The Bass Federation (TBF) – Page 92 – Youth – Conservation

2014 Kansas State Team Named at Grand Lake

By Staff in Central Division

Monkey Island, OK – Grand Lake O’ Cherokees – July 27th and 28th The Bass Federation of Kansas held its annual state qualifying tournament out of Martin’s Landing. The tournament qualifies 12 members of TBFKS to the state team and one alternate to fish the Central Divisional.

2014 State Team

These fishermen were on the first leg of a journey which could take one of them to the Forrest Wood Cup. The next stop for this team is a divisional tournament consisting of 7 other states and their teams. Each state will bring a 12 person team. This division championship tournament will be held in the state of Oklahoma and hosted by the Oklahoma Bass Federation in June 2014.

The top two from each state will advance to the TBF Federation National Championship in the spring of 2015. The first place angler from each state qualifies as a boater and the second place team from each state as a co-angler. The Nationals the format changes the game since they are now qualifying for the BFL All-American. At the National Championship the Angler controls the boat and water and the Co-angler fishes from the back of the boat. At the National Championship the top angler and co angler from each of the 7 TBF divisions advance to the BFL All-American. Just last year (2012) TBF angler Brian Maloney from Missouri won the 2012 BFL All-American and the $100,000.00 cash top prize!

The Federation National Champion Angler (boater) wins the TBF Living the Dream package, which consists of fully paid entry fees as a tour pro to fish the FLW tour, use of a custom wrapped Ranger boat and Chevy tow vehicles for the year and travel stipends. The Co-angler National Champion also wins a Living the Dream package to fish to fish their choice of any Everstart Division either as a boater or a co-angler, (their choice).

Well my good friend Dennis Hamel came out on top this year. Dennis is probably our oldest TBF member in Kansas. He sure showed us how it was done. Dennis was consistent at each of the weigh-ins, in fact increased his weight at each of the weigh-ins. Dennis weighed in a total of 8 bass for 20.85lbs. He reported he was catching his fish behind the docks and dock cables.

Jason Baird fell just short of Dennis Hamel’s total weighing in 20.74lbs. Jason started out on Saturday with 9.93lbs in the morning session and stumbled in the afternoon weighing only 2.55lbs. He picked it back up again on Sunday morning weighing in another nice bag at 8.26lbs. Jason was fishing brush piles using a big worm. Jason also won the Cabela’s Angler Cash.

3^rd place went to Larry Stoafer weighing in a total of 19.98lbs. Larry was flipping docks and covering allot of water. He was mainly fishing the front corners of docks looking for the aggressive fish. Larry was also our Ranger Cup money winner.

The Results

PLACE	First Name	Last Name	TOTAL WEIGHT
1	DENNIS	HAMEL	20.85
2	JASON	BAIRD	20.74
3	LARRY	STOAFER	19.98
4	JASON	BENJAMIN	18.8
5	CRAIG	WOLF	16.26
6	BOB	SANTEE	16.07
7	LARRY	FREESEMANN	15.13
8	ED	BERENDS	12.47
9	BRETT	MITCHELL	12.29
10	JUSTIN	RUSSELL	11.46
11	TRAVIS	PERRET	10.41
12	DON	GLICK	10.21
13	KEVIN	TRUMMEL	10.18
14	SKIP	HUTCHINSON	9.21
15	BRENT	NEIS	8.98
16	LARRY	BRUMLEY	8.77
17	MIKE	WILLIAMS	8.58
18	CHRISTIAN	HAMEL	8.32
19	KYLE	KLEIN	7.38
20	LARRY	RIFFEY	7.02
21	CHAD	DICK	6.83
22	EVAN	HARTNETT	6.61
23	MARK	HAMEL	5.24
24	MATT	SKUCIUS	2.86
25	STEVE	WITT	2.72
26	MIKE	BRUMLEY	1.69
27	JEREMEY	DINNEEN	0
28	BARRY	DUNN	Did Not Fish

Ranger Cup Winners:

Larry Stoafer

Ed Berends

Cabela’s Angler Cash Winner:

Jason Baird

The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) granted the permit to fish this tournament but with special regulations in place. As a tournament and conservation minded organization we respected these regulations. Due to the hot summer weather and mortality of fish when kept in live-wells (when not properly cared for) and a live weigh-in special care had to be taken. The GRDA required weigh-in tanks with cool water, ice in live-wells to cool the water. Tournament hours were shortened to 5 hour periods, with no fishing during the heat of the day. We were also allowed only to weigh-in 3 fish per period. We scheduled our tournament with 3 fishing periods Saturday morning 6:00AM – 11:00AM and then Saturday afternoon/evening 2:30PM – 7:30PM with the final period on Sunday morning from 6:00AM – 11:00AM. TBFKS kept weigh-in bags to a minimum and then transported all live fish away from the weigh-in site. All live fish were released on the main lake to be caught again. The fish and anglers were thankful for the cooler weather which greeted all this weekend.

Venue at Matin’s Landing

A special thanks to our partners and sponsors:

The Bass Federation (TBF), FLW Outdoors, Ranger Boats, Lowrance, Evinrude Etec, Chevrolet, Berkley, SolarBat Sunglasses, Cabela’s, Cabela’s Angler Cash, FishIDy, South Dakota FishinSD.com. Local sponsors: Yamaha, Shady Creek Marine, Fishing for Freedom

The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF), is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America. TBF is 100% 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.

