North Western Divisional Championship Day 2

The Strong Bite Continues on Day 2 in Oregon

David Heldstab, of Sandy Oregon, continues to lead the TBF Northwest Divisional after the conclusion of the Day 2 weigh in at Port of Cascades on the Columbia River.  His lead of 10 ounces, is still just 10 ounces after Thursday’s weigh in.   David weighed in 19-14 pounds on Wednesday and followed it up today with 14-15 pounds for a total of 34-13 pounds.  Breathing right down his neck, in second place is Kory Ray, of Lebanon, Oregon with 34-03 pounds.  Kory weighed in 16-03 today to go with his 18-00 on the first day.  Third place, heading into the last day is Jon Bial of Vancouver, Washington.  His weight today was 14-07 to bring his total up to 33-11 pounds.  Fourth place is Kevin Ford with 33-01 pounds.  Fifth place belongs to Bill Golightly with 32-05 pounds.

The biggest bass of the day came from Daniel Boyd, from Dexter, Oregon.  His smallmouth weighed in at 4-11 pounds, giving Oregon the big bass for Thursday.  For the second straight day in a row, every single angler of the 56 person field, weighed in at least one bass.  There were a total of 46 limits weighed in on Thursday for a 2 day total catch of 1350-14 pounds.

As for the two anglers from each state, who will qualify for the Federation National Championship tomorrow, it is still a very tight race in all five states.  Several anglers in each state still have a good chance to qualify, if they can just get one or two good bites on the final day tomorrow.

Click here to view Results.

2016 North Western Divisional Championship

Limits Abound at Northwest Division Day 1 Weigh In

Fifty six angler’s, from five states, tested the Oregon waters on the Columbia River today.  Most all, were happy with the results after the first day.  Fifty of the 56 angler’s brought a five fish limit to the scales on Wednesday afternoon.  The other six angler’s brought two or more fish to the scales.  All total, the group weighed in 726-06 pounds on the first day of competition.  Every single angler weighed in today.  Not a bad start to this three day event.  The big bass for Wednesday, ended up in a tie.  Steve Roth, of Kalispell, MT and Jon Bial, of Vancouver, WA each had a smallmouth that weighed in at 5-05 pounds. The winner was determined by the TBF tiebreakers.  The 3rd tiebreaker came into use as the largest single days catch, with Joh Bial with the largest single days catch 19-04.

Leading after Day 1 was David Heldstab of Sandy, Oregon with a limit of fish weighing 19-14 pounds.  Right on his heels was Jon Bial, of Vancouver, Oregon with 19-04 pounds.  Third place belonged to Roger Stringer, of Nampa, Idaho with 18-13 pounds.  Rounding out the top five spots were, Kasey Thomas, of Green River, Wyoming with 18-07 pounds and Kory Ray of Lebanon, Oregon with 18-00 pounds.

The event is a three day cumulative weight event.  The top two angler’s from each state at the end of the event, advance to the upcoming 2017 Federation National Championship.

For full results click here.

Joseph Webster and Adam Wood Crowned 2016 Federation National Champions

Final Day-61Ponca City, Okla., April 16, 2016 – Going into the final day the crowd was on the edge of their seats as 14 Division Champion anglers walked the stage to decide their fates and who would be crowned the boater and co-angler Federation National Champions.

Leading after day two was Joseph Webster from Mississippi.  Webster solidified his lead today with another impressive limit of bass weighing 14lbs 13oz to make his tournament total of 43lbs 9oz.  This is Webster’s fourth time to qualify for nationals, and his this case, fourth times a charm.  “I’ve been at this a long time.  I came up here in practice and caught them here and there, but man I struggled,” Webster said.  “Finally, I went to the banks and there were beds everywhere.”

Final Day-53

Webster caught limits the first two days on the banks but after landing two bass this morning the bites disappeared.  “After that, I bailed on the banks and picked up an Alabama rig and man we smoked ’em.”

Final Day-54

Webster won the $100,00 “Living the Dream” prize package, which includes 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.

Final Day-17On the co-angler side and also leading on day two was Adam Wood from Georgia with 7lbs 10oz with a tournament total of 26lbs 14oz.  This was Wood’s first time to qualify and he definitely made the best of it.  Wood  won his choice of paid entry fees into the Costa FLW Series along with an entry into the 2016 BFL All-American.

It was an intense week as these anglers battled hard on Table Rock Lake in Kimberling City, Mo., most of whom fished two years to make it this far.  For the champions, it will soon set in and for the other state and division champions the hint of victory will still be in their minds.  Next year, the championship will again see some seasoned and some new anglers, but until then the sting of victory will be in everyone’s ears.

For full results click HERE.

Joseph Webster Takes the Lead on Day Two of the FNC; 14 Anglers Advance

FNC Day2 weighin-240Ponca City, Okla., April 15, 2016 – Day two of the 2016 Federation National Championship was all about suspense as anglers watched every bag from their division cross the stage in hopes their weights would be enough to advance.  Seven Division Champions both on the boater and co-angler sides earned slots at the 2016 BFL All-American and one last chance to battle it out tomorrow to see who will be this year’s national champions.

Leading for the Central division and overall is Joseph Webster from Mississippi with another limit of bass and a tournament total of 28lbs 12oz.  Webster has been sight fishing all week and it’s certainly paid off.  “This week has been steady for me; the biggest change are the bigger ones seem to be coming and the smaller fish seem to be falling out,” Webster said.

This is Websters first time to qualify for the BFL All-American and advance to the final show.  “Planning on doing the same thing tomorrow; we’ll just see how it goes.”

FNC Day1-207The race has been tight in the Mid-Atlantic division.  Yesterday’s leader, Daniel Gray, wound up third overall but was edged out by just five ounces by Mid-Atlantic angler, Corey Cook, from West Virginia who’s tournament total was 28lbs 7oz to earn him a slot on the final day.

In fourth overall and advancing for the Northwest division is Aaron Echternkamp from Washington.  This is Echternkamp’s fifth time to qualify for the national event, so not only is he seasoned when it comes to the final round but he’s also due for a championship title.

Tomorrow, one victorious boater will win the $100,00 “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 wrapped Ranger boat for the year. The top co-angler will also receive fully paid entry fees into the FLW Series division of choice.  As history proves, anything can and will happen as the final day of the 2016 Federation National Championship concludes on Table Rock Lake in Kimberling City, Mo.

For full results click HERE.