Day Two Heats Up at Norman

The Southern Divisional started off with warm temperatures and numerous limits, but with very few quality

Joshua Queen / North Carolina 26-09

fish being weighed in. Thursday was even hotter and the bites, still did not materialize. Most anglers reported struggling to get any quality bites and most struggled to just catch an average limit of ten to twelve pounds.

Yesterday’s leader, Brian Fritts, NC, managed just 10.07 pounds today to end the day in second place overall. Joshua Queen, NC, turned in 12.15 pounds to take over the daily lead with 26.09 pounds. Third belonged to Tommy Lindler, SC, with 24.13 pounds. Nelson Walker nailed down the fourth spot with 23.10 & Mike Edwards, NC, rounds out the top five with 22.11 pounds.

The daily big bass went to David Kneece, of SC, with a big 6.10 lunker.

David Kneece / South Carolina 6-10
Big Bass 6-10

With the heat and massive amounts of sunshine, most anglers are still talking about catching most of their fish while flipping docks around the lake.

The team competition is still pretty close after Thursday. Most of the seven states are within just a few pounds of each other. The race for the top two anglers from each state is still up for grabs as well. Multiple anglers from each state still have a legitimate chance of moving into the top two spots and qualifying for the Federation National Championship next spring. For all the team and state results, click on the links below.

Day 2 Pictures

Day 2 Results

Limits Abound at Southern Divisional Championship on Day 1

The rumor was that numerous anglers were catching lots of fish each day and that the bigger fish were biting as well. So expectations were high as the Southern Divisional began today at Lake Norman, over in North Carolina. Seven states are participating and of the 84 anglers competing, 46 had limits on Wednesday.

Brian Fritts, of Raleigh, NC is atop the leader board with 15.02 pounds. Just behind him is Rob Griswold, of NC with 14.11. In third is Tommy Lindler, of SC with 13.13. Rounding out the top five is Nelson Walker, of SC with 13-12 and Joshua Queen of NC with 13.10 pounds.

The big fish of the day went to David Davis  with a nice 5.07 lunker. High skies and hot temperatures are forecast for the remaining two days of fishing. Most anglers are reportedly catching their fish on drop shots and soft plastics around docks and brushpiles in five foot of water or less.

With two more days of fishing left, it is still up for grabs as most every angler at least weighed one fish today. The state competitions are fairly close, as is the race for the top two anglers in each state. To see all the overall standings and results, click on the link at the bottom of this article.

Click here to view Day 1 Pictures

Click here to view Day 1 Results

The final day proved to be just as tough as the first two days of competition, for most of the 94 anglers participating in the Central Division Championship, this week in Aberdeen, Mississippi. Only four anglers were able to bring a five fish limit to the scales on the final day. Jeffery Sullivan, of Starkville, MS provided the largest limit with a 14.06 sack, which was the largest catch of the entire week. Brian Maloney of Missouri had 10.09 while Stewart Ryan of Oklahoma had 10.06 and BJ Gibson weighed 10.04 and Tim Carmouche of Louisiana turned in 10.02 pounds. All other anglers were under ten pounds for the day. The Big Bass of the day went to Jeffrey Sullivan, of Mississippi, with a 4.12 lunker.

The overall individual winner turned out to be Johnny Babb from Holdenville, OK with a three day total of 26.08. Hoyt Akins of Arkansas made a run, but ended up in second with 23.03 pounds. Third place belonged to Jason Benjamin of Kansas with 22.05. The only other angler above twenty pounds was Joseph Webster of Misissippi with 20.11 pounds. When asked, most anglers reported catching most of their fish on topwater frogs and then some type of plastic creature baits, fishing around the grasslines.

In the overall states competition, Oklahoma came out on top again today to successfully defend their 2014 state, team championship. Their twelve team members compiled a total weight of 122.10 while Mississippi ended up with 110.12 pounds, to take the runner up spot. Coming in third was the team of Arkansas with 97.03 pounds.

There were also sixteen members who earned a spot in the upcoming 2016 TBF Federation National Championship. The top two anglers from each of the eight competing states are as follows:

Oklahoma: Johnny Babb & Stewart Ryan

Mississippi: Joseph Webster & Jeffery Sullivan

Arkansas: Hoyt Akins & Mike Palmer

Kansas: Jason Benjamin & Davis Heffel

Texas: Tyler Fisher & Dennis Hastings

Missouri: Brian Maloney & Cole Findley

Louisiana: Seth Lablanc & Tim Carmouche

Nebraska: Pat Klausen & Terry Hussey

With the Central Division, now in the books, we want to say a big “Thanks” to the folks of Aberdeen, Mississippi. Everyone there went out of their way to make sure all the anlgers had a good time while in Aberdeen. Also a big debt of gratitude goes out to the host state of Mississippi, the President and his wife, Edwin & Angie Gregory. Their dedication to the Federation and the anglers w=is second to none. They worked non-stop for almost a year to see that everything went off without a hitch. Finally, too all the volunteers and alternates who came and worked the event, things went smoothly because of your efforts. Thanks to all who had a part in this event.

For Complete results check out our results page HERE

For the event Photo Gallery Click HERE

Joseph Webster of Fulton, Mississippi retained his overall lead today, but the margin of his lead was cut in half, from five pounds, down to just under 3 pounds. Webster weighed just 6.06 on day two and only managed three keepers. He said there are still plenty of quality fish in his area, but today they were just pushing his bait out of their way, and not really trying to eat it. As a result, a lot of his bites ended up coming off before they got to the boat. Falling water levels around the area are making the bites harder to come by each day. However, with one day of fishing left, almost two thirds of the 94 anglers still are within 5 pounds of the top two qualifying spots in each state. That is just one bite away from possibly going to the Federation National Championship next spring. It is going to be a shootout tomorrow at the final day weigh in.

There were only three limits weighed in today and only two of them were double digit weights. Tyler Fisher of Texas weighed in the largest limit of the day with 11.11 pounds. 

Hoyt Akins, of Arkansas followed suit with a limit weighing 11.10 pounds.

In all there were three limits and 66 of 94 anglers weighed at least one fish on Thursday.

The daily big bass award on Thursday went to David Sherrer of Louisiana with a nice 4.07 largemouth.

 Special Guest Emcee “Mayor Cecil Belle” of Aberdeen was on hand on day 2 to help conduct todays weighin ceremonies.

With one day of fishing left, here are the top two leaders in each state:

Oklahoma: Johnny Babb 16.09 & Mike Zachery 12.05

Kansas: Jason Benjamin 15.02 & Jayce Newell 10.09

Mississippi: Joseph Webster 19.02 & Jamie Long 10.01

Arkansas: Hoyt Akins 16.03 & Josh Ray 10.02

Texas: Tyler Fisher 14.10 & Dennis Hastings 9.05

Louisiana: Seth Leblanc 12.07 & Mark Brasher 7.12

Missouri: Cole Findley 7.14 & Brian Maloney 6.10

Nebraska: Terry Hussey 7.15 & Ben Milliken 7.09

Day 3 will be the hottest day of the week and conditions will be even tougher as more and more people will be on the water for the weekend events. And with so many anglers within five pounds of the top two spots in their state, a single bite can change everything on the final day. Regardless, of the tough conditions, sixteen anglers will advance to the 2016 Federation National Championship at the conclusion of tomorrows weigh-in.

Day 2 Results

Day 2 Pictures