lockdowns, and border closings, a trying year for all.  A disappointment for our Ontario Anglers who could not attend our regular scheduled event held in Pennsylvania.

With short notice however our anglers picked up their rods and reels, 23 anglers and 23 co anglers made the trip to Port Colborne, Ontario.

Port Colborne lies just west of Buffalo, New York on the shores of Lake Erie. World renowned for smallmouth bass. The event promised to be a slugfest.

Reports however during pre-fish found the bite was off, cooler than normal temperatures prior to the official event had the bass tight lipped.  Regardless, the start of the tournament Saturday morning saw everyone excited to get out on the water. The forecast was for very fishable winds and warmer temperatures for both tournament days.

As the boats started to come in for day one weigh in, it definitely appeared the bite was still off.  A few anglers and co-anglers managed to bring in some great bags.

On the Angler side Mark McConnell brought 4 smallmouth to the scale for 18.92lbs to lead. Matt Pezzetta in second Place at 17.66lbs

On the Co Angler side our youngest competitor in the event Dylan Blair crossed the scales with 17.74 lbs. with his 4 smallmouth for the day one lead. With James Eckebrecht  sitting in second with 15.66 lbs.

With a better forecast for Sunday the anglers were anxious to get started. Once out of the marina and into the lake, ole Mother Nature pulled a fast one, she sure can fool the weatherman at times.  Regardless of the choppy conditions, the anglers made it through the day when the scales closed on day two.

Our youngest competitor, Dylan Blair, was the Co Angler Champion with the best two day weight of any competitor, boater or co angler, at 33.38 lbs.

On the Boater side, Matt Pezzetta put together two strong days of fishing and managed to bring 32.98 lbs. to the scales and punch his ticket to the Nationals next spring along with Dylan Blair.

The Ontario Federation wishes to thank all of its volunteers and the City of Port Colborne for such great facilities and hospitality.

We also look forward to seeing our Eastern Division friends from New York and Pennsylvania next September back here in Port Colborne.

2020 TBF DISTRICT 6 NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS – ARKANSAS AND OKLHOMA

 The 2020 tournament for the TBF District 6 National Semi-Finals involving Arkansas and Oklahoma Federations is now in the history books.  The two states sent their best-of-the-best to compete to each state to qualify a boater and co-angler to advance to the 2021 TBF National World Championship.  The NSF rules allows the top co-angler to move to a boater status at National’s if their winning weight totaled more than their leading state boater’s weight.  The tournament was held on Eufaula Lake out of the South Point area in Eufaula, Oklahoma.  The contestants were allowed to fish all waters of the 100,000 acre plus lake.  That gave them over 100 shoreline miles to fish, determining to correct area of the lake to fish was the biggest problem.  From the South Point ramp anglers could go 20 miles in five different directions in their pursuit to find the most productive fishing area.  The bonus for this weekend was the light winds, an unusual happening in Oklahoma.  The pairings were provided by the staff at TBF headquarters in Ponca City, Oklahoma, all the anglers had to do was catch fish, and they did.

The first day of the tournament greeted the anglers with the threat of rain but much cooler temperatures.  Of the boaters, Blake Wilson, Arkansas, took the lead as he weighed in the largest stringer for the day with a five fish limit tipping the scales at 15.84#.  Blake’s stringer included the boater’s big bass of the day.  Kevin Brown, Arkansas, took second with a limit weighing 13.90# that included a 3.99# big bass.  Third, fourth and fifth separated three Arkansas anglers by only 0.21# with Mike Webster taking the third slot with a 12.33# limit while Tanner Jones garnered fourth added a by a 4.25 pounder to bring his weight to 12.20#.  Sam Huston took fifth with 12.12# stringer that included a 4.01#.  Josh Ray, Arkansas, took over sixth place with the largest of the 11# bags.  Josh ha a total of 11.74#.  Four Oklahoma anglers took seventh thru tenth with only 0.58# separating seventh to tenth.  Stewart Ryan led the Oklahoma boaters with 11.15# for seventh while Brandon Beck took eighth with 11.09# nosing our Jody Linder by only 0.01# while Jody’s total was 11.08#.  Jonathan Dotson led the co-anglers on day one with a limit of bass weighing 12.50#.  Jonathan’s limit included a 4.14# big bass.  Julie Downs, Oklahoma, took second with a limit tipping the scales at 12.16#.  Her big bass hid the scales at 3.77#.  Third place went to Daniel Anthamatten with a total of 12.09#. Daniel’s limit included a 5.09# big bass, the biggest on day one.  Fourth place went to Steve Carlon, Oklahoma, who had a total of 11.99# that included a 3.50 pounder.  Stan Harris, Arkansas, took fifth place with a total of 10.97# followed at sixth by Wayne Osborn stringer weighing 10.41#.  Kenyon Johnson, Arkansas, was ninth with a limit weighing 9.24#.  Rounding out the top ten for the co-anglers was Mark Strickland, Oklahoma, with 8.53#.

