June 4, 2010 – Yellowtail Reservoir, Montana – Eric Lippincott of Daniel, Wyoming is the overall 2010 Northwest Division Champion and is headed to the 2011 TBF National Championship next Spring – and so is his father. Gene Lippincott finished 2nd in Wyoming to also land a spot in the Federation Championship as a Co-Angler. Eric was consistent all 3 days, finishing with a 15 bass total weight of 28 lbs 12 oz. He had 9 lbs 10 oz Day 1, 9 lbs 11 oz Day 2 & 9 lbs 7 oz Day 3. If we gave tournament MVP, Eric would’ve won. Not only did he win the overall tournament, he also was first in his state, the Day 2 Leader & Tournament Big Bass Winner (2 lbs 11 oz). Eric is very excited at having another shot at the ‘Living the Dream’ Package. “It is literally a dream to have the opportunity to go back”, he said. Eric continued, “ I caught my fish, while fishing ultra slow, something I do not normally do but I figured it out in practice. The first wave of spawning smallmouth have already done their business and now a second and third wave is reusing the same beds. Catch one off a bed and soon another will take its place. So I just went around and around fishing the same stuff.”
Ranger Cup qualifier of the tournament. He wins half of the total Ranger Cup Bonus for being a Ranger Boat owner and registering it in the TBF Ranger Cup Bonus Program. The winning team of Idaho (which Palaniuk is also a member) gets the other half to divide among all Ranger Cup qualified Anglers on that state team.
As for the State Standings, the Idaho Federation Squad got better every day and was victorious with a tournament total of 145 fish for 215 lbs 15 oz, Day 1 leaders from Washington fell to 2nd Place with 191 lbs 3 oz. Oregon, fishing with only a 10 man team (2 men down) finishes 3rd with 157 lbs 14 oz. Montana finished 4th and Wyoming finished 5th.