Jeffers and Bragg Crowned 2013 High School Fishing World Finals Champions

By Staff in High School Fishing World Finals, Student Angler Federation, Tournament News

High school anglers have been grinding it out all week on Lake Dardanelle for today, for a chance, a moment in the spotlight. The record setting week wrapped up as the top 20 high school anglers in the country and one wild card draw went head to head to crown this year’s world finals champions. The weights were zeroed; the heaviest five bass sack would take it all. Anglers left it all on the water for those titles, in the end the team from South Carolina, Trevor Jeffers and Hunter Bragg, came out victorious.

The pair will walk away with a $1,000/yr for four year scholarship each to the colleges they choose, scholarship presented by the Future Fisherman Foundation. They will also both receive a $500 Cabela’s gift card and selection from an array of prizes like new hp laptops, Google Chromebooks, Android tablets, 32” LCD flat screen TVs and IPod touches, not to mention, 4ft world finals trophies.

Jeffers and Bragg had a five bass limit weighing 19lbs 11ounces to win the titles. “We would never expect this from our first few days of fishing; but, what we did today was completely new,” the team said. “It was more of like pre-practice out there. We went out, had fun and didn’t try to kill ourselves. I mean our fishing holes weren’t holding enough weight to be able to beat them. So, we had to do something different & it paid off big time.”

Jeffers and Bragg came in with solid weights the first two days but struggled on the third to make the final cut. After making the finals, they decided to sit down and put something new together. “We just rode up the river and fished frogs and lily pads all day. We have never done it before in the three years we’ve been here.”

The pair had a limit by 10am and then culled four pounders fishing up and down one stretch of bank. “He told me last night we are going to go big or go home, one of the two,” Bragg said. “And I told him this was my last year and I wanted to go all out; there was no need to hold back,” Jeffers chimed in.

Both anglers are seniors this year, so for them the win came just in time. “It means the world. This has been my dream; it means a lot to go out with a bang,” Jeffers said. “We fished really hard for these four days, not including practice days, not including the past three years we’ve been here. Just means a lot to be able to come out here & go out winning, and never have to worry about, hey, we lost by three ounces,” Jeffers continued. “Just to know we won; it’s the best feeling in the world & it’s something we will never forget.”

Among the top prize winners, were the Multi-Species tournament anglers from Marshall County, Ky., Logan Thomas and Colton Story. The object of the tournament was to catch the most and heaviest species of fish. They had six species of fish and were awarded a $300 Cabela’s gift card.

The second through tenth place teams all won Cabela’s gift cards and their choice of new hp laptops, Google Chromebooks, Android tablets, 32” LCD flat screen TVs and IPod touches.

Bethel University in McKenzie, Texas offered a $5,000/yr for four year scholarship to the highest finishing graduated senior or team of graduated seniors, that be the case.

This is the fourth year beautiful Lake Dardanelle and the City of Russellville, Ark., have played host to the most prestigious event in high school fishing, the High School Fishing World Finals. The event was presented by The Bass Federation, (TBF) and FLW, as well as, their sponsor partners. Twenty different states and one hundred and thirty-three high school teams traveled to compete. It was a week they’ll never forget, fishing for moments that will last forever.

SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR

By Staff in Mid-Atlantic Division

Submitted by: Nick Angiulo

During the week of June 24, 2013, I had the good fortune to experience an opportunity that only a few true “amateur” bass fishermen get: the chance to fish at the yearly BFL (Bass Fishing League) All American tournament run by the FLW, the premier bass fishing organization in the country. This tournament, which has been dubbed by some as the most difficult bass tournament in the world to qualify for, pits the best “weekend warrior” anglers against one another. Most of the participants qualified for the event by fishing in five local BFL events in 2012 and finishing high enough in those events to fish in one of the several regional BFL events where they had to finish in the top six to get a berth at the 2013 All American. The alternate route to the All American, and the one taken by me, was to qualify through The Bass Federation (TBF). That route is arguably even more difficult. For me, it started by fishing in five New Jersey Bass Federation tournaments in 2011 and finishing in second place in the overall standings, which placed me on the 2012 New Jersey Bass Federation’s State Team. From there, the Team fished in the TBF Mid-Atlantic Divisional tournament held in September 2012 on the Potomac River. At that event, I was the second highest finisher from New Jersey, which qualified me as a Co-Angler for the 2013 TBF National Championship. At that event, held in April 2013 at Grand Lake in Oklahoma, I wound up as the top Co-Angler from the Mid-Atlantic Division (and in sixth place overall) which got me a coveted spot as a Co-Angler at the 2013 All American, which this year, was held on June 27, 28 and 29 at Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Continue reading

2013 VA TBF Junior State Championship

By Staff in Junior Anglers

The VA TBF Junior Championship kicked off on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at Locust Shade Park in Dumfries VA with all anglers, parents and boat captains being treated to a huge cookout hosted by Northern VA Junior Bass Anglers. On Sunday, June 23, 2013, 38 anglers arrived at Leesylvania State Park on the Potomac River at 5:30am. As the 6am blast-off was closing in, the rain set in. Anglers and boat captains blasted off at 6:15 in the pouring rain and returned to the ramp at 2pm for the crowning of the 2013 VA State Champions. When the scales closed, the State Champion in the 11-14 age group was Michael Cox of Virginia Junior Anglers with a 4 fish limit that weighed 8.89 lbs and in the 15-18 age group, Matthew Rock of Southwest Virginia Junior Bass Anglers had a limit of 4 bass that weighed 10.43 lbs. After the crowning, everyone was treated to another cookout. Special thanks to the following sponsors: Bass Pro Shops of Ashland VA, Green Top Sporting Goods, Deep Creek Lures, Missile Baits, Chum’s Bait and Tackle, Rod Glove, Rat-L-Trap, Preferred Plastics Custom Baits, Dave’s Tournament Tackle, Plano and Lowrance!!!!