2015 Future Fisherman Auction to include legendary Forrest L. Wood, Forrest Wood Cup Winner, Scott Suggs, and Classic Champion, Casey Ashley

SuggsPONCA CITY, Okla. (November 17, 2015) – The Future Fisherman Foundation announced today its annual online auction is scheduled for November 30-December 7. The auction will once again boast an impressive lineup of outdoor products and guided fresh and saltwater fishing trips.ashley_casey_1

This year’s event is headlined by a half day fishing trip with Forrest Wood Cup $Million Dollar Winner, Scott Suggs and reigning Classic Champion and Quantum Pro, Casey Ashley, plus lunch with Ranger Boats founder, Forrest L. Wood. They all offered to support the event that powers programs like Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs, and now interested bidders have a chance at once in a lifetime trips with fishing royalty!

“The number and quality of fishing trips from across the country on this year’s list are amazing, with many being hosted by top professional anglers and fishing celebrities,” Future Fisherman’s, Mark Gintert, said. “The thought of winning a trip with reigning Scott Suggs or Casey Ashley is unbelievable. Add in a potential lunch date with Forrest Wood and you have the making of a very special event for the F3 Foundation,” Gintert added.

woodThe important fundraiser for the non-profit organization is managed on eBay and helps support Future Fisherman’s
“Ensuring the Future of Fishing” mission.

The auction opens at 8am CST, November 30 and runs for seven days. Participation is easy; visit www.futurefisherman.org and click on the “F3 Auctions” tab. Then, follow the links to the eBay non-profit auction site for viewing and bidding on the items.

The prizes are awarded after the auction’s end so those who have purchased them as gifts will have them in time for Christmas.

The Foundation is still accepting donations for the auction. Those interested in providing fishing trips, products and memorabilia or who have questions can email info@futurefisherman.org or call 580-765-9031.

All proceeds from the auction help the Future Fisherman Foundation’s efforts to engage today’s youth in positive lifestyle activities like fishing and the great outdoors.

Established in 1986, the Future Fisherman Foundation unites the sportfishing industry and a nationwide network of state outdoor educators, national conservation groups and youth organizations.

Although youth focused, the efforts help people of all ages have safe and enjoyable fishing experiences while also fostering conservation ethics.

Like us on Facebook for the latest updates on listed items and all things, F3!
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The Future Fisherman Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

T-H Marine Secures Global Rights to Magnetic Marine’s Gear Grabbar Product Line

Th MarineHuntsville, AL – November 11, 2015 — T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., of Huntsville, Alabama,and Magnetic Marine Products, LLC, of Ada, Michigan announce they have entered into an agreement that grants T-H Marine exclusive global rights to manufacture and distribute the patented Gear Grabbar line of magnetic tackle management systems. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

gear grabbarT-H Marine’s president and CEO, Jeff Huntley, said, “We are excited to announce our acquisition of the rights to these really cool magnetic lure holders. The Gear Grabbar product line has earned multiple awards over the past few years, including Best New Product accolades at the BASSMASTER Classic and ICAST shows for the Original Gear Grabbar and the 2012 ICAST Best In Show Award for Tackle Management for the Lure Hangar Kit. Those awards were not an accident, because these products are really fantastic for tackle management in any boat – from kayaks, to bass boats, to pontoon boats, to offshore fishing rigs. Jennifer and John Gesik invented and patented these products with a lot of attention to giving the fisherman quality products that serve a real purpose of making their lures and tools easier, faster, and safer to access. We look forward to bringing our expertise and distribution channels to these great products so that everyone can find them at their favorite fishing tackle and boating retailers”

gear grabbar magnetic lure holder tackle manager black loadedJennifer Gesik, Co-founder of Magnetic Marine, stated, “T-H Marine’s ability to fully expand distribution combined with their incredibly strong OEM presence makes John and I thrilled to partner with them. The Gear Grabbar magnetic tackle management system was invented to help people fish faster, safer, and smarter. We want everyone who needs better tackle organization in their boat to experience the benefits of these inventions. T-H Marine’s strength in the boating and fishing industries will take these products to a whole new level, enabling more fishermen than ever to experience the remarkable utility and power of magnetic tackle management.”gear grabbar magnetic lure holder tackle manager white closeup

T-H Marine’s Huntley also stated, “T-H Marine continues to look for ideas and products that can help make a fisherman’s day on the water more fun, efficient, and safe. During our involvement with many fishing tournaments around the country, I saw some really successful fishermen with these magnetic lure holders on their boats. I knew that these products really fit in our product line and needed to be easier to find in the market. So we are really pumped about relaunching this product line and getting them on boats of all kinds around the country and the rest of the world. They are standard equipment on the new Nitro Z21 bass boat and will become standard on many more boats in the future.”

T-H Marine is celebrating its 40th Anniversary of business and has grown to be one of the largest manufacturers of boating and fishing accessories in the U.S. T-H Marine provides parts to every boat manufacturer in the country and distributes them thru virtually every major distributor and retailer of boating and fishing products. To learn more about T-H Marine, please visit www.thmarine.com. To learn more about the Gear Grabbar products, visit: http://thmarine.com/gear-grabbar .

