TBF District 13 is made up of Delaware, Washington DC and Maryland.  This year Semi-Finals was hosted by Maryland and we launched out of Millard Tydings Memorial Park.  The 3 states totaled 36 boats and co-anglers, bringing 72 competitors (brothers and sisters) together chasing their dreams to reach the Federation National Championship.  The week of leading up to the Semi-Final, the weather was in the 80’s, water temperatures were in the 70’s and anglers were reporting that the weather was awesome, and the fish were “chewing”.

Friday, October 6^th we have reports of foul weather with small craft advisory for both days with wind gusts up to 30 mph and rain throughout the two days.  We contacted the National Tournament Director, Randy Sullivan to discussed that it should be a decision made at the ramp the morning of the competition.  Most important thing is that angler safety was the TBF’s first priority.  I wouldn’t say that the weather condition was our friend the two days, but we were able to fish.

With the tough conditions of 40-to-60-degree weather with very strong winds both days, we had some really good results.  The winner in the Boater’s Division was Thomas Bavaro III (MD) with 34.94 lbs with Second Place, Danny Rodriguez (MD) with 34.5 lbs.  These gentlemen represented Maryland well.  Our co-anglers had some awesome results as well.  Edward McGinness (DE) came in with 25.67 lbs to win the co-angler division and our own Paul Badders (Md/Tournament Director) came in with 24.31 lbs to take 2^nd place.  It was a tough couple of days of fishing with some really good results.

Congratulations to the winners and I want to thank everyone for their participation.  I also want to send out a special thanks to everyone that helped me along the way in making this a successful event:

Sara Dixon (DE Tournament Director), Brian Barnes, Steve Wiseman, Randy Sullivan, John Sison (DC TBF President), Gary Brandt (DE TBF President), the Ladies at the TBF main office (who I only called 50 times this year) and all my directors in Maryland.  Thank you all, you guys are the best.

The 2023 TBF District 15 National Semi-Final was held over the weekend of September 30 and October 1, 2023, on the Hudson River.  The anglers from the two attending states, host New Jersey and Connecticut, were met with benign fall conditions during the first two practice days.  However, that all changed on Friday practice, when 5 inches of cold rain pelted the area; making an already challenging fishery that much more challenging, especially given the 15-inch minimum fish size.

Saturday’s Day 1 weather was only slightly improved from Friday, where anglers were greeted with on and off rain, and cool, overcast conditions.  Surprisingly, the previous day’s torrential rain did not muddy the water, and the low pressure made it a mostly successful fishing day.  Many Boaters posted five-fish limits and the leading Boater, Mike McMahon, of New Jersey, smashed them with a 19.49 bag.  The Co-Angler leader also was on big fish, as New Jersey’s Mike Wotanowski only had three keepers on the day, but they weighed a whopping 13.65 pounds, anchored by a 5.76 pound largemouth.

While Day 2’s weather was excellent and the river water remained mostly good, the high-pressure conditions made for a much more difficult day to catch keepers, as the results showed. Mike McMahon had a much tougher day two but still did enough to easily win the Boater Division with 30.39 pounds.  His victory made him the New Jersey Boater qualifier for the 2024 TBF National Championship.  The second place Boater, Keith Cleary from Connecticut, had two solid days, weighing in a total of 24.58 pounds to take the Connecticut Boater TBF National Championship qualifier spot by over one pound.  In the Co-Angler Division, many anglers struggled, including the Day 1 leader, which left an opening for New Jersey’s Jerry Vitiello to catapult to the top.  Vitiello’s two-day total of 20.38 pounds easily outdistanced second place angler Casey Noble and gave him the New Jersey TBF National Championship Co-Angler spot.  The fourth-place angler, Ronald Haag, was Connecticut’s highest Co-Angler with 12.83 pounds, edging out his nearest Connecticut competitor by one ounce.  That one-ounce difference gave Haag the Connecticut Co-Angler spot in the TBF National Championship.

Overall, 190 fish were caught and all were released alive.  The total weight was 473.01 pounds, for a solid 2.49 pound per fish average.

The National Semi Finals for District hosted by The Bass Federation of Oregon (TBF).  This event was for both Oregon and Washington State.  The event began Wednesday with pre fish going through Friday with anglers from Oregon and Washington.  Friday evening, October 6^th we held registration with a banquet of food and sodas while getting the TBF shirts to all anglers, going over the tournament rules as well as the pairings for the 2-day tournament.

We could not have asked for better weather this time of year both days temperatures in the mid 70’s to 80’s blue skies and no wind the anglers could hardly wait to get on the water.  The Columbia River was flat and calm for both days. We don’t see the river quite this calm very often.

The fishing was excellent on both days with exceptional weights brought in. Our first day leader weighed in 18.92 lbs. on the pro side for Oregon.  On the second day the leader pro side of Washington State weighed in 19.14 lbs.  On the AM side day one leader of Washington weighed in 15.19 lbs.  And the second day leader of Oregon for the AM weighed in 14.99 lbs.

We had 38 PROs and 38 co-anglers that qualified for this event from both states.

Congratulations to the overall winners, Dan Jordon – PRO – Oregon with total 2-day weight of 33.10 lbs.

and Ronald Faircloth – AM – Oregon with total 2-day weight of 27.99 lbs.

We would like to congratulate Dan Jordon and Ronald Faircloth and from the state of Washington Chris Lambert and Joel Alinen as these four will be representing our states at the TBF Nationals.

Anglers gathered from The Bass Federation (TBF) District 1 GA-FL Bass Federations at beautiful Lake Eufaula, AL., on 20-24 September. Their individual quest was to earn a spot at qualifying for the 2024 TBF National Championship. Temperatures for this event averaged around 78-80 degrees for the five (5) days. Early morning fog followed by beautiful blue skies and a slight breeze accompanied the anglers. All things considered we could not have asked for better weather conditions. Water surface temperatures ranged between 78-82.

Tyler Wilson from the Georgia Bass Federation took the overall win on the boater’s side with a two-day total of ten (10) bass weighing 23-14 pounds. The winner on the co-angler’s side was Chad McMurrian from the Georgia Bass Federation with an overall two-day total of eight (8) bass weighing 17-08 pounds. On the boater’s side for the Florida Bass Federation Ray Trudeau weighed in a two-day total of nine (9) bass totaling 21-15 pounds. The winner on the co-angler’s side for Florida was Jon Christian with a two-day total of four (4) bass weighing 6-01 pounds. Ray Trudeau from Florida weighed in the Big Fish weighing 5-13 pounds on the boater’s side and Larry Atkins from Georgia weighed in the Big Fish on the co-angler’s side weighing 4 pound 10 ounces.

A very special thanks goes out to each of the volunteers from the Georgia and Florida Bass Federations that make holding an event of this scope possible. Without dedicated volunteers the angler experience would not have been the success that we enjoyed.

We also want to say thank you to Lakepoint State Park, the Lakepoint Marina staff and the staff at the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce. They each have been strong supporters of The Bass Federation and the Georgia Bass Federation for many years. The lodge, restaurant, cabins, Alabama State Park grounds and marina are always clean and well maintained and their staff is professional, prompt, and most, courteous. The hospitality at the many shops and restaurants in Eufaula always make them a pleasure to visit.