The second day started with fairly clear skies but became overcast during most of the day.  Kevin Brown moved up from his first day second place finish to take the second day with the biggest stringer of the tournament that totaled 18.33#.  Kevin’s catch included a 4.86# lunker.  Wyatt Ryan, Oklahoma, made one of the biggest jumps with a 16.23# stringer to take second improving from his nineteenth on day one.  Larry Gragg, Arkansas, also made a big jump with a 14.58# stringer that included a 4.34# lunker.  Larry was third moving from 21st on day one.  First round leader Blake Wilson dropped to fourth with a stringer weighing 14.28# that included a 4.42 pounder.  The biggest improvement was by Jeff Creecy, Arkansas, who moved up from 36^th on day to garner fifth with 14.18# anchored by the big bass of the day weighing 5.20#.  Ricky York, Arkansas, improved his 29^th day one finish to take sixth with 13.71# that was anchored by a 3.99# largemouth.  Seventh went to Brandon Beck to move up one place from day one with a 13.04# stringer that included a 3.68 pounder.  Marc Downs, Oklahoma, jumped up to the top ten with a limit weighing 12.96# from his seventeenth finish on day one.  Marc had a 4.10# bass to anchor his limit and give him eighth for the day.  Ninth was taken by Chris Tarron, Oklahoma, jumping from a 35^th placing on day one.  Chris’ weight was 12.48#.  The tenth place slot went to Larry Carter, Arkansas, that brought 12.14# of fish to the scales.  The co-angler list was much like the boaters on day two, only two anglers from the top ten on day one repeated to break into it for day two.  The biggest move was Matt Tucker, Arkansas, took first place on day two with a limit weighing 14.34# after finishing 32th on day one.  Second place was garnered by Alex Saiz, Oklahoma, with a limit weighing 12.35# with a 4.42# anchor.  Third place was taken by first day leader Jonathan Dotson who registered an 11.70# limit.  Fourth went to the only angler that had the same placement each day.  Steve Carlon mirrored day one with an 11.19# to get fourth.  Shawn Lewis, Arkansas, moved up 10 places to fifth with a 10.77# limit.  Sixth place was tapped by Kyle Warden, Oklahoma, with a 10.74# stringer that was mostly consisting of a 4.23# lunker after his 25^th place finish on day one.  Issac Lair, Oklahoma, took seventh place with 9.66# nosing out Gary Milam, Arkansas by only 0.05#. Gary was eight with a total weigh of 9.61#.  Allen Musser, Oklahoma, captured ninth place with a 9.41# stringer while John Duvall, Arkansas, rounded out tenth with a 9.32# weight.

The National Semi-Finals returns 100% of their entry fees back to the participates.  The weekend event pays 75% for both the boaters and non-boaters with 10% expenses to cover tournament expenses and 15% to the TBF Nationals.  The boaters Champion was Kevin Brown who had a total weight of 32.23# and received $2270 for the title and then added an additional $500 as the top Ranger Cup angler to bring his total winnings for the weekend to $2770.

Blake Wilson took second place with a total of 29.62# to take the $1150 second place purse.  Wyatt Ryan finished at third with a total catch of 24.70# and received a check for $760 while Brandon Beck followed with 24.13# total weight and got the fourth-place money of $430. Fifth was garnered by Mike Webster with a total weight of 23.18# and a check for $330.  Larry Gragg was sixth with his 23.16# effort and took home $240 while Tanner Jones took seventh with 22.68# and a payment of $220.

The co-angler champion, Jonathan Dotson, weighed in 24.20# and took $1135 for his two days work.  Second place went to Steve Carlon with a final weight of 23.18## for a $575 payday.  Julie Downs had a final total of 20.50# for third place and a check for $380.  Victor Herrera a total catch of 19.21# to take fourth place and $ 215.  Alex Saiz had a total weight of 18.69# to take fifth place and the $165 check.  Sixth went to Wayne Osborn with 17.88# and he received the $120 reward.  The seventh-place co-angler award was taken by Shawn Lewis with a total weight of 17.77# and a check for $110.

The top boater and co-angler have earned the right to the 2021 TBF National Championship.

The Arkansas qualifiers will be Kevin Brown as the boater and Jonathan Dotson as the co-angler.

Oklahoma will be sending Wyatt Ryan as the boater and Steve Carlon as the co-angler.

The date and site of the 2021 championship event will be determined and announced from the National TBF office.