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If you would like more information on this topic, please use the contact information provided above

Attention : Presidents and Youth Directors

NGJWC-2013In an effort to eliminate Junior Anglers competing in your state qualifying events for the Junior World Championship when they’re the wrong age, we’re asking you to do two things.
First, click and use the New Waiver Form linked here. Make sure each junior angler’s parent signs it and please pay particular attention to the top line highlighted in RED.
All you have to do is write the year of the event he/she is qualifying for at the top. This will put the burden of knowing the correct age date on the parents and take it off of the person who is running the event.

The second item is to post the SIGN linked here on the table where you are doing your registration. Again, all you have to do is write in the year of the event at the top.

As many of you know, qualifying a young angler for the Junior World Championship only to find out that he /she is too old is the worst phone call to make! By using this new waiver form and the posted sign you’re putting the burden of knowing the correct age on the parent BEFORE you let them fish.

As we discussed at our Youth Director meeting in Hot Springs you have three primary obligations to send a junior angler to the JWC.

Get them qualified in a manner that’s fair to everyone.
Make sure they’re the right age.
Make sure they have an Active TBF Junior membership.

If you take care of those three things we’ll put on a quality event for the anglers and their families!

Please make sure your staff uses these two tools to avoid a painful situation that will only hurt your federation.

Thank you!
Mark Gintert
TBF National Youth Director

Table Rock Lake and Kimberling City, Missouri to Host Best of the Best in TBF’s 2016 Federation National Championship

tbf_340gifPONCA CITY, Okla. (Nov 2, 2015) – The Bass Federation, FLW and the Student Angler Federation announced today the Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce and Kimberling City, Mo., will host the 2016 TBF Federation National Championship and the TBF/FLW High School Fishing National Championship on April 12-17.

“We’re thrilled The Bass Federation has chosen Kimberling City on Table Rock Lake to host its national championship,” Executive Director of Table Rock Chamber of Commerce, Sheila Thomas, stated. “Our community is very excited to welcome this great organization and all of its anglers next April.”

Both events will be held on Table Rock Lake launching out of Port of Kimberling in down town Kimberling City and will be held in conjunction with the Walmart FLW Tour event being held just down the road in Rogers, Ark.

“Table Rock is a diverse fishery with something for everyone and a great place to host these championship events,” TBF National President, Robert Cartlidge, said. “There are many things for the anglers and their families to do in the area. The fishing is exceptional and the community is welcoming the anglers with open arms; we’re looking forward to a great event.”

The TBF championship is the culmination of more than two years of competition against tens of thousands of members in TBF clubs across the United States and Canada. Only the top anglers from each state federation and the Canadian champions earn slots. Anglers will compete for more than $200,000 in cash and prizes.

High School Fishing National Championship qualifiers have fished through a state championship and one of five conference championships to earn the opportunity to compete for $10,000 in college scholarships.

The TBF National Championship will consist of three competition days, held April 14-16. The entire field will compete Thursday and Friday, with weigh-ins lakeside at Port Of Kimberling. The final day field will then be cut to the top boater and co-angler from each of the seven TBF divisions. The final weigh-in will be held at the FLW Expo at Prairie Creek Recreation Area in Rogers, Ark. High School championship anglers will fish two days. The full field will fish on Saturday, April 16. Then, the field will be cut for Sunday’s final round, and the finalists will be presented on stage at the FLW Tour event.

TBF National Championship anglers will compete for 15 berths in two of the sport’s most coveted events – the Forrest Wood Cup and the BFL All-American. The top boater and co-angler from each of the seven TBF divisions will advance to the 2016 BFL All-American. The TBF Federation National Champion boater will also advance to the world championship of bass fishing, the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup, for a shot at winning the biggest payday in bass fishing.

The winning boater also will receive the $100,000 “Living the Dream” prize package to include a prize check, fully paid entry fees on the 2017 FLW Tour as a pro, travel expense stipends for each event, and use of a “Living the Dream” wrapped Ranger boat for the year. The top co-angler will receive fully paid entry fees into the FLW Series division of choice.

Coverage of the TBF National Championship will be broadcast in high-definition on the NBC Sports Network and streamed live on bassfederation.com.

For more information about, The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com or call 580-765-9031. Look for TBF on facebook at Facebook.com/thebassfederation and on twitter at Twitter.com/bassfederation, @bassfederation.

For more information about the Table Rock area, contact Sheila Thomas, Table Rock Chamber, 417-739-2564.

TBF will name a host hotel and handle all booking for pre-practice and the week of the event. But, if you plan to travel in the months leading up to the event to practice, visit visittablerocklake.com for accommodation info.

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About TBF
The Bass Federation Inc. is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America. TBF is 100 percent 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 nearly 45 years. For more information about TBF or High School Fishing visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and look for us on Facebook and YouTube.

About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. For more information about